Shevlin Sebastian's Blog, page 53

Rolling With The Ice

The Melto Creamery in Kochi provides roll ice-creams which are growing in popularity
Photos: Shafeeq M and his wife Zunairah; the different types of icecreams. Photo by A. Sanesh 

By Shevlin Sebastian

At the Melto Creamery in the Kakkanad suburb of Kochi, a customer comes in and orders a Guava Chilli. Chef Zunairah Shafeeq immediately gets to work. She quickly cuts up two guavas into small pieces on an ice pan. Then she pours chilly powder on it. Zunairah takes up two triangular spatulas in two hands and keeps chopping on the guavas until they become tiny pieces. It sounds like a drummer banging at high speed. Then she pours high-fat milk over the mix. Using a flat knife, the mix is now spread out like a square paste by Zunairah on the pan.

“The pan has been imported from China,” says Shafeeq M, the husband of Zunairah and the owner of the outlet, along with his entrepreneur friend Shazil Hiqma. “The surface has a temperature of minus 35 degrees centigrade. The milk freezes immediately and becomes cream.”

Then once the paste solidifies, it is cut into three rectangles and made into rolls. These rolls are placed in a plastic cup and given to the customer along with a spoon. “This is called roll ice-cream,” says Shafeeq. “We are the first to make it in Kochi. Roll ice-cream is a street food in Bangkok. We got the idea when we saw videos of it on YouTube.”

The fruit ice creams, like Guava Chilli, are very popular with older customers, as the taste of the fruit is retained. “Also, they see it made right in front of their eyes,” says Shafeeq. “So, that makes it authentic.”

Some of the fruits that are used include the jackfruit, mango, strawberry, kiwi, banana, and the avocado.

There are also ice-creams that promote health benefits. One is the Matcha ice-cream. Matcha is a premium green tea powder imported from Japan. “It has been used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony for hundreds of years,” says Shazil. “The Matcha has an excess of amino acids and a high level of antioxidants. It helps to boost the metabolism, lowers the cholesterol, and prevents a buildup of toxins.”

Adds Zunairah: “It is very bitter but when we add chocolate or fruit, it becomes tasty.”

But the premium item of the creamery is the gold-studded Thai ice-cream. “It is a regular roll ice-cream on which we paste a gold sheet,” says Shafeeq. “This has been imported from Dubai and is made of edible gold.” But the price is a cool Rs 1000. “The aim is to highlight the brand,” says Shafeeq.

While the elders loved the fruits, the youngsters go ga-ga over the chocolate items. These include ice-creams with the Nutella Hazelnut and Hershey's Macadamia Nuts. “These are our signature items,” says Zunairah. “It moves a lot. You can also have ice-creams with peanut butter.”

And the youth are happy. Says Soumya, a 24-year-old IT professional, “Melto is a slice of heaven in Kakkanad. Nope, I am not exaggerating. This place is awesome. Good bunch of people, nice ambience and awesome ice-cream!!”

Says another young woman Vinitha: “Melto has the most innovative ice-creams.”

What also helps are the generous amounts that can be had. Three rolls are equivalent to more than 300 grams of ice cream. “Because of this, we have a lot of repeat customers,” says Shazil. “In Kochi, people want quantity as well as quality.” Incidentally, the prices range from Rs 79 to Rs 350.

Asked the charm of ice-cream, Zunairah says, “It is always a reminder of our childhood days and the happy memories associated with eating it with our parents, sibling, and friends. So ice-creams will always remain popular.” 
(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

Converting Data Into Unique Sounds

One of Kochi's leading digital musicians, Salim Nair is busy getting his first digital record ready 
Photos by Albin Mathew 
By Shevlin Sebastian

At his soundproof studio at Kochi, digital musician Salim Nair stands in front of his Linnstrument as well his Ableton Push2 midi controller. He is dressed casually in a white cotton shirt and grey trousers. The bespectacled musician then gently starts with a tap of one of the keys on the midi controller. The sound of a piano can be heard. This performance is seen live on Facebook.
And the name of the instrumental song is called 'When love rains'. Soon, he uses the sax, sitar and the flute. After a while, the sound becomes mesmerising; there is a rise and fall in the tone. Salim gets so involved in the playing that he keeps swaying from side to side. In his other songs, the instruments he uses include the sitar, sarangi, sarod, violin, santoor, saxophone, brass, and the keyboard. “I also use synthesized sounds,” he says. On YouTube and Facebook, he has put up over 60 song/videos.
“I call it a digital art music show,” says Salim. “[The late American writer] Susan Sontag has said art music requires the listener to put in a little bit of effort into listening. My songs have a slow and nuanced development. You can get bored. So my target audience is anybody who can appreciate music as more than just being a background sound.”
Now Salim is busy working on bringing out his first digital art album, 'Decohered', a collection of tone poems, a few of which are based loosely on the works of the late Urdu writer Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
Asked the charms of Faiz, Salim says, “His poems are very lyrical. It is very amenable to a song structure. I look for poems that can give me an emotional flow.”
A trained Carnatic musician since his childhood, Salim felt disappointed by the limitation of the traditional sound. “I used to play the flute and it is monophonic,” says Salim. “It cannot produce more than one sound.”
The other problem was the structure of Indian classical music. “Until 25 years ago, there were very specific caste-based restrictions about what you can sing and perform,” says Salim. “Most temple sanctums are closed to everybody except the Brahmins. The music was specifically created to support this hierarchical structure.”
That is the structure that Salim wants to break. “I am using Carnatic idioms and making my own rules,” he says. “Think of this: you spend 12 hours a day perfecting a song sung by composer Thyagaraja (1767-1847). What is the point of that? Express what you feel not what some singer felt 170 years ago.”
It was only when Salim, an electrical engineer by profession went to Philadephia, USA, in 1999 that he had a change of mind. While there, he realised that he could use the computer as a primary music instrument. “It has more capabilities than my single flute,” says Salim, who relocated to Kochi in 2014 and is working as a software programmer. 
Asked the difference between digital and analog music, Salim says, “In analog music, we are physically using an instrument to create music. In digital, I am just changing data and this creates a different kind of sound. The production method is the biggest difference between analog and digital music.”
As to the charge that there is less soul in digital music, Salim says, “Is the violin natural? There is so much engineering that goes behind the making of a violin. On the other hand, digital music is more malleable. I am transferring what I am thinking directly. I don't have the constraints of a physical object.” 
(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South Indian editions and Delhi)

Memories Of A Family Helper

By Shevlin Sebastian
Photo: The ancestral house at Muvattupuzha 
The other day my aunt sent a WhatsApp message in our family group: 'Pappi, who was with us at Muvattupuzha [Kerala] passed away. The funeral is at Neercode. Please pray for his soul'.
As soon as I read it, my mind immediately went to back my grandparents' house in Muvattupuzha. I would spend my summer vacations there with my mother and siblings from our home in Kolkata.
The back courtyard of their house was long and narrow. Across it, there were several trees, apart from a cattle shed, and a hen’s coop.
One day, when I was ten years old, while I was exploring the area, suddenly I saw a snake lying motionless on the ground. It was yellow in colour with black stripes going like a spiral all along its body. I looked at it stunned. Then I screamed and sprinted away to the kitchen where my grandmother was supervising the cooking and told her about it.
She immediately called the helper Pappi, a short man with thick biceps and shoulder muscles and possessing a vibrant energy. He strode out towards the courtyard, with a stick in his hand. But by this time the snake had moved away. After that, for days, I was afraid to go to the courtyard. My grandmother and Pappi laughed, but I did not want to take the risk.
This Pappi: I remember him taking me for a walk to a place in front of the town's bus terminus, where our family had some property. We had to climb steps, cut into the slope of a hill, reach a tin door, and go in. All around were trees and a large building in the distance.Pappi would use a shovel to clear wildly-growing grass, plants and bushes. As for me, all I did was to stand and stare and sometimes slip into a daydream.
My mother told me that when my grandfather was suffering from glaucoma, and could not see properly, Pappi would walk in front of him wearing a white shirt. My grandfather would aim his torch at Pappi's back and that would enable him to get his bearings when he was on his way to church.
The years went past. Then on July 22, 2001, my grandmother passed away. Pappi had come for the funeral. When I saw him, I was shocked. Pappi had become thin, frail and stooped. The contrast with his younger days was stunning. Somehow, even now, when I recall that image, I feel a stab of pain.
And then I realised that nobody can escape the circle of life: the blossoming of youth, a productive middle age, followed by a frail old age and, finally, death.Rest In Peace Pappi! 
(Published as a middle in The New Indian Express, South Indian editions)

Providing Colours To A Dark Cell

Murali Cheeroth, the noted Bangalore-based artist talks about his experiences of conducting an art camp in Tihar Jail in Delhi 
Photo by Albin Mathew 

By Shevlin Sebastian

In their New Delhi neighbourhood, the Naths and the Tiwaris were always arguing over one small matter or the other. One day, the son Rakesh Nath snapped. He went to the Tiwari house and using a piece of wire strangulated the elderly couple. Four relatives dropped in at different times. He strangulated all of them. The end result: Rakesh was caught and sentenced to life in prison. And he has been in Tihar Jail in New Delhi for the past fourteen years.

“He is a graduate,” says the Bangalore-based artist Murali Cheeroth, during a recent visit to Kochi. A group of six artists including Murali held an art camp at the jail recently for the prisoners; this was organised by the Central Lalitkala Akademi along with the Delhi Akademi.

“That was when I met Rakesh,” says Murali. “He told me that it was a moment's madness that made him commit the crime which destroyed his life.” Murali encouraged Rakesh to paint. He did so and Murali was impressed. “He is a realistic painter,” says Murali. “And he did some good work at the camp.”

Around 60 prisoners took part. “The aim was to change their criminal mentality and to enable them to develop an artistic sensibility,” says Murali.

And Murali discovered that many of them were talented. “I met a criminal Arjun Reddy from Andhra Pradesh,” says Murali. “From childhood, he was exposed to the sight of his father hitting his mother. In the end, the father killed the mother. Arjun was staying with his grandmother. She said something which angered him and he killed her in a fit of rage. That was how he was convicted.”

In the jail Arjun felt endlessly frustrated. “But taking part in the art classes has been a healing process for him,” says Murali. “He has gained an inner confidence.”In his abstract work, an acrylic on canvas, Arjun has drawn himself sitting in the middle of the canvas, with his body being pulled from all sides. “Arjun now feels that when he is released he will be able to contribute meaningfully to society,” says Murali.

Murali also urged the prisoners to develop their finer qualities. “One of them could write good Hindi,” says Murali. “So I told him to become a writer.”

As for the crimes they have committed Murali says that it consisted of murder, rape and cheating. “I met five prisoners who have been involved in rape cases,” says Murali. “But two of them told me they had been framed. One young man who belonged to a lower caste fell in love with a higher caste girl, so the girl's father, taking the police's help, framed a rape case against him and got him jailed.”

Another person who appears to have been framed is Suvojit Ghosh from Kolkata. One night, he talked to a prostitute at a street corner. The next day the lady was murdered. “On the CCTV, Suvojit's meeting with the woman was captured,” says Murali. “Soon, he was framed by the police.”

But Murali was impressed by Suvojit's artistic talent. “His theme is of gods and goddesses, in the Kalighat style,” says Murali. “Suvojit participated in an exhibition where 13 of his works were displayed.”

Another prisoner who Murali worked with was a convicted in the Nirbhaya rape/murder case, which rocked the nation a few years ago. “He told me that he has enormous regrets about what had happened,” says Murali.

Reluctant to wield the brush, Murali persuaded him that this was a way to get rid of his inner demons. “Soon, he started painting,” says Murali. “He did a work of a monkey jumping across a river, followed by a thousand monkeys. These monkeys are holding flags on which are written the numerous abuses which were hurled at the rape accused when he was convicted.”

The time spent at the jail was one of intense observation by Murali. And soon, he noticed that there was a caste system in the jail. “There were conflicts between different caste members,” says Murali. “The caste system is very strong in North India. In Kerala, everybody is getting educated. But in places like UP [Uttar Pradesh], they are not, and hence they are not aware of their rights as a citizen.”

As Murali interacted often with the prisoners, they also warmed towards him. “They were very friendly,” he says. “That was because I was giving them an experience which they don't usually get in jail. And I was also shaken to come across so many lives which have been destroyed thanks to a moment's madness.”

(Some names have been changed)

A Full-time Artist

Born in Thrissur, Murali Cheeroth did his Masters in Fine Arts from Kala Bhavan in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. He has been a full-time artist for the past 21 years. His works can be found in private collections in Japan, France, Canada, Thailand, Holland and India. He has been a two-time participant of the Sri Lankan Biennale. And has just completed an arts residency in Malaysia. Murali has taken part in numerous solo and group exhibitions. Murali has also taught at the College of Architecture, Ahmedabad and National Institute of Fashion Technology. 
(Published in The New Indian Express, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode)

The Culture Man

The Canada-based Ajeesh Rajendran is working hard to set up the Toronto International South Asian Film Awards even as he conducts cultural shows with Mollywood stars
Photos by Albin Mathew 
By Shevlin Sebastian
On May 10, last year, the Toronto-based Ajeesh Rajendran was at the Niagara Falls, on the border between the USA and Canada. It was a cold and rainy day. He was waiting patiently for a Volvo bus which soon arrived from the USA. In it were Mollywood stars like Dileep, his wife Kavya Madhavan, Namitha Pramod, comic stars Ramesh Pisharady and Dharmajan Bolgatty, director Nadir Shah and the singer Rimi Tomy.
Ajeesh, who is the founder/CEO of the Toronto-based Blue Sapphire Entertainment Inc was organising a show with these stars. “It was my first time with them,” he says. “So I was feeling excited as well as apprehensive.”
But the apprehensions proved to be short-lived. “When they stepped out of the bus, they were all smiles and very friendly,” says Ajeesh.
Meanwhile, at the hotel where they were put up, Ajeesh asked the chef to prepare a big lunch, with many dishes. But he was taken aback when Kavya and Rimy made a suggestion. “Could you provide Kerala-style kanji (rice gruel), payar (beans) and chamandi (coconut chutney) said Kavya. “We have been on the road for a long time and are missing our home food.” Soon, all the other artists wanted the same thing.
Ajeesh complied quickly. Eventually, the 'Dileep Show 2017'at Toronto was a big hit. “In May, this year, [dancer and actor] Shobana gave a sold-out performance with the 'Trance' dance show,” says Ajeesh, while on a visit to Kochi. “I had brought her in 2015 also.” In 2016, Ajeesh held a successful show called 'To Laleetan by Sreekuttan'. Singer MG Sreekumar sang songs in which superstar Mohanlal had been featured in over three decades of acting.
Ajeesh, who is originally from Kollam, moved to Canada in December, 2012 when his wife gained a permanent residency permit. After doing small jobs here and there, he decided to embark as a show business entrepreneur. “I had acted in bit roles in Malayalam films for a long time, so it felt natural to gravitate to show business,” he says. 
At this moment, Ajeesh is working hard to establish the Toronto International South Asian Film Awards (TISAFA). “It will be a celebration of South Asian talent,” he says. “All the Tamil and Malayalam films which were released between January 1 to December 31, 2017, have been eligible. Online voting was conducted from April 1 to May 15.”
Thereafter, a shortlist has been prepared, and a judging panel has just announced the winners in 24 categories like Best Film/Actor/Actress/Director/Screenplay/Cinematographer and so on. The award ceremony will take place in October.
The other day Ajeesh met actor/director Shoubin Shahir at a hotel in Kattapana (130 kms from Kochi) where the latter was shooting for the film 'Ambili'. 
Ajeesh wanted to invite Shoubin to take part in TISAFA in October. Shoubin had won the Best Debut Director award for the film 'Parava'.
“Shoubin told me that this was the first time an organiser had personally invited him for an awards function,” says Ajeesh. “He told me he would come and support my new venture. I felt very happy when he said this.” 
Meanwhile, when asked about his target audience, Ajeesh says there are 40,000 Malayali families in Toronto. “Most of them are in the IT industry,” he says. “Apart from that, there are nurses, physiotherapists and people working in day-care centres.”
Most of them are happy in their new country. “Once you get a taste of the comfortable life in Toronto, you end up staying there,” he says. “There is plenty of individual freedom, especially for women, and there is safety in public spaces, backed up by a strong law and order set-up. In Kerala, there are many laws but nobody is following them.”
However much they are disappointed with their home state, Malayalis are still homesick, especially the first generation. So, they like to watch Mollywood music and dance shows as well as films. “The people see the films only on the weekends, as they are very busy from Monday to Friday,” says Ajeesh.
Meanwhile, Ajeesh is in expansion mode. He has got a two-hour weekly slot in a leading TV channel where he showcases the news as well the social and cultural activities of the Malayali community. “I am enjoying every moment,” says Ajeesh. “I could never imagine my life would turn out this way.”

Real Or Fake?

COLUMN: LOCATION DIARY
Art Director Joseph Nellickal talks about his experiences in the films, ‘Runway’, ‘Robin Hood’, ‘Anwar’, ‘Lion’ and ‘Naran’
By Shevlin Sebastian
In Joshiy's film, ‘Runway’ (2003), the hero Dileep smuggles spirits through the Walayar check-post. Since the crew did not get permission to shoot at the check-post, art director Joseph Nellickal replicated the original near the railway station at Kalamassery.
“We felt the space was similar to the area around Walayar and made the set,” he says.
But one day, when Joseph reached the set at 6 a.m., he noticed a lorry with a Tamil Nadu registration number which was parked there. “Suddenly, I saw the driver give a slap to the helper,” says Joseph. “So, I enquired about what had happened.”
The driver said that he had crossed the Walayar check post by 3 a.m. Thereafter, he told the helper to drive the vehicle while he had a nap. But when the driver woke up, he saw that they were still at the check-post. So he thought that his assistant had gone around in circles and returned to the check-post. That was why he was slapping the driver.
“So I told the driver that this was a film set,” says Joseph. “He just could not believe it. He went around and inspected everything and noticed that there were some sacks in the area where the office was supposed to be. That was when he finally became convinced. This was a case of where the set was so realistic that people could not distinguish the real from the fake.”
Something similar happened in the film, ‘Robin Hood’ (2009). There was a scene in which Prithviraj had to enter an ATM and draw some money. “In those times, the ATMs had not become popular,” says Joseph. “So I made one.”
However, as they were busy setting up the set, unknown to them, a well-to-do man entered the booth. “He thought it was an actual ATM and put his card inside the holder,” says Joseph “But it got stuck.”
So, firstly the man had to be told that it was a fake ATM counter. Secondly, the entire structure had to be dismantled so that the card could be returned to the man and the recorder could be fixed again. “The shoot was delayed by several hours before we could get the ATM ready again,” says Joseph.
There was a crisis of a different kind on the sets of the film ‘Anwar’ (2010). The location was at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT). A set was built in front of the main university building. Prithviraj entered a corridor, placed a bomb and left. “This was a powder bomb and not one that caused a fire,” says Joseph. “Just behind the set, there was a window of the main building. But under the impact of the blast, the window burst open. All the powder entered the room.”
It was valuation room where all the answer sheets were kept. The tables were covered with black powder, including the computers and the answer sheets. The Registrar came running. When he saw the scene, he began perspiring. “He felt that he would lose his job,” says Joseph. “I assured him that we would clean the entire room.”
Joseph’s team which consisted of ten people along with a couple of CUSAT employees cleaned every paper, computer and table. The shattered glass was replaced. “We worked through the night and finished by 6 a.m.,” says Joseph. “We had to ensure that nobody came to know about it, otherwise, it would have become a major issue.”
During the shoot of the film, ‘Lion’ (2006), an issue of a different kind cropped up. In the storyline, there was a shootout between some policemen and goondas on the Venduruthy Bridge at Kochi. A couple of policemen shot at the miscreants. Two of them were supposed to fall from the bridge into the water. “We made dummy figures, with them wearing shirts and mundus,” says Joseph. “They were thrown from the bridge and floated away.”
However, on the same day, at 2 p.m., a man jumped from the Kumbalam bridge and drowned. The police could not locate the dead body. “Suddenly somebody noticed one of the film's dead bodies floating past,” says Joseph. “So they informed the police. They got some divers to bring the body to the shore. The parents were called to identify their son. But when the body was inspected, it was realised that it was a fake, leading to much embarrassment for the police.”
Joseph came to know about this when an item appeared in the next day's newspaper: 'Fake body proves to be a problem for the police'.
Then in ‘Naran’ (2005), it was the case of a fake tree made of fibre. It was being transported from Hogenakkal, Karnataka, where one schedule was over, to Thiruvananthapuram.
At the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, the lorry was allowed to go through since it belonged to a film crew. But as the vehicle went past, inspectors saw a tree sticking out from the back. So they gave chase.
“The driver was abused and asked to get down,” says Joseph. “The Forest Department officers said that he was smuggling wood into the state. But the driver stated that this was not an actual tree. They did not believe it. Then an officer climbed into the truck and it was only when he knocked on the tree that he realised it was not made of wood, but fibre. So they were allowed to leave."
Not surprisingly, the driver smiled silently at his helper. 
(The New Indian Express, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode) 

Fruits, Fruits And More Fruits

Entrepreneur KP Musthafa talks about the benefits of imported fruits 
Photos: K. Musthafa by Manu R Maveli; the new store 

By Shevlin Sebastian

One morning KP Musthafa was standing outside his newly-opened store 'Frootree' in Kozhikode having a chat with his friend. Suddenly a middle-aged woman came up and stood near the entrance for a few moments. She was hesitating to enter.

Finally, Musthafa said, “Madam, is there any problem?”

The woman said, “I was wondering whether the fruits are okay, and don't have pesticides.”

Musthafa said, “Madam, all these fruits have been imported, after stringent checking. There is nothing to worry.”

The woman smiled as a few tears rolled down her face.

As Musthafa looked shocked, the woman said, “My son is in Stage 4 cancer. I wanted to buy some good fruits for him.” Musthafa nodded and held her hands.

Yes, indeed, Musthafa's shop deals in imported fruits only. He gives a break-up: green leaves are from Holland; passion fruit from Thailand; lemons and oranges from Spain; plums and avocados from New Zealand. “We buy a lot of fennels, baby marrow, baby carrot and asparagus from South Africa,” says Musthafa. “The grapes are from the USA, while mushrooms are from Holland.”

As for the most popular fruits, he says it is oranges and apples. But there are accusations that some apples, especially with the brand name of Washington have been waxed so that it can shine and last longer. “This waxing is safe,” says Musthafa. “The produce goes through stringent tests in the USA before it is allowed to be exported.”

Asked why imported fruits are so costly, Musthafa says, “Sometimes, there is 100 per cent duty. For apples, it is 50 per cent. Hence, the retail price of a Washington apple starts at Rs 200 per kilo and goes up to Rs 250.”

The most expensive are raspberries, cranberries and strawberries. Sometimes, these are being sold at Rs 2000 per kg and are imported from Mexico, Morocco, and the USA.
But importing to Kozhikode has not been an easy affair. Last year Musthafa imported dates from Saudi Arabia. It remained in the Kozhikode airport for 18 days because of various Customs and other difficulties. Overall. Rs 2.5 lakh was the extra expense for the entrepreneur. This included Rs 1.3 lakh for the refrigerated storage fees, while Rs 38,000 was the test charges to find out whether the product is good. Then there was customs duty and other charges.

So Musthafa has stopped importing into Kerala. Instead, he imports to Bangalore or Hyderabad and brings it by road to Kozhikode. “But if the material is from Mumbai I can bring it by domestic flight and there is no problem because it has gone through one checking,” he says. “But the expenses go up.”
As for his customers, most belong to the upper middle classes and are thus able to afford the steep prices. Plus, there is the charm of fruits. “I have yet to meet a person who sees a fruit and does not have the desire to eat it,” says Musthafa. “They are buying for their children and for them also. In every fruit or leaf, there are health benefits.”

Take the basil leaf. “This is good for cough, throat and chest congestion,” says Musthafa. “The leaves can be made into a gravy. You can also eat it directly. Also, many cardiologists recommend cranberries as it is good for the blood.”

But for Musthafa personally, what he likes the most is the juice of wheatgrass. “It has a lot of protein,” he says. “And it helps reduce sugar. There are wheatgrass tablets in the US. It is that good.”

Meanwhile, Musthafa is working hard to set up numerous ‘Frootree’ filling stations. These will be set up at various places on the National Highway.

“When you are travelling on the highway you don't need to get down,” says Musthafa. “You drive to the filling station and buy juice, snacks, tea, sandwiches or burgers. It is like going to a petrol station. Buy the food and carry on in your journey.”

Soon, there will be an app which can be downloaded. “Say, you are travelling from Ernakulam to Kozhikode, you can identify an outlet, place the order from the menu in advance, and come at the right time and collect it,” says Musthafa. “There is no time-wasting. These will be one every 50 kms. It will start soon.” 
(The New Indian Express, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode)

COLUMN: LOCATION DIARYScriptwriter Sethu talks about his ...

COLUMN: LOCATION DIARY
Scriptwriter Sethu talks about his experiences on the sets of 'Mallu Singh', 'Salaam Kashmier' and his upcoming maiden directorial venture, 'Oru Kuttanadan Blog'
Photos: Scriptwriter Sethu by A Sanesh; Unni Mukundan in 'Mallu Singh' 
By Shevlin Sebastian
During the shoot of 'Mallu Singh' (2012), scriptwriter Sethu noticed a beautiful Punjabi girl always standing on the sets and staring at Unni Mukundan, who plays a turbaned Punjabi in the film. Soon the parents arrived on the set. Then they befriended Unni. After a while, they began to bring breakfast and lunch for Unni. He was invited to their home.
“Because he grew up in Gujarat, Unni speaks good Hindi,” says Sethu. “So he was able to have good conversations with them.”
Finally, one day, the girl's parents proposed marriage to Unni for their daughter. “Their daughter had been smitten with Unni from the first day she saw him,” says Sethu. “The parents also felt that Unni would be a perfect son-in-law.”
It was then that Unni took off his red turban, and said that he is a Malayali. “The family took their disappointment in a sporting spirit,” says Sethu.
The Punjabis are a sporting lot. One day, art director Joseph Nellickal wanted to convert an ordinary area into 'Mallu street', where only Malayalis stayed. “Initially, we thought we would do it in Film City, Hyderabad since we needed a school and several shops,” says Sethu.But while they were wandering about in Punjab looking for locations they went to a village called Nabha where Joseph saw an arch on a street. “We did not know for what it was made,” says Sethu. “Behind it, there was a large cowshed and a few shops.”
Joseph suggested that on the arch a board called 'Mallu Street' could be put up. “And then we could put Malayalam and Hindi signboards on all the shops,” says Sethu. “When we asked the local people, they agreed.”
The shoot on the street lasted for 22 days. But what was amazing for Sethu was when the producer of the film, Mahaa Subair told him recently that the area is still called Mallu Street. 
“The board on the arch has still not been removed,” says Sethu. “They have retained all the signboards on the shops. And in Nabha Mallu Street is a permanent part of the locals' vocabulary. This was very exciting to know.”
Apart from exciting moments, Sethu has experienced tense situations. During the shoot of 'Salaam Kashmier' (2014), one morning, director Joshiy and the crew were having breakfast in the Valley. “Suddenly, several Army jeeps arrived,” says Sethu. “Many soldiers jumped out. They were pointing their AK47 guns at the huts lining the slopes of the hills.”
An officer said that there was a threat. “He said that this was one of the most dangerous spots,” says Sethu. “Just eight hours earlier, there had been an encounter between two terrorists and the security forces. So, they had come to rescue us. We took our food and ran to the vehicles. I have enormous respect for the Army. They are very vigilant in Kashmir.”
So vigilant that they tested Joshiy's patience once. One day after the shoot was over the crew went to stay at various Army camps. The time was 7 p.m. As for Joshiy he was staying at a very high-security camp. But after two hours, there was a call from Joshiy to the producer Mahaa Subair. In an angry voice, Joshiy said, “I can't wait for dogs.”
Subair was puzzled and so were the crew. “Then we thought that maybe Joshiy Sir did not get dinner,” says Sethu. “So Subair checked with the canteen and they said they had supplied the food at 7 p.m.”
Later, the crew came to know what happened. When Joshiy arrived at the gate of his camp, a sniffer dog had to inspect him before he could enter. “No one, no matter how senior, was allowed inside before being sniffed,” says Sethu. “But the dog was asleep. So Joshiy had to wait for two hours outside. The Army staff did not want to awaken the dog suddenly because the animal would not do the job properly. So they waited for the dog to come awake. In the end, Joshiy lost his cool.”
There was a need to stay cool in Sethu's upcoming maiden directorial venture, 'Oru Kuttanadan Blog'. In one scene Mammooty travels on a Bullet on a road between paddy fields. Behind him were three bikes with actors Gregory, Shahin Siddique, Vivek Gopan and Nandan Unni on them. “It was a long shot,” says Sethu. As they were riding, suddenly Shahin lost his balance and the bike skidded and fell to one side. “Gregory's leg was twisted to one side,” says Sethu. “Shahin had bruises on his arms.”
So, Gregory and Shahin were rushed to the hospital. And Sethu was thinking that he would lose a day of shooting. That was when Mammootty called him and said, “The show has to go on, no matter what happens. The only way you can do that is to change the script.”
Sethu nodded and immediately sat down to work. Within an hour, he rewrote the scene in such a way that there was only one bike behind Mammooty. “Thanks to Mammooty Sir's calmness and vast experience, we saved the day's shooting and was able to  move forward,” says Sethu.
(The New Indian Express, Kochi, Kozhikode and Thioruvananthapuram) 

The Garrulous And Articulate Indian

Derek Wong, International Director of Toastmasters International, on a recent visit to Kochi talks about the qualities of Indians as speakers and as a people
Photos: Derek Wong; with the participants of the District 92 Toastmasters Annual Conference 
By Shevlin Sebastian

Derek Wong, International Director of Toastmasters International, arrived at midnight in Kochi from Hongkong following a 15-hour flight. He was feeling jet-lagged. At the hotel, he was given an entry card and Derek went to the room and slept.

“In the morning, when I went to the restaurant to have breakfast, they asked for my room number,” he says. “I said I had no idea. But the restaurant-in-charge asked for my surname, which was not difficult to remember, then he checked my room number for you. He said, 'Sir, your room number is 914'.”

And the next morning, when Derek went for breakfast, the same person remembered his name as well as his room number. “This was very impressive,” he says. “It was good hospitality. In many countries of the world, the people would not have behaved with this sort of magnanimity.”

Derek had come to Kochi to attend the District 92 Toastmasters Annual Conference. As an International Director, he oversees the activities of India, China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. And he was very impressed when he attended a meeting of one of the clubs at Kochi.

“All the speakers were so well prepared,” says Derek. “They knew exactly how to convey the message in an effective manner. Even an engineer spoke very well. Normally I fall asleep when engineers speak.”

A strength of the speakers in India is their dynamism when it comes to delivery. “They use a lot of hand gestures.,” says Derek “Indians know how to express a point in a concise manner and attract the audience.”

Another striking aspect is the fluency in English. “Indians are very good speakers of English,” says Derek. “They have a good vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. That's because they receive a good training at the school level. So that is the great advantage they have.”

After attending regular meetings in India Derek has observed that leaders have a way to handle conflicts. “People want to express their opinions, not only in India but all over the world,” he says. “But in India, they allow all the people to express what is on their minds. And once they hear all the opinions, the district officers try to find a way to handle it. They do it in a way that ensures the people don't get angry or irritated.”

In some countries, only one or two people will air their grievances. “They prefer to do things according to what the chairman says,” says Derek. “South Korea and Japan have a free society, but they are a little bit more obedient. They tend to voice their complaints in private.”

Derek is fascinated at the different types of behaviour across countries. For example, he has a hard time understanding accents. “When I visit Japan the English spoken is completely different,” says Derek, who works as a Chief Financial Officer for a private company in Hongkong. “I find it difficult to understand what they are trying to say. They use the Japanese accent a lot when they speak English. I have to listen patiently. But they also told me they find it difficult to understand my Chinese accent. So, it is all very complicated.”

But Derek is a fan of the Japanese. “Nobody can match them when it comes to punctuality,” he says. “So, if a programme is supposed to start at 10 a.m., it will not start at 9.59 or 10.01. Instead, it will start at exactly 10 a.m. When it is 30 seconds from 10 a.m., all of a sudden the hall will fall silent. Then they will watch the second hand. Then on the dot of 10 a.m., the meeting starts. That is the precision with which they live their daily lives.”

As for China, the people who join Toastmasters are mostly the young. “They are doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, and entrepreneurs who want to improve their communication skills. That is why Toastmasters in China is quite popular,” says Derek. “It also gives them an opportunity to learn to speak English well especially when they are dealing with international visitors.” 
(The New Indian Express, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram)

Lost In The Himalayas

COLUMN: LOCATION DIARY 
Director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan talks about his experiences in the films, 'Oraalppokkam' and 'Sexy Durga' 
Photos: Sanal Kumar Sasidharan; the poster of 'Oraalppokkam' 
By Shevlin Sebastian 
For the film, 'Oraalppokkam' (2014), director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan wanted to shoot a scene in a place where it was snowing. “So we decided to do a schedule in the Himalayas,” he says. “It was a time when it was raining. We knew that when it rained it usually snowed at the same time.”
They were shooting in Delhi but two crew members Sudhish (assistant director) and Anil (production crew) went in advance in order to locate an ideal location. However, there was no news for the next two days from them. 
After the Delhi shoot, Sanal, actor Prakash Bare and the crew left for Uttarkashi. “I was a bit worried that there was no information from Sudhish and Anil,” says Sanal. 
Soon, it started raining and there were flakes of snow. On the road, high up in the Himalayas, they saw a solider who asked for a lift. “We stopped the jeep and he got in,” says Sanal. “We told him two of our friends were stuck somewhere. He said there was a snowbound area around 20 kms ahead. So they might be there.” 
They travelled a few more kilometres before they had to come to a stop. A big boulder had fallen on the road. “So we could not move forward,” says Sanal. The soldier said he would walk as his camp was nearby. 
While crew members tried to remove the boulder, Sanal and Pradeep also walked towards the Army camp. The snow began to fall like feathers. “It looked beautiful,” says Sanal. “So I told Prakash that this would make a wonderful visual and we should stop for a shoot.” 
Prakash replied, “Are you mad? We are in a dangerous situation. It is 4 p.m. Within two hours, it will be completely dark. We will not be able to move anywhere. And we have to find a place to stay.” 
Sanal said, “We will not get this type of visual ever again.” 
By this time, cameraman Indrajith had already begun filming. “We took many visuals, even as Prakash got very angry with me and the crew,” says Sanal. “I again requested him to do the scene which I had imagined when I wrote the script.” 
Finally, Prakash agreed. And the shot was taken. “By this time a few inches of snow had fallen,” says Sanal. 
The crew broke up into two groups. While one team found shelter in a very small hotel nearby, Sanal and Prakash walked eight kilometres, bypassing numerous ice blocks, before they found another hotel where, coincidentally, Sudhish and Anil were staying. "That was a big relief," says Sanal.  
Meanwhile, crew members, who were staying in the first hotel, tried to call Sanal, but there was no range. After a day they panicked. They called a Malayalam newspaper in Kerala and told them that Sanal and Prakash had gone missing. 
The newspaper got in touch with AK Antony who was Defence Minister at that time. He immediately sent out a rescue team.
But, a day later, Sanal was able to able to contact the crew in the first hotel through his mobile phone and they came to his hotel. Soon, they discussed a plan to shoot the remaining scenes.  
“The next morning when we were getting ready to take some outdoor shots, we saw a couple of helicopters hovering overhead,” says Sanal. “Then a few soldiers came in search of us. One of them asked me whether we are from Kerala. I said yes. We did not know what was happening. We thought we had broken some law. Or maybe we did not take permission to shoot in that area. But it was only later we can to realise that this was all part of a rescue mission.” 
The police also did a sort of rescue mission on the sets of 'Sexy Durga' (2017). A schedule was taking place at 1 a.m. at the Kovalam Bypass. The story went like this: Durga (played by Rajshri Deshpande), a north Indian migrant and a Malayali Kabeer (Kannan Nayar) were running away. So, they were waiting on a deserted road for any vehicle to take them to the nearest railway station. 
So Rajshri and Kabeer were waiting on the bypass for the car, along with an assistant, Bipin Joseph, when a group of men came up and asked them what they were doing. “Bipin said a shoot was taking place,” says Sanal. “But the men began talking very aggressively. Bipin and the actors felt panicky, as they feared some sort of violence would take place.”
However, thanks to night patrolling, the police soon arrived. “Earlier, we had informed the local station that we were doing a shoot and had got the necessary permission,” says Sanal. “So the police sent the men packing. And shooting was able to resume peacefully.”
(The New Indian Express, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode) 
#SanalKumarSasidharan #Oraalppokkam #SexyDurga #PrakashBare #KovalamBypass