Pre-school kids victims of unsafe transport

The death of four kids and the woman attender of a private nursery school after the van in which they were travelling fell into a canal has brought back the focus into safe transport of children to schools.
The accident is a pointer to the negligence and rashness in the attitude of the parents who charter these vehicles and the school authorities who allow unsafe transportation of children to their campuses.
According to eye witnesses the omni van used to pack as many as 15 children into it on most days. Omni vans are supposed to have a seating capacity of 5 and 7.
It is common now to modify vehicles including vans and autorickshaws used for transporting small kids so that more passengers can be accomodated. Vehicles are modified in such a way that sometimes even close two 25 kids are packed into a single van.
A large number of such kids are pre-schoolers or those attending primary school.
This is in violation of the MV Act, but seldom there is any action.
The buses owned by educational institutions are required to have a colour code and drive their vehicles cautiously. But there is no regulation to cover the transportation of kids using rickshaws and small vans.

BOOK RELEASE

BOOK RELEASE

BOOK RELEASE

Hi,

This is  the invitation to the book release scheduled at 5.00 pm on  08 th feb 2011 at press club Trivandrum
'Chayumbole Uchaveyile' collection of poems by K.G.Suresh and 'Suyodhanam' on mythology by P.C Anilkumar published by DRAKSHA BOOKS  will be released on this day by Dr. Sukumar Azhikode and received by V. Madhusoodhanan Nair  and Soorya  Krishnamoorthy on this day.inaugural speech delivered by Dr. Sukumar Azhikode will be the highlight of the event
all are welcome please pass this on to your friends and family.

Thank you,
DRAKSHA BOOKS

'Dhobi Ghat' slowly grows on you...

Unfolding against the city’s bustling geography, these stories reveal an intimate and sometimes unpleasant portrait of Mumbai. The issue of class difference rears its ugly head as Shia and Munna become friends. Lack of privacy is another key theme, as is the migrant experience.

Director Kiran Rao makes some interesting points, but there are a few things that just don’t work. The overuse of coincidence, for one. In a city bursting at the seams, the characters in this film seem to be running into each other just about everywhere. Also, Munna is a dhobi, who works nights as a rat-catcher; at one point it’s even insinuated that he’s sleeping with a housewife possibly for cash. Is there any job this guy doesn’t do? And yet he’s available on call to provide tourist-guide services to Shai.

Arun’s obsession with Yasmin is another tricky area. His curiosity about her life may be understandable given that he appears to have no life of his own, but the reaction to his ultimate discovery about her appears contrived.

To be honest, Arun is the only character in the film that strikes me as awkward. He’s saddled with clunky dialogue, and played uncomfortably by Aamir Khan, who surprisingly comes off as too conscious. Monica Dogra as Shai takes some getting used to, but finds her feet along the way. It’s Kriti Malhotra as Yasmin who strikes the perfect note, and whose haunting influence can be felt long after the film is over. Prateik Babbar as Munna oozes charisma and confidence, and your heart goes out to his character in the end when reality puts a break on his dreams.

Beautifully shot and aided by an evocative background score, 'Dhobi Ghat' is occasionally indulgent and moves at a glacial pace. Yet Rao creates some endearing characters, and embraces Mumbai despite its dichotomies. The result is a film that slowly grows on you.

LR  SHAJI

EDITOR

READING 'SERIOUS MEN'...

Just finished reading 'Serious Men' by Manu Joseph.

Totally irreverent ; dripping savage satire ; belittling everything world has placed on a pedestal, the story unfolds thru' the contrasting lives of Ayyan Mani, a dalit secretary and his brahmin director Aravind Acharya of a research institute and tells you how fatefully connected they are in thoughts and deeds!

The story has an appealing flavour of the triumph of 'sidelined' over 'high and mighty' and at times reminds you of a Man Booker winning 'The White Tiger' by Aravind Adiga..!

Nevertheless, 'Serious Men' has a master plot with unusual insight into human psyche..  A must read, I must say..!  Thankyou Manu Joseph..!

LR SHAJI
EDITOR

Could Sreesanth have made a difference...

'I am so Heart broken..but It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself,' medium pacer S. Sresanth's tweeted when he found that his name did not figure in the list of 15 players for the cricket World Cup starting in the sub-continent next month.
May be it is right for Sreesanth to feel aggrieved at not being selected for the showpiece event, especially when you consider the fact that he has not at all done badly in the recently concluded Test series in South Africa.
There is no doubt that Zaheer and Praveen are the first and automatic choices in the medium pace category. But it would not have been a controversial decision to pick Sreesanth in the 15-man squad instead of either of the other two particularly when you consider the placid sub-continental tracks where the World Cup is set to unfold.
Of course, Munaf's performance in the second one day international in the ongoing series in South Africa may have given him the edge. But he is not a wicket-taking or attacking bowler as Sreesanth whom India can use upfront. And he has proved over and again that he is another pedestrian customer with nothing surprising in his repertoire of deliveries. 
But there are plenty of chances that Sreesanth may play in the World Cup as all the four medium pacers are injury-prone. It will not be surprising if Sree plays in this tournament presuming that India move ahead from the preliminary round.
We believe Sreesanth could have done equally well or better than the two bowlers who have been given the nod by the selectors.

LR  SHAJI