Friend in Need Society

'Friend in Need Society' building in May 2008 (above) and now (below)

The building of the Friend in Need Society at Pattoor had caught my attention ever since I came to Trivandrum for it quaintness and apparent antiquity. So I was really concerned to see the building on the verge of demolition for widening the road. The picture on the top was taken in May 2008. Somehow, due to bureaucratic red tape or due to resistance for acquisition from a nearby church, the building  survived for two years more. The picture below shows the condition of the building today. Will it be there tomorrow?

Now that the building is almost part of history, does anyone know what the  'Friend in Need Society' was and how old was it? I searched the web, but could not get any lead. If anyone has some information, I would like to know.

Nangiar Koothu at Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan

The koothambalam shaped auditorium at Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan regularly hosts several cultural events. The event on last Friday (21st May) was solo Nangyarkoothu performance by the accomplished Smt.Kalamandalam Sindhu - Sreekrishnacharitham -Govardhanodharanam.  She was accompanied by Margi Ramanunni, Sajikumar on Mizhavu, Kalamandalam Mohanan on Thimila and Kumari Amritha on thalam.

Kollam : Boat ride for Rs. 5

Click on the image for more pictures. ---->

Where can you get a One Hour boat ride in the backwaters for Rs. 5? You can have it Ashtamudi kaayal. The boats of the Kerala Water Transport Corporation takes you from the boat jetty near the Kollam bus stand to Guhaanandapuram - a journey of over one hour for just Rs. 5. Of course, it is not as luxurious as a houseboat costing about Rs1000 for one hour. But is is quite adequate and you do not miss on any of the sights. The boat stops at intermediate jetties with names like, Kadavur, Panamuttam, Sambranikodi, Pallikodi bridge etc. So, you also get to interact with the locals who are happy to meet and converse with you. Next time you are in Kollam, try it. You can return in the same boat for the princely sum of 500 paise!

Neyveli Santhanagopalan at Swati Tirunal Jayanthi

It was Neyveli Santhanagopalan on the 7th day of Swati Tirunal jayanthi at the Karthika Thirunal Theatre, Trivandrum. He was ably accompanied by HN Bhaskar on violin, Prof. Parassala Ravi on Mridangam and TV Vasan on Ghatam.

Here is a partial list of his kutcheri;

MaayaaTita Swarupini (Maaya mowLa GowLa) (Ponnaiah Pillai composition. This was a deviation from the convention as most artistes stick to Swati compositions during the Swati Jayanthi.) Palukavemina (Poornachandrika), Padmanabha paahi (Hindolam) and Pankajalochana (Kalyani ?) .

Due to the poor ventilation  in the auditorium, we could not stay during the 'thani'. The picture quality is also not very good because of  the limited lighting on the stage.

Sri Swati Tirunal Jayanthi

The 197th Swathi Thirunal Jayanthy and 68th Anniversary of Sri Swati Tirunal Sangita Sabha is being held between 28th April and 9th May, 2010 at the Karthika Thirunal Theatre, East Fort, Trivandrum.

Following is schedule of some of the performers.

28th April: Bombay Sisters

29th April: Sreevalsan Menon

2nd May : Rudrapattanam Brothers

4th May: Neyveli Santhanagoplan

5th May : Dr.Ranganath Sharma

7th May: Madurai GS Mani

9th May: TV Gopalakrishnan

I was able to attend the concert of Srivalsan Menon on 29th.

Here is a partial list of songs from his concert.

Jaya jaya padmanabha : Sarasangi

Paripaalayam - Reeti gowla

Paalayamam -Khamas

Anjaneyane -Saaveri

Paramapurusha - Vasantha

RTP- Kaapi , (Misra chaapu)

(sorry, no pictures, as I had not taken my camera. Let me see if the phone cam picture is good enough to post.)

Liminal Space - a bronze work by KS Radhakrishnan

KS Radhakrishnan, the renowned artist, exhibited his magnum opus in bronze, 'Liminal space' at the Kanakakunnu palace, Trivandrum. Though this was smaller than the exhibits at Mumbai and Kolkata, it did not fail to impress. For Radhakrishnan, who spent his early days at Shantiniketan, the muse is the Santhal couple, Musui and Maiya who appear in all his works in various sizes and shapes. More details at: http://beta.thehindu.com/arts/art/article407754.ece
and
http://ksradhakrishnan.com/images/Liminal_Figures_catalogue.pdf

Gavi, Eco tourism

Gavi

Gavi is still unspoilt tourist spot. It is about 200 Kms from Trivandrum. It is 26 Km from Vandipperiyar which is a small town between Mundakkayam and Kumili (for Thekkadi) .
The Kerala Forest Development Corporation offers eco tourism packages to this lovely spot. http://www.gaviecotourism.com/index.html
The booking for the package can be done at their counter in Kumili and also on the website. However, on has to buy the entrance passes at the Vandiperiyar Forest checkpost as this comes under the Periyar tiger Reserve.
The package includes, breakfast, lunch and dinner, overnight stay, trekking, boating and a jeep safari. Overall, it was well organised and the staff was very friendly and helpful. I also liked the Forest department involving the local community in all the activities as guides, maintenance staff etc. Since we went during the off-season, we could see only a few elephants and bisons. Despite all precautions, including leech socks and  liberal appilcation of salt, we were bitten by leeches during the trek. Beware, medical facilities are very limited and telephone cennectivity is very poor.Overall we were satisfied, but I came away with the feeling that tourism is being emphasised at the cost of ecology and safety.
More pictures can be viewed at:  Gavi Pictures


Reception area

Herd of elephants