Hollywood in Trivandrum

There used to be only one cinema theatre in our student days that showed Hollywood movies in Trivandrum. The Sreekumar-Sreevishakh (SKSV) Complex at Thampanoor! I think anyone brought up in Trivandrum will have some wonderful memories of this place. Unlike now a days, before Y2k, English movies used to take sometime, before it is likely to be released in Kerala.

The theatre is located on the left side of the main road as we go from 'Overbridge' towards central railway station. If we continue a bit further we reach New theatre which also used to screen English movies. New Theatre is the largest in the state with a seating capacity of 1200.

All these 3 theatres along with Sree Padmanabha and the erstwhile Sree-Karthikeya at Pettah belonged to veteran director-producer Merryland P. Subramaniam. I remember vaguely going to Sreekumar to watch Bruce-Lee's 'Enter the dragon' with family, probably one of the first English movies I have seen.

Sreekumar is the bigger of the two cinemas. There is always a problem with parking at this complex as the space is limited. Students usually come to watch the movies in bikes or use the auto-rickshaw's or buses. The favourite timings for us are the 13:15 show and 15:30 show. As English movies are shorter in duration ( about 90-100 minutes, compared to Indian movies which are at least 2-3hours long) it is very convenient to 'adjust' this slot into our 'college schedule'. Various factors affect these adjustments: the main being which movie is shown, then comes the timings of our classes at college/university, how exciting or boring are the classes, the teacher who takes these classes, how strict they are, pocket money, 'who all' are coming to watch it etc etc.

I especially likes the snacks at the interval. The food is great here; you have a range to select from bickies, 'cool drinks', tea, coffee, samosa, peanuts, crisps, 'faluda'/ falooda, ice-creams, popcorns etc. Faludas used to be my favourite. 'Faludas' are in different colours usually made with rose syrup and vermicelli, tutti-frutti, sugar, ice cream along with either milk or water.

Sometimes when its interval in Sree-Vishakh we can have a peep into Sreekumar and watch bits and parts of the movie being shown there. I know that some of our friends take a ticket to watch the 13:15 English movie at Sreevishakh and after about 90 minutes(towards the end of the movie), somehow manage to slip into Sreekumar theatre and watch the second movie too! Two for the price of one..

I also remember a Kathakali statue on the wall at the staircase corridor and always liked to touch its prominent nose when ever I pass by...At the New-theatre there used to be a magnificent statue of an Elephant (Not sure whether its still there)

Other cinemas in Trivandrum also evoke fond and nostalgic memories. In fact Trivandrum city holds the maximum number of theatres in Kerala. It is said that there are 16 A-Class theatres within a radius of 3 km which makes the city an ideal place to hold Film Festivals.

The other theatre complexes are 'Dhanya-Ramya' (used to be called Srikanth and Kasthuri), 'Kairali-Sree' ( Kerala state government owned, the other being Kalabhavan at Vazhuthacaud), and SL- theatre complex (Athulya, Athira, Anjali and Aswathy). I remember very clearly, going with my family to watch Navodaya Appachan's Padayottam (inspired by 'The Mount of Monte Cristo' by Alexander Dumas), the first ingenious 70mm movie in India and also Richard Attenborough's Academy award winning movie 'Gandhi'.

There are a few theatres that changed names and were renovated under new management like MP theatre that became Sreebala and Shakthi theatre that became Kripa. The other major cinemas are Ajantha, Central and Parthas (relatively new one). There are a couple of old ones which I remember, but has never gone there, namely Chitra theatre and Shiva theatre that used to screen mainly Tamil movies....

The list is not complete without mentioning 2 theatres in our area ie SIMI theatre in Kumarapuram and Kalpana at Pattom. Both were my favourite due to the proximity to our home and also they both had some sort of nostalgic aura associated with it. Its sad that both are now closed......

ഇന്ത്യന്‍ കോഫി ഹൌസ്

Thampanoor ICH


Indian Coffee House or popularly known as ICH is one of my favourite coffee shops in Kerala. I remember dad taking all of us to the coffee house at medical college junction. There used to be two Coffee-houses at that time(one opposite the Casualty and the other near the petrol station/taxi stand. The second one is closed now and the one near Casualty is the only one that exists here.

My favourite food here is mutton cutlet and my favourite drink is rose milk (as a child). Masala dosa is also a popular item and the uniqueness of this is that they put beetroot also in the masala and whole stuff looks reddish rather than the usual yellow masala colour. Some people like that very much, though I am not a great fan of ICH masala-dosa; but I like the plain dosa here very much.


















The Shangumukham beach ICH( we went here in June 2007 as our flight to London via Colombo was delayed)

Steamed hot Coffee is the trade mark of this shop; having a cup of ICH-coffee is something one cannot experience any where in the world. Its not just the coffee but the whole atmosphere makes it a unique experience-the rich aroma, the strong flavour, the white cups and saucers, the classical uniform of the waiters and royal service gives us an unforgettable feeling.


ICH has strong presence across India in almost every city. The one in Calcutta (near Presidency college; a coffee-house, I very much want to visit someday) is quite famous historically because it used to be a popular hangout for the 'Bengali intelligentsia'

There are over 400 branches in India and the maximum number ( more than 50 are in Kerala). The Coffee Houses were started by the Coffee Board in early 1940s, during British rule. In the mid 1950s the Board closed down the Coffee Houses, due to a policy change. The thrown-out workers then took over the branches, under the leadership of A.K.G( Comrade: A.K Gopalan) and renamed the network as Indian Coffee House. The Coffee-house movement/society is wholly owned and managed by the employees. The movement marked its golden jubilee in the year 2007. The only published book on its history is written in Malayalam by Nadaakkal Parameswaran Pillai called 'Coffee Housinte Katha' or History of Coffee House

There is more to ICH than coffee and snacks. Its the meeting place of a number of people. A number of political and cultural movements have started from small meetings at the ICH. Its a rendezvous for Politicians, Students, Intellectuals, Writers, Artists, Lovers, Businessmen, Executives etc. I still remember that a lot of our student meetings at Medical College (social, political and cultural) used to take place at the ICH opposite Medical College Hospital casualty. "will meet you at 4:00at ICH" was a common phrase during our student days....



















ICH branch at east nada, Guruvayoor temple (note the name is written as India Coffee House rather than Indian Coffee House)

I got the following list of ICH branches in Kerala from the net. It was a bit odd to note that there are no branches for ICH, north of Thrissur especially in AKG's own place, Kannur!

Trivandrum

Kachery Junction, Attingal

Jyothi Building, Ulloor
Corporation Office Building, Tvm
M.L.A Hostel, Tvm
M.G.Road, Tvm
Secretariat,Tvm
Maveli Cafe,Thampanoor
Pazhavangadi, Tvm
Transport Bhavan, East Fort, Tvm
I.R.C Sanghumugham, Tvm
St.Jude medical Center,Karamana
Assembly Complex(Under ICH,MLA Hostel)
KOLLAM
Chinnakkada, Kollam
Pulamon Junction, Kottarakkara
PATHANAMTHITTA
M.C.Road, Thiruvalla
Municipal Junction, Pathanamthitta
ALAPPUZHA
Near K.S.R.T.C, Cherthala
Mullackal, Alappuzha
Palace Road, Alappuzha
N.T.P.C, Kayamkulam
Beach, Alappuzha
M.C.Road, Chengannur
Muttom Bazaar,Cherthala
Medical College,Vandanam,Alappuzha
Canteen,Alappuzha Beach(Under ICH,Mullakkal Branch)
KOTTAYAM
West Nada, Vaikom
Main Road, Pala
Paranani Arcade, Erattupetta
Mohana Shopping Complex K.K Road, Ponkunnam
Medical College Campus, Kottayam
T.B. Road, Kottayam
M.L.Road, Kottayam
M.C.Road,Near K.S.R.T.C ,Changanassery
Salim Complex, Perunna, Changanassery
ERNAKULAM
Kalady Junction, Perumbavoor
A.M Road, Kothamangalam
Cochin University Campus, Thrikkakkara
C.S Road, Ernakulam
Sudheendra Hospital, Ernakulam
D.H.Road, Ernakulam
Indiragandhi Co-op.Hospital, Kadavanthra
East Fort Gate, Thripunithura
High Court,Ernakulam
THRISSUR
Road South, Thrissur
P.O.Road, Thrissur
C.D.B North Bus Stand, Thrissur
East Nada, Guruvayoor
Herbret Road, Kunnamkulam
M.G.Kavu M.C.H, Thrissur1st
M.G.Kavu M.C.H, Thrissur2nd
J.M.H.Ist, Thrissur
J.M.H.IInd, Thrissur
By Pass Junction, Mannutthy
Kerala Agri University, Mannuthy
Muthuvanchira Towers N.H Road, Pattikkad
Nada Near Bus Stand, Irinjalakkuda
Municipal Office Compound ,Chalakkudy
Canteen,Patturaikkal.

Palayam- yet another 'kerala model'

Palayam in Trivandrum extends from the cantonment house in the north up to the present A.K.G. Centre in the south, including areas now occupied by the University Stadium and Chandrasekharan Nair stadium. It was the camping area of the former Travancore state army and cavalry. That place, therefore, came to be known as Palayam/Cantonment – meaning military area.......

A church, a mosque and a temple were consecrated side by side, with their compound walls touching each other near the Palayam junction for the personnel of the State Forces and their family members to perform their religious duties. The peaceful co-existence of these three centres of worship of different religions is a shining example of the religious tolerance, secularism and harmony in the state.

Palayam Shakthi Vinayaka Temple. Note that part of the
Mosque is visible on the right side and both share the same
compound wall .....

Palayam St Josephs Church

Palayam Mosque (Juma Masjid)...P K Ahmed Kutty Moulavi,
imam of the Palayam mosque, opened the doors of the
mosque for women for the first time in south Kerala.
More than 250 women attend the prayers at the Palayam Mosque
on ordinary days, whereas on Fridays their numbers increase
to around 1,000. The imam is of the opinion that there is nothing
unIslamic in women offering prayers in mosques.

The western media always finds it difficult to understand and 'digest' how India can survive as a nation and usually try to portray India as a place where communities and religions fight each other. These media should come and report from Kerala, where about half of the population is either a christian or a muslim,living peacefully and fully integrated for many centuries along with the hindu population.....

My first blog

I was never a good writer, I don't think still I am one....I read a lot of articles everyday (other than my routine pub-med search). Some of them are very good....I always wonder how can someone write so well. How can they reflect what's in their mind so beautifully. Is it a talent or experience or hard work or a combination of all of these virtues.
I had been thinking about writing something for a long time. I used to write my diary as a child, since 12 years of age. I think I still have some of my diaries back home in Trivandrum
I think I will start with what happened in my previous 24 hours.

After my Sunday morning tea and checking my mails, I thought of making Pathiri( ie Kozhikodan style , v.thin and smooth; unlike the Trivandrum Oratti, which is quite thick) Mixed hot water and rice flour as per instructions from a friend and started to roll the mixed dough into shape...Good lord, it was breaking in between and felt something was missing.....So had to change the idea of pathiri into Idiappam...that came out very well. Also made some Kozhukatta ( the one with jaggery and coconut mix inside) with the remaining dough. To be frank all this came out very well, including a nice potato curry with coconut milk. I think if you make any thing with coconut milk it will come out fine, even in the hands of a person who cannot boil water. I realised how lucky these so called eminent 'cooks' are in kerala, who always add coconut in to anything and everything they make, like the 'Thais'...

Afternoon watched a nice movie about Koodiyattam. Great movie......The dance form, more than 2000 years old is said to be much more classical and elegant, in form and content, than Kathakali. Nice roles played by Nedumudi and Jagathy, as usual. The lead female is herself the doyenne of Koodiyattom. The best was saved till the last scene. The climax depicted Nedumudi enacting Bali’s (one of my favourite characters in Ramayana) death in the story Balivadham. I initially thought the lead person is going to do the same like a lot of other climax scenes when the actor dies playing a character. But the anticlimax was the twinkle in Venus eyes when he come of out of 'death' . It was simply superb.....

In the evening made kozhukatta ('pidi' as is called in Thrissur and Ambalakozhukatta in Padmanabhapuram it seems). Vava likes brown kozhukatta, so added Jaggery into it.

Evening watched "Panchavadipalam"...A classic movie...V. Nostalgic...How KG George named his characters...Dushasanna kurup, Iravathykuzhi panchayat, Mandodhari, Jeemoothavahanan, Bhiman pillai, isahaq tharakan, yudas etc etc. The film seemed v. contemporary especially if we think that the central govt in India is facing a very similar (no) confidence motion. Poly-tricks are all the same, even it's a panchayat or State/ central/federal govt anywhere in the world. This will happen again and again and again...

Last night, also heard a prabhashanam by Amma in Amrita Television. As usual she was using very simple language and stories to convey her message. I was attracted to a very simple message she said and felt it to be so true. For anything to happen we need 3 things
1. Time or 'Kalam'
2. Effort or 'Prayatnam'
3. Gods Grace or 'Daivanugraham'

V. true indeed.
I think it is 33%, 33% and 34%.....