13. Report of 6-9-2015 meeting

Ninth Annual Meeting and Onam Celeb

Mayyanad Sangamam's 9th Annual Meeting was held on 6th September, 2015 at Hotel Nadanam Park from 10.00 am. After a four month hiatus it felt like we were seeing one another after a long time; although the usual lack of inertia that follows  a hectic week long Onam holidays when everyone is busy being with their  near and dear ones was much evident on this day too. Marked by low presence, the members seemed  lackluster and  a bit tired perhaps. Secretary Er.Manilal welcomed the gathering.

The meeting  began with the lighting of lamp and the invocation song.

The chief guest of the day was George Onakkoor, who has a good presence in the internet and hence needs no introduction, said the President D. Jayachandran in his inaugural address, He also divulged how at the executive meeting the members chose to have 'Onakkoor for Onam' as the chief guest.He then briefly spoke on the activities of the Club and also invoked the members to come out with fresh ideas to make the activities of the Club further useful to the people of Mayyanad. He noted with a bit of concern that we should make our presence felt in Mayyanad in a way that the following generation too would be remembered like the illustrious generation of C.Kesavan.

Our  compere Ms.Neethu Lal then read out a good introduction of the Chief guest and requested him to proceed to address the audience.  

The chief guest in his speech revealed why he was happy to be here. He too originated from a place that produced many known personalities who influenced and shaped his future life. When he left Moovattupuzha  and came to Trivandrum to continue his studies he was further drawn deeply into the company of men like K.Sukumaran, K.Balakrishnan, K.Damodaran- who were all at that time highly engaged in the troubled  social and political situations prevalent in Kerala  and were in the forefront of the revolt for change. The young George Onakkoor was naturally inspired and drawn into this group. He remembered with gratitude how  Kerala Kaumudi made him into a well-known writer  by publishing his writings. Hence for him being here was like walking down that nostalgic alleys of Mayyanad! He also pacified the President by telling him that the reason that we no longer can see people like those of our past generation is because we stopped writing. In the past we had men and women who wrote passionately and was able to fire the imagination of the people for a good cause. Today thinks have changed totally  with the traditional family system that held people together having disappeared. He ended by emphasizing that there is no going back but to flow with the tide.

The next speaker Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, Neurologist, in his felicitation speech took up from where George Onakkoor left and led the discussion to its logical conclusion, He declared that change is inevitable and that change is the only truth. Even man as a single person is the some total of changes in his life. In this changing evolution of life one reaches a stage where one learns to take every change in his stride and  moves toward that inevitable end with a peace that totes one to a good sleep only to be awakened fresh again for the next chain of change. In fact the sleep is also part of the change. In this emotionally charged speech twice he sought the opinion of Dr. Gopi Mani, the Genetist, who seemed like in a thoughtful mood. The Neurologist doctor was so preoccupied   with the existential idea of life that he went on to praise the invocation song sung by Ms.Sony, saying that the song had an unusual religiosity that was again a refreshing change from the ones that are usually sung by others.

A surprise new-entrant to the Club was Dr.Sudhakaran. In his introductory speech he made a good impression by his enthusiasm to be part of the meeting. He spoke briefly about the numerous social activities that he is involved in and expressed his willingness to contribute to the activities of the Club. He introduced his family members, consisting of all doctors, by fate.

Amina now looking prettier enthralled the audience with her carefully chosen melodious songs. The new entrant singer reminded one of Amina in her younger days. One wished that we had found time to include a few onam songs that reminds one of Maveli, the valloms, kaikottikali, etc. Or atleast some kind of kali! Of course the Onam sadya did the honour.

Vice President, Dr.Rajan K. Ramesh gave the vote of thanks.

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12. Report of 5.4.2015 Meeting

Mayyanad Sangamam 2015 April meeting

The meeting began with an invocation song by Ms. Nitu Manilal. The gathering also observed a minute of silence in memory of members -Peter Gonsalves, K.V.Anandam and  P.Sabarinad -who passed away after the last meeting.

The Secretary, Er. Manilal welcomed the Ninth New Year (Vishu) gathering of Mayyanidians, living in Thiruvananthapuram.  He expressed his happiness at the enthusiastic presence of its old and new members who made the event houseful.

Briefly referring to the query, with a hint of humour, by the chief guest earlier, when they went to invite her, whether Dr.Gopimani is the same person who writes letters to the editor of Mathrubhumi (at the drop of a hat!), President Sri.D.Jayachandran in his address pointed out the difference between ‘honest’ intentions and ‘diplomatic’ intentions by giving the oft quoted definition of a Diplomat: “A Diplomat is an honest person who lies abroad for the sake of his country”.  All done with honest intentions in defense of Dr. Gopimani and his socially-concerned activist writings.

After the function of Lighting of Lamp, the compeer of the meeting Ms. Nitumanilal next introduced the chief guest of the day, Smt. Vimala Menon, the noted writer and social activist. Smt.Vimala Menon has about 38 books published to her credit. The theme of innocence is very strong in her writings. In 1990 she received the Kerala State Literary Award in the category of best Children’s Literature for her work “Orazhcha” (One Week), for her sensitive depiction of the experiences of a group of children during a summer vacation to their ancestral home.  She is also the recipient of the 2004 SBT Award for her book ‘Mandakini Parayunnathu’ (Thus spoke Mandakini).  It paints the life of adolescents and the difficulties they face while growing up. In 2013 her book ‘Njangalkku Ithrayokke Mathiyo?’ was released by Sugathakumari, her mentor. The book portrays differently-abled children, and of the need to create a disabled-friendly atmosphere for them. Her concern is to make life all-inclusive in which the so-called marginalised members of society can also live a normal life like others, a desire she nurtured during her many years spent at the Balabhavan as teacher. At present she serves as Secretary of the Cheshire Home at Thiruvananthapuram.

Inaugural address:

Smt. Vimala Menon made an inspiring speech keeping in view that she was addressing a gathering of people who were desirous of connecting with their traditional roots. Speaking softly and with the ease of an imaginative and sensitive creative writer she quickly empathized with the audience and took them through a journey of their old memories by delving into memories of her own experiences in her ancestral home in Vadakkan Paravoor. The contours of the experiences were no different. In the ancestral home people of all ages lived together under one roof, sharing joys and sorrows, supporting each other in the true spirit of co-existence with Nature. Twenty and thirty people slept peacefully in one open space of the courtyard under the vast sky and never felt uncomfortable; though it had none of the luxuries of the modern day life. Settling in the city she realized how much of the sky she missed. It is fear everywhere, the fear of the unknown, and the consequent increase in unnatural dependence on Faith and the resorting to practices of charity. People live inside tightly closed doors even when they have neighbours all around. In the ancestral home a closed front door was seen as a bad omen. She exhorted the audience to follow the path of the ancestral life as that alone indicates that all is not lost. After your mother, the first memory will always be of your first teacher who held your hands and walked you into the ways of life. By the time Vimala Menon ended her speech she had the audience completely mesmerized, so that the next speaker Dr.Gopimani was speechless for a moment.

Felicitation speech:  Quickly restoring his self, Dr. Gopimani fell into his natural grace as a seasoned speaker. He expressed his gladness at knowing that people do take note of his writings. From the space of the ancestral home that Vimala Menon had led us to,  he took the audience further back in time into the vast open space of the Universe from where we could have originated some   500 crore  years ago, perhaps our ‘real’ ancestral home! With reference to his recently released book, ‘Utharaathunika Saastram’, he clearly took the side of creationist-evolutionist view and denounced the rationalists and the ‘chance’ theorists. A program has to have a programmer after all!

An invitee speaker of the day was Prof.G. Raju, who recently compiled a comprehensive literature of the history of the Ezhavas of Mayyanad. With reference to the Illams of Mayyanad, he emphasized the need to   research the concept of ‘Illam’, as he believed that the evidences collected will show that the history of Mayyanad dates further back in time than as is recorded now.

Ms.Sheena, Joint Secretary, proposed the Vote of Thanks.

While the new members got introduced and the members got busy in chit-chats some new singers crooned in for entertainment, although we missed the melodious voice of Aamina.

The meeting concluded with a grand buffet-lunch.

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11. Scholarship, Counselling, Paddy field

Making our presence felt

Mayyanad Sangamam TVM is busy making its presence felt at Mayyanad.

4-11-2014:                                                             

As requested by the Head Mistress of Mayyanad Vellamanal Government High School, apart from the usual merit-cum-means scholarships, five other students were provided with financial assistance of Rs.1000/- each at a meeting held at the school auditorium. 

President, Vice President, and Secretary of Sangamam who attended the meeting were happy with the warm response from the hosts. During conversations thereafter, the Head Mistress explained the pathetic conditions of most of the students, and also suggested help in the form of counselling classes.

Mayyanad Sangamam also took time out to check on the state of paddy growing sponsored by its members. The sight of the green paddy field at Mayyanad was indeed an encouraging sight.

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29-11-2014: 

Mayyanad Sangamam TVM arranged its first counselling class to students of class 10 of Vellamanal School on this day. The topic was: ‘How to Make Studies Interesting’. The class was conducted by Dr. R. Prakash. Counselling was given to the parents also. It turned out to be a success, and children who attended the class requested for more classes. Encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by the students as well as the school authorities, Mayyanad Sangamam agreed to conduct more classes.

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27-12-2014:  At a meeting held on this day at the Elder’s Forum, Mayyanad, ten scholarships were distributed to students who have passed out from the schools and are continuing their education at colleges, by the Secretary and Sri.Vijayachandran. Three of the scholarships are sponsored by Sri.Vijayachandran in memory of his late father Adv.Cheyilazhikathu Kochu Pappu B.A. B.L.

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7-1-2015:  At the Annual School Day Function, four scholarships were distributed to students of Mayyanad H.S.S. Inspired by the ambience and warm welcome they were accorded by the authorities and students, the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of Mayyanad Sangamam who attended the function shared some nostalgic moments by going on stage. They shared with the gathering their own experiences as former students of the school, evoking applause from the much enthused audience.

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16-1-2015:  

Another counselling class was arranged for students of class 12 of Vellamanal Govt. H.S.S. This time, while Dr. R. Prakash conducted the group counselling, seven counsellors from Access met the students and spoke to them individually. Later, the Principal expressed her gratitude for the initiatives taken by Mayyanad Sangamam towards the welfare of the school.

Feedbacks indicate that the students, parents and the teachers are highly motivated and are looking forward to such useful initiatives from Mayyanad Sangamam. 

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