My Domain

This is not an article about the city. This is just a dedication to my native place.  Historic monuments that made Thrissur the cultural capital of Kerala Sakthan Thampuran Palace   Archaeological museum Kollengode Palace (Mural Art museum)   Vadakkunnathan Temple   Kerala Kalamandalam   Kerala Sahitya Academy   Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy   Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy

Fashion is a popular style or practice, especially in clothing. For many people fashion is of higher priority while for others keeping up with trend isn't much important. The one thing that stays the same with fashion is that, it always change . Now with giant chain stores like Fabindia and the dawn of fashionistas like Pallavi namdev and Donna Karan, fashion trends change faster and more global than ever. Let's have a glimpse on the trends in clothing among teenage girls which pave the way for the growth of boutiques.  The full skirt with long blouse, was once the traditional dress for teenage girls. But it's now disappearing from the fashion screen of Kerala. On ceremonial occasions and festival days, girls used to worn Pattu paavada. This is simply stitched from the nearby tailoring shops. But now such a scene has vanished.  The half saree facilitates the transition from pattu paavada to saree, something a bit more complicated garb. But the changi...

Behind the veil there is an attractive young lady with shining mousy hair, twinkling eyes, roly-poly face, beaky nose, tiny ears with hanging ear rings, spunky lips and swan-like neck. This is an average Indian concept about a bride. Huh...Marriage... Indian society is more concerned with "marriage". The moment a baby girl is born, her parents and the entire society they are belonging to will start thinking about her marriage. Once she completed her basic studies, she will be pushed into a "pressure cooker" of deliberately misconstrued social values and rules. The whole world seems to be forcing her deeply to get tied up with a guy. Years back women were just a standing statue behind the door. The society prevented women from making their own living and there was an ineludible dependence on men's income. But now the situation has changed a lot. Women are actively participating in every field such as social work, science and technology etc. The august ...

"Hey...I'll whatsapp you..." This dialog is quite familiar now a days not only among youth but also among children and even senior citizens. The youth rushing into their rooms or making a hurry to open their smart phones and change their profile pic in facebook are disappearing with the majestic entry of whatsapp. Whatsapp together with the smart phones are becoming a dominant culture in Kerala. You all may have heard the news that the Kerala Police has introduced a whatsapp helpline for the public. On seeing such a news I was surprised on the way by which the whatsapp have widened its influence. Utilizing the ubiquitous social media, the police dept in many Indian states is supporting the use of whatsapp to mobilize surveillance. In Kerala, the system was first introduced in Trivandrum and Kochi. I am glad to see that its ambit has now been expanded to Thrissur also.  The system is in such a way that the information will be conveyed straight to the police control roo...

Many days ago I read in the newspaper that a cartoonist of NYT apologized for the unfair portrayal of India's mars mission. In that cartoon it is shown that a farmer carrying a cow is knocking at the door of the Elite space club. This representation made the Indians very much outraged.                                Why should we be so irked on seeing such brainless creations? I am also an Indian. What I saw in this cartoon is the jealousy of US over India. India had launched the Mars mission on spending only $74 billion which is quite unexpected by the huge western countries like US, Russia & Europe. Launching such a substantial mission at a cheap rate is a back-breaking work. India, with the label "developing country", had achieved this very cleverly. This quick-witted activities had thus revealed others that we, Indians are perspicacious. Thus we should feel proud of ourselves. Also we ...

I know I had written an article showing the misrepresentation of women in ads. But by seeing again such intolerable ads, I cant stop myself from writing on it. Two days ago, I saw an ad of the hair removal cream, Veet by accidentally entering into a site (flol.com) while surfing the web.(The ad is no longer available in any other site due to public protest.)                                   In this ad, a woman who hasn't shaved for just a single day is transformed into a bewhiskered man. The ad concludes by saying "don't risk dudeness". Is the body hair something that only men have? Will the women become manly if she didn't use a hair removal cream even for several hours?    What irritated me the most is the dudeness shown in the ad. The ad is compelling women to keep the legs and underarms hairless for the approval of the society. The ad also brings an idea that body ha...

We are all fond of songs. We have an intense thirst in listening and enjoying songs. Some people may be listening to the lyrics while some others may be interested in the music by which the song is composed of. Some songs may be heart-touching and will bring our mind to a relaxed state. But some may lead us to the past bright or dark memories. Thus music can make inevitable psychological effects in human beings. But, are the Malayalam songs today so memorable as the ones in 1980s and 90s ? I just want to let you all know the evolution of Malayalam film songs from 50s onwards making a shift from the phenomenal lyrical value to the nonsensical lyrical value. Omanathingal Kidavo (1950s) "Omanathingal kidavo.." strikes a benevolent chord in ever Malayalee. This song is actually the poem written by Irayimman Thampi. This song lists a lot of mesmerizing things in the world. The song invokes an intense nostalgia for a bygone juncture of our life filled with tender moth...