Whatsapp complaints service gains popularity in the state

By Sachin Jose

KOTTAYAM: The Whatsapp complaint registration service of Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) to receive information on traffic offences via Whatsapp Messenger has gained popularity in the state within a week of its launch.

     Whatsapp is a mobile application with largest number of users following Facebook. The new service is intended to exploit the popularity of this messenger app among youngsters.

     This was introduced as an addtition to the Third-eye project launched last August in which public may inform the MVD complaint cell via telephone, SMS or Facebook.

     Transport Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh explained: "I have directed Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) across the state to take necessary action on the complaints received through WhatsApp.

     "There are nearly 90 lakh registered vehicles in the state, making it difficult for MVD to bring them under surveillance with only about 550 enforcement officers in the department," he pointed out. "The programme will reduce checking vehicles by stopping them on the road."

      Earlier, the State Police had also launched "Whatsapp Commissioner" programme in the southern districts including Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta under the jurisdiction of various SPs in Thiruvanathapuram Range.

      Whatsapp will enable two-way communication between complainants and officers, in which public can send information or upload related photos and videos of traffic violations to the RTOs of their respective districts.

      Kottayam Regional Transport Officer TJ Thomas said, "We have got a good response from the public. More than 60 complaints have been received within first week of the launch. Proper action will be taken for all cases according to priority." A person in Kottayam may send complaints to 9447706125, he added.

       BCM College Student S Akhila said, "I have sent some photos of vehicles parked on the footpath in front of the District Hospital, but not sure whether any action will be taken."

Linguists plead to preserve archaic Malayalam glyphs

By Sachin Jose

KOTTAYAM: The archaic Malayalam numerals should be preserved to protect the heritage of the language, pleaded linguistic experts.

    The Malayalam script was modified twice in the 1970s and '80s to make it computer-friendly. Of 900 glyphs, only about 90 are used now and the old letters and numbers are no longer in use.However, all the 900 glyphs including the numerals are available in unicode as part of digitisation.

     Linguist Ramachandran Nair said, “The young generation is unaware of the existence of Malayalam numerals. Malayalam has its own identity and we are obliged to protect it.”

     The Malayalam numerals were used in daily life until mid-20th century and was replaced by Indo-Arabic numeric system that is prevalent in the modern world.

     Malayalam uses separate glyphs for numbers like 10, 100 and 1,000. These numbers are now seen only in old books or inscripted on cornerstones of old edifices.

      Another linguist Scaria Zachariah agreed that it is important to preserve these scripts as it is part of the state's heritage.

      “But, if we include it in the school curriculum, it would confuse the students,” pointed out Mr Zachariah. “Four decades ago in school, we had to learn different glyphs making it difficult for us.”

       Also, Baselius College Malayalam Professor Sherly Kurian said, "The changing whims of the bureaucrats regarding the education system will only discourage students from learning their mother tongue."

       But, Mr Ramachandran countered that students can learn it within a few days, which dismisses the notion that it is difficult for teachers.

Russia reinstated

By Sachin Jose

    Ever since the tensions of the Cold War thawed in the 1990s, Russia seemed to be a Steppe Mammoth, hibernating in the Siberian permafrost. Unaware of the power it possessed, the former superpower remained subservient to the unipolar West.

    Though shattered with the fall of the Iron Curtain, Russia is still the largest country in the world by area and the eighth largest economy. It is one of the five recognised nuclear weapons states and also inherited the second largest stockpile of nuclear warheads from its predecessor Soviet Union, amounting to 1,800 behind 2,150 of USA.

    With its move against Ukraine, Russia has proved that it is no longer a regional hegemony, but a potential superpower recuperating from its ashes. This phenomenon started in 2008, when Russia annexed Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia.

    Historically, these were parts of Russia as were Crimea and Sevastopol, both of which are being disputed by the West. The erstwhile Russian Empire fought the Ottoman Turks for the possession of the Crimean Peninsula and its bastion Sevastopol as early as in 1853. 

    Russians realise that it is was a folly on the part of Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev to transfer the peninsula to Ukraine as a friendly gesture in 1954.  All Russia did is take back something that belonged to it once. It was a battle unstained by blood unlike the gory wars of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation), which ravaged Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.

   Moscow kept quiet when NATO stretched its arms towards Eastern Europe consisting of the Baltic (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Balkan (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) and Slavic (Belarus, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) states, until it reached Ukraine - the Russian threshold.

    Russian President Vladmir Putin intends to create a Russosphere where the Kremlin believes to have its sphere of influence. These include the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) that were part of the Soviet Union.

   The recent sanctions by the West on Russia is seen as a boomerang assault, as much of Europe is dependent on Russian oil and natural gas. Expulsion from the G8 will bring Russia closer to BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). 

   Moscow focuses on the Eurasian Economic Community consisting of major CIS nations, to counterbalance the economic influence of the European Union, while the Shanghai Corporation Organisation consisting China and Central Asia is a strategic deterrent to NATO threats.

   Kremlin can win allies globally by exploiting its energy resources rather than military might. It has the geopolitical advantage of being an indispensable part of Eurasia as well as the Asia-Pacific. Russia needs to pioneer in creating a new world order with multipolar dimensions.

Chatta and mundu on the verge of extinction

By Sachin Jose

KOTTAYAM: With a Bible in one hand and a rosary in the other, church-going women clad in white chatta and mundu (ചട്ടയും മുണ്ടും) were typical among Syrian (സുറിയാനി) Christians on Sundays. However, this traditional attire is fast disappearing as only the elderly in the community are wearing it.

       With V-shaped neck and half-sleeves, a chatta is a loose blouse, reaching down to the waist. Unlike dhoti, the mundu worn by Syrian Christian women are featured by a pleated fan-tail. Though it seems like an extra cloth tucked in, it is only the upper end of the mundu.

Thankamma Skaria
in her ചട്ടയും മുണ്ടും.

      It is pulled out to form an appendage to cover the back, accentuating the wearer's modesty and charm. In formal occasions, the attire is complete with a kavani (കവണി), which is pinned to the chatta with a brooch, being thrown over the bosom and left shoulder.

    Eighty-three-year-old Thankamma Skaria recalled, "My first pair of 'chattayum mundum' was presented by my grandmother on my coming of age. After marriage, I wanted to wear saree like other young girls of the time. But I had to forfeit in order to please my mother-in-law."

     Apparently, it is of West Asian origin, influenced by early Jewish and Christian settlers of medieval era. The garment was common till mid-20^th century. However, there are fewer takers for this traditional apparel at present as women started switching to modern outfits.

     Seventy-four-year-old Gracy Cherian has a different story. "As the white chatta and mundu are difficult to maintain, I started wearing saree about five years ago. I have also removed my kunukku (കുണുക്ക്) and replaced it with a smaller earring."

     Nowadays, youngsters wear this outfit only for school festivals to perform dance forms like Margamkali (മാര്ഗംകളി ), which is also exclusively part of the Syrian Christian culture.

     Baselius College student Stephy Ann John viewed that youngsters may wear chatta and mundu, if it is redesigned according to modern vogue.