Pilgrimage to Perinad Sastha Temple

The Vanitha Vibhagam of Kerala Brahmana Sabha, Ernakulam City Unit organised a one day trip to Perunad Sastha Temple on Thursday, the 21st of January 2010 (Makaram 8th, 1185). A team of 65 devotees visited the Sastha Temple where the customary annual procession carrying the ‘Thiruvabharanam’ and ‘Thanka Anki’ - the Royal Ornaments of Lord Ayyappa - halt for a day. The devotees could get a ‘darsan’ of Perunad Sastha by 2.30 p.m., decorated with the ‘Thiruvabharanam’. The trip started at 5 a.m. from Ernakulam, reached Perunad at 12 noon and came back to Ernakulam by 8 p.m. "As the pilgrimage was appreciated by all - especially the ladies who could not imagine seeing Lord Ayyappa with ‘Thiruvabharanam’ at Sabarimala - we are trying to organise more trips of this kind" - said Kala Narayanaswami, Secretary of Vanitha Vibhagam, Ernakulam City Unit.

Samooham High School, Parur celebrated 58th Anniversary

The 58th Anniversary of the Samooham High School at North Parur was celebrated colorfully on Thursday, 28th January 2010. V. Krishnaswami, District President of Kerala Brahmana Sabha inaugurated the celebrations in the meeting presided by K. R. Chandran, School Manager who is also District Vice President of KBS. Dr. Harikumar Changampuzha, School of Letters, M. G. University delivered the keynote address. N. T. Seethalakshmi, Headmistress, Vasanthalakshmi, K. Krishnaswami, Samooham President, Ramachandran, Standing Committee Chairman, Parur Municipality, Mohanan K. M., P. T. A. President, K. Annalakshmi, District President, Vanitha Vibhagam of Kerala Brahmana Sabha and Reshma Murali, School Leader addressed the gathering.

V. Krishnaswami inaugurates the Anniversary celebrations.

(From Left) K. R. Chandran, Dr. Harikumar Changampuzha, Ramachandran, K. Krishnaswami and Dr. M. N. Venkiteswaran

Congrats to Sethulakshmi!

Sethulakshmi N., daughter of K. V. Narayanan and Veena residing in 'Gokulam', Near Bhavans School, Puthukkalavattom, Desabhimani Road, Kaloor, Kochi secured 1st Rank for M. Sc. Physics (M.G.University). She was a student of S. H. College, Thevara. Now, Sethulakshmi is doing her M. Phill at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT). On behalf of Kerala Brahmana Sabha, Ernakulam District Committee, V.Krishnaswami, District President visited her home and congratulated in her achievement.

V. Krishnaswami, District President presenting Cash Award to Sethulakshmi N.

(From Left) A. S. Balasubramanim, District Committee Member and K. V. Narayanan, father of Sethulakshmi.

Remarkable participation of Samooha Madoms to discuss DTC Bill

The meeting to discuss the proposed Direct Tax Code Bill organised by Kerala Brahmana Sabha, Ernakulam District at Kinattumkara Samooham Hall on Sunday, the 24th of January 2010 became remarkable with participation by the members. Representatives from all Samoohams in the district attended the meeting.

"The Samooham Madoms of our community are built with sacrificing spirit of our fore-fathers to maintain and protect Brahmin tradition. Any kind of threats that affects Samooha Madoms will be faced and Sabha will do all that is possible to protect the interest of our community" - addressing the meeting of Samooha Madoms in Ernakulam District, the state president V. Ramalingam said.

The meeting to discuss the Direct Tax Code Bill 2009 was presided by V. Krishnaswami, District President. "As centers for preserving the Brahmin tradition, the Samooha Madoms in each area are extension of every Brahmin home. The Kerala Brahmana Sabha can act as a common plat form for the well being of Samooha Madoms and any movement that disturbs the smooth functioning of these institutions will be seen seriously" he said.

Renowned Charted Accountants S. S. Iyer, P. M. Veeramani and K. Sankaranarayanan described about the Direct Tax Code Bill in the meeting. Office bearers representing Samooha Madoms clarified their doubts regarding the Bill in the interactive session.

The President of Kinattumkara Samooham, S. Krishna Iyer was honoured by V. Ramalingam, State President of Kerala Brahmana Sabha. S. S. Iyer, K. Sankaranarayanan and P. M. Veeramani were presented  mementoes by V. Ramalingam, R. Ramakrishnan, District Secretary and V. Krishnaswami respectively. Adv. A. K. Seshadri, P.Veeraraghvan, and P. S. Raman along with other State and District Committee members attended the meeting. N.Ramachandran, District Vice President delivered welcome speech and P. Ananthasubramaniam, State General Secretary proposed vote of thanks.

V. Ramalingam, State President presenting a memento to S. S. Iyer.

V. Krishnaswami, District President presenting a memento to P.M.Veeramani.

R. Ramakrishnan, District Secretary presenting a memento to K.Sankaranarayanan.

Vanitha Vibhagam to conduct Role Play Competition for youngsters

WORKSHOP ON ROLE PLAY AT PERUMBAVOOR & MUVATTUPUZHA

The Vanitha Vibhagam of Kerala Brahmana Sabha is organising Role Play Competitions for youngsters in Upasabhas across the state of Kerala. The competitions are organized at Upasabha/ district level. The winners at the district level will participate in the state-level competition, which will be conducted later, along with Kalanjali or Vipra vismayam. Through role-play competitions, Vanitha Vibhagam of Kerala Brahmana Sabha aims the younger generation to take a look at the contemporary issues, ponder and analyze them and arrive at an agreed solution.

A role-playing game is a game in which the participants assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create stories. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterisation, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. As an educational activity it provides opportunities to participants for a truly experiential learning. It is different from the one-act play, as role-play is conducted without any script, without any costumes etc. whereas the one-act play has to have a script.

The Perumbavoor and Muvattupuzha Upasabhas conducted Workshop on Role Play Competitions on 23rd January and 26th January 2010 respectively. Students from Standard V to Degree level participated in the Workshop.

PERUMBAVOOR: The meeting held at Samooham Mandapam, Perumbavoor was presided by J. Lalitha, President of Vanitha Vibhagam and inaugurated by K. Annalakshmi, District President of Vanitha Vibhagam. Kamala Hariharan, Balambal, Kripa Krishnan, Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy, N. Ramachandran, K.Hari and S.Vaidyanathan attended the meeting. Lakshmi Hariharan, Secretary welcomed the gathering and Parvathi Ammal (Pushpa) proposed vote of thanks. Vanitha Vibhagam of Perumbavoor Upasabha started a Bhajana Class at Sree Rama Bhajana Madom under the leadership of Jaya Akhileswaran on the same day.

MUVATTUPUZHA: The Workshop at Muvattupuzha was inaugurated by K. Annalakshmi, District President, Vanitha Vibhagam on Republic Day. The meeting started with 'Vande Matharam' and children distributed sweets. The meeting observed one-minute silence to salute the brave soldiers who laid down their lives for our nation. Annalakshmi explained and illustrated the role-play game. Jyothi Muralidas, Radha Santhanam, Vanaja Balasubramaniam and Sowmya Sivaramakrishnan attended the meeting. To enrich the youngsters with the brahmin tradition and culture, Vanitha Vibhagam started weekly classes on 'Slokam's and 'Kolam' on the day.

Vanitha Vibhagam celebrates 'Thai Velli' at Perumbavoor

'Thai Velli' was celebrated in a grand manner at Sreerama Bhajana Mandapam, Perumbavoor on 22nd of January 2010. Lalitha Sahasrnama Archana, Thamboolam Samarpanam, Nivedhyam etc. were done under the auspices of Samooham Vadhyar, Nageswaran on the day. The celebrations were organised by Kerala Brahmana Sabha, Vanitha Vibhagam of Perumbavoor. Narayaneeyam Committee leaders Kamala Hariharan, Bhagavathy Harihara Krishnan, Balambal, Gomathy Ramaswamy, Janaki Muralikrishnan, Rajalakshmi Parthasarathi and Bhageerathi Ammal Rama Iyer led the 'Thai Velli' celebrations.

Cash Award Presented to Shyam, Lakshmi & Uthra

Kerala Brahmana Sabha of Ernakulam District honoured three young talents in the District Committee Meeting held on Sunday, 17th January at Ernakulam. Veteran leaders of Sabha presented the cash prizes to Shyam, Lakshmi and Uthra.

Shyam - a 9th standard student from Ernakulam - secured 'A' grade in 'Sopana Sangeetham' and 'Ashtapadi' competitions in the State School Youth Festival held at Kozhikode last week. B. Lakshmi and Uthra R. Krishnan are the winners in Classical Music competition of M. G. University Kalolsavam held at Kottayam.

Shyam receives Cash Prize from Adv. A. K. Seshadri, State Committee Member.

B. Lakshmi receives Cash Prize from V. Ramalingam, State President.

Uthra R. Krishnan receives Cash Prize from P. Veeraraghavan, State Committee Member.

Swathi Puraskaram for Ponnammal & D.Litt. for Umayalpuram

PARASSALA B. PONNAMMAL

Renowned Carnatic vocalist Parassala B. Ponnammal has been selected for the Swathi Puraskaram, 2009. This was announced by Minister for Culture M. A. Baby at a press meet at Trivandrum on Monday, 11th of January 2010. The award instituted by the government to honour her lifetime contributions carries a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, a plaque and a citation. Ms. Ponnammal was selected by a jury comprising K.M. Raghavan Nambiar, Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Tripunithura Radhakrishnan, Sukumari Narendra Menon and Vanajam.

Ponnammal was born in 1924 in Parassala, initiated into music by Paramu Pillai bhagavathar. She was the first lady teacher and principal of the Swathi Thirunal Music Academy, Thiruvananthapuram and had earlier won 'Sangita Rathnam' and Chembai Memorial Music awards.

UMAYALPURAM K. SIVARAMAN

The University of Kerala presented the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) to mridangam maestro Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan and actor Mammootty at a special convocation held in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, the 11th of January 2010. Governor R.S. Gavai, who is also the Chancellor of the university, conferred the degree after Vice-Chancellor A. Jayakrishnan read out a citation on each of the awardees.

Reading out the citation on Mr. Sivaraman, the Vice-Chancellor said the mridangam maestro’s talent and skills spanning Carnatic, Hindustani, jazz and fusion music had won him fame and recognition at the global level. His lecture demonstrations and papers on the traditional aspects of mridangam and new trends had helped to popularise the percussion instrument, he added.

Born on December 17, 1935 to Dr P. Kasiviswanatha Iyer and Smt Kamalambal in the city of Tanjore, Sivaraman learnt the divine art of Mridangam from four great masters, Sri Arupathi Natesa Iyer, Sri Tanjavoor Vaidyanatha Iyer, Sri Palghat Mani Iyer and Sri Kumbakonam Rangu Iyengar. His new techniques and Innovations coupled with Solo redentions and Jagalbandhi Programmes with his North Indian folks have made him an evergreen personality in the world of Art.

B. Lakshmi & Uthra R. Krishnan.. Congrats!!

Two singers who became friends at a youth festival venue in their school days bagged 1st and 2nd prizes respectively for the Classical Music competition in the M. G. University Kalolsavam held last week at Kottayam. This is the second time consecutively they stand in the same positions in University competition for Carnatic Music. B. Lakshmi and Uthra R. Krishnan, are from Thripunithura - the cultural capital of Ernakulam District. B. Lakshmi, daughter of Babu and Girija is doing her M. Sc. in Physics at Sacred Heart College, Thevara and Uthra, daughter of Ramakrishnan and Uma is doing her final year B. Com at St. Peters College, Kolencherry.

Uthra, a disciple of Girija Varma participated in Veena and Light Music competetions also and won ‘A’ Grade for both. She was 'Kalathilakam' in 'Kalanjali 2009' - the youth festival organised by Kerala Brahmana Sabha. Thamarakkad Govindan Namboothiri trains B. Lakshmi in Carnatic Music and she was in the first seven in the music reality show organised by Amrita TV - 'Amrita Super Star'.

Heartiest congratulations to both for having won prizes in the competetions.

We welcome the judgement in favour of reservation for economically poor students - V. Ramalingam

The Kerala Brahmana Sabha welcomed Kerala High Court’s judgement in the petition filed by Muslim Jama-ath Council against the Government of Kerala order granting reservation in education sector for the economically poor students from forward castes. V. Ramalingam, State President said that the poor among the forward castes are the one who suffer as the reservations are meant only for the SC/ ST and OBC segments at present. Meritorious poor students among the forward castes should get a fair chance and should not suffer because of their economic condition.

The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Bannur Mutt and Justice A. K. Basheer in their verdict evaluated that, the financial background of those who enjoy caste based reservation has improved and they must try to reach the mainstream of society. They have been availing reservation since independence.

The court dismissed the Muslim Jama-ath Council's petition challenging the government order of September 8th, 2008 granting 10% reservation in state-run colleges and 7.5% in university departments for Below Poverty Line (BPL) students from forward castes.

Meeting on Direct Tax Code Bill on 24th Jaunary

Kerala Brahmana Sabha, Ernakulam District Committee is conducting a meeting of the Presidents and Secretaries of Brahmana Samoohams in Ernakulam District to discuss on the 'Direct Tax Code Bill 2009'. Reputed Charted Accountants will brief the impacts of the bill on Samoohams, Trusts and other charitable & religious institutions of Brahmin community. The meeting will be from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. at Kinattumkara Samooham Hall at Ernakulam on 24th of January 2010. V. Ramalingam, State President and V. Krishnaswami, District President will address the invitees. R. Ramakrishnan, Secretary of District Committee informed that the State Committee Members and District Committee Members of Kerala Brahmana Sabha from Ernakulam District will participate in the meeting.

Sangeetha Archana at Thiruvairanikkulam Temple by Vanitha Vibhagam

The Vanitha Vibhagam of Kerala Brahmana Sabha conducted 'Sangeetha Archana' at Sree Parvathy Devi Temple - believed to be one among the powerfull godess of Kerala - at Thiruvairanikkulam. Members from various Upasabhas in and around Ernakulam District participated in the event organised in connection with 'Nada Thurappu Maholsavam'. The group members sang different songs, Keerthanas and chantings on Devi with utmost devotion which conquered the minds of thousands of devotees. Kalyani G. Murthy from Aluva (1st - 4th Jan), K. Annalakshmi from Muvattupuzha (5th Jan), Jayanthi & Rathy Narayanaswami from Thrikkariyoor (6th Jan), Kamala Hariharan & Lakshmi Hariharasubramaniam from Perumbavoor (7th Jan), Santha Sabesan & Ananthy Venkiteswaran from Mattancherry (8th Jan), Chithra Subramaniam & Girija Parameswaran from Thodupuzha (9th Jan), Revathy Krishnan & Sarasa Manikandan from Thripunithura (10th Jan), and Vijaya Ramachandran from Thrissur (11th Jan) led the 'Sangeetha Archana' along with other members from their Upasabhas.

New office for Aluva Upasabha

The Aluva Upasabha has occupied their new office in Surabhi Lane, Sangeetha Sabha Road at Aluva last week. V. Krishnaswami, District President officially inaugurated the new office on 9th of January 2010. The inaugural function was presided by K. G. V. Pathy, State Treasurer, Kerala Brahmana Sabha. K. S. Anantharaman (State Committee Member), K. V. S. Mony, H. Narayana Iyer (President, Aluva Brahmana Samooham), G. Ramaswami, Kamala Ramaswami (Vice President, Vanitha Vibhagam, Aluva), and Usha Krishnaswami (Vice President, Vanitha Vibhagam, Muvattupuzha) addressed the gathering.

A directory of members of Aluva Upasabha named 'Brahmana Vilasam' was also released by the District President in the function which the first copy was received by P. Mahadevan, Treasurer of Aluva Upasabha. In his address V. Krishnaswami appreciated the efforts taken by Aluva Upasabha in bringing out a who-is-who directory of the members in the name 'Brahmana Vilasam'. He congratulated K. G. V. Pathy for the sincere efforts taken by him in co-ordinating the visit to Thiruvairanikkulam Temple by devotees from different Upasabhas of Ernakulam District.

Sasthapreethi at Kalady on Saturday, 9th January 2010

The Kerala Brahmana Sabha and Yohakshema Sabha of Kalady - the birth place of Adi Sankara - are jointly organising Sasthapreethi on Saturday, the 9th of January 2010 at Sri Sringeri Mutt Hall. The pooja is expected to commence by 8.00 a.m. and Deeparadhana will be around 12.30 p.m. Prof. H. Padmanabhan, President, Kalady Upasabha, expects presense of all devotees for Sasthapreethi.