So why slim is always in:

Angelina Jolie, Katrina, Kareena, Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty or for that matter take any leading film star today- and there is one thing common -they are all thin. And yes, there is our very own Kavya Madhavan who saw a steep decrease in her fan-base once she put on weight (Of course people still love her for her acting skills and her beautiful face but definitely her figure does not receive much appreciation today).

One guy cited: Thin women are favorite to be models if they want to and if not they can still win complements. What’s even better; looking thin gives an impression that you work-out (even if you have not been) and live a healthy lifestyle.

Men love thin women and women themselves like being thin. So being thin obviously means that you can enjoy advising fat women who come up to you for advices on how to loose weight.

Ha, another guy had a funny fact: No lift-man will ever refuse to accommodate you on a lift. After all you are just a few extra kilos.

You can manage to sit comfortably even if you secure a small bit of space in a crowded bus or train. And getting seats on our Indian buses and trains is definitely not a child’s play. “They can also be easily accommodated at the back of my bike” said another guy.

Hmm, another soft comment: No one will ever corner you into asking ‘Please donate blood’. And no one will ever refuse to donate you blood if in case you are in need.

This is interesting, a married fellow from the group had a point: Thin women are known for multi-tasking. Allowing you to move faster, run here and there and get things done without bumping into or against anything. One minute you are downstairs attending your son, and the next minute you are back into the kitchen. All the tiredness is squared during the afternoon nap to rejuvenate.

A guy with a sportive mind said: Thin women excel in sports and can play any game of their choice anywhere.

The mention of ‘Full-figured’ girls and I saw a guy’s hands quickly moving towards his pocket and shaking his head too and fro. “They are expensive. I will have to pay for her gym, pay for a lot of food and also pay for big XL clothes”. Ok, point taken.

Another said: Thin girls have the super advantage of eating everything they want, while fat ones will have to think twice as to whether it will make them look more fat. And being a girl I can vouch for the fact that it feels delightful when I can gobble up everything from chocolates, cakes, ice cream and candies to hot dogs and french fries with zero lovehandles and zero accumulated fat in my body.

Unlike girls who struggle a lot to loose weight (because not only guys, majority of girls do not like looking fat), thin girls can be free from gym sessions, and fitness regimes, get to relax and spend their time hogging food.

Ah, thats a point from the group: Miniskirts, shorts, nice and cut-hot trends, capris and bikinis – thin girls look the best in them! Another benefit, yes you can save a lot of money when you get to sew two sets of dress from a single piece.

All, from the group had the same view: They like their ladies to be in shape and look young. And thin women always look younger than their age. With many men working out to have an athletic body today, a slim women will always be their favorite. Guys love to carry their slim women in their arm, and everytime he does that it ignites romance. So the chances of lifting is becomes daily affair, and the women obviously loves it. One of my male collegue was of the opinion that women put on weight after marriage so he wanted to keep that trouble post-marriage, so for the time being he would prefer slim girl.

All this said, be it fat or thin, women are always beautiful the way they are!

Of course there is a solution that would be both strategic and have a real long term impact upon the whole city which is the cleaning and flushing through of the numerous canals of the city so that once again they are useable and clean and a fresh resource for the city rather than the squalid and mosquito infested cess pools that they become in the dry season.

Cochin has been slow to recognise the value of their waterways to the city’s quality of life. They have been allowed to wallow in increasing filth, only flowing during the monsoon season. There is no reason why they should not form the basis of an urban transport system with water buses bringing commuters into the city via the rivers. All it would take is a change of direction away from the obsession with four wheelers towards rivers and waterways.

A strategic vision for cochin that incorporated the waterways so Cochin 2020 could be a city of sweet flowing canals and lagoons where every high tide the canals flowed with fresh sea water and the old mosquito problems were a story of the past.

Will anything happen? Let’s hope that the new dynamic Congress administration is a more dynamic and exciting that the outgoing mayor and her team.

Often tagged with richness and grandiose, elephants were considered as status symbols even in the past. Many Kerala homesteads had elephants and  it is one of the few places on earth where a separate  branch of  medical system for elephants is in place. Based on Ayurveda, elephants are given rejuvenation therapies in the monsoon months of June- July just like its human masters and there are prescribed medications and treatments for many ailments of elephants,
which are still being pursued in Kerala. These gentle giants share a wonderful rapport with man and are harmless except when they are not provoked or in seasonal musth.

With the Union Government declaring elephant as the national heritage animal, plans are being mooted for the gradual phasing-out of elephants from commercial captivity. As  the first step, the elephant Task Force Report calls for a total ban on future acquisitions of elephants by agencies, institutions or individuals from others or from the wild.  Necessary amendments will be made in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, (WLPA), to  ensure that no one can acquire an elephant. Owners cannot own the elephants but will be given  ‘guardianship’ of the animal once the owners declare and register their elephants with complete details of the microchipped animals.

The report also has suggested the amendment of Section 39 of the WLPA, to ensure the inclusion of elephants in the definition of government property, including those in lawful possession of individuals and institutions. So, if all these proposals come into force, the elephant conservation campaigns will gain further momentum  and would relieve the hapless animals from torture and slogging.

Kerala Tourism got a boost when a million strong users of  the  famous travel portal, SmartTravelAsia.com, placed the state as the best Asian holiday destination  of their choice. The “Best in Travel poll 2010’ carried out by an independent online travel magazine Smart Travel Asia conducted between May and July in Asia (India, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and the Middle East), Europe and North America, saw the emergence of Kerala as the best  Asian tourist destination. The poll was mainly based on  on ‘aspirational” brands and travel trends in the region.

Bali and Phuket were voted as second and third most favourite holiday destinations in Asia and the only other India tourist places that made their way to the top 10 list were  Rajasthan and Goa at eighth and tenth spot respectively.

This is phenomenal recognition for the state and the people who are in the tourism sector, delivering an inspirational experience. Keralites should feel very proud of their contribution to this fantastic international achievement”, says Secretary, Kerala Tourism, V. Venu. The awards are unique because they single out not just popular places but truly exceptional places that enthrall travellers and keep them coming back, he added.

Travelers voted Kerala based on their  travel experience and information they sourced from ads and PR apart from word of mouth publicity.  Voters also polled in 12 categories including Asia’s best business hotels, luxury resorts, spas, destinations, business cities, shopping spots, and the world’s best airlines and airports.

So, in case you have not been to God’s own country.’ pack your bags and get ready for an out of the world holiday experience.

An exclusive Dutch building located near  the Parade Ground in Fort Kochi, David Hall  belongs to CNO India, a trust for the Cultural History of Netherlands Overseas from whom CGH  who has leased out the building for 25 years to run the art gallery.The restoration work that span over 2 decades was undertaken with utmost care to make sure that the original character and aesthetic beauty of the building is fully retained instead of adding new structures to mar its originality.

David hall will be a showcase for paintings and performing arts to be a complete cultural centre in Cochin. David hall will focus more on propagating and promoting  little known art forms and will be the right arena for the upcoming artists to exhibit their works. Bags made of water hyacinth leaves, eco-friendly plastic toys and recycled artifacts , wool bracelets, tribal art paintings and photos by various artists among others are  displayed here.  With a mission to make art more affordable for common people, David Hall has set a new precedent that will surely influence many other art lovers.  At the EarthCafe , patrons of good food can shop for fresh seafood  including oysters, prawns, stir-fried seafood, sardine kebabs and others are served in varieties of flavours and smells.

By incorporating a cafe into this art gallery, David hall is paving way for interesting coffee table discussions on arts and culture and more public participation. Now that the well cherished dream of  David Hall art gallery becoming a reality, the Kashi Art gallery will have a competitor nearby, which will only do more good for the arts and cultural richness of Kochi.

Pic Source: The Hindu

Whether it is the high standard of food or the simple cooked puttu (steamed rice powder preparation), vegetarian dishes and meen(fish) curry, here comes the concept of Kerala being known for its culinary tourism. Though ‘idiyappam’, stew, puttu were influenced by the Portuguese cuisines, these food items are the customary dishes in every home in Kerala.

Now lately it is seen that film tourism has also been seen as a tourism ingredient that boosts Kerala tourism. With various films from Hollywood and Bollywood like  Mistress of Spices, Dil Se, Bombay and most recently Ravan (Ravanan), being shot in Kerala, one can find that Kerala provides appropriate places for all these right shots.

Eco tourism- One of the fastest growing segments in the world, Kerala has joined in the race to show that it is nestled in the bounties of nature thereby attracting foreigners and travellers. Focusing on sustainable and eco tourism development with a rich biodiversity and unmatched natural stations makes Kerala a hot spot for eco tourism. This is a concept introduced in order to make people observe and understand more about the flora and fauna of Kerala.

The Kuttanad region in Alappuzha district is considered the home of this fish species. It is a popular item in the menu served during camping and house boats and very often the boat crew procure the fish straight from men and women who collect it using gillnets from the waters.

It is cooked in various styles. Fried, cooked in spicy and tangy coconut gravy or slowly grilled in charcoal with spices, pearl spot is tasty and hence pricey as well, which is well beyond the reach of ordinary people. The signature dish of Kerala could well be the  delicacy, ‘Karimeen Pollichathu”, fish  sauteed with masala and cooked over low fire in coconut milk, wrapped in plantain leaves. Kerala produces 2,000 tonnes of Karimeen at present and efforts are on to step up its production to 5,000 tonnes in a year. Though the plight of the state animal, elephant and the state bird, hornbill is far from satisfactory, we can earnestly hope that Karimeen, the state fish of Kerala, thrives and flourishes in Kerala waters, bringing laurels and precious foreign exchange in the process.

Even though I enjoy sadhyas I am yet to learn how to cook the entire spread and serve people for lunch. I get by with Onam kits or better still with invitations from great cooks like my aunts or mother.

I buy flowers, the ones that come from Tamil Nadu, for Onam, and as they are quite expensive I keep them packed neatly in a Tupperware container for the next day.

The flower-carpet centre flower I sometimes steal from gardens on the way-side and bolt without looking back… and that I think is traditional – pookallanmaar and pookallikal (flower thieves) are traditional.

Have never had Onathappan kept in the middle of the flower carpet, and not sure about the significance. Gulp!

I relate to the Maveli story more than the harvest significance of Onam, even though Maveli is a mythological figure of whom Amar Chitra Katha has a great comic about.

Growing up my mother and sisters were always making elaborate pookkalams and we did have shankupushapam, chembarathi, nanyaarvattam (indigenous flowers) and ferns to our pookkalam. The flower carpets looked very much from Kerala and not the market fare from Tamil Nadu. Ah nostalgia!

However, I do know certain things only a traditional Keralite knows:

I do know that inji thaiyiru (raw ginger curry in curd) is equivalent to a 1000 curries, so it’s always on the menu for me.

Also kurukkukaalan (coconut curry with sour buttermilk) made during Onam gets tastier as the days go by.

Thumbapoovu (flower) used to be the traditional way one does pookkalam on Onam day (at least in my part of the state).

Onakodi or the new dress needs to be of that Kodi (off-white) colour traditionally, so yes a new mundu or set-mundu in cream colour is the traditional way to do it.

So, Onam has evolved from a harvest-mythological festival to being Kerala’s identity and cultural festival today. The Kerala tourism significance the festival has and the shopping fairs that play out have all but swallowed the traditional Onam. And perhaps it is the way to be… as tourism continues to bring in huge amount of money into the state and prompts a lot of us to ponder and wonder the significance, traditions and the not-so-traditional truths about our state festival.

Before the season was on the music directors, play back singers and the music studios started preparing a variety of music dishes to offer to the world and when the season was on, the music industry was all set to enlighten the hearts of all malayalees not only in Kerala but also those staying outside the state or even the country.

When the beautiful girls of Kerala wear their traditional costumes, ‘setum mundum’ and sing different songs like ‘maaveli naadu vaaneedum kaalam maanusharellaarum onnu pole….’ (When our great King Mahabali ruled this country all the men were treated as equals), all the listeners especially the old would have many Onams flash through their minds.  The music has the nostalgic tint in it to keep us mesmerised for long, throughout the festive season or even after that.

The rhythm of the Onam songs give us a grand treat to cherish along with all the other delicacies offered by Onam.