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Thevally Kottaram was the residence of the monarchs of erstwhile Travancore when they used to visit Kollam. ROYAL LEGACY: Thevally Kottaram was built nearly 200 years ago during the reign of Gauri Parvathi Bai. Thevally Kottaram stands on a promontory in central Kollam, overlooking the scenic Ashtamudi Lake. Built nearly 200 years ago, during the reign of Gauri Parvathi Bai, between 1811 and 1819, it was the residence of the Maharaja, whenever he visited Kollam for meetings with the Resident. At that time the Huzoor Cutcherry and public offices were in Kollam, apart from it being an important commercial centre. The palace, though small, is one of the most proportionate and beautiful palaces of Kerala, says the noted architect Eugene N. Pandala. A single-storey structure, built with laterite and lime plaster, it is a blend of Dutch, Portuguese, and English architectural styles. Romantic aura The rounded left wing, which represents the exterior of the semi-circular recessed ends of the h...

RUPA GOPAL The terrain is challenging but a trip to Badrinath is the dream of a pilgrim. Photos: Rupa Gopal In Indo-Tibetan style: The temple, a close-up Badrinath! The first among 108 Vishnu temples, the first site of Lord Narayana, and according to the Azhwars, the first place where idol worship started. Over 10,000 feet above sea level, ensconced in the mighty Himalayas, near the Indo-China borde r, the Devbhoomi of Badrinath is said to have been established by Brahma, in Satya Yuga. Comparatively modern times saw Adi Sankara retrieve the Saligrama idol of Maha Vishnu from the Narada kund, along the banks of the Alakananda , at Badrinath. He installed the idol above a Bhairavi charka, and set the rules for worship, followed till today. The Nara and Narayana mountains shelter the temple, built in Indo-Tibetan style, rich in colour. The rishis Nara and Narayana, observed severe penance on the twin mountains, subsequently named after them. Alongside lies the ice-capped peak of Urvashi,...

Delhi Blue Pottery Trust is ready with another unique show. India’s first studio potter Sardar Gurcharan Singh started The Delhi Blue Pottery in 1952 in Delhi. It took him over 40 years of struggle to make Delhi a place where both traditional and studio potters could co-exist and expose their talent to the world. But in 1986 the Government acquired the land surrounding the pottery, and the kilns had to be shut down. His struggle for land began, and finally in 1991 he founded The Delhi Blue Pottery Trust (DBPT) on New Delhi’s Ring Road. Singh died four years later but his son Manasiram Singh and seven trustees not only live by his dreams but also help social causes today. But as one of the trustees Anuradha Ravindran puts it, “The struggle is still not over. We still have no easy funds to promote pottery.” Yet, the trust holds interesting exhibitions, seminars, discussions, debates, classes and workshops of pottery almost every year. “DBPT’s biggest achievement came in 2002 when we invi...

Starring Madhubala, Guru Dutt, Johnny Walker, Yasmin, Lalita Pawar, Kumkum, Cuckoo, Agha, Uma Devi Though widely labelled as a romantic comedy, the film sought to raise various social issues. In fact, the loose script succeeds largely because of nine interspersed songs. This was Guru Dutt’s fifth film as a director, and third as a hero. Having earlier tested turbulent waters without success as a hero in “Baaz” and “Aar Paar”, the reluctant actor dared to make another attempt, looking more confidently into the camera. The film was originally meant to be released on 25 October 1954, but the delay made the actor-producer re-title the film, and it thus accidentally turned out to be more relevant because of the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955. In a quick montage-kind of opening sequence, the camera quickly shifts from a gathering crowd around a newspaper hawker: a girl picking up a copy and taking it inside a palatial house where a lady is addressing a motley crowd of supposed feminists; a young...

Megan Mylan’s “Smile Pinki” has proved that a small curve can put everything straight. Photos: V. Sreenivasa Murthy, PTI Winning smile Filmmaker Megan Mylan An idea can change life. Sometimes, commercial catchphrases find their reflection in dreary daily life. Megan Mylan’s Oscar-winning documentary “Smile Pinki” is one such case. It not only opened the world for a little girl but is also giving wings to the dreams of many other Pinkis who are living with the stigma of honth kati . It literally proves a smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks. The director was in India recently on a multiple city tour to promote the film and the cause. She is elated to find that even taxi drivers know about Pinki and cleft lip. “That’s the job of a documentary. It is not about sermonizing or education. It is about filmmaking and the facts should be delivered in such a way that people are entertained and take home the story and the inherent message. She believes in verite style of cinema. Unde...

s equity an add-on to a growth-centred strategy? INDIA — Perspectives on Equitable Development: Edited by S. Mahendra Dev, N. Chandrasekhara Rao; Academic Foundation, 4772-72/23 Bharat Ram Road (23 Ansari Road), Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002. Rs. 1295. V. K. Natraj This volume, published in commemoration of the silver jubilee of the Hyderabad-based Centre for Economic and Social Studies, is dedicated most appropriately to one of its pillars, Professor C.H. Hanumantha Rao. The papers that are uniformly of high professional standards have been authored by established social scientists. They are grouped under six heads: macroeconomic performance and policies; employment, food security and poverty; physical and social infrastructure; agriculture and rural industrialisation; FDI in manufacturing and services; and socio-political issues in the reform process. In their comprehensive introduction, the editors say that the “approach of growth with equity has been followed in India since Independ...

Traces the evolution of a sustainable rural development model for South Asia THE AGAKHAN RURAL SUPPORT PROGRAMME — A Journey Through Grassroots Development: Shoaib Sultan Khan; Oxford University Press, YMCA Library Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi-110001. Rs. 725. U. Subrahmanyam This book traces the evolution of a sustainable rural development model for South Asian countries, based on Shoaib Sultan Khan’s personal field experiences in the subcontinent after setting out his roots in northern India during pre-Partition days. It takes the reader through the grassroots of development which culminated in a participatory development model ready for emulation by several NGOs and government agencies. Khan served initially in the civil services of Pakistan and later moved to UNICEF and UNDP projects. Subsequently he worked for 12 years with the Geneva-based Aga Khan Foundation. His work in the Mahaweli Ganga project (Sri Lanka), a multipurpose irrigation project, is a classic example of par...