Shivaparvathy Temple,Ponnumthuruthu-An ideal picnic Spot in Kerala

This attempt is for the benefit of those on vacation in Kerala about a Temple in a beautiful small island of Kerala accidently I came across on the Net I thought it is worth writing for the benefit of tourists on vacation seeking beautiful natural picnic spots in Kerala which are not widely known. The name of this island in Malayalam suggests it has something to do with Gold( Ponnu means Gold& Thuruthu means a small island) .in other words if one wants to call it a Golden Island ,he/she is at liberty to do so. There is also a story or rather a legend in support of calling it a Golden Island. The Legend goes like this: It is said that the Travancore Royal Family Queens had plenty of Gold jewellery& ornaments .In order to keep them Safe they selected this small Island where ,perhaps,they buried it & kept a mark to retrieve it later when they Desired to have them back.They might have indeed taken them back also at the most appropriate& auspicious occasion they needed them . So at the moment there does not appear to have any treasure of gold there but the place is so Picturesque& fascinating sightseeing experience with the beautiful scenerio to remember for ever. The place is also to be considered as as spot which presents total tranquility,quietness & imperturbability& peace to those suffer from the ear breaking Noise & disturbances in any modern city. This Golden Island ( let us call it so to keep it modern & more respectable) called Ponnumthuruthu is around 12 KM away from the Town of Varkala in Trivandrum District of Kerala. This golden Island ,as one might imagine to Be thickly populated,is in fact not so.There is absolutely near nil Population here. The just one way to reach the Island is by Boats. There are Motor Boats& well as manually driven boats available in the area to reach this Island.But it is most ideal to hire a traditional Canoe driven by an Oarsman with a lengthy bamboo pole which he uses to take the canoe ahead.This way one could avoid disturbing the Calm& serene atmosphere prevailing in the river & surrounding area . Ponnumthuruthu is such a naturally gifted beautiful greenery place with glittering bluish green water in the Morning sun.It is always advice able to avoid rainy days to escape from getting wet & also with a view to avoiding The absence of variety of strange & beautiful Birds in the surroundings.This is especially so if one is also a Birdwatcher.A canoe or a boat can be arranged from the nearby village called Nedunganda near Varkala Town. Those who are nature lovers and interested in quite& peaceful atmosphere would find this island a haVen here. The traditional big white Herons with lengthy lean legs is a very common sight here together with other birds like Eagle,Cormorants,Gulls and many more water birds. The most interesting sight in this Golden Island worth visiting is a Temple of Shivaparvathy&Vishnu. The Island is virtually changed into a colorful place on the days of Shivaratri a traditional celebration time for Hindus.But the does not appear to have any restriction for people from all community to visit the place on these days.The island is lighted up extremely beautifully on these days. The Ponnumthuruth Island is ,in fact ,a place of Temple property.This Temple a rare one with Shiva, Parvathy&Vishnu is stated to be around 100 years Old.The Temple was almost at the point of Ruin 10 years back when it was renovated to the present form. It is more beneficial& ideal to visit this Temple on Shivaratri day as devotees come over there on the previous day and light up the Island & stay there the whole night of Shivaratri.The glittering view on this night is not only considered to be a Devine experience for those who have belief in Temples but virtually a glorious sight of beauty on this Night as well. The surroundings of this small island is also rich in Fish population.The Tauna& Flora varieties of Fish are available in plenty apart from small fish.So one could find a lot of multicolored King Fishers also here.This also is a tourist attraction to watch the beauty & quickness of the bird to ounce upon it' prey. There are plenty of fishermen also in the surroundings to fetch fish as much as possible using their boats& nets. yet another speciality here is the Jetty available here to anchor the boats.One could see makeshift Jetty which is made of Coir waste,coconut Husk& Mud.This seems to be a Unique feature here. Once you enter the island & cross over to the other side of the island ,there is one Coir factory also there. This itself is yet another worth seeing spot. So next time you plan to visit Kerala include this place Ponnumthuruth or to be modern the Golden Island near Varkala also in your list of places.you won't have to regret doing it One more hint or rather a Tip to the travelers to this island.Please do not forget to carry your Digital Camera When you visit this beautiful Picturesque Island

BELIEVE IT OR NOT- Rejoinder to blog"Right to Food"

The Food security bill could not be passed & converted into an Act by the Parliament exclusively owing to the Disruption caused by the resistance from the opposition parties & their non-cooperation. The attempt from the Speaker to overcome the resistance caused by the unruly scenes in the Loksabha had failed& a decision to adjourn & terminate the session had to be taken. The sufferers, obviously, were the innocent General Public who had elected them to go to the Parliament. Apart from this loss to the people,enormous loss had also occurred to the State exchequer.Every minute of Parliament session costs Rs2.5 Lakhs to the public Money. Both the Houses of Parliament in the 2nd Budget session were supposed to spend 32 days of business.Out of this the Question hour lost totally because of interruption with noise for 21 Days.in this process the Loksabha which was to do business for 94 Hours and the lost time accounted for 92 hours& 40 minutes Similarly,the RajyaSabha was to convene for 82 hours & could not do any business except a farewell session for the Prime Minister whose tenure was to end.He is however seeking re-election from Assam. Thus the Rajyasabha Sabha lost approximately 82 hours business. Thus the lost hours of business for Loksabha was 92 Hours& 40 minutes& the Rajyasabha 82 Hours. Thus the total hours of loss of Business of both the Houses were to the tune of 175 hours approximately. The approximate cost of the lost hours is thus RS26.25 Crores to the Exchequer The very Noble concept of the Constitution " For the People,By the People,Of the People" Is literally lost apart from the Loss of " Right to Food" simply because of the odd behavior from the Representatives of the People.

RIGHT to FOOD

In INDIA, the right to food is as good as approved under the consttutional provision relating to Fundamantal rights &has the indirect approval from the judiciary also.This is how the miday cooked meal is being given to school children all over India as shown in the picture above. In the year 2009 just before the election was approaching after the so called shining Era of the earlier Govt was nearing the end of their tenure,the then opposition at the Centre as an election propaganda decided to to Highlight the issue of food to crores of people under the poverty line who were suffering without proper & nourishing food. As a result there had been many deaths of children & pregnant women in India. The days after the successful slogan " Garibi Hatao" & claims for "shining India" were ,in fact , not so good For the poor people of India. In view of this the present ruling people at the Centre which had wrested Power from the earlier eople made it a a prestige issue & later on converted it into a Pet issue. After a lot of deliberation,consultation & reference to various commitees& Organisations as usual the issue was finally decided to be made into anAct of Legilation by the Government. This is how the then Finance Minister& present honourable President of India Made a draft Bill for discussion and passing by the Two Houses of Parliament. The bill was in fact had the approval from the Parliament Sub-Committee being one that benefitted all the crores Of people of India. This Food Security Act bill was pending in the Parliament since the present President of India had drafted the FOOD SECURITY BILL. The most surprising fact was that neither the present Opposition nor any other Political parties were against Provisions of the bill.What they had suggested was an open discussion in both the Houses of the Parliament. The noted expert & a Nobel Prize winner in the economic field Mr.Amarthya Sen from India had opined that this bill which was meant for the benefit of crores of poor people of India should not be made into a Political issue by opposing it & should be made into an Act as early as possible.But it seems his expert opinion had fell into the Deaf Ears of the prominent Politicians of this so called Holy Nation.the Bill in fact was re- introduced in the Parliament recently for discussion & passing by both Houses of Parliament.But ,as is usual ,to waste Public Money on account of not allowing the the Parliament to function especially when an Election is round the corner This Bill also was delayed .In fact, it was not discussed at all in the present session of the Parliament resulting in abrupt cancellation of the meeting of the Houses as it was found to be beyond the control of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha who is responsible for the Good conduct of the Parliament. Thus the fate of the Bill, to be converted into an Act later on ,is hanging in balance with uncertainty. The dramas in the Parliament of this sort & using various weapons to disturb the houses is usual in India. But this bill being one directly affecting all the people of India irrespective of Rich or Poor needs special consideration by every Politician & should not become a weapon directly hitting the innocent Public of the Nation.. The issue is a burning one .God help the Politicians to open their, otherwise dark eyes,on this issue at least if they care for Public wrath. The wrath of the Public is a more dangerous weapon which decides the fate of Politicians also in the form of Exercising their franchise by the Public at the most appropriate time!!!.

BEKAL FORT -KERALA,An ideal Picnis Spot

BEKAL denotes that it is made out of Boiled Stones which is considered to be a strong& solid stone for building a Fort. The Bekal Fort in Kerala (Kasargod District) at a place called Pallikkara is one of the most ideal picnic Spotsfor those who are on vacation. it is a spot more suitable to enjoy with picturesque scenes nearest to Arabian sea but less colder than Munnar one of the leading spots usually suggested by fTour Operators.There is also one beautiful beach&back water spots as in Thiruvananthapuram&Alapuzha districts. In other words,one could more popularly call it 3-in-1 Picnic spot of Kerala which is also called with love "God's own Country" There is a Railway Station nearby & 2 Airports at Calicut(Karipur)&Mangalore.Calicut is also a well known international Airport like Mangalore. However,Mangalore International Airport is just 60 KM from this biggest fort in Kerala whereas Karipur( Calicut/Kozhikode) is 180 KM away from the Spot The fort one of the oldest & biggest in Kerala has different versions of history about it. The prominent among the claims are briefed below: The most believed & widely known version is that it was built in 1650AD by Shivappa Nayak of Bedanore.It was also a Part of Mahodayapuram during The Perumal age.some of the historians claim it is absolutely Kerala origin.some others claim it is Portugal Origin.This argument is owing to it's resemblance to St Angelo Fort at Kannur which was built by Portugese. Some other historians claim it was built by Tipu Sultam. The western Portion of the Fort is claimed to have been built by Tipu Sultan as it has slits on the wall for observing Enemies & also to use guns for attacking those who come nearer to the fort. There is one observation tower in the middle which is claimed to be the contribution of Tipu Sultan.The observatory Tower is vital from the point of view of Strategic defense,the smallest object in the sea could be observed clearly & defensive measures could be taken before the enemy approaches nearer to the Fort.this protective measure to safeguard the Fort&army inside it is really an important feature which do not appear to be present in the similar Forts in India.This makes Bekal fort a strategically Fort as compared to other Forts.the observatory tower gives a clear view of the coast line & Sea which are beautiful from the point of view of Tourists. As a lot of controversial views exist about the origin & ownership,let us conveniently forget it as it has nothing to do from the angle of sight seeing.But at the same time the Fort remains there for even today to serve the purpose of Defence if an attack via Sea comes up from any present day Enemies of the Nation.So the Fort serves dual purpose But today it is more vital for tourists. So it looks it is more desirable to look at the Fort from the beautiful Surroundings & from the point of view of the tourist attractions. This great fort built 300 years ago has many tourist attractions to offer. The fort has such a splendid beach Surrounding near it. It has beautiful water sports spots near it which attracts sports loving visitors. Extremely beautiful & picturesque scenario around the fort&Back water attractions to enjoy. It has superb observation Tower to watch the glittering & blue the Arabian sea in the morning & evening. The sunrise & Sunset with red & multicolored cloud formations which at times shows images of animals,birds,men,women,kids & many more if one is lucky This is a very modern attractive shooting place for film makers.From this one can imagine how beautiful the place would look like. Many film makers have shot many famous films here.The Song sequence "Uyire" from Tamil Film BOMBAY of Veteran Director Mani Ratnam was shot at Bekal Fort.Many such movies,Music Albums& commercial advertisement films have been shot here in the past & are still being shot from time to time The Bekal Fort was taken over by the Government of India in 1992 by declaring it a tourist area.In the year 1995 the Government had also Formed the Bekal Tourist Development Corporation for transforming Bekal Fort into an International Tourist Centre. Since then every year the flow of Tourists & sight seeing people from all over the world increased many fold & is an important source of tourism revenue for the Government. In view of the comprehensive details narrated above,why are you waiting to visit the Bekal Fort to enjoy the very vital purpose of Picnics.So next time when you plan a vacation in India please don't forget to include Kerala in it especially Bekal Fort apart from Munnar,Thekkadi,Idukki,Trivandrum,Alleppy& the great Temple town SreedharanMundanat 7 th May 2013 2000 hrs(IST)

WashFree Shirts

Research is a boon for any Industry.The Textile Industry has recently introduced an unbelievable sort of shirts Which do not need regular washing & ironing.After a long period of research to find out a material that could avoid Frequent washing & ironing an American textile business firm called Wool& Prince found their destination in a mixed Material of Cottonh& Wool. Before deciding to go ahead with the production of shirts the Company,in order to ensure the quality of such a production when materilised,entrusted 15 examiners to test &give their opinion.They gave their nod to the production. Then the Firm manufactured a few shirts. One of the owners of the CompanyMac Bishop waring the same shirt for almost 100 days ensured the quality reported to be positive earlier by the ezaminers. Mr.Bishop had ran 8 Kilometers.During when Sandy Storm struck USA,Mr.Bishop did not remove the shirt from his body for more than 72 hours continously to the effect of prespiration from body on the shirt he was wearing.Later on he certified that the shirt if spread for a day could be used as brand new without even wrinkle or shrinkle. the shirt is understood to be on mass production now to hit market by the end of the year. According to the theory of Demand in Economics,if the sales get boost the price which is estimated around 100 US Dollars,might get reduced However,the shirt would become popular only if they are welcomed by Ladies also. Any ways,the effort from the Company is likely to a blessing for Office goers who usually do not get enough time to get their shirts washed &iorned.Those who are reluctant &lazy also could find the shirt helpful during the course of regular use

Habitable Planets like Earth.

NASA Space telescope called Kepler is continuously& simultaneously measuring the Brightness of over 150,000 stars Since a long time.This Telescope is capable of discovering Earth size planets around sunlike Stars. Two of the recently detected Such planets orbit a sunlike star where the surface temperature from the star is stated to be suitable for Presence of liquid water. In such case the planet could be useful & life could be possible there according to the scientists from NASA. The Kepler 62 system Is stated to be having 5 planets.They are62 b,c,d,e&f. The Kepler69 System Has 2 planets 69b69c. Out of the above planets ,62e,62f& 69c are earth sized planets.Out of this 62f,62e& 69c Are respectively bigger in size than earth by 40,60&70 percent.These planets orbit stars cooler than sun. Planet 69c is understood& stated to be Resembling The Venus nearer to Earth .But the Astronomers are uncertain about it's composition . Science are uncertain whether life exists in the above 3 Planets.But they say that we are closer to Finding out a World similar to Earth Around a Star like our Sun which is also a hotter Star. The scientists are of the opinion that the discovery of these planets brings us closer to Finding out places like our home earth. The also opined that it is a matter of time Before we know& establish whether GALAXY is Home for many planets like Earth or we are a unique Planet of real Life. More & more research on Kepler System is in Progress to determine the real measure & composition of these planets To finally determine whether life like we have on earth is going to become a reality on these planets also .

Beautiful clouds in the sky

almost everyday morning or in the evening when sun is about to set.many beautuiful shapes of clouds form in the sky. there are sometimes colorful clouds also depending upon the weather. how the clouds are formed.this is a phenomenon scientifically explained due to water and ice formation in the atmosphere.many who travel by flight might have observed beautiful white clouds around Generally as people are busy in the morning hours for preperation of going to worlk places &in the evening again in a hurried mood to return home,the opportunity to watch the different colorful shapes in the sky is lost. Sometimes there are shapes of animals,birds,buildings,trees & many similar sights are formed in the sky. As these shapes do not remain for long time since the clouds rapidly change their shape the likelihood of missing such formations is many fold. A few pictures of some of the shapes formed in the sky is depicted above. Next time you go for a morning walk or evening walk keep an eye above you also so that if you are lucky ,you are Lucky you could watch many such beautiful shapes on the sky.But in seasons of rains such opportunities are Very remote SreedharanMundanat