Prisons are supposed to reform the inmates, for them to be later brought back to the mainstream. There is an attempt to impart some skills to prisoners for them to earn their livelihood once they are outside. Across India, success of prisons are debatable. Whether the inmates get reformed or not, running prisons are a costly affair for government. Yes, law abiding citizens bear the cost to support others. Putting these prisoners to work and contribute to economy is one option. World over, such initiatives had varied success rate. Kerala made few initiatives like outlets serving some basic food, stitching clothes, farming, etc. Some had been extremely successful. With better focus and direction, more such ventures can be initiated for the benefit of everyone. Like, - body building and workshop for KSRTC buses - digitization of government documents - kitchen for trains and flights - vegetable farming - processing and packaging foods under contract - call centre

Lately, stray dogs are in news. As they cannot speak for themselves, we speak for them and against. It was when I were in Bangalore that I first realized that stray dogs can become public nuisance. But I felt protected indoors, be it house, office or car. Late night movies were when I were troubled. I would step out of a multiplex, watching a batman movie, and would have only dogs as company. Some would be ferocious. A batman will not come for rescue. It was never safe. One day, there was an incident of a dog taking a 2 or 3 month old infant from a house and bit a good portion of baby's face. Still people were divided by their opinion. If we profile people who speak for stray dogs, all of them are from higher socio-economic background. They will come out to voice their support for stray dogs, with sunscreens and glasses to protect themselves from the indifferent sun. We do not hear anybody from this background getting attacked by a stray dog. It's not that dogs beware them or...

All icons of industry are excited about the Gujarat state. Everybody wants to have their factory there. When Modi was ruling the state, they were eulogising him for his achievements. Across the country, people were taking their pilgrimage to Gujarat, to understand what this state offers that others could not. People from Kerala too - politicians, businessmen, government officials, etc made trips. Those who couldn't go had media to feed their appetite. All had only one message to share - it would be wonderful to turn Kerala into a Gujarat. Recently, I got to be in Gujarat for a week. I had been to Vapi, Daman (Union Territory), Surat, Bharuch, Jhagadia and Vadodara. I have these varied opinions about the state. Most of the hotels there are vegetarian, but many of them serve egg. Industries operate in earmarked land, operated by GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation). They have multiple estates in every district, focusing on sectors. Almost all these industrial estat...

What explains restaurants closing down in 60 days from opening, in Kochi? A restaurant should offer two things - hygiene and quality food - to stay in business. But cost of running and price of food is what that decides the viability of restaurant as a business. Now, if we ponder about it, most of them that got closed tick the first two items. Where they have gone wrong is in their cost and price. First let us deal price. Any one would love to get a tea for three rupees. But it is not on offer in Kochi, where the price would range from 5 to 500! I am talking about restaurants only. Why the difference? Any tea in the price range will be of quality and, made & served at a hygiene place. Yes, tea could be made better. Which explains them priced between 10 to 30. Beyond that, we are not paying for tea. We are paying for ambience, service, exclusivity, parking, family friendly and as rent for the real estate that we occupy. The last point explains pricing at modern cafes and high str...

Fire stations are there in almost all towns in Kerala. Public call them for emergency help during a fire. Public also call them during emergencies other than fire such as drowning humans or livestock, snakes inside houses, motor and other accidents, etc. Fire department do their best when they are called for, fire or no fire. So what do we actually need, a fire department, emergency cell or disaster management unit? I think it is time for us to convert fire department in to disaster management department with units across the state. The department should have  special units that have expertise to fight fire, water, wild animals, motor accidents and all disasters small or big, human or natural. Such units would provide a wider help to public.

Rape incident in Delhi last month was brutal but I was not surprised. Because women in a vulnerable situation are exploited by men across the country. In cities women are molested more often in public spaces. Rape is an everyday incident outside cities. Women are raped by father, brother, neighbour, driver, insurgent, extremist, politician and police across India. A woman is raped every 22 minutes in India. In our capital city alone there was more than 600 reported incidents of rape last year. So why should I be surprised? I am more surprised about Kerala, where it seems that we only want to get drunk and rape infants & children. An individual and his friends are accused of rape by his 6 year old child . Another is to be hanged for raping a 15 year old . Father and his two sons are accused of raping 6 & 9 year old sisters living neighbourhood. Father, uncle & 15 year old brother are accused of rape by a 15 year old . Kerala police have registered 715 rape ca...

The beautiful Emerging Kerala  logo is illustrated by Gina Mikel  who is based in Missouri, USA. But the creative agency supporting Kerala government's path breaking initiative , stole the design and only chose to pay when questioned by her. It's not the first time that Kerala government is mired in such issues. Please check my earlier post on Kerala Tourism campaign . Illustration of bird flying  -  http://www.scientificillustrator.com/illustration/bird/bird.html Note by illustrator - Note regarding the Emerging Kerala controversy: I've been receiving quite a bit of correspondence about this. In summary, I was contacted in April 2012 by someone who let me know that the image (to the left) was being used by the Emerging Kerala organizers. I then contacted the organizers through their website to express my concern (that I had not been notified in advance of the usage, had not been paid for usage, etc.) They forwarded my contact informati...

Ranjith made a unique space for him and his audience with movies like Pranchiyettan, Indian Rupee and Spirit. Malayalam film industry is jubilant watching this director's movies becoming successful. I've enjoyed all these movies. I am writing this to appreciate a unique pattern that I've noticed in his movies. Like in any society around the world, we have our own social ills. These are not evident for us as it became part of our culture. They come in many forms having their own impact on the society's future. Honour killing in north india, cash for vote in tamil, corruption across india, manual scavenging in parts of india, disposal of human excreta from trains, dowry, classification of Muslims as terrorists across the world, displacement or removal of an ecosystem for development, parents not cared by children and many many more. Movies have always been a powerful media dealing these issues. In Kerala 3 of such social ills are - the belief that reputation...

Kerala is facing 10 challenges today. These are social and economic challenges. We need to overcome each one of these challenges as they are issues critical for every one of us. We do not have absolute solution for all these. But we need to find a solution. 1) Waste Management and Disposal Rapid urbanisation has brought with it the most urgent challenge to us - Management and disposal of waste generated by households and industries. It is now common across Kerala to see piles of waste by the roadside. An NRK will return to his piece of property in Kerala to find a pile of waste there. The issue is affecting tourism sector badly. Suggested Solution: Wealth out of waste 2) Migrant Labourers Human resources from Kerala are toiling across the world and we are looking for people from other parts of India as skilled and unskilled labourers. They are there in every sector, in small and big establishments and even as farm labourers. Unlawful activities and petty public issues f...

On the highways of Kerala, one cannot miss hoardings of one or another clinic that offers treatment for infertility. News papers have front page advertisements and magazines have special supplements (feature marketing). Infertility is a concern that affects a growing number of population across the world and Kerala is not different. Couples would require counselling, assisted conception and even medical intervention which is provided by doctors. But, as in any other medical field, there is lack of good medical practice affecting infertility treatments. This is highlighted in this article . People seeking infertility treatments should be aware and careful. You may check more links below. Kerala is the new infertility treatment hub `Infertility clinics must be regulated` Importance of Infertility Bill

Malayala Manorama, who was in a deep slumber finally wakes up to Times of India. Manorama, the daily, is being re-designed by the Spanish design journalist Javier Errea . The re-designing is happening after 7 years and coincides with the entry of Times of India to Kerala. Manorama accepted Mathrubhumi as their only competitor. That is going to change now. Even though Manorama puts advertisements to suggest youth as their readers, I do not see anybody less than 25 years reading Manorama voraciously with out missing it every day. Manorama lost them long back. It is not that Manorama didn't put their efforts. It is just that youth are not inclined to read any Malayalam daily or rather their parents are not instilling that habit in next generation. Parents prefer their kids to read English dailies and moreover the number of kids able to read Malayalam comfortably is reducing at a fast pace. Manorama understands this well more than me or anybody else in this world. There is mo...

Switch on the TV there is a special news section on Mullaperiyar dam issue. Front page news is on Mullaperiyar. Roads are barricaded with cutouts of political leaders with dam as background. Walls are occupied by posters of political parties, trade unions, associations, NGOs, school children and what not. Dam is discussed over a cup of tea by everyone at any hotel. Discussions are more agitated at bars. Public in Kerala is on a frenzy matched only during elections. Media is feeding it for their TRPs. Selfish politicians are on roads with all usual gimmicks in the name of common man. Why most of us are not able to see this through? Yes, it is a serious issue which needs a political solution. But is it as serious as media and political parties make this out to be. Definitely no. The biggest culprit here is media, who are feeding this frenzy and making public the lame duck. I am thinking of Japan now. They live in the constant fear of earthquakes and massive destruction...

Thank god the marketing blitzkrieg by Emmanuel Silks is over. The brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan was on all advertising mediums (except social media) inviting people for inauguration of their branch in Kochi. Kochi was on a roll. Textile retailing in Kochi is an attractive market dominated by Jayalakshmi and Seematti for decades. They make the weddings happen in and around Kochi. Many players entered the market in the last 5-8 years like Kalyan, Chennai Silks and Joyalukkas. But none of them can claim to have made large enough market for themselves. They are well known brands but still most of the prospective customers are lenient towards Jayalakshmi or Seematti. This could be a wrong footed prediction but I believe Chennai Silks will close their branch in Kochi soon. There was a brand called Remanika that came up in 90s next to Seematti with much fanfare. They closed down with in one year. History tells that in last 25 years there was none who gave a decent f...

Coconut Development Board [CDB] has been on an overdrive creating a pool of trained coconut climbers. The results are now for everyone to see. CDB has put a list of coconut climbers with their mobile numbers on the website . This effort by CDB is much appreciable as climbers are hard to find these days. No training is available even for people who are interested to take this as their job. Hope the online directory will provide enough climbers on call. I have already found two people near my house.

Times of India's much awaited Kerala entry is on the rocks. Sources in the industry reveal that the alliance between Times of India and Mathrubhumi has gone awry. Apparently due to differences with Mathrubhumi, Times of India is going back to the drawing board to get the edition launched by it's own. The difference with Mathrubhumi would hurt Times of India. Times was getting ready for an immediate launch. They got an able editorial team on job now. The team is continuously churning out news from Kerala as never before. Malayala Manorama and Hindu were ready with their hoardings to counter the expected onslaught of marketing blitz from Times of India. The delay in the launch is only going to give some more time for competitors to prepare for offensive and defensive tactics.

Yes, the media behemoth is at last making an entry in to Kerala. It has been much awaited and was very much expected during Onam. Now it is clear that the Times of India will have an edition in Kerala from 3rd week of October. Times of India is trying to reach across Kerala, starting from Kochi. They have a tie-up with Mathrubhumi. Apparently there would be an introductory subscription offer of Rs.5 per day for both these papers together. No other state in India has such vigour to consume 'news' as seen among Keralites. More than 2/3rd of population in Kerala reads one of the top 10 dailies here (English and Malayalam). Somehow Hindu and Indian Express, two foremost English dailies for a long time, could not increase their readership, even though there exists a large population who would like to read an English daily. Deccan Chronicle recently entered Kerala and is doing its part to cater this demand. Industry will be keenly watching as Times of India is known...

Kochi will host an industrial meet titled - Emerging Kerala - to woo large scale investment in Kerala. More about it can be read here and here . Kerala was never considered an investor friendly state. Trade and labour unions almost always make it highly difficult for an enterprise to operate in Kerala. Recently we have many political, social and environment activists harassing entrepreneurs. Almost always they have unreasonable demands that make Kerala non-conducive for business. Keralites are only to blame for investors staying away from Kerala. Kerala needs a change in attitude. Emerging Kerala could be a step by Kerala government in the right direction.  Kerala is not a place to do manufacturing. Kerala has been more friendly towards businesses in the service sector. Kerala can attract investment in sectors like, Tourism, Healthcare, IT, BPO, Financial services, Legal services, Retail, Education, Logistics, Shipping & Ports, ...

As per this report on the web portal of Grenada government, a delegation of six people from Grenada will be in Kerala for a week. Grenada is the land for Nutmegs and Mace and their study tour in Kerala promises much for both.

It is estimated that Keralites would shop home appliances worth Rs.450 crore ($100 million approx.) this Onam season. This is the biggest shopping season in Kerala as Ramzan and Onam comes at a time of wedding season. Keralites predominantly shop textiles, jewellery, home appliances and automobiles during Onam. Every one doles out some sort of discounts and offers to their customers during Onam, but for Jayalakshmi and Seematti (two largest textile retailers). They stand out this season too like every other seasons without offering any discounts. The business acumen of people running Jayalakshmi and Seematti have to be well appreciated. Madness and hysteria created by competitors around them do not deter their strategy. The ruckus is not for them. They simply increase their ad spend and expect customers to turn-up at their expansive shops, not looking for any discounts. Yes, customers do turn-up every season. Competitors change their strategy, open new branches, offe...

Kerala government under Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announced 35 kg of rice per month at One Rupee per kg for all families Below Poverty Line. In an earlier post , I have said that this is a flawed economic policy. We do not need rice to be distributed like this. Such policies will only kill farming in Kerala. This blog by Dr. Suman Sahai  gives many reasons. It looks like men in Kerala need not work for anything, beg for 35 Rupees, stand in a queue every month to get the allotted rice. Why are we breeding a country full of men who are good for nothing? Every person who understands the toil that requires to cultivate a kg of rice would be sad. I am.