Extinct Punalur-Sengottai Meter Gauge

The Punalur-Sengottai Meter Gauge ghat section was one of Indian Railway’s most beautiful routes. This meter gauge section became extinct on 20^th of September 2010. I got a chance to travel in this route on the last day of its journey. This was the last meter gauge railway line in Kerala. Now it has became part of history.

This railway line runs very close to the nature. You can enjoy the scenic beauty to its maximum. It took almost two and a half hours for a 49 km journey. But you never feel that you’ve travelled for this much time. The Punalur-Sengottai passenger has seven stops in between.

Punalur-Edamann-Ottakkal-Thenmala-Kathuruthy-Edappalayam-Aryankavu-Bhagavathipuram-Sengottai

The Kollam-Sengottai Meter gauge line was conceived and implemented by Great Maharajah Balarama Varma I (Uthradam Tirunal) of Travancore. The inaugural run was on 1 July 1904. The meter gauge line from Kollam-Punalur became extinct on 30^th April 2007. And now the line from Punalur-Sengottai has also became extinct leaving behind no meter gauge lines in Kerala.

It’s difficult to take pictures during such an awesome journey. It’ll ruin the enjoyment. Moreover it is difficult to shoot on a running train. But I managed to take some photos and videos for those who missed this opportunity. Here are a few of them:

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കായംകുളം ജലോത്സവം (Kayamkulam Jalolsavam) 2010

A boat race was conducted in Kayamkulam lake on 28th of August 2010 as part of initiatives to bring Kayamkulam to the world tourism map. Kayamkulam was once the commercial hub of Kerala. Kayamkulam Jalolsavam was conducted to bring back its lost glory. There are two versions as to how Kayamkulam got its name. Some say that Kayamkulam got its name from a portmanteau of two Malayalam words - kayam (sap of a spice tree) and kulam (pond) while a more reliable version is that Kayamkulam got its name from "kayal" (lake) and "kulam" (pond),since the Kayamkulam lake (Kayamkulam kayal) is as shallow as a pond (a bit exaggerated). Kayamkulam is well known for its coir, fishing and tourism industries. One of the largest power plants in Kerala, run by the NTPC, is located in Kayamkulam. Kayamkulam is closely associated with the legend of Kayamkulam Kochunni. He was a famed highwayman, active in the area known as Central Thiruvithamkoor, in the early part of the 19th century. He is said to have stolen from the rich and given to the poor (like Robin Hood). Legends about his exploits are part of the local folklore.

Thousands of people witnessed the Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 on the banks of Kayamkulam lake. All the races had a very close finish. People had to wait till the official declaration of results to know who had won the race. The event was a huge success in terms of participation and spirit. A total of nine snake boats and several small boats participated in the events. 'Paipad Chundam' turned out to be the winners of Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010. You can have a look at the boat race and the associated events by visiting the below links:

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Practice rowing

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Boats lining up for mass drill

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Vanchipattu

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Mass drill

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Loser's Final

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - The Grand Final

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Anxiously waiting for the final result

As part of the boat race, several cultural competitions were organized in different categories. Also a Mimics Mega Show lead by Tini Tom and Guinness Pakru and a musical extravaganza lead by Rimi Tomy were organized. You can watch part of these events by visiting the below links:

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Mega Show Fusion

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Mega Show_Kasthuri

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Tini Tom and Unda Pakru

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Ganamela_Vada mappile

Kayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Ganamela _Ee neela raavil

ayamkulam Jalolsavam 2010 - Ganamela_Kuttanadan punchayile

You can also see some of the photos below:

Should India host another games?

It’s good to see India got a chance to host the CWG 2010. First, I’d like to wish good luck for the forthcoming games. I’m sure it’ll give some exciting moments for Indian sports and Indian sport lovers.

But reports coming in the media suggest that despite spending millions of rupees for this games, the condition of the infrastructures are still pathetic. In a country where a lot of sportspersons are still at the mercy of the government for better facilities and support, millions are being spend just to conduct a games and that too in vain. If we use these funds to provide better facilities to our sportspersons, we might win a few medals in the next Olympic Games. The development activities are taking place in one city only. There are a lot of people who has the ability to win medals for the country but lack funds for their practice. With more than 15 percent of world population, we managed only 3 medals and ranked 50 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This was best ever performance by Indian contingents in any Olympic games in terms of medals. It’s shame on us. This is not because we lack good athletes but because of lack of world class training and of course, politics.   

The games will be the largest multi-sport event conducted to date in India. But do we have enough funds to host such a big event? We are living in a country where there is lack of funds for providing basic facilities for the people. But the government has funds to organize such big events. We don’t need these billions or millions to address these problems. A few Mayawati garlands will do.

In my opinion India should not bid for any such big events for the next 15 to 20 years. For the time being, don’t consider it as a symbol of status. If we wait for some time, we’ll be in a better position to host such events. Then we can start bidding. Now we should concentrate more on developmental activities which minimize the gap between the rich and the poor.

Are Hartals a Necessity?

Hartals – Bandhs with a new over coat – are disrupting the life of ordinary people in our country. The politicians enjoy a normal life whether it be a hartal day or any other day. They travel with police security while the ordinary people suffer.

The politicians should understand that they are causing a loss of lakhs of rupees to the people and hence to the government besides destroying numerous public and private properties. What do they get by doing such activities? Definitely these type of protests are losing public sympathy. Then for whom they are doing this? Is it for their cheap political gains?

If the political parties are protesting for a right cause, they will get public support. Today’s hartal is for an issue which affects the normal people. But they’ve already protested through a hartal a few days back. Again a hartal for the same cause by the same party. It’s ridiculous. Instead of disturbing the life of ordinary people, why can’t they disturb the life of only those who are involved in this decision? Or is it because they don’t have the guts to do so? Officials won’t change their mind because the so called ‘aam admi’ is suffering.

It is high time for the politicians to change their outlook. We are living in 21^st century. We should keep ourselves up with the pace of the world. If the people of India doesn’t change their outlook, we are going to reach nowhere in 2020.

Is Our Government Losing Its Direction?

Yet another blow for the common man – the fuel price hike. When UPA II government completes its first year in power, this is the third time they have increased the fuel prices.Definitely this is going to hurt the middle class and the poor in our country. To make the situation even worse, this will have a cascading effect on the economy. As a consequence of the fuel price hike, the prices of essential commodities will also increase. Now itself the middle class is reeling under high price of essential commodities.

At least the state governments should give some relief for the people by doing away with the extra revenue generated by the fuel price hike. Now onwards the government will not have any control on the pricing of petrol. It will fluctuate according to the price of crude oil in the international market. This will impose huge burden on the people when crude oil prices increase. The government responsible for protecting the interest of the people can only be a spectator.

To safeguard the interest of the oil companies, the government is sacrificing the interest of the common man. While they are arguing that the price of kerosene in our neighboring countries are much higher, they are keeping mum on the price of petrol in these countries (Pakistan-`26, Bangladesh-`22,Nepal-`34, Afganistan-`33 [Source: The Hindu]).The ministers and government officials will not feel the heat because they are living at the expense of the people.

In the race to achieve higher growth rate, the government is forgetting the people. Now it seems that the only responsibility of the government is to increase the growth rate. Definitely it should be given priority, but it should be done in a more stable manner. I think the government is overconfident because India has not been affected much by the global economic meltdown compared to other major economies in the world. Although the global economy has recovered from that fall, it is still fragile. Even though India has registered a good growth rate in the previous fiscal, the condition of the poor in our country is still pathetic. The government should take more efforts to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.