Clik here to view.
M Sivaram – The Consummate Journalist
SE Asia’s roving newshoundNews used to be reported from the source with engaging text by journalists, and the challenges they faced and the risks they took are fodder for so many thrilling tales. These...
View ArticleCol. Manakampat Kesavan Unni Nayar (1911-50)
A Revered War Correspondent This young daredevil from Parli, near Ottapalam, charmed men and women alike, hobnobbed with royalty, prime ministers, presidents, Nobel prize winners, and generals, was...
View ArticleKurt Tank – The legendary test pilot and aircraft designer
And the Marut HF 24 project at Bangalore Prof. Dr. Dipl.-Ing. Kurt Waldemar Tank was not only a brilliant German engineer and designer of many successful aircraft that flew in the Second World War but...
View ArticleGuruvayur – A peep into its history
Most people have only a vague concept of the temple’s history. I thought it would be a good idea to provide a brief overview based on the perusal of historic records, primarily the many papers and...
View ArticleVyazhavattom - The 12-year cycle in Kerala
The Duodecennial concept of Malabar Most youngsters from the present generation would hardly have come across these terms or their significance in their studies, though they may have heard it from...
View ArticleRussell, Menon & Kumar
Bertrand Russell and India It was a siege of sorts. We were tucked away in our hostel rooms due to a ruckus between the locals and the students and for a week or so, we were stuck in our hostel, with...
View ArticleMexico City – A metropolis full of surprises
Our recent visit, and of course, a little bit on India-Mexico relations. This trip had been in the making for quite some time, we had planned to go some years ago and had to abort after COVID...
View ArticleRare Earths and Travancore
A New Assessment Some years ago, I had covered this subject, dwelling mainly on the connections between Travancore, Britain, Sir CP, and the new administration at Delhi, trying to complete the...
View ArticleCaste ingress into the Musical Realm
Case 1 – The story of Vedanayagam Sastri There is much talk involving religion and caste in the field of Carnatic music these days, we read about musicians boycotting festivals, of musicians getting...
View ArticleCaste conflicts – Carnatic Music
Part 2 - Brahmins and Carnatic music Things always look vastly different when viewed in a narrow context, with glaucomic eyes. Add to it a bit of political manipulation and the matter is blown out of...
View ArticleThe Music of the Melakkar
Part 3 Melakkar and the breach of the Isai Vellalar borders. As I mentioned in the previous article, there were two distinct aspects to the Carnatic music tradition, the vocal and the non-vocal...
View ArticleThe Liberation of Goa
Menon, Nehru, Portugal, and the USA This is a hotly debated topic and as always, there are many sides to it, with the pro-Portuguese lobby, mainly the descendants of the Portuguese, against the...
View ArticleGeorge & Lachlan
Cochin to Calicut – Australia and Britain, their journey There are so many people of Indian origin living in Australia, these days. Many of them as well as tourists view Sydney with wonder, but few...
View ArticleChanson Indoe from Sadko – The Song of India
The Hindu Merchant at Novgorod and Khrushchev’s visit to India I was drawn to this tale while referring to Khrushchev’s memoirs, which interestingly took me to the story of Sadko, and made me listen to...
View ArticleMukesh – A Singer With a Timeless Voice
A Soulful SingerToday is the great singer’s 101st birth anniversary, he was born on 22nd July 1923. He passed away in 1976, just 53 years old. Without a doubt, he (or for that matter, his voice) has...
View ArticlePioneers of The Cashew Industry
The Comma Nut’s Tale - Quilon (Kollam)It was the mention of the Vitapack technology that drew me to this research and went on to uncover the story of how the cashew industry was set up in India and...
View ArticleOn and Under the High Seas – Part 1
As the oceans churned – WW II 1942 – the incredible story of Paul Luckenbach Many of the WW II stories we have read thus far touch on glorious and inglorious land and air battles and missions, but...
View ArticleIdli – A Delectable Dish
And its origins Without a doubt, it is a favorite of mine, and I eat a couple of fluffy Idli’s manufactured to perfection by my wife, for breakfast, at least two or three days every week. Sometimes, it...
View ArticleAasha – and the Royal Game of Ur
When Ruby met FinkelThis had been in my drafts folder ever since I came across its mention in Ruby’s book on the Cochin Jews. Recently Arun at Intach Palghat organized a Pallankuzhi session in...
View ArticleIn Memoriam - Sarojini Sivalingam
A pioneer Radio Jockey - Ceylon Radio, Malayalam transmission During the 70s and the early 80s, youngsters of our generation were glued to transistors - small portable radios, a marvel that arrived...
View ArticleGood Ole Choyi - The man about town!
Choyi Butler of Cannanore, his hotel, and other stories… Once upon a time, over a hundred years ago, there lived an interesting man called Kottieth Choyi. Though many of his time remember the colorful...
View ArticleA Quid Pro Quo
Revisiting the Nanavati Case The case has been talked about often, there have been a few books, numerous articles, and no less than 3 movies as well as a TV series based on the story. The latest book...
View ArticleA Royal Proposal
Kinnaird, a matrimonial proposal, and the Christians of Travancore I mentioned this incident in the TNB bank article, and as you study this story, you may, like I did, consider the whole thing...
View ArticleA Cricketing History
Cricket in the 19th century – MalabarKerala finally got into the Ranji trophy finals and played two-time winner Vidharba. Sadly, they conceded a first-innings lead and in the resulting draw and loss of...
View ArticleAbu Bakr and Lamba Kaka
A story from Victoria Point – Burma- May 1942 – WW II Japan entered the war with an attack on the American Pearl Harbor naval base at Hawaii, on Dec 7th1941. It was a devastating attack, launched...
View Article