Kochi king's palace in Kerala being beautified
Tripunithura /Kochi, Mar 11: Special masons and experts are on their way to Kochi to give a restoration touch to an erstwhile palace used by Kochi Kings.
The magnificent hill palace at Thripunithura in Kerala's Ernakulam district was once the headquarters of the Kochi Royal family. It is also houses a large archaeological museum in Kerala.
Officials said that approximately 70 million rupees would be spent at the restoration work and the palace is expected to be ready by this month end.
"Restoration work in the Hill Palace museum is going on smoothly. We are concentrating on other important buildings including the main museum building, the heritage museum building etc." said P.K. Gopi, Registrar, Centre for Heritage Studies, Thripunithura Hill Palace.
The palace is surrounded by beautiful gardens and the authorities said that attractive lights and some fountains would be placed to add more zing to it. The 52 acres of land near the palace is surrounded by terraced land with ponds, fountains and lawns.
"After the completion of the projects, we are going to introduce one important programme, tourist package programme starting from Hill Palace. And it will be an attraction to the general public and mostly public form north that is tourist from the northern area, we are also looking for tourist from abroad also." added Gopi.
The palace-turned museum displays around 14 categories of exhibits including paintings, murals, sculptures in stone and plaster of paris, manuscripts, inscriptions and carvings.
About 200 antique pottery and ceramic vases from China and Japan and other antiques of tombstone, hood stone and others are also displayed in the museum. The museum also houses a gallery of contemporary art.
The palace is said to have been built in 1865 and its complex consists of 49 buildings in the traditional architectural style, spreading across in 54 acres. The complex has an archaeological museum, a heritage museum, a deer park, a pre-historic park and a children's park. (ANI)
Tourists enjoy paragliding in Solang Nala
Solang Nala (HP), Mar 11: Adventure-lovers and sports enthusiasts are making a beeline to picturesque Solang Nala in Himachal Pradesh, for paragliding.
Flying over snowy peaks of Dhauladhar ranges of the Himalayas give tourists a thrilling experience.
There are more than hundred trained pilots and more than two hundred helpers who are conducting paragliding in the valley.
They charge 1,000 rupees for a paragliding ride.
"This time there are more tourists in Solang Nala and we charge 1,000 rupees for paragliding, 1,500 rupees for long freight...," said Raj Krishan, a local adventure sports organiser.
All the precautions and safety measures are provided to the tourists for a memorable flight across the snow peaks of Himalayas.
Every year thousands of foreign as well as domestic tourists visit Solang Nala to participate in paragliding in addition to enjoying a variety of winter-sports like skiing, snow scooter riding and sledging. (ANI)
Emu rearing venture picking up in Manipur
Imphal, Mar 11: For the first time in the Northeast region rearing of poultry Emu birds on commercial basis has been taken up by farmers in Manipur.
Emu rearing has caught the fancy of farmers in Northeast.
The joint initiative of introducing Emu farming, which started with an aim to improve the socio-economic status of the region was taken up by NGOs called KVK Sylvan at Senapati and Foundation for Environment and Economic Development Services (FEEDS), Manipur.
Eighty one Emu chicks have been procured for an experimental basis from SAF Emu Farm at Chennai.
Around 20 poultry farmers in the state have been provided training on Emu farming.
Emu, which is two metres tall in height and considered the second-largest bird in the world after ostrich, has the highest resistance to diseases compared to other poultry birds.
"Emu rearing will give high profit to farmers. There are no waste parts from emu. Every parts of these birds are useful to mankind." R.K. Imotoba Singh, Programme Coordinator
Other Northeast states like Nagaland have also shown interest in the project.
If properly implemented and executed, the nascent business venture could give a boost to the economy of the region. (ANI)
Northeastern youths making mark in all walks of life
New Delhi, Mar 11: Talented people from northeast are making a mark in different fields across the country.
One such person is Sangeeta Phukan an Assamese who recently took part in Femina Miss India East contest.
She is beautiful and a proud Assamese model, who made a place for herself in Pantaloon Femina Miss India-East Zone held in Kolkata and later auditioned for the upcoming Femina Miss India Contest.
Twenty two -years old Sangeeta Phukan is an aspiring model from Jorhat, who represented the northeast in the beauty contest.
Though she was not able to win the contest but she managed to reach the final.
"According to me, women are brand ambassador of purity, dignity, courage and beauty. Insert: I am from Northeast. I am really very happy to represent my culture, my northeast region and myself," said Sangeeta Phukan, a model.
According to Sangeeta, winning is the main aim behind participating in any contest but representing the region is a matter of honour.
Besides modeling, writing is a passion for her and she has authored four books in Assamese language 'Mukha Pindha Manuk', 'Ardhangini', 'Mandakinir Pora Alakanandaloi' and 'Jeevan Doba Khelodhal.'
"I am proud to born in my Northeast and about other girls of northeast, what to say. They are quite, compassionate. They all possess all the qualities that a perfect woman should possess and for Miss India all are just perfect if they work for it," she added.
A perfect example of beauty with brains, Sangeeta Phukan is a source of inspiration for other budding northeastern models. (ANI)
Primitive tribe faces extinction due to their marriage system
Totpara (Jalpaiguri), March 11: The endogamous marriage system practiced by members of Toto tribe in West Bengal may lead to the extinction of their clan since the children are reportedly born with several genetic defects.
Members of the Toto tribe, who happen to belong to the most isolated indigenous communities in the country, are slowly becoming extinct due to their endogamous system of marriage.
A good number of these families reside at Totopara, a village in the north Bengal region near the Indo-Bhutan border.
The total population of Toto tribe is believed to be just 1,468 and such trends have caused much anxiety among the elders as well as other concerned anthropologists.
Their conventional system lets conjugal relationship between cousins and such practices have created problems in their society since the children are born with deformities.
A majority of the children born out of the prevailing wedlock among the Totos are prone to genetic disease of Thalassemia, in which blood is not manufactured by the bonemarrow, forcing the affected persons to undergo periodical transfusions every fortnight for the rest of their lives so as to survive.
The wise among the Toto tribals are concerned about their declining numbers and they have lent a serious thought to their traditional endogamous marriage custom.
"The rituals are one of the most unique types which we have inherited from our ancestors. The way of marriage is also a peculiar. Though we practice the Hindu religious faith, our way of giving offerings and the marriage life are different from the conventional ones. We don't have casteism and dowry system prevalent in our society. We suppose an early marriage life is ideal, which we call living together and this helps our couples to know each other more properly before the final bonding. We are married within our families, especially among our cousins. But for a while, we have noticed that the off-springs of these couples after marriage are affected with the deadly disease of Thalassemia due to some genetic problems. We want to stop this tradition so as to come out of this predicament," said Dhaniram Toto, chief of the Totopara village.
The Totos are generally divided into 13 other various downstream clans and they reside in the regions of north West Bengal bordering with Bhutan and Assam. (ANI)
