As for the subaltern communities, participation in government (state and local as well) and government machinery are the two 'scope areas' for future focus. Journalism and Media as Career: In tune with the growing needs round the corner, more youth need to turn to journalism and mass media. This is for two reasons: to fetch more employment and to bring the community in right light.
Dear Mr. Joseph Xavier,
I must thank you for reminding me of the 'idea hunt'.
My thoughts travel in multiple directions when you speak of development of 'Thuthur Region'. Here is my reflection on the idea. See what could fit in to your scheme of things. Like 'Venad' has got a historical identity, the Thuthur region also does. But putting it on record is important and I'am afraid, we are running out of time.
Take care, let's not mix religion with ethnic identity. It is not wise to put faith, liturgy, Church, priests and development in one basket. As history has time and again proved, it doesn't work. Try if you could bring development in a single, independent banner and never, never wait for the clergy men's green signal. Let them limit themselves to what they are delegated for. Be secular in your thoughts and approach if you are really serious about development. No hurts meant please.
We can think of development in terms of individuals and community. Careers, skill trainings, education, establishing training centres and the like can very well be brought under 'individual development'.
Community development necessarily includes cultural, ethnic, folkloristic, historical and sociological components. Politics, of course, needs a place in the list. Think of a 'think tank' that can function as a free enterprise and working out concepts / plans/ ideas in tune with time and future needs. Some external HR could be hired/ inducted in addition to native/ home resources.
Though my thoughts flow rather unorganised, I hope they do have sensible link and you will benefit out of these proposals:
Sports: A paradigm shift is imminent in our perception of sports development. Much more than local routine practices in home grounds, its time we had thought of establishment of a sports institute. It is time we think of a 'sports centre' in this area and find us a place in the Indian sports map. We need paid trainers in track and field sector. We have not even touched upon the area of water sports. Why not some gold medal at state / national level for items like swimming and kayoking? We can link our schools and provide the available training expertise to 'catch them young'.
Recruitment in civil services : As of union and state level civil service recruitment, we need to go a long way. Some concerted efforts rather than knee jerk response are needed. A pooling centre that would identify, motivate and send forward appropriate / potential candidates to professional training centres in metros is a tangible idea. We need a mechanism and a core group cut out for recruitment drives. A small time financial assistance / facilitation of study loans would be of great support. In this regard, the UPSC, TNPSC, Railways and Police recruitment need to be independently addressed.
As for the subaltern communities, participation in government (state and local as well) and government machinery are the two 'scope areas' for future focus. Journalism and Media as Career: In tune with the growing needs round the corner, more youth need to turn to journalism and mass media. This is for two reasons: to fetch more employment and to bring the community in right light. Competitions on photography, video documentary and journalism reporting should form part of annual programmes in the region. Periodic seminars / workshops could be arranged to expose potential aspirants to the current trends in media.
History, Literature, Folklore: The ethnic identity of Thuthur coastal region, unique features like innovations and ventures, folk arts, traditional sports and games remain the neglected areas. A small time attempt made back in 2011 with the support of local trusts and youth from villages to document the oral traditions of Thuthur region yielded encouraging results. Neidhal Veli Publishers brought out an edition of these documents. More need to be done on folk tales, folk songs, Amba folk songs (Beach seine songs), lullabies, elegies, deaths at sea, providential escapes, ethnic foods, rituals, social customs, community functions etc. Printed and audio visual materials, must be produced; electronic media resources could also be tapped for the purpose.Special assistance may be made available for audio and video production on ethnic cultural themes.
In another five to six years the community will be deprived of the traditional fishing knowledge on areas like multi-day fishing in sail fitted boats & kattumaram once and for all. This is one area where we need to get down to work on a war footing. Every bit of information on the nuances of ethnic fishing methods like long lines, baitless hooks, light fishing, Kalava Kettu/ Chemmeen Kettu and beach seine tradition must be recorded. Every school goer could be trained and engaged like 'Each one collect a couple of stories', put in black and white. Such collections could be brought out as edited series.
The fishermen of Venad among South Travancoreans, are long known for their prowess and unique skills in surf crossing, long lining and multi-day fishing. A museum containing souvenirs of old time fishing implements, craft, accessories, pre-nylon age lines, variety of gillnets, seines and the like is worth while. Regional innovation and improvisations in fishing from time to time assume significance as valuable evidences of our men's prowess. The evolution of modern fishing can be finely portrayed with models of 36ft, 48ft, steel body mechanised boats. Such efforts will create a sense of pride among the ethnic community besides reminding our younger generation of our past. Traditional knowledge on sustainable / eco-friendly fisheries doesn't seem to find place in curriculum of fisheries science in India.
Knowledge bank on sea currents, tides, winds, fish behaviour, fishing techniques from the sea tribes' point of view must be documented. All available literature on sea, sea coast, traditional fishing methods, processing and preservation, marketing and trade, value added fishery products, fishery engineering and nautical science need to be made available in the reference centre for people from all over the world. Digital documentation must form part of the project.
with love and warmth to people of Thoothoor,
Vareethiah.
நூல்: வேளம். கடல்வெளி. 2017. கிடைக்குமிடம்: மகிழ் புக்ஸ் மதுரை (7397604036)பனுவல், திருவான்மியூர், சென்னை(6381510695).
FUTURE THUTHUR - SOME REFLECTIONS
[A letter in response to the request from
thoothoor.com on 'Idea Hunt 2017']
I must thank you for reminding me of the 'idea hunt'.
My thoughts travel in multiple directions when you speak of development of 'Thuthur Region'. Here is my reflection on the idea. See what could fit in to your scheme of things. Like 'Venad' has got a historical identity, the Thuthur region also does. But putting it on record is important and I'am afraid, we are running out of time.
Take care, let's not mix religion with ethnic identity. It is not wise to put faith, liturgy, Church, priests and development in one basket. As history has time and again proved, it doesn't work. Try if you could bring development in a single, independent banner and never, never wait for the clergy men's green signal. Let them limit themselves to what they are delegated for. Be secular in your thoughts and approach if you are really serious about development. No hurts meant please.
We can think of development in terms of individuals and community. Careers, skill trainings, education, establishing training centres and the like can very well be brought under 'individual development'.
Community development necessarily includes cultural, ethnic, folkloristic, historical and sociological components. Politics, of course, needs a place in the list. Think of a 'think tank' that can function as a free enterprise and working out concepts / plans/ ideas in tune with time and future needs. Some external HR could be hired/ inducted in addition to native/ home resources.
Though my thoughts flow rather unorganised, I hope they do have sensible link and you will benefit out of these proposals:
Sports: A paradigm shift is imminent in our perception of sports development. Much more than local routine practices in home grounds, its time we had thought of establishment of a sports institute. It is time we think of a 'sports centre' in this area and find us a place in the Indian sports map. We need paid trainers in track and field sector. We have not even touched upon the area of water sports. Why not some gold medal at state / national level for items like swimming and kayoking? We can link our schools and provide the available training expertise to 'catch them young'.
Recruitment in civil services : As of union and state level civil service recruitment, we need to go a long way. Some concerted efforts rather than knee jerk response are needed. A pooling centre that would identify, motivate and send forward appropriate / potential candidates to professional training centres in metros is a tangible idea. We need a mechanism and a core group cut out for recruitment drives. A small time financial assistance / facilitation of study loans would be of great support. In this regard, the UPSC, TNPSC, Railways and Police recruitment need to be independently addressed.
As for the subaltern communities, participation in government (state and local as well) and government machinery are the two 'scope areas' for future focus. Journalism and Media as Career: In tune with the growing needs round the corner, more youth need to turn to journalism and mass media. This is for two reasons: to fetch more employment and to bring the community in right light. Competitions on photography, video documentary and journalism reporting should form part of annual programmes in the region. Periodic seminars / workshops could be arranged to expose potential aspirants to the current trends in media.
History, Literature, Folklore: The ethnic identity of Thuthur coastal region, unique features like innovations and ventures, folk arts, traditional sports and games remain the neglected areas. A small time attempt made back in 2011 with the support of local trusts and youth from villages to document the oral traditions of Thuthur region yielded encouraging results. Neidhal Veli Publishers brought out an edition of these documents. More need to be done on folk tales, folk songs, Amba folk songs (Beach seine songs), lullabies, elegies, deaths at sea, providential escapes, ethnic foods, rituals, social customs, community functions etc. Printed and audio visual materials, must be produced; electronic media resources could also be tapped for the purpose.Special assistance may be made available for audio and video production on ethnic cultural themes.
In another five to six years the community will be deprived of the traditional fishing knowledge on areas like multi-day fishing in sail fitted boats & kattumaram once and for all. This is one area where we need to get down to work on a war footing. Every bit of information on the nuances of ethnic fishing methods like long lines, baitless hooks, light fishing, Kalava Kettu/ Chemmeen Kettu and beach seine tradition must be recorded. Every school goer could be trained and engaged like 'Each one collect a couple of stories', put in black and white. Such collections could be brought out as edited series.
The fishermen of Venad among South Travancoreans, are long known for their prowess and unique skills in surf crossing, long lining and multi-day fishing. A museum containing souvenirs of old time fishing implements, craft, accessories, pre-nylon age lines, variety of gillnets, seines and the like is worth while. Regional innovation and improvisations in fishing from time to time assume significance as valuable evidences of our men's prowess. The evolution of modern fishing can be finely portrayed with models of 36ft, 48ft, steel body mechanised boats. Such efforts will create a sense of pride among the ethnic community besides reminding our younger generation of our past. Traditional knowledge on sustainable / eco-friendly fisheries doesn't seem to find place in curriculum of fisheries science in India.
Knowledge bank on sea currents, tides, winds, fish behaviour, fishing techniques from the sea tribes' point of view must be documented. All available literature on sea, sea coast, traditional fishing methods, processing and preservation, marketing and trade, value added fishery products, fishery engineering and nautical science need to be made available in the reference centre for people from all over the world. Digital documentation must form part of the project.
with love and warmth to people of Thoothoor,
Vareethiah.
நூல்: வேளம். கடல்வெளி. 2017. கிடைக்குமிடம்: மகிழ் புக்ஸ் மதுரை (7397604036)பனுவல், திருவான்மியூர், சென்னை(6381510695).
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