Earthly Musings

India celebrates its 70 th Republic Day on 26 th January, 2019. The year commemorates the 150 th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi which shall be set going with a tribute on this day.   H.E. Matemela Cyril Ramaphosa, the fifth and current President of South Africa is expected to be Chief Guest at the Celebrations this year.   The delegates for the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas which shall be held in Varanasi between 21 st and 23 rd January, 2019 shall also witness the grand parade at Rajpath.   As per tradition Prime Minister shall pay tribute to honour the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country since independence.   National War Memorial near India Gate shall also be inaugurated by the PM. Contingents of the Indian Armed Forces including the para-military forces, Delhi Police and Service bands shall form the backdrop for a marvellous show of military strength as part of the parade.   An all women contingent from the Assam Rifles, which is one of

                                                         Olu (She) by Shaji N Karun                                                  A review by Jaya Prakash Kallikkal Olu (She) is a film that veers between fantasy and reality. Brilliant Cinematography stringing together varied shades of love, layered at different levels of human mind   creatively translated into a visual treat is the hallmark of this beautiful film.    109mts of pure fantasy unfolds through an intriguing story telling style splashing out onto the screen under the masterly directorial venture of acclaimed Malayalam Film Director Shaji N. Karun . Titled ‘Olu’, a local slang for She/her, used in northern parts of Kerala is a fantasy drama that rivets around the central theme of love as seen from a male and female perspective.   Shot mostly in the backdrop of turquoise blue backwaters, the story is set in a mystery island in the Arabian sea where a nun turned bodhisattva is believed to have set foot a

Indian Panorama Film Festival 2019 (Indian Panorama Section Films of 2018) Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India is holding public screenings of Indian Panorama section of 2018 films at Siri Fort Auditorium between 4 th and 13 th January, 2019 at Siri Fort Auditorum, New Delhi. Inaugural ceremony shall be held on Friday 4 th January, 2019 at 5.30 pm at Siri Fort Auditorium which shall have screening of Aditya Suhas Jambhale directed Non-feature film Kharvasi (Marathi 38 mts.) and Shaji N Karun directed Feature Film Olu (Malayalam 109 mts.). Tentative Schedule 4 January, 2019 (Friday): Day: 01 Opening Film at Indian Panorama: Shaji N Karun's Olu (ഓള് ) 5 January 2019 (Saturday): Day 02 11:00 am Padmaavat (Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Hindi: Duration:165 mts.), 2.30 pm: Pamphlet/ Poomaram (Abid Shine)(Malayalam: 106 mts.) ,  5.30 pm:Aai Shappath/Walking with the wind 6 January 2019 (

[A writeup by Jaya Prakash Kallikkal on a new concept that can be used by urban planners for building people friendly cities by adoption of technologies aimed at pedestrian traffic, cyclists and alternative mode of passenger and goods movement across cities ] Rapidly shrinking cities owing to rising population and increasing vehicular traffic is a cause of huge concern for individuals and communities in terms of deteriorating health and pollution.   We are today witnessing a massive push for construction of roads and metros especially in the cities. While roads are re-laid over existing tracks, traditional highways are being expanded wider into four and six-lane driveways with varying speed limits.   A big causality of urbanization is safe walk ways for pedestrians and cycle tracks for cyclists.    Most cities in India, including Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai were proud inheritors of wide green turfs and open lawns.   However pressure of urbanization an