The Kerala State Transport Minister, John Thettayil has announced that KSRTC would introduce chain services on the Kodungallur-Irinjalakkuda-Thrissur route very soon. The minister was speaking during a function to lay the foundation stone of a new bus station complex at Irinjalakkuda. The minister added that the corporation was incurring a loss of Rs 150 Crores per year. According to the minister, about Rs 5 Crores are paid per year as interest to the loans raised by the corporation, and about Rs. 16.5 Crores towards Pensions. The minister said that the corporation incurs a loss of Rs. 3.5 Lakhs per month on expenses towards running Operating Centres.

The Thrissur-Irinjalakkuda-Kodungallur route was nationalised last year, following which many private buses lost their permits. As per reliable sources, over 30 private buses currently operate on this route – on an average frequency of about one bus every 5-7 minutes. Buses currently operate from 0515 to 2030 from either ends. Given the bad track record of Private buses, it is appreciated that KSRTC operates buses on this route. Currently, KSRTC operates only one service – an ordinary bus. This bus runs on the Thrissur-Irinjalakkuda-Kodungallur-Cherai route (Departs Thrissur at 0445 AM, returns from Cherai at 0705 AM. At evening, departs from Thrissur at 1720, and from Cherai at 1940.)

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Thrissur pooram

I hail from Thrissur, a beautiful city in the heart of God’s own country Kerala. Eventhough I had the privilege of tasting a wide variety of dishes from the sub continent, every time I step outside the city I feel a sense of loosing appetite for food. I am scribbling down a few delicacies from Thrissur which would delight gourmets planning to visit the city.

Vellepam

‘Vellepam’ is a very soft form of appam which goes well with mutton stu. In Thrissur there is a street called vellepangadi where women cook vellepam continuously on a stove outside their houses to cater to mass orders. We can buy it hot right from the stove and take it home.

thattukada

‘Thattukada’ is a miniature restaurant which essentially consists of a four wheeled cart which can be pushed around and a stove. This kind of thattukadas are present in every nook and corner of the city. Largest pulling factor for the thattukada is the aroma which could tempt people with in a radius of 100 metre towards it. But don’t get confused, taste is equally good or better at these places. Most sought after dish at these thattukadas is ‘bottiyum kolliyum’ or in simple words tapioca with roasted kidney of a cow. This is a very spicy dish served on banana leaves. Porotta with your choice of meet is a favourite for many people frequenting thattukada. Another prominent dish at these thattukadas is omelette and green peas with added spice.

kodampuly ittu vatticha meen curry

‘Aama Curry’ or Tortoise curry is a very delicious spicy meat prepared with lots of pepper and onion. Fat just melts in your mouth like cheese. Thanks to idiots who call themselves animal right activists, it’s hard to get these days. ‘Kodampully ittu vatticha meen curry’ is a type of fish curry prepared in a typical manner where the curry is boiled with a type of tamarind giving it a unique taste.

Drinking kallu with friends

‘Kallu’ or toddy is a drink made from coconut trees. Experience of drinking toddy with friends in a peaceful place surrounded by greenery can hardly be described by words. You just got to feel it! ‘Kaada irachi’, a deep fried meat of bird Kaada is a cuisine which goes well with toddy.

This list never ends…

It’s been a long time since my long post and unsurpisingly, I’ve hardly had anyone enquire about my blogging status – barring a workmate who told me I should continue blogging. I was going to anyway. It’s just that the sweet pleasures of having a 1Gbps internet connection isn’t available anymore.

I landed in Bengaluru on 2nd June. For about a two weeks there was no internet. I looked into the various options that were available – the usual ADSL connections from BSNL, Airtel, TATA or the CDMA datacards from TATA, Reliance. I signed up for TATA’s ADSL and after getting a demo on TATA’s Photon+ (CDMA datacard), I decided to cancel the ADSL connection and go with Photon+. Pros: Good speeds for the price, cons: no scheme with unlimited downloads available.

Anyway. On 18th Jun Tirupam and I left Bengaluru for Thrissur. The occasion being Vishnu’s marriage! It was good to see familiar faces in a setting such as this. Lalit, Mitesh, Ankit: it was good to see you all again. Thrissur, as a place, wasn’t half as bad. Kerala as a state seems to be gifted with plenty of natural resources – the greenery, water, weather. Given such naturally endowed excesses, it probably makes the society somewhat mature and financially pretty well off compared to the neighbouring state – Tamil Nadu – which continues to be a large exporter of ground-level labourers (I realise that it’s not that simple, but, yes, Keralites are lucky).

Moving back to Bengaluru now, I’m still identity-less. My College’s I-card has expired, and more importantly is of no use here. I have no driving license yet. No PAN card or any of those fancy things yet. Recently, Nilekani has taken up a role in the Indian government to work on an nationwide ID card for all. I wish him all the luck and I hope I get one soon. I’ve even postponed buying that TATA DoCoMo SIM for that!

Oh, and, I’ve started working in a Free Software company now. I’ve still got a long way to go before I shed my lazy lifestyle that I had so gotten used to in college. Work needs to be done.

Lately, my blog posts have become less technical. Those Howtos and whinefests have seen a decline. I’m hoping to fix that soon as I can. I’ve been looking at how Kerberos, LDAP and ejabberd are expected to work together and since it’s taken me more than a week I think it deserves a blog post. Well, Kerberos is optional at the moment, but it’s something I’m hoping to understand why and where it’d be useful. Makes me miss Gentoo now – where I’d know exactly what’s changing. dpkg-reconfigure, although friendly, does things and assumes certain defaults which I have no idea if they’re sane or not. More on that later.

Work place is a really cool place. I had an image of cubicles and serious faces but this is kind of homely and somewhat relaxed. We even play some football on the rooftop once in a while. I miss some good folks whom I spent a lot of time with during the last few months at college – Settem, Basit, and co. and Shanks.

Last Saturday, I caught up with Tirupam and we went to visit UB City. It’s a fabulous, albeit affluent, supermall. We looked around, window shopping mostly and settled with having a close-to-authentic pizza at an Italian restaurant up there. As it turned dark, some live music lightened up the place. It’s good to see Bengaluru getting more and more musical.

A couple of days before that meet, I was looking for a music store that dealt with double bass. Lucky me. There was a place right behind my work place. Unlucky me. It costs quite a bit (he quoted 16K – which by international standards is very cheap and probably not even worth it; but I’m just a beginner – and I told him that I’d be back when I had the money). I’m having trouble deciding if I should go with a modern bass guitar or with a somewhat large and bulky double bass. Bengaluru is kind of crowded too, moving around with such a thing, in a bus, would be interesting, if not dangerous. Oh, and boo at all the affluent folk who travel alone in their cars on every-busy streets of the city.

Must get back to work.

Hi Guys,

I am Anish, the Solaris Dude in Accel IT Academy, Thrissur. I will be posting some tips about computers in general soon. This is my first here. Expect more..

take care..

Athirappalli and Vazhachal Waterfalls are two spectacular waterfalls in the Thrissur district about 63 km from Thrissur town.

Athirapally and Vazhachal Waterfalls Photos

Athirapally Vazhachal Photo Gallery

Also know more about travelling to Athirappalli and Vazhachal Waterfalls

Bhoomi

Malayalam

Samvritha in Bhoomi Malayalam

Bhoomi Malayalam – The latest work of T.V. Chandran!! For all those who have seen any of his previous movies, this introduction would be enough to carry you to the theater.

And he won’t disappoint you too much this time, but from now on, you will reconsider going to a movie just because it’s directed by T.V. Chandran. Bhoomi Malayalam is a kind of documentary on the situation of women in the present society. You see 7 women and the problems they face. It’s not exaggerated stories, it’s just a collection of various news you read daily in the newspapers. And that’s one factor which works against the movie too. There is nothing in the movie that you don’t know, that you can’t guess or that you don’t expect. Everything is predictable to the core.

One thing that captures our attention is the narration. The stories of these 7 women are mostly separate with nothing in common with most of them. But the director has found interesting methods to connect each scenes. That’s one thing which is bound to keep you hooked to the movie. There are three of four of such methods which are really striking and innovative.

The casting was not quite good. Suresh Gopi, though does double role, only one of those role has atleast a little to do. Samvritha Sunil who has gets the lions share of the screen was good, though she over acted at some scenes. I was very disappointed by most of the remaining cast. There was too much overacting and scenes were made very dramatic. There was a girl who acted as an athlete. To me, she was the most disappointing of all casts. Her long jump looked quite funny. The pre-independence part had better performace by the cast compared to the rest of the movie.

Overall this movie reminds you about the “fear” that still exists in women. It doesn’t shout at you or gives you a message. It just shows you what’s happening.

Verdict 6/10. Go for it when you are free.

(P.S. I got reminded of Adoor’s Naalu Pennungal when I saw this movie. It’s a collection of the stories of 4 women in different sections of the society. )

(P.P.S All those who complained about Slumdog Millionaire “degrading India” can see the movie and tell the same things again. But the fact remains that those things do happen here.)

(P.P.P.S. I saw the movie at Kairali Theater, Thrissur on the day of Pakal Pooram. There were quite a few people in the theater. I guess most of them came to the theater seeing Suresh Gopi in the posters and were expecting some kidillan dialogues from him. But they were terribly disappointed. )

Aloor Information:

Aloor, from all practical aspects,  is a Treasure Land of Thrissur. This town is conveniently located between in 2 to 7 Km from at least four major towns in Thrissur district. Aloor is the connecting point for   Irinjalakkuda, Mala, Kalletumkara & Kodakara. Frequent public/private transportation facility and an array of excellent educational institutions have made this place, one of the most sought after residential centers in the state of Kerala. Aloor has always maintained a higher standard in everything from education to spiritual enrichment. These days, Aloor real estate is enjoying its Golden status; as everyone is interested in this place and prospective buyers are willing to do anything possible to claim a piece of Aloor.

St.Joseph’s Church is one of the main activity zones in Aloor. Aloor Panchayat is one of the successful Panchayats in the state of Kerala for implementing various reforms at the local level and the forward thinking nature of the people in this town, have made this place one of the intellectually advanced towns in Kerala. Aloor is also famous for another remarkable institution called BLM, which is a short form for Better Life Movement and is a highly successful experiment under the diocese of Irinjalakkuda.

It had been over a year since I last went home, and having roamed the breadth of Europe in the interim – right from Belfast to Budapest, it only seemed logical to take a break and head back to India [...lest the folks there start believing that I am merely a Legend ! ] However, 3.5 weeks of leave was all that I could manage, and from the very beginning it was evident that it would flash by even before I get to utter ‘Home sweet home’ !

Kerala !

From India – Feb/March 2009

Having just about 25 days in India [... but tons of friends/relatives to meet across half a dozen cities ], called for some expert planning and schedule management. Each and every day had to be worked out [...on MS Excel] - right down to the minute details, and the logistics arranged weeks in advance. Thus, on the 18th of Feb, 2009 - the very day my Schengen visa was set to expire, I set off in a Kingfisher Airlines flight from Heathrow to Cochin via Bangalore. Must admit, Mallya really does ensure that his passengers [..or 'guests' - as he calls them] are well taken care of….and I couldn’t possibly have kicked off the festivities in greater style !

Vadakunnathan Temple, Thrissur

From India – Feb/March 2009

True to its tropical nature, Kerala was horrendously humid and hot; and my initial couple of days there were spent settling in to the environment at Thrissur. Soon after, my folks and I headed off to Bangalore on an overnight train, hoping to escape the heat and spend a few days in the company of friends and family there.

But Bangalore’s days of glory, I must sadly admit, has been lost forever ! Now known as Bengaluru, everything seems to have gone horribly wrong for this erstwhile British colonial city, which until recently had been hailed as the ‘air-conditioned city’ and the ’Garden City’. Today Bangalore is one hell of a deplorable mess – chaotic, noisy, polluted, congested, hot and dusty place – a victim of its own success ! The trees and lakes are increasingly vanishing, and ugly concrete constructions are haphazardly infesting every inch of available space. Its roads and infrastructure are crumbling under extreme pressure and thanks to the Metro construction happening across the city [....which has mercilessly eaten up much of the already congested streets],  the dust and the pollution levels have made commutation absolutely hazardous ! :( Not to mention that though it was just the middle of Feb, and the heat was already unbearable !

With mom at Forum Mall, Bangalore

From India – Feb/March 2009

I remember, a few years ago, when I ranted to one of my best friends about his smoking habits, he had turned to me and asked “You think that’s air you’re breathing?”. Confused by his Morpheus impression [..a la 'Matrix'], I replied “Err, yea, I guess so”. And that’s when he elucidated me about a study published in the newspaper stating that Banglorean air was so damn polluted that breathing it was tantamount to smoking 40 cigarettes a day ! Today, I’m sure that figure would be much much higher !!!

Thanks to the traffic-situation [...which I had already touched upon], travelling around Bangalore with my folks was quite a challenge, and the fact that the places we had to visit were located across town in the far extremes, didn’t help either ! Nevertheless, it was great to be back in the city that I had so faithfully loved, and spend time with friends and family there ! Before returning to Thrissur, I managed to spend a day at my offshore office, catching up with old mates – very few of whom were still around in the company!

With friends from my offshore office, Bangalore

From India – Feb/March 2009

Back in Thrissur, the wheels were set in motion for the grand re-union of DeBatch2000 - the batch of 2000 from Chinmaya Vidyalaya. Swetha had first proposed the idea when she came visiting here in London back in December. But fixing an appropriate time-slot suitable to maximum number of stakeholders, and arranging the logistics had turned out to be even more complicated task than perhaps, scheduling the IPL ! But unlike the IPL, which got shifted from home to abroad, our Reunion had initially been planned to be staged offshore – at the Taj Fisherman’s cove in Chennai, however, a last minute development [...Swetha getting pregnant ], forced us to shift the entire event back home to Thrissur, at the Lulu Centre.

DeBatch Reunion at Lulu Centre, Thrissur

From India – Feb/March 2009

As expected, the reunion was a mega success ! We’ve had DeBatchians coming down from all over – within India and abroad ! Some arrived with their spouses, and some with their kids ! Some of us were meeting each other for the first time after leaving school 9 years ago, and that made the occasion even more special ! We revelled in some good ol’ DeBatch style fun and tried to catch up on the 9 year hiatus we’ve had between us !

Check out a slideshow video that I had created and was played at the event –>
Next up, it was time to indulge in the only real ‘touristy’ activity of my trip. I had booked ourselves on a house-boat at the world reknowned backwaters of Alapuzha. Along with my parents, my sis and her daughter Diya, we took a train to Alapuzha and spent a day on the house-boat.

House-boat on the backwaters of Alapuzha

From India – Feb/March 2009

The experience was one of its kind…unlike anything I’d ever done before ! For about Rs.8K, we were pampered with a 2-BHK house boat, replete with TV, air-conditioners, ensuite baths et al…..Not to mention, the lip-smacking Kerala delicacies that were served on the boat, as we blissfully sailed across the exotic waters of the Vembanad lagoon.

Relaxing on the houseboat

From India – Feb/March 2009

The locales were simply heavenly, and in the morning when the backwaters were blanketed under a thick haze of mist, we were reminded that this was indeed ‘God’s own country’ !

Pirate of the Backwaters

From India – Feb/March 2009

Once back in Thrissur, I set out to do justice to something that had been left pending for a very very long time  – visit my old school ! My old class-mate Ranjith Boban, was kind enough to accompany me, and we rode down to school on his scooter. Drowned in nostalgia the very moment we entered the gates, we strolled along the corridors and the grounds, soaking in the surreality of the moment.

Back at school

From India – Feb/March 2009

However, school wasn’t quite the same as we had known it – new buildings have sprung up on campus and the old ones have had facelifts, the teachers were generally new, the grounds were pruned and tiled and the school uniform had changed too ! Ranjith and I felt like fish outside water….Thankfully, we met a handful of our old teachers – some of whom who had taught us from the time we had joined school and had watched us grow ! We took our time surveying the length and breadth of the campus, reliving old memories !
We also visited Shyamala teacher – one of our first class teachers, at her home.

With Shyamala teacher and Parvathy

From India – Feb/March 2009

That done, it was time to head off to our native city of Calicut (Kozhikode) and meet relatives there. Cousin Chintu was getting married there over the weekend, and the preparations were going on in full swing. I took some time off though, and caught up with  ex-colleagues [and current IIM-K students] Arpit and Ankit, at a sea-side Hotel cum Bar named ‘SeaQueen’. It was my first time in a bar in Calicut….or rather in Kerala  and this place offered a pretty decent ambience along with some splendid views of the beach [perhaps, one of the reasons why its so popular with the IIM students]. We sat in an open-air deck on the terrace, facing the Arabian Sea. The cool breeze flowing in from the sea made the otherwise horrendous humidity seem quite tolerable! Meeting each other after almost 2 years, we had a lot to catch up on, and did just that over a few chilled Kingfishers.

With Arpit at Sea Queen, Calicut

From India – Feb/March 2009

We spoke of the old times, the company and inevitably the current market conditions. The recession had hit everyone hard, but it was shocking to hear how badly the placement scene had been impacted, even in a premier institute like the IIM !

Later in the night, I dashed into the Paragon hotel – supposedly the No.1 Biriyani outlet in Kozhikode, only to realize that they don’t do biriyanis at night Nevertheless, I settled in for some Porottas and Chicken Curry.

The next 2 days were quite happenning, with Chintu getting married to her colleague Anoop at the Azhakodi temple in the city. It was the first time someone younger than me in the family was getting married, and that brought about the unique opportunity of having someone touch my glorious feet for blessings

Chintu gets married

From India – Feb/March 2009

The wedding was good fun, and enabled me to meet loads of relatives and family friends together at one shot. Following a reception at the groom’s place at Tirur, I drove off with family to Coimbatore to spend 2 days there !

Diya at Coimbatore

From India – Feb/March 2009

Once back in Thrissur, it was already the final leg of my vacation, and was time to cater to the religious obligations. Thus, we drove off to Guruvayoor and visited the reknowned Sree Krishna temple there.

Enroute to Guruvayur

From India – Feb/March 2009

Later the next day, I caught up with Ranjith and Swetha for one last time before heading back to Britain.

Friday evening, we drove up to Cochin and spent 2 nights relaxing at our apartment there.

Taking a break at Cochin

From India – Feb/March 2009

Early Sunday morning on the 15th of March, it was finally time to bid goodbye, and over a 22-hour ordeal, I flew in from Cochin to Bangalore and then on to London [on a 11-hour Kingfisher flight :O ] and subsequently from there to Bristol by coach ! The journey was tiring, no doubt …but thankfully, I didn’t feel too hungover or home-sick, unlike the last time !

Strangely though, whilst the flight from London to Bangalore had taken me only 9 hours, the return leg took an extra 2 hours ! Perhaps its got something to do with the fact that on flying east to west, we’re flying against the rotation of the earth ???

Kodakara to Calicut via Thrissur & Guruvayur – 174kmThursday 12th to Sunday 15th February 2009

Daniel world cycle tourer

On leaving Kodakara we cycled up through the city of Thrissur half way out of Thrissur we spotted a cycle tourer on the other side of the road. We crossed the road to meet him and found out that Daniel, from France, has been on tour for 16 months and has spent some of this time in Africa. We were very impressed with the fact that he was carrying at least 40 kg.

http://www.mondancyclo.canalblog.com

captive elephant santuary - Guruvayur

We continued back to the coast passing through Guruvayur where we visited the captive elephant santuary. Finally got the malaria prescription filled at a pharmacy on Bank Road, Calicut which turned out to be suprisingly easy. Just walk into the A&E area of a main city hospital and an on duty Doctor will write the prescription at no cost. Now all we had to do was pick up some chloroquine phosphate at a pharmacy, but as there is no real threat of malaria south of Goa very few pharmacies will stock it. However after visiting 5 pharmacies one finally managed to produce what we needed and around 10 weeks worth at a cost of 22rs. After a short while online we headed out of Kozhikode on the Kannur Road. We reached Tellicherry 15km south of Kannur around 330pm the next day and after spending a night among brambles sharing a space with a noisy, ill tempered sounding cow. We were looking forward to spending the night with our first warm showers host, we called Saneesh only to find his work had called him to Chennai. I guess this hosting arrangement can’t always work out, althought he did recommend we head to Muzhappilangad Beach.

Skei Restaurant - bicycles are old

Skei Restaurant - Diana

fully loaded

So we hung out at a veggie restaurant in Tellicherry, had some nice food and a dish called ada , this is a sweet coconut and cardomon steamed type of semolina dumpling wraped and cooked in banana leaf. We then headed off to the beach and witnessed a beautiful sunset and what turned out to be one the of best nights under the stars yet.

We managed to get an entire evening without having to entertain or answer anyones questions. This can be a bit tiring after even just two week s on the road, as any touring cyclist could tell you as the questions are always the same. The first question is:

What is your name?

What is your native place?

Where are you going?

What is your job?

Do you have any children?

question time

Muzhappilangad Beach

Adrian's shadow - Muzhappilangad BeachMuzhappilangad Beach

Thrissur Parliament Constituency consist of Guruvayoor Manalur,Ollur,Thrissur,Nattika(SC)I,rinjalakuda and Puthukkad…….

for more deatails click here to contitnue

clipped from www.indianexpress.com Thiruvananathapuram: Already reeling under several controversies, the Kerala Catholic Church is facing fresh embarrassment from a tell-all autobiography written by a nun who recently quit the Order alleging harassment from superiors.

These kind of elements are present in all religions. So, let us not make this an occasion for mud slinging. Organised religions are criminal gangs!

A WINDOW TO

FREEDOM

- FSUGTSR

‘A window to Freedom‘ – One day seminar on free software took place on 4-12-2008 at Sahitya Academi Hall, Thrissur. The program was organised by Free Software Users’ Group, Thrissur (FSUG). This event also marked the official inauguration of FSUG, Thrissur.

The program started at 9:30 AM with an inaugural session. Prof. Manoj Kumar, Head of Computer Science and Engg Department, GEC Thrissur (HOD, CSE, GECTCR) inaugurated FSUGTSR by lighting the lamp. Mr. Jayan from COSTFORD, one of the sponsers of the event, presided over the meeting. K. Venu spoke on the politics of free software. Krishnanunni, delivered the vote of thanks.

The hall was completely filled by this time. We had a registration counter where the visitors were asked to write their name, institution and email id. Registration was free of cost.

The talk sessions began soon after the inauguration session. The main talk sessions were by :

1. Hiran on the philosophy behind Free and open Source Software.

2. Mahesh on Introduction to GNU/Linux

3. Hussain sir on Introduction to malayalam computing

4. Aswin on Compiz fusion and desktop environments

5. Suresh sir on Malayalam Input Methods

6. Devidas and I had a session on Installation of GNU/Linux (Ubuntu).

7. Jain on Commonly used GNU/Linux Tools

8. Unni on Troubleshooting

After the sessions we had a short open discussion/unconference on the future events of FSUGTSR. 3-4 colleges have already asked us to take one day sessions like this in their colleges. If any other institutions want such help, feel free to mail to our mailing list at discuss@lists.fsugtsr.org .

We had a very good audience for the program. They asked many questions and made all sessions very interactive. There were around 280 registered participants. Many public also came to the venue know what was going on. Though they didn’t register, they talked with the volunteers at registration counter about free software. So in around there was around 400 visitors to the program. And most of them looked quite interested in changing to the free software. So most probably, by the time the next event is organised, there shall be as many organizers as there were participants this time. A certificate of participation was provided to all registered participants. Those who have not yet received them please contact us.

We had planned to provide DVD’s with commonly used OS’s to all those who wanted at Rs 30 per DVD. We had made ready the ISO’s of Ubuntu, Fedora and Debian and also blank DVD’s. But the demand was too high that Alwin (our high speed DVD writer) burning DVD’s in 5 laptops simultaneously couldn’t yield even half of the requirements. Many participants also waited patiently after the program to get their DVD’s. For those who didn’t get them on the day, we are burning the DVD’s which will be made available in P G Center, Thrissur by next week.

CDAC sent us 100 DVD’s of Bharatiya Operating Systems Solutions (BOSS) free of cost. Those were distributed after the event.

An install fest was also announced in association with this event. But only 5 turned up with their laptops. Though the low numbers initially disappointed us, this gave us ample time not only to install the OS in their computer but at the same time teach them how to install the OS.

The event was also covered well by the press and media. All leading news papers reported the event as soon as it was announced in November. Articles on the event have appeared the day after the event. I am adding the link to The Hindu’s news on the event. I will scan the news in other newspapers and upload them soon.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/05/stories/2008120550580200.htm

There were also sponsers who played a great part in the success of the program. COSTFORD, CenSE, P G Center and I C Software were the sponsers of the event.

After the event, all the members of the organising committee signed on the flex. It shall be an “INSIGNIA” of FSUGTSR from now on. Then we all went to Modern Hotel, near the venue and had special masala dosa and coffee to celebrate the success of the event. I hope that all programs conducted by FSUGTSR will be a success like this one.

All those who have not yet joined us please join FSUGTSR. Also join in our mailing list and be active there.

WINDOW TO

FREEDOM

FSUGTSR

DEC 4

The first event organised by FSUGTSR, Free Software Users Group, Thrissur, is going to be on Dec 4th, 2008 at Sahitya Academy Hall, Thrissur.

“Window to Freedom – A One Day Workshop on Free Software” .

This event mainly aims at giving an introduction to free software. The further details of the programs are available at the wiki page http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/Thrissur/04Dec08Meet.

Brochure and poster have been designed for the event.

The poster was done by Hiran.

POSTER

The brochure was designed by some students of GEC,Thrissur.

All the tools used for designing the poster and brochure were free softwares. Only Open Office, Scribus, Incscape, etc were used.

Welcome to Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala.
Thrissur and Pooram–the festival of festivals with an unmatched pageantry of hundreds of drums, dozens of fully decorated elephants and brilliant fireworks–are so inseparably integrated that the extravaganza of Pooram, excites you in the same breath when you hear the name of Thrissur.

Sakthan Thampuran
Thrissur Pooram was introduced by Prince Ramavarma (1750-1805), who became popular as Sakthan Thampuran (the Mighty King), of the erstwhile Cochin State. He is undisputedly the Father of modern Thrissur. Sakthan cleared the Teak Forest around the Vadakunnathan Temple, the very centre of the town. An ardent devotee of Lord Siva himself, he renovated the temple by creating a mammoth edifice, a ten-acre temple complex enclosed by lofty masonry walls. He erected four massive Gopurams (Entry Towers) at the crest of a seventy-acre evenly sloping Maidan fringed by a broad circular road.

Sakthan Thampuran planned Thrissur Pooram as an instrument to subdue and supress an insolent section of temple-owning priestly aristocracy; this he achieved by ensuring peoples voluntary co-operation.

He wished local people to take the leadership of Pooram. Towards this he entrusted the responsibility to two public temples of Trichur, Thiruvambady and Paramekavu, managed by the then temple-going people in the respective ‘Thattakoms’, (sectors). Traditionally, these two groups represent the main geographic divisions of Thrissur. They compete with each other to add Pooram’s grandeur. Kanimangalam, Karamucku, Laloor, Choorakottukara, Panakkampally, Ayyanthole, Chembukkavu and Neyattinkkavu are the other sectors that actively take part in the whole exercise.

Vadakkunnathan Temple
A prominent Siva temple, this is one of Kerala’s most ancient shrines which also houses a museum of ancient wall paintings, wood carvings and art pieces of immense historical value. The Pooram Festival attracts devotees and tourists from around the world. A fine example of Kerala’s unique temple architecture, this shrine of Lord Siva is one of the oldest in Kerala. Come in September/October, and you can enjoy live performances of Chakyarkuthu, a classical temple art form, at the fabulous Koothambalam, in true Kerala style.

Paramekkavu temple
Paramekkavu temple is one of the two major temples that run this whole exhibition of devotion and grandeur. It is the amiable enmity between the temples of Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu that steals the show. Thrissur Pooram, in a nutshell, is the paying obeisance of Paramekkavu Bhagavathi to Lord Vadakkunnathan along with the two deities of Thiruvambadi Temple and other minor deities of the suburban temples.

Paramekkavu Bhagvathi is the deity of this temple. The Pooram celebration begins here at 1.00 p.m. on the Pooram day when the procession carrying Devi assembles at the temple. This is where the renowned ‘Palachottil melom,’ a percussion orchestra in lines with Pandimelom is exhibited.

At 2.30 p.m. the procession with Pandimelom enters Thekkinkadu maidan and proceeds to Vadakkunnathan temple through east gopuram.

As the echoes of this grand melom recesses in the vibrating atmosphere the procession moves towards south gopuram for the magnificent expression of “koodikkazcha” and “Kudamattom”. Then the Bhagvathi returns to the temple.

The next occasion when Paramekkavu Bhagvathi blesses her devotees with her blessings is at ‘Palachottil ezhunnallippu’. The procession passes through the south round and concludes at ‘Manikandanal’ where the procession is reduced to a lone elephant.

The fascinating fireworks catch the eyes and ears for the next 3 hours.

When this magnificent display of colour, light and explosives are over the procession is augmented to fifteen elephants at 8.00 a.m. It enters Thekkinkadu maidan and a formation takes place at Sreemulasthan. It is the time for enjoying the grandesque Pandimelom. Then the procession moves towards the west gopuram.

At 12 noon, an auspicious moment itself, Paramekkavu Bhagavathi along with her other counterparts Thiruvambadi Krishna and Bhagvathi pay obeisance to Lord Vadakkkunnathan. She returns to her abode with the intention of visiting him in the coming year.

Thiruvambadi Temple
Thiruvambadi Temple is one of the two major temples that run this whole exhibition of devotion and grandeur. Lord Unnikrishna and Bhagvathi are the two main deities of this temple. Thrissur Pooram, in a nutshell, is the paying obeisance of these two deities to Lord Vadakkunnathan along with Paramekkavu Bhagavathi and other minor deities of the suburban temples. It is the amiable enmity between the temples of Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu that steals the show.

On Pooram day Lord Krishna and Thiruvambadi Bhagavathi leave Thiruvambadi temple at 7.30 a.m. to Brahmaswam Madom, their temporary abode. The famous Madathil Varavu is the term given to the glorious procession of these two deities from Brahmaswam Madom, taken out at 11.30 am, to the South Gopuram of the Vadakkunnathan Temple with the traditional accompaniment of Panchavadyam. The procession reaches at south gopuram at 3.00 p.m. via Pazhaya Nadakkavu, Naickanal, Thekkinkadu Maidan, Sreemulastanam, and West Gopuram.

At south gopuram both deities witness Divine Durbar and Kudamattom. Then return to Brahmaswam Madom at 7.00 pm.

The second Madathil Varavu begins at 11 O’ clock in the night, and concludes at Naickanal at 2.30 p.m., few minutes before the beginning of the spectacular fireworks exhibition.

As the fireworks reach its culmination the procession is augmented to 15 elephants and enters Thekkinkadu Maidan with the orchestra Pandimelom. After the formation at Sreemulasthanam at 12.00 noon it shrings to a lone elephant and moves to the west gopuram with the purpose of paying obeisance to Lord Vadakkunnathan.

Both deities return to Thiruvambadi Temple as the Pooram remains in the memory and to be repeated in the next year.

This world would have been a dreary and lifeless space without the early morning chirping of birds and the pleasant cuckoo calls. These birds of all possible hues and shades greatly add up to the milieu of the world we live. If you are an ardent bird watcher, here is an interesting piece of information.

In order to create awareness about the various species of birds and to encourage budding bird watchers, KeralaBirder in association with HSBC and Yuhina Eco Media is organising the HSBC Bird Race. Yuhina Eco Media  is an organisation based in Mumbai with special interests in  natural history and environmental activities.

KeralaBirder,an online mailing community of bird-watchers, is organising the Bird Race in Kerala on November 9 in connection with the birth anniversary of the famous ornithologist, Dr. Salim Ali, better known as the “Birdman of India”. This race is the only one of its kind that is conducted in multiple locations on the same day. The race will be held in different locations like Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Thrissur and Kozhikode simultaneously.

It is a day long programme, which is expected to attract both seasoned and novice birdwatchers to spend the day  identifying and recording  bird species. The day will conclude with a interactive session over dinner where the participants share their experiences. No matter whether bird watching is your profession, a way of life or a well cherished hobby , this event is just the right place to be in to express your love for these winged beauties. Events such as this assume graeter significance these days when most of the bird species are facing extinction due to poaching and habitat loss. Take a pledge to protect the environment and its exceptional flora and fauna for a better and beautiful future .

HOW TO

START

BLOGGING

Starting and setting up a blog is as easy as opening an e-mail account. The main steps to be taken are summarized in this eition of Blogcorner.

1. Choose Blog Service Provider:- The space and tools to create and maintain a blog online is provided by your Blog service Provider. To begin with, it is recommended to try out free blog service providers available on the internet. The big names in this field are WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal, etc. WordPress is recommended ab initio. For starting a blog in it, visit http://wordpress.com and follow the simple steps to create a new account.

2. Set up the Blog :- Customize and personalize your blog in this step. Select theme, background color and other ingredients of your liking. Select what you wish your visitors to see when they arrive to your blog.

3. Select Theme:- You can either leave the blog “theme-less” and write a daily or weekly online personal diary. However, if there is a definite theme, readers interested in it may keep returning to your blog depending on your presentation and level of knowledge in it. And regular visitors are very important for the success of a blog.

4. Write First Post :- Remember the “Hello World” program you write when you learn programming? After writing this post, you can see how the blog appears and make necessary changes. First post can be used to tell visitors about the theme and provide introduction to the blog and author(Blogger).

5. Publicize:- Sent e-mails to friends and relatives about your new blog. Also use social networking sites viz., Orkut, Facebook etc to publicize your blog. Try out some other methods to let the word spread about your new blog.

6. Write :- The most important step and the most difficult one too. Good blogs should contain interesting content. The blog should also be updated regularly with new posts. The more frequently your blog is updated, the more interested your readers shall be. But seeing the blog has not been updated will lose their interest.

Next edition: Popularity at your key-tap…

By Alex Poovathingal (S3,CSE) and Devidas K (S5, CSE)

(The second edition of the series of articles on Blogging coming in the GEC Newsletter)

WHAT IS A

BLOG?

Wikipedia says “A blog is a web site usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video”.

Blogs were quite a limited men’s job in its beginning stage and most blogs were just a collection important links. Blogging culture exploded by year 2000 with the invent of Blogger by Google. For some, blogging adapted to something of the sort of a daily observations for friends while for others it was a chronological database of their day-to-day events. Blogs are, nowadays, used to make political statements, promote products, provide research information and give tutorials. If there’s a subject that interests you, there’s a good chance someone’s writing a blog about it. And if you write about something, there is even more chance for someone reading it.

The visitors often comment about your posts in the blog. There is a good chance for a debate or a communication going on through your comments page. Many a time you can see the blogger just starting a topic and the visitors elaborating it through their comments.

NEXT EDITION :- HOW TO START BLOGGING???

By Alex Poovathingal (S3,CSE) and Devidas K (S5, CSE)

(This is the first of a series of articles coming in GEC NEWSLETTER, the monthly magazine of GEC, THRISSUR.)