The Pen, the ink & the colours PART II

Continued from Part I...

A day in Kerala starts with the suprabhatham, a cuppa & a newspaper. The papyrus has become such a part & parcel of mallu life that Malayala Manorama is the lone regional daily in India to cross 1.5million copies.

Logically, the comprehension of the late news by Keralites are clearly influenced by the colour of the ink in those newspapers, with each leading daily speaking a variant of the story at most times. I read the online version of Kerala Kaumudi, Deepika and Malayala Manorama regularly, and also brush through Mathrubhumi, and it is interesting to note the starking differences between the leading dailies.

Kerala Kaumudi is a newspaper with a background of nearly 100 years. It was started with a noble aim, like all old newspapers, has its name etched in the history of Kerala state. But Kaumudi still lags behind Manorama and Mathrubhumi in circulation, some data indicating it is still behind Deshabhimani.




Kaumudi has been a torchbearer for the state's socially backward communities, especially the Ezhava, Muslim and the scheduled castes. KK, as we'll call it from now, has a tradition of toiling for the poor and oppressed, against exploitation, harassment and injustice and has done a fairly good job until now.

KK is still orthodox in its outfit; it hosts a modest online paper, hasn't yet evolved any sporty looks and fills itself with more news than ads (+1 for that) . It is not much interested in news about development initiatives (though there are welcome signs of change), flaunts a totally sub-par sports page and is an embarrassment when it comes to reporting business news.

Appreciably though, Kaumudi has been able to balance itself while doing political reporting, with an arguable, yet understandable soft corner for the left parties. Saying so, its not possible to close our eyes towards the aggressive campaigning to ouster the A.K. Antony led Congress Govt in 1996 after the Sivagiri incident. While Antony was politically at fault in ordering Police action in the revered shrine, Kaumudi went on an open and merciless offensive against the Chief Minister which eventually led to his downfall in the succeeding elections.

It may be a coincidence, but KK is a bit too quick at arriving to conclusions, especially if a subject (in person) falls in their pamper-list. When the Nalini Netto- Neelalohithadasan Nadar scandal broke out, KK reported the breaking news as "Upper-class lobby trying to scuttle a backward-class minister". Neelan has been acquitted by the courts now, all right, and we all know under what circumstances, but Kaumudi's 'early-judgement' in this case left me guessing.

Curious enough, Kaumudi never said a word about the recent infamous dog-remarks by our big-mouthed CM Achuthanandan in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack. A couple of days after the storm started to rage, Kaumudi had an interesting piece in its editorial page supporting the wacky CM, (without any mention about the real incident) criticizing the other media for blowing out of proportion a 'trivial and colloquial use of phrase' and that Kerala print & visual media were foot-lickers of the National media...and so on...

If there is one single chronicle which could underscore this hasty state-of-affairs and jumping to conclusions at Kaumudi, it is the Sr. Abhaya Murder case. It will be unfair and unjust to comment on this issue because very few really know what happened on March 27th 1992, but Kaumudi guys are dead sure about the murderers. Don't ask how.

Perhaps Kaumudi hosts the creme of the investigative journalists in India, who can rival Sherlock Holmes in their profession. Kudos.

Kaumudi has been all over the accused, with explosive, extravagant and extensive tales about the crime and has literally sentenced the accused to death. On the other hand, Deepika has been ferocious against any attempts to point a finger at the defendants; for them its a conspiracy against the Church. But what about the poor public?

The one truth remains that there can't be two sides to the tale: the accused are either guilty or innocent. Let the truth prevail at the end, but Kaumudi acted the self-appointed solicitor of the plaintiffs by turning the case into a spectacular tabloid tale, whilst it was still on court tables. KK also landed in hot water through a patriotic editorial with severe remarks about Justice Hema, and had to fall on the court's feet with an unconditional apology.

This may be news for you if you're a Kaumudi reader because the contempt of court case against Kerala Kaumudi didn't appear in the newspaper. Why? If you were so bold to take on the courts why hold back from the readers what really transpired??

So in a nutshell Kerala Kaumudi has been fair, except for patches. It wont stink, if you open up the archives. Between, want to experience real third rate journalism? Welcome abroad MalayalaManorama, the most widely circulated newspaper in Kerala.. *cough* Read about it here in Part III...

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Tharoor of Trivandrum

The D-day is over!

And Trivandrum has chosen Dr. Shashi Tharoor as its representative to New Delhi.. and whoa, what a refreshing change!



The margin, of 1,00,000 has literally floored me, and a good bulk of the Tharoor supporters as well. Shashi Tharoor himself is lost for words at this Himalayan victory. Well, I don't hear any fair complaints, excusez moi dear commie supporters and well-wishers.

Apparently, the tough work is now over and Tharoor is well on course to handle one of the crucial portfolios in the new Manmohan Singh ministry, the rumour stuck on with the Foreign Affairs. With Congress heading for the magic number on its own, ruling out the usual parasitic infestations in our coalition set up, Tharoor is almost certain to occupy the chair until the scheduled ballots in 5 years time.

That's a good five years that could rewrite the scripts for Trivandrum and Kerala.

Its not that we haven't had good politicians and visionaries in the past, but Dr. Tharoor has very well exhibited that he is the man for the times. He knows how to bring about 'development' , about which our past leaders have only spoken about. And he has already joined forces with the NGOs, groups like TDF and already has a plan in place for a Citizen's forum to usher in the thought molecules of growth.

Kowdiar Avenue Photo courtesy Sudheesh Nair

So here is a man who knows what he is doing and let's wish him luck folks. Lets give him a helping hand in turning his vision about our city into a reality... No, we dont want 45 storied scrapers all around the city, we dont want Metro trains buzzing all over, we dont want another Bangalore or Mumbai out of our sweet little Trivandrum in the next 5 years, but help him bring in things which this city really and realistically needs...

Tharoor knows it as better as we do, doesn't he? Dont tell me you havnt seen what he thinks Trivandrum needs.. And how about this gesture for a start?

As someone quoted here in webspace, its Tharoor-in-the-puram from toady! :)

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The Pen, the ink & the colours PART I

The millennium Bond flick "Tomorrow Never Dies" conceptualizes a media mogul who schemes up dicey stories for his news channel and turns them to reality. Keralites were introduced to this then seemingly wild concept of 'tomorrow's news today' by Mammooty in New Delhi, as early as in 1984.

Seems this idea has inspired a few newscasters of our times, in a different form though, where we get to see and hear pre-set, formulated news and even ingeniously manufactured scoops, totally dissociated itself from the real tale.

With a dearth of options, I've been jinxed to watch some of the crappiest of English/ Hindi newschannels over here. I don't know what drives the sense of purpose behind channels like Star News. Its like a Cricinfo + B4U mixture, with ads and current news as fillers. They air some of the strangest current events programmes dubbed as news, hosting a herd of amateur clueless journos. Oh, if you are a cricket lover don't be mulled into tuning into this frequency, because 'prolific' cricket experts like Saba Karim and Sandeep Patil will do your head in by scrutinizing, criticizing and exposing technical deficiencies in the front foot cover drive of Sachin Tendulkar and the foot movement of Herschelle Gibbs at Point. Saba Karim even takes an extreme step forward by exhibiting with a bat how Sachin should have really played the shot to pierce the gap. Ahem!

Up on the Bollywood half, its gossip, gossip and gossip for the Star nincompoops, on who's looking down the boobs of whom, speculations about the marriage blues of star couples and predictions about 'what will happen in a weeks time'.

I'm not sure if Aaj Tak has improved, it was one channel which had the maximum scope of improvement, in other words it sucked the most. I had the privilege of watching Aaj Tak breaking news a couple of years back; spooky, theatrical headlines and reports with ear-aching background scores which would put the lousiest of Saas-bahu dramas to shame.

NDTV, CNN-IBN and aamchi DD are some other channels in contention, and surprisingly Doordarshan has managed to maintain its previous standards, even though it has always been below-par. But it certainly is shocking that some of the mainstream news channels have stooped down to hit such lowly troughs.

A sigh of relief it is, to think that Malayalam Channels still maintain some sort of a gauge in telecasting happenings around us. Forget the tear-jerker mega-serials and eternal reality shows, the current dominant channels like Asianet, Surya, Indiavision and Amritha needs a pat on the back for commendable reporting of current events. These channels, in my opinion, have managed to strike a balance in voicing their own opinion against what actually transpired on mother earth, without of course turning the goat into the dog. Afterall media has evolved in such a way that the element of favouritism and bias cannot be wiped out fully.

Kairali Channel, with its background, has a greater affinity towards cherry shades and so the news reporting follows a predictable pattern. Kairali pits itself against the identical twin losers among Malayalam Channels, Jeevan and Manorama News.

Manorama News carries forward the saga of its elder sibling, the original Malayala Manorama newspaper. The channel, although hosts a few appreciable current events programmes, follows the same tradition of news invention, news twisting and news trading for which the papyrus MM is infamous for. Malayala Manorama has grown into such a legend that I need one full post to appreciate their finer qualities. You can read about it here, in a few weeks time.

But again the silver lining is that Kerala News Channels and journalists are still head and shoulders above their New Delhi counterparts in the quality of reporting, and the substance and reality in the reports.

Whereas, Malayalam channels are yet to realign themselves with the changes happening in this "Media Business", where 'as it happened now' is the new motto. Blogs, and lately microblogs like Twitter have brought live news to new unthinkable levels. The way BBC, Sky News and co reported Mumbai 26/11 with live tweets and links must be a reference for our local media barons.

The pen still remains mightier than the sword, but the current media has lost the prophecy attributed to it over the years. Its now just another business, with most of its divine qualities gone down the drain, forever.

How can I stop without a few words about our print media, which we compulsively gulp down with our morning cup of tea. Ever wondered what exactly you are reading? Continuing here in Part II

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So, window or aisle, mates?

If politics is more about numbers, then Kerala has impressed itself in the Race to New Delhi, 2009.

71.45% in 2004 to 73.33% yesterday, plainly translates to 4.12 lakh more citizens casting their votes than in 2004.

Here are the exact numbers, constituency-wise, for those interested.

From an impressive 81% in Kannur to an average 66% in Thiruvananthapuram, we've had our say about the incumbent government, about inflation, terrorism, development, caste, creed and so, to ridiculously alien subjects like Palestine, Israel and the likes...

How the common Keralaite will be affected if the Jews screw up Hamas is another question, but if some political party believes that finding alien life in Mars is going to influence our day-to-day life, then unfortunately there are sections of populace who'll nod to it.

While the spotlight shifts to the states in the next phases, the candidates, electoral and analysts have restarted their calculations based on the final figures available. Now how many times have they been proved completely wrong? Still, we do it to keep ourselves satiated.

Personally for me, the blues of being a non-resident Keralaite, being incapacitated to participate directly in the democratic process of my country for the first time in life, has been pretty melanchelous, I must say.

Why the NRIs, in spite of being a decisive vertebra of the economic nervous system, are debarred from having our say is as contemptible as it is iniquitous. Why couldn't the largest democracy of the world take a leaf out of its western counterparts, where being 18+ and holding a valid passport are good enough requirements to vote for your nation.

So until May 16, it is going to be a long and largely insomniac nights for the candidates and also to a good section of the public, who've got ample time to speculate about what lies inside them machines...

Lets wait, for the full monty..

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Campaign for change

Who told one man cant make the difference?

Who told Politics is not for the ones with academic radiance?



Think again! Trivandrum Lok Sabha constituency is anchoring the most eligible and magnetic of the contestants for the 543 comfy-seats in New Delhi! Dr. Shashi Tharoor. The man we believe could make the difference...

Traditionally, with rare exceptions, Trivandrum has often been voodooed to host a herd of illiterate, apocryphal, nugatory and phony vote-hunters who never used their vocal cords for the cause of the city. Neither did they have a grasp of what this coastal-capital town held in promise, nor did they attempt to get the priorities of the city right.

Reading through the vision Dr. Tharoor has outlined for Trivandrum, one could easily notice the difference between an adulterated and hollow election manifesto and Dr. Tharoor's plausible concepts of nurturing the city into a better one. WOW, this man needs to be given the chance; afterall haven't we enough faux pas? From the womaniser Nadar to the Charles-in-oblivion and lately the buttoned up Rambo Pannyan, this place deserves better, don't you think so?

Trivandrum has got the spotlight on it with Dr. Tharoor's candidature, the type of person any constituency would be proud to own. His professional qualifications, stints at top international offices, prolific writing & and charismatic figure which commands respect is enough to turn the heat on the opponents.

Not being the Devil's advocate here, but how he will be able to wade his route through the sludgy waters of caste, double-cross, money and all evil you could imagine is an uncomfortable question, especially in the prevailing volcanic political environment in the constituency.

My bet is on the apolitical middle class in the urban centers and on the remarkable ability of the educated youth of the city, who have exhibited clear signs of using their brain cells to choose. These new voters could just be the difference!



Come April 16th, the 11 lakh electoral in Trivandrum have the option of choosing the man who could turn the tables for their city. After exactly a month we will know for sure where Tharoor belongs to and how.

Are you ready for the change, Trivandrum?

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The Women Power?

The customary practices of mud-slinging, double-crossing and foul-mouthing amalgamated with the selection of dummkopfs for the biggest democratic exercise in the world is at the anticlimax.

In about a weeks time we will know for certain whom to look out for around our shelters, with that once-in-five-year Colgate smile and exhibition of oh-hello-there-my-dear-old-friend kind of intimacy.

Congress Candidates for 16 constituencies Courtesy: Keralakaumudi

2. 16 crore Keralites are obligated to dispatch 20 cast-offs to fill up the 543 seats in that colossal oriental building in New Delhi. Our two bigbodies, the dynamic and fragmented Congress and the bullheaded Commie blocs have drawn up the list of the most-eligible, with BJP still waiting for that Godot to open their account. Leave aside the age-old faces and the farcical candidatures, the list is all too lame with the glaring dearth of female candidates.


Our political parties appear astutely reluctant to hand the lead over to the fairer sex for some mysterious reasons. Apart from K.R. Gouriamma, there hasn't been a single femme good enough to hold the reins. And the ones who are remembered over time, like Padmaja and Shobhana George made waves for wrong reasons.

Its very strange that Kerala, with its high female literacy, advanced social indices and women-oriented family practices fail to produce women leaders of mass. Kerala, is more often equated to the Western world in relation to social development but pales in comparison when it comes to empowerment of women at the Executive and Legislative levels. It is unexplainable because ladies with the power of command has propped up even in highly unlikely states like Uttar Pradesh.

Arguing a case for the 'weaker' sex, CPI(M) has pitted the young and energetic Sindhu Joy opposite veteran K. V. Thomas in Ernakulam. The poignant SFI Vice President did give Oomen Chandy a run for his money in his own den in the previous Assembly race, and is an encouraging prospect in the long run.

The other lady-in-red in the ranks is Sathi Devi in Vadakara, but she is as non-inspiring as our Health Minister Smt. PK. Sreemathi Teacher.

Congress, as usual has been nothing short of an embarrassment to the womenfolks in Kerala. The ongoing juggling with the Kasargode seat underlines the party's indifference and dishonest attitude towards allowing the fairer sex to take over.

For any society to move forward the hands of women must be stronger. With the fairer sex shunted away from the major highways of power, it seriously handicaps the nations ability to reinforce the basics. Read it together with the unique issues Kerala faces within itself, we render ourselves responsible for leaving our women power unharnessed behind the levees.

What a waste of potential!

Check history, we can see that women has been able to penetrate more easily into the underbellies of our society. Certainly they exhibit more compassion and delicacy when dealing with issues at the foundational level, say, the alcoholism and related related domestic violence at the lower strata of our society.

If we can find a lady who is motivated by one particular issue, then we would most often than not come to a solution to that problem. Arguably because women tend to be driven by principles whereas menfolks may just be reaching out for the pleasure of power.

And hopefully a woman at the helm or in high ranks of Legislature would prompt the Kerala male to learn the art of respecting a female counterpart, one thing our guys need some iron-fisted lessons on.


I'm unaware if any political party has taken up the Women's Reservation Bill as an issue in their agenda. Its been a big and shameful farce when it came up in the house last time. Forget the bill, if our party think-tanks could be convinced to bring in more Sindhu Joys and Shanimols to the frame... not as a ritual without any intrinsic purpose, but as an honest attempt to kick start a much needed change.

Oh, in the meantime we don't want more Jayalalitas, please. One is doing enough and more damage. :)

PS: The candidature of Neelalohitadasan Nadar is an insult not only to the entire Indian womanhood but also to the voters in Trivandrum constituency who have the luxury of pressing the button for perhaps the most charismatic and worthy of candidates, Dr. Shashi Tharoor.

What a refreshing change after decades of picking the best among duds!

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Cul-de-sac

This could probably appear incogitable to many, but the big, bright Arabian dreams are slowly, but surely heading towards the butt end for Keralites.

Yes, the Great Depression: reloaded.




At first we thought it was curious, laughing at the big bossy western capitalist giants gasping for breath, whilst we took pride in our niche across the blue, where our dreams were afloat on the fathoms of black gold. But the ripple effects from the Wall Street Crash of September 2008 has caught up with the Middle East, taking the Kerala expatriates off guard.

As of date, in excess of 2.6 million Keralites live or work abroad, around 90% in the Middle East. The Emirates account for nearly 8 lakhs of the Kerala workforce, the Dubai magnet attracting the majority. It appeared for a while that nothing could hinder Dubai's unprecedented growth to shape up into a new-world financial centre, but the hard-hitting reality has rocked the foundations of the wannabe star-wars city.



For decades Kerala has survived by producing people and exporting them. This policy reaped dividends throughout, allowing our households, society and politicians to be cozy under the shade of the Gulf. The construction sector took advantage of the expats' over-indulgence with real estate, and apartment culture spread out to even the remotest of towns. Keralites took pride in their 'investments' and the impressive skylines exhibiting the pomp and glory of the upbeat Kerala economy (what??)

As a result of this the critical economical and related social issues were swept under the carpet and were never dealt with seriousness. Whatever trickle of investments coming into the state were ruined, diverted or stalled by the inefficient bureaucrats, militant trade unions, apathetic politicians and the blood-thirsty media.

Kerala is at last going to pay for all this...

As many as 2-5 lakh Keralaites have booked their one-way ticket back home staring at a bleak and frightening future. The figure could touch a staggering 1 million by the break of next year, with the worldwide crisis not hoped to be resolved for the next couple of years. Thats another significant number to add on to the 4.1 million job seekers we have now.

Add on to it the thousands who will be losing their livelihood by the eminent collapse of the already dwindling state construction sector... Also the traditional industries and tourism sectors are forecasting rough weather ahead, number of job losses standing at 1.5 lakhs, for a start.

Cochin waterfront skyline

Also count in the professionals in Bangalore, Hyderabad and other tech-zones who are staring at the recession barrel.

Not to mention the dip in the salaries and perks churned out to the privately employed personnel inside the state, including the 30 thousand odd jobs in our IT Parks.

The NRI remittances, the lifeblood of millions of families in Kerala, have already registered shortcomings of 3 billion INR in the last quarter.

Don't the figures alarm you?

The construction sector in the state has shown negative growth for the first time in the past decade. Towering apartment blocks and expansive villas, palatial village houses, over-inflated land values, luxury cars were all byproducts of the Gulf boom. Now since the seemingly-eternal bubble has burst, the patrons of these assets are feeling the heat on their asses. The booming suburbs of Kakkanad, Aluva and Kazhakkuttam are old stories and the Gulf-dependent sector in towns like Kannur, Calicut and Thiruvalla have seen the sale figures plunge.

Kakkanad

Interestingly, the State Govt took a big blind foot forward by 'laying the stone' for a couple of IT Parks in the hitherto unheard places like Ambalappuzha and Kundara. One year back, it would have been a laudable step, but when the whole IT sector is in doldrums and the rates of big IT hubs like Bangalore are now comparable to the likes of Trivandrum and Cochin, this has led many to giggle. Especially when you think that the sensible approach would have been to create more space in the established centres.

On the other side of the coin, what little hopes are remaining on the Smart City affair to kick start soon are dashed by the recent dung-slinging between the TECOM and V.S. Achutanandan. Smart City looks to be the only major initiative having a builder against its name, since the Technopark and Technocity projects failed to attract any bidders and the private developers are on the race out of the state.

The retail and hospitality sectors in the state has also suffered severe blows with almost two dozen each Five star projects and Mall projects stalled or on hold in Trivandrum and Cochin. The recession couldn't have come at a worst time, especially for Trivandrum, since it was on its way up (after 50 years) to become a notable new generation Indian city, gaining momentum from the IT and retail revolution it was starting to witness.

Plaza Centres, a stalled mall project in Trivandrum

I believe its far too late for our administrators to bail out the state. The system is already feeling the pressure, with all those expatriates returning home. We've lost our lone lifeline, the emigration, and now its time to grow the turnips in our own garden.

We've hitchhiked all our life, and we are all at sea when left alone at the wheels.

Perhaps, this could be the lesson Kerala needed badly.

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