Category Archives: World Opinion

WORLD RECORDS: SPORTS / CRICKET: India Women Create History, Clinch Inaugural ‘ICC U19 T20 World Cup’

Shafali Verma-led team beat England U-19 Women by seven wickets in final at Potchefstroom.

When India skipper Shafali Verma got out while India were chasing 69 there was no panic in the India team. Their pursuit of glory was still within grasp in the final of the inaugural ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup final at Potchefstroom on Sunday. Even when Shweta Sehrawat, the batting star of the tournament, got out, the dressing room did not freak out.

Because out in the middle were Soumya Tiwari and G Trisha — the two who knew what was needed. They have spent enough time together to know each other’s game and more importantly, they knew what was at stake. Trisha (24) and Soumya (24 n.o) ensured there were no further hiccups as India cruised towards the title.  

Just to put the match into context, their bowlers had done their job. Titas Sadhu, the pacer from Bengal, had set the stage with a splendid new ball spell, finishing with 2/6 in her four overs before spinners did the rest.

A seven-wicket win to bring home the World Cup trophy — the one that eluded their coach Nooshin Al Khadeer when she was in the same country 18 years ago as a player, then again in 2017 against the same opposition at Lord’s and again in 2020 versus Australia. In fact, their captain Shafali and Richa Ghosh know what it is like to be on the other side of the result.

This, however, is the new generation. These players don’t panic. They aren’t overwhelmed by big occasions. Their confidence at times can be scary too. Some of them, Shabnam MD for example, weren’t even born when Nooshin was playing in 2005. Though they have had their share of struggle getting into the sport, but in the past couple of years they have left all that behind. Their mission was to make it to the U19 World Cup and win it. In the lead-up to the tournament, most of them were even competing against each other for a place in the squad.

However, credit has to be given where it is due. Over the past nine months, the BCCI has had several zonal camps from which the players were shortlisted to the main camp at the National Cricket Academy. There they trained under the same coach — Nooshin. Players got to spend a lot of time together and bond. And before travelling to South Africa, they played a quadrangular series with Sri Lanka and West Indies and bilaterals against New Zealand at home and the hosts SA. To be precise, none of the other top teams had as much game-time together as India had had.

Coming to the coach — Nooshin. She has not lost a single tournament in the last two seasons whether it is with Railways in the domestic circuit or in the Women’s T20 Challenge last year. But before going to the WC, she knew the challenges. She was not going to take any team lightly and expected a few upsets along the way as well. Which is what happened too. And as Shafali said, she was there with the team every single day to remind them why they are there and what the final goal was.

Perhaps, the biggest takeaway from this triumph is the kind of talent pool that is there in the country. When Shafali and Richa were included in the squad at the last minute without spending much time in any of the earlier camps, it raised a lot of eyebrows. But this group of teenagers smashed all the doubts with every single match through the tournament. It was Shweta who finished as the top run scorer with 297 runs at a strike rate of 139.43 in seven innings. Shafali was third on the list, with Soumya and Trisha stepping up in crucial matches. And then there are Parshavi Chopra, the second leading wicket-taker with 11 scalps, Mannat Kashyap and Archana Devi — the trio who spun a web around opponent batters.

In a month where the BCCI has become Rs 5,650.99 crore richer with the inaugural Women’s Premier League, this batch of U19 cricketers has painted a picture at the global stage of what kind of talent India have and how they are likely to dominate world cricket in the next decade. Nooshin summed it up perfectly after the match. “It just shows the kind of depth we have and what is there for us in the future. The most special thing about this team is their belief. The team believes… We have been waiting for a very long time for a cup and it’s gonna be the U-19 who’s giving it first, so it’s the future and we have a very good future,” she said.

Everything about the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup was going to be historic. It was happening for the first time. For the past 15 days, irrespective of where each team finished and how each player performed, they are all going to be a part of history. But in the end, there is only one winner — India. They have turned a new page in the history of Indian women’s cricket.

Brief scores: England Women U-19 68 (Ryana 19; Titas 2/6, Parshavi 2/13, Archana 2/17) lost to India Women U-19 69/3 (Soumya 24 n.o, Trisha 24).

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN: Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi (1927-2023) | Pioneer of Indian Modernist Architecture

Indian architect BV Doshi has passed away, at the age of 95. Trained under Le Corbusier, he was the only Indian to have been awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize for designing IIM, Bengaluru.

One of the most distinguished Indian minds in the world of architecture, BV Doshi, passed away at the age of 95 on Tuesday. leaving behind a tall legacy and an irreplaceable void in the world’s design community.

BV or Balkrishna Vithaldas, won the gold medal awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2022, joining a select league of international names like Le Corbuiser, Louis I Kahn and Edwin Maxwell Fry.

A Padma Bhushan awardee, Doshi was known for designing the buildings of the Ahmedabad-based Centre for Environment and Planning Technology (CEPT) and Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute.  His style of architecture — an amalgam of European modernist, brutalist architecture with Indian sensibilities — won many hearts.

Shiv Dutt Sharma (93), a contemporary of Doshi who had worked on the Chandigarh project with Corbusier, describes Doshi as “hospitable, amiable, simple and incredibly humble,” adding “He was a dear friend.”

In October last year, when this correspondent reached out to Doshi, his granddaughter Khushnu Panthaki-Hoof, principal architect, Studio Sangath, said that he was not talking to many journalists and was still recovering from a bout of COVID-19, which he had two months ago. But on learning that the article was intended to highlight Corbusier’s legacy, he made an exception. “I consider him my guru,” he had said at that time.

Apart from designing one of the finest buildings in Ahmedabad, Doshi also created designs for low-cost housing. His 1982 project, Aranya Low Cost Housing in Indore won him the 6th Aga Khan Award for Architecture. In another example of the international recognition of his works, Doshi was awarded France’s highest honour for the arts, the Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters, in 2011.

He graduated from the Sir JJ School of Architecture in Mumbai in 1950 and left for Europe soon after, beginning his journey in architecture with Corbusier in Paris between 1951 and 1954. On returning to India, he worked for Corbusier in Ahmedabad.

The celebrated architect authored several books on art and architecture, including Paths Uncharted (2011), Balkrishna Doshi: Writings on Architecture and Identity (2019), and Balkrishna Doshi: Architecture for the People (2019). Meanwhile, international architects ended up writing books on Doshi. This included William J R Curtis’s book Balkrishna Doshi: An Architecture for India, released in 2014.

In his book Paths Uncharted, former Chief Architect of Chandigarh, Sumit Kaur, points to an excerpt where Doshi wrote: “Frankly, at this stage in life I even hesitate in calling myself an architect because the more I think about what Architecture is, the less I feel I know about its true calling. Every time I felt I have mastered it, each new completed project has made me aware of how much more there is to Architecture. As a result I increasingly see myself more as a person seeking my destiny rather than just being an architect planner or such.”

A statement issued by his family said the cremation will take place at 2:30 pm at Thaltej Crematorium. The message read: “No one loved life more than him, ‘ Anand Karo’ – Celebrate Life, as he would always say. He had so many people that he loved dearly and who loved him back. He will leave for his onward journey from our residence Kamala House.”

B.V. Doshi passed away Tuesday, January 24th, 2023

NATIONAL: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: JNCASR Scientists Develop Brain-like Computing with Industry Compatible Nitride Semiconductors

They used scandium nitride (ScN) to develop a device mimicking a synapse that controls the signal transmission as well as remembers the signal.

A team of scientists from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) have used scandium nitride (ScN) and Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility to develop brain-like computing.

This invention can provide a new material for stable, CMOS-compatible optoelectronic synaptic functionalities at a relatively lower energy cost and also potential to be translated into an industrial product.

According to the Department of Science and Technology, the JNCASR team led by Dheemahi Rao who were working on nitride-based materials used their background for developing hardware for neuromorphic computing. They used ScN to develop a device mimicking a synapse that controls the signal transmission as well as remembers the signal.

“The JNCASR team demonstrates an artificial optoelectronic synapse with ScN thin films that can mimic synaptic functionalities like short-term memory, long-term memory, the transition from short-term to long-term memory, learning–forgetting, frequency selective optical filtering, frequency-dependent potentiation and depression, Hebbian learning, and logic-gate operations,” states the department.

Compared to the existing materials used to demonstrate optoelectronic synapse, ScN is more stable, CMOS compatible, and can be seamlessly integrated with existing Si technology. It can act as a platform for both excitatory and inhibitory functions. The industrial processing techniques of ScN are similar to the existing semiconductor fabrication infrastructure. Response to the optical stimuli also has the advantage of possible integration with photonic circuits known for higher speed and broader bandwidth than electronic circuits.

“Our work enables neuromorphic computing research with a stable, scalable, and CMOS-compatible III-nitride semiconductor that exhibits both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic functionalities. Unlike the previous works on all-electronic synapse, our work shows an optoelectronic synapse with a large bandwidth, reduced RC delays, and low power consumption,”said Dr. Bivas Saha, Assistant Professor, JNCASR.

Apart from JNCASR, researchers from the University of Sydney (Dr. Magnus Garbrecht and Dr. Asha I. K. Pillai) also participated in this study published recently in the scientific journal Advanced Electronic Materials.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: FOSSILS DISCOVERY: Dinosaur Nest Cluster with 256  eggs found in Narmada Valley, Madhya Pradesh

While dinosaur nests and eggs having been found in the past, too, this recent find raised the possibility of the Narmada Valley having been a fertile hatchery location for dinosaurs millions of years.

A rare discovery of 92 closely located dinosaur nests and 256 fossilised eggs of herbivorous Titanosaurs (one of the largest known dinosaurs) has been made by a team of palaeontologists in Dhar district, which is part of the Narmada Valley in Madhya Pradesh.

While dinosaur nests and eggs having been found in the past, too, by other palaeontologists in the Jabalpur region of MP and Balasinor in Gujarat, this recent find raised the possibility of the Narmada Valley having been a fertile hatchery location for dinosaurs millions of years ago.

The field research was carried out by a team of palaeontologists from Delhi University, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohanpur-Kolkata and Bhopal in many villages of Bagh and Kukshi areas of Dhar district between 2017 and 2020.

A paper on their research by Harsha Dhiman, Vishal Verma, G V R Prasad and others was recently published in the PLOS ONE research journal. “A major inference from the three years of research is that the nests and eggs found in the villages of Dhar district date back 66 million years ago.

It’s quite possible that the Titanosaurs either just came to lay the eggs in this area of Narmada Valley or the eggs were also hatched there. The eggs found by us show evidence of hatching as well as not having been hatched,” Dhiman, the lead researcher told this newspaper on Saturday. “Since only nests and eggs and not bones have been found, we need to perform micro CT scan for further research,” Dhiman added.

Egg Diameter around 15-17 cm
The nests found in the Narmada valley were close to each other, which is generally not the case. These nests had eggs which ranged between 15 cm and 17 cm in diameter. “Each nest had between one and 20 eggs,” Dhiman said

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: DEFENCE SERVICES: Woman Naval Air Operations Officer Lt Commander Disha Amrith to Lead Indian Navy’s Contingent at 2023 Republic Day Parade

Navy officials said three women and five men Agniveers will also participate in the parade at Kartavya Path.

Lt Commander Disha Amrith, a woman naval air operations official posted at a strategic base, will lead the Indian Navy’s Republic Day contingent of 144 young sailors and its tableau will showcase the ‘Nari Shakti’ in force.

Navy officials said three women and five men Agniveers will also participate in the parade at Kartavya Path.

Besides Amrith, another woman officer — Sub Lt Valli Meena S — will be among the three platoon commanders of the naval contingent.

A Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from BMS College of Engineering in Karnataka, 29-year-old Amrith was part of the National Cadet Corps’s Republic Day team in 2008 and harboured the dream of being part of the marching contingents of one of the three services at the celebrations in Delhi.

“Since 2008, I was nurturing this dream of being part of the Republic Day contingent of the armed forces. It is an amazing opportunity that the Indian Navy has given me (to lead the naval contingent),” she said.

The officer, who hails from Mangaluru, got into the Navy in 2016 and has been posted at a key naval facility in the Andaman and Nicobar islands after completing her training in 2017.

“I am an aviator for Dornier aircraft and have been carrying out sorties in the plane,” she told PTI.

Last month, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said the Navy is looking at opening all its  branches for women from 2023.

Sharing her experience, Amrith said she always wanted to be part of the armed forces and it was partly inspired by her parents as well.

“My father also wanted to be part of the services but could not. I am proud to be part of the Navy and will continue to serve the Navy with full zeal and dedication,” she said.

Asked about the challenges that women face in the forces, Amrith said, “I became stronger physically, emotionally and I am now more self-driven.” The renowned brass band of the Indian Navy of 80 musicians will be led by M Antony Raj, playing the Indian Navy Song ‘Jai Bharti’.

The theme of the naval tableau would be ‘Indian Navy — Combat Ready, Credible, Cohesive and Future Proof,’ said Vice Admiral Suraj Berry,  the Controller Personnel Services (CPS).

He said the tableau is designed with an aim to showcase the multi-dimensional capabilities of the Indian Navy as well as highlight key indigenously designed and built platforms.

“The tableau also aims to highlight ‘Nari Shakti’ in the Indian Navy,” he told reporters.

The forward part of the tableau will showcase a woman aircrew of Dornier aircraft (flying overhead), highlighting the all-women crew of a surveillance sortie undertaken last year.

The main section of the tableau will illustrate the ‘Make in India’ initiatives of the Navy and model of the new indigenous Nilgiri class ship with a Dhruv helicopter deploying marine commandos will take the centre-stage.  On the sides of the main section, cut out models of indigenous Kalvari Class submarine will be depicted.

In the rear section of the tableau, three models of autonomous unmanned systems being developed indigenously under IDEX-Sprint Challenge will be displayed.

The Indian Navy aims to induct at least 75 technology/product as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

The sprint initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Naval Innovation and Indignation Organisation Seminar in July last year.

These products are being developed under the innovation for defence excellence scheme of the Ministry of Defence and Technology Development Acceleration Cell of Indian Navy, the official said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: ENGINEERING / TECHNOLOGY: Tata Boeing Aerospace (TBAL) Delivers First Fuselage for AH-64 Apaches for Army

Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) on Thursday said it has delivered the first fuselage for six AH-64 Apache attack helicopters ordered by the Indian Army.

The fuselage was produced at TBAL’s production facility in Hyderabad.

“This is a proud milestone and a testimony of our commitment towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the world-class manufacturing capabilities at our joint venture Tata Boeing Aerospace Ltd at Hyderabad,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India.

“The Apache will provide the Indian Army with a significant boost in capability just as the AH-64 has for the Indian Air Force,” he said.

Boeing had completed the deliveries of all 22 AH-64E Apache helicopters to the Indian Air Force in 2020.

TBAL’s 14,000 sq metre facility produces complex aero-structures for Boeing 737 and 777 models in addition to being a global sole source supplier for Apache fuselages.

The joint venture between Boeing and Tata Advanced systems Ltd (TASL) employs more than 900 engineers and technicians and utilizes cutting-edge robotics, automation and advanced aerospace concepts in its manufacturing processes.

“Successful delivery of the first fuselage for Boeing AH-64 Apache combat helicopters for the Indian Army is the result of the hard work and seamless collaboration of the teams at TBAL,” said Sukaran Singh, managing director and chief executive officer, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL).

He said this delivery also positions India as an important manufacturing base in overall Boeing operations.

“We stay committed towards progression of indigenous defence manufacturing with strong focus on the quality and timely delivery,” he said.

TBAL has produced and supplied Boeing’s Apache final assembly plant in Mesa, Arizona with over 190 fuselages. More than 90 per cent of the parts used in these aerostructures assemblies are manufactured within India through over 100 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) suppliers.

Tata Group recently won the ‘Supplier of the year’ award 2022 from Boeing, from among more than 11,000 suppliers worldwide.

With more than 1,275 AH-64 Apaches in operation accumulating over 4.9 million flight hours globally, 1.3 million of which have been in combat, the attack helicopter holds the reputation of being the world’s most advanced and proven one.

The helicopter is capable of delivering a variety of weapons which include air-to-ground Hellfire missiles. PTI MPB CK

source/content: theprint.in /PTI (headline edited)

GLOBAL RECORDS: ARTS & CULTURE / CINEMA / MUSIC: RRR’s Golden Globes Win set to make SS Rajamouli the First Indian Director in Hollywood’s Top Rungs

RRR’s win at the Golden Globes is not just a win for SS Rajamouli and his team, but a win for Indian cinema. Now, all eyes are on the Oscars and what’s next for the celebrated filmmaker.

In Short

  • RRR has its sights on the Oscars now.
  • Rajamouli has signed with Hollywood’s premier talent agency CAA.
  • The RRR director has said that a sequel is in the works.

Director SS Rajamouli, Ram Charan, Jr NTR, and composer MM Keeravaani are over the moon with the historic win at the Golden Globes 2023. Following the prestigious award win, the Indians are rejoicing around the world. The big win by Team RRR not just made history for the Indian and Telegu cinemas, but has made it a force to reckon with.

The career path for the Baahubali director has now split wide open and Rajamouli is likely to become the first Indian director to be working in mainstream Hollywood. How did Jakanna, as he is fondly called, get to this incredible moment in his career?

CINEMA FOR INDIANS

All the 12 films that SS Rajamouli has directed so far have been in Telugu and, astoundingly, all of them have been successful at the box office. This is not a simple feat to achieve. With Eega, Rajamouli tasted the success of his films in non-Telugu speaking areas as well, as the movie was dubbed and released in various languages. The success of this film made Rajamouli a household name in India. Come Baahubali, he pushed boundaries not just in terms of the story and scale and, with the marketing blitz, his team created pan-India to ensure that all Indians get to see this larger-than-life film. He used innovative promotional tactics and engaged social media and the millennials to get them hooked on his film. This strategy paid off.

Watch Naatu Naatu from RRR

With RRR, Rajamouli, his cast and their marketing team went a step further. They decided to market it to the world rather than just India. The cast flew to various places, including Japan, and made sure they interacted closely with the media and the audience in every city they visited.

Rajamouli has always said his stories connect emotionally with the audiences and that’s what he strives for – RRR hit this brief 100% on the head. In the United States, moviegoers were impressed with the male bonding and the story of nationalism which emotionally struck a chord with the audience there. It became the second highest-grossing Indian in the US (after Baahubali) and Rajamouli knew that this was the opportunity he had to seize to make inroads into the American awards circuit.

Recently, Rajamouli went on the Seth Meyers and spoke about the success of RRR, stating, “I make films for Indians in India and across the globe. When appreciation came in from the West, our initial thought was that these were friends of Indians who had seen RRR. Then celebrities and story writers started talking about it.”

The momentum set forth by the success of RRR at the box office has led it to making history at the Golden Globes 2023 by getting Naatu Naatu the Best Original Song award, beating the likes of Rihanna and Taylor Swift. However, this is just the beginning for Rajamouli.

HOLLYWOOD NEXT

While Rajamouli may talk about the sequel of RRR, this will be a while in the making given the other film commitments that RRR stars Ram Charan and Jr NTR have at this point. The Magadheera director is also said to have signed a film with Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu. It is Hollywood, though, that the director has his sights firmly set on.

Rajamouli has been signed by the American talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which is the number one agency in Hollywood. American producers, filmmakers, and actors have sat up and taken notice of Rajamouli’s work and, though he has currently worked only in Indian cinema, they understand that his style of storytelling and vision is as brilliant as some of the best directors in Hollywood.

Take the case of Oscar-winning director Ang Lee. Ang Lee, who started his career with Chinese language films, got roped into Hollywood and went on to successfully straddle the world of English and Chinese cinema. This is the possible career trajectory that Rajamouli could be looking at at this point – his heart may lie with Indian cinema, but Hollywood would allow him the budget, the reach and the opportunity of creating films that could turn out to be as big as the Marvel or DC films. Collaborations with American producers and stars could also allow Rajamouli to create Indian films that appeal to both Indian and Western audiences.

For Rajamouli, RRR was a story about superheroes and not just two freedom fighters. The Yamadonga director has stated that he uses his imagination to create different worlds and his stories have always been ruled by his imagination.

South film industry insiders strongly predict that Rajamouli would definitely sign a Hollywood in the coming times. This would make him the first Indian director to sign a mainstream Hollywood film and once that happens, he will again be creating another new paradigm shift for Indian cinema and the Indian film industry.

With an Oscar prediction for RRR as well, it’s just a matter of time before Rajamouli steps foot into Hollywood.

source/content: indiatoday.in (headline edited)

NATIONAL: DEFENCE SERVICES: January 15th – Celebrated as Indian Army Day | Here’s why it is Celebrated on January 15 every year

India celebrates 75th Army Day today.

India celebrates Army Day on January 15 every year to commemorate the achievements of the first Indian Commander in Chief of the Indian Army — General (later Field Marshal) K.M. Cariappa.

On this day, Cariappa, who led Indian forces to victory in the 1947 war, took over the command of the Indian Army from General Sir FRR Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of Independent India. The Army Day is celebrated every year to honour Cariappa and the defence forces.

Until last year, the main Army Day parade was held at the Cariappa Parade ground in Delhi where Service Chiefs paid homage to the Indian Army. The Army Day Parade showcases the evolution of various weapon systems held in the Indian Army’s inventory. Soldiers are also awareded with Gallantry awards and Sena medals on the day.

Army Day 2023

As part of an initiative to take major events to other parts of the country, away from the national capital region, the 75th Army Day will be held in Bengaluru this year.

The rationale behind the move is to bring about increased visibility of these events and secure greater engagement with the local population.

The parade on Army Day will begin with a wreath-laying ceremony by Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande at Madras Engineer Centre War Memorial. Gen. Pande will then review the Army Day parade. COAS unit citations will also be awarded to units for their exceptional performance.

As many as eight marching contingents including a horse-mounted contingent from the Army Service Corps and a military band comprising regimental brass bands will be a part of this year’s Army parade. The Army Day parade will also be supported by a flypast of Army aviation Dhruv and Rudra helicopters.

As a part of the Army outreach programme to build a better bond with civilians, a run was organised in Hyderabad at Necklace Road where around 1,000 people participated. A blood donation camp was also organsied in which 7,500 units of blood were donated in both Hyderabad and Secunderabad at Military hospitals.

In 2022, the Indian Army’s theme for the event was “In Stride with the Future”. It was seen as an acknowledgement of the “increasingly critical role played by niche and disruptive technologies in modern warfare”.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL RECORDS: ARTS & CULTURE/ HISTORY/ MANUSCRIPTS: World’s First Palm-Leaf Manuscript Museum in Kerala capital, a Mine of Stories

The facility is essentially a repository of curious nuggets of administrative, socio-cultural and economic facets of Travancore spanning a period of 650 years till the end of the 19th century.

A treasure house of both obscure and celebrated tales of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom that became Asia’s first to defeat any European power on Indian soil, the recently opened Palm leaf Manuscript Museum in the Kerala capital has further brightened the state’s cultural and academic space.

Billed as the world’s first palm leaf manuscript museum, the facility is essentially a repository of curious nuggets of administrative, socio-cultural and economic facets of Travancore spanning a period of 650 years till the end of the 19th century, besides documents relating to territories of Kochi in the state’s middle and Malabar further north.

Besides brightening the state’s culture space, the museum also serves as a reference point for historical and cultural research for academic and non-academic scholars, officials said.

Among the manuscripts that the museum houses are accounts of the famed Battle of Colachel wherein the valiant Travancore king Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1729-58) defeated the Dutch East India Company at Colachel, 20 km northwest of Kanyakumari in present-day Tamil Nadu.

This 1741 victory ended Dutch expansion in India, and Travancore under Marthanda Varma became Asia’s first state to defeat the expansionist designs of any European power.

The museum, which opened last week, has 187 manuscripts chronicling a mine of stories based entirely on primary sources: Documents written on cured and treated palm leaves consigned to the corners of the records rooms.

The archival material, in the first phase, was chosen after painstaking sifting from a huge stock of haphazardly stored 1.5 crore palm-leaf records from across the state.

Today, the select documents occupy what is the world’s only manuscript museum that solely displays sheaves of palm leaf materials and allied paraphernalia such as styluses and carriers of the Cadjan bundles, they said.

Bamboo splints and copper plates, too, make a presence. Officials are elated about the museum set up on the ground floor of the three-century-old complex which functions as the Central Archives under the state government.

More so, since this is just the first move towards a major heritage conservation project. With its eight galleries that also feature videos and QR code systems permitting the acquisition of information, the facility is wooing common people and niche researchers alike.

The manuscripts also outline the evolution of writing in the region, points out Dr V Venu, State Additional Chief Secretary (Archaeology, Archives and Museums).

“They give visitors an idea about the emergence of the Malayalam script from older systems such as Vattezhuthu and Kolezhuthu,” he said.

“Primarily, the galleries give a glimpse of the complex administrative systems of land management, path-breaking proclamations of the Travancore royals and international negotiations as well as agreements, besides documents that became historical milestones,” said Venu, also a former Director General of National Museum in Delhi.

The museum here is expected to breathe new life into exploring the entire manuscript collection and hopes to attract more researchers and students.

The collection of palm leaf records will soon move to a modern facility in the city, with arrangements for scientific storage and study.

“It is a safe set-up, giving a comfortable space for research,” Venu said. R Chandran Pillai, Executive Director of the government’s Keralam Museum, the nodal agency assigned to set up and refurbish repositories across the state, claimed that the palm leaf storehouse had no previous models anywhere in the world. The manuscripts straddle six centuries, from 1249 CE to 1896, said J Rejikumar, who heads the Directorate of Archives.

According to author-historian S Uma Maheswari, palm leaves have the capacity to plug certain gaps in Kerala’s history.

“The records may not guarantee continuity to past events, but they own a great potential to lend new angles to existing narratives and strengthen their composition as well as colour,” said the writer of the two-volume Mathilakam Records that essays Travancore history of the last millennium.

“Each item in the museum is a commentary on the state affairs: Revenue, defence, administration, health, education, religion, caste, corruption, crime and whatnot,” Maheswari said.

The museum has eight galleries representing as many segments: ‘History of Writing’, ‘Land and people’, ‘Administration’, ‘War and peace’, ‘Education and Health’, ‘Economy’, ‘Art and culture’ and ‘Mathilakam Records’. The tile-roof museum housed the Central Archives two years after the department was formed in 1962.

Before that, it had been the Central Vernacular Records Office since 1887. Till then, the building was a prison under the Travancore ruler and, prior to it, barracks of his Nair army.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)