PAMPUKAVU

In Malayalam, pampu means snake and kavu is temple. Worship of snakes is perhaps as old as the land itself.The reason is obvious. When forests were cleared for human habitation, snakes were disturbed and snake bites are very common even in these modern times. So we try to appease the snake god. All old houses [...]

WEALTH FROM WASTE

Japanese do not waste even urine. A number of useful minerals, including vitamins, are reclaimed from urine. Urban waste is processed for producing power, valuable compost being a by product. In India, by contrast, disposal of waste is a problem, causing headache to the people and Government alike. In Trichur municipality, people of Lalur are [...]

PURE COW’S MILK

When K.K.Raman’s cow calved, we started buying milk from him. I like milk which was a luxury till I started earning. I was working at Ajmer. In those days, the main road was lined with shops selling milk and sweets. A big copper vessel, full of milk will be on the hearth, heated all the [...]

TRAVELLING SALES MAN OF MY BOOK

My book CHILDHOOD MEMOIRS, page 140, cost Rs. 100, is still under print. As I like to walk, I carry some books with me .In Keralam, people who read English books are not common. Whenever I approach a likely customer, I have to spend some time, explaining the various thought provoking articles I have included [...]

RAJASTHAN ATOMIC POWER STATION-A TOURIST DESTINATION

RAPS is located in forest area, near the Chambal river, which is a good tourist destination. The vast expanse of water in the Rana Pratap Sagar lake, the reservoir of the dam bearing the same name, itself is very imposing  and extends right up to the Gandhisagar dam in Madhya Pradesh state. The Atomic Power [...]

RETIRED PEOPLE AND THE BURDEN OF PENSION

 With better health care and living standards, average life span is increasing dramatically. The effect is a huge burden on society as whole. The liability of maintaining the old, including payment of pension, is causing concern in Government circles too. What is the way out?  In most states, retirement age continues to be around fifty [...]

THE UNIQUE LAND OF KERALAM

What strikes a casual visitor is that, while people in the rest of India live in clusters of dwellings called villages, people here live in individual houses, surrounded by a patch of land, fenced off with bamboo or palm leaf railings.Until recently, there were no merchants or cobblers!People wore a simple white piece of cloth [...]

MALABAR MANUAL

  The above book was written by an Englishman, who could be collector or some such functionary, who studied about Keralam, during the early period of British rule. It is a source of valuable information  about this region. I shall be grateful if any one can tell me where I can have it for my [...]

LADIES’S BEACH IN KARWAR

Karwar lies near Goa, in the Konkan region of Karnataka state. It is a port and is a good tourist destination with a few beaches and islands, but the Government has not cared to develop it. We were curious to see the ladies’s beach, of which few people knew the way. After some enquiries, we [...]

CONTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL OF INDIA

The post of Controller and Auditor General of India was created to maintain and audit the accounts of the Government of India on behalf of the tax payers, under the Government of India Act 1936. I do not think there was any review of this post, except during emergency, when the work of accounts was [...]