Reform and Improve: The positive face of prisons

Subin Mananthavady

In recent years the prisons in Kerala have been transformed into the centers of reformation and correction, gradually shedding their image as centers of oppression , bad influence etc. These changes are in line with the larger improvements in the prison systems in many places in the country and in agreement with growing awareness and policy changes in the past couple of decades. Prisons in Kerala now produce a large number of SSLC and degree holders, who aspire for a better life, published authors etc. indicating a diametrical change in the role of prisons in the lives of prisoners. Along with this prisons also now put to use the physical labour of inmates to produce good entrepreneurial results as indicated by the popularity and success of chapati’s and other food items made in jail. Thus, prisons attempt to channelise  the energies  as well as  the frustrations  of inmates constructively and creatively in order to benefit  them and the larger society.

Babu Mathew, a native of  Payyavur near Taliparamba in Kannur district was studying for MCA at Erode Arts College in Tamil Nadu when he was involved in a murder case. The incident happened, as he said was  over Rs 6,000 he lost. He filed a   complaint with the police immediately in which he had mentioned the names of a few people whom he had suspected of stealing his money. Enraged by the complaint, the group picked up a quarrel with him and in the melee, one of them died by his hand. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on December 21, 2008. However, Babu Mathew had  created history in Kerala  a couple of years ago  by becoming the first jail inmate to  get an MBA degree offered by the Pondicherry University. He was in Kannur Central Jail at that time. “Passing the MBA course had given me confidence to continue with my studies and enhance  the chances  of getting a better job ,” he said.

“My ambition was to become a software engineer or a database administrator. I feel very sad  about the murder and how it had spoiled my life. However, I was lucky  to get permission  for higher  studies in the jail. I owe a lot to the jail authorities who permitted me to study,” 37 year-old Babu said. In 2013, Kerala High Court   reduced  his punishment period  to seven years following his appeal.  Recently  Babu  was released from the jail after serving his punishment period. “It is not that easy to get out of a jail and lead a normal life after the release. A convict is always a convict in the eyes of the authorities and the public. It is not easy to change the stigma. So that in future, I want to be a role model to the society and work for the people, I am very lucky,” Babu said. Now Babu is on a job hunt and also doing his MCom from  Calicut University. He is married and has two children.

Rijo Joseph,33  a native of Kalady in Ernakulam district has completed his BA and MA in  English literature from Calicut University, PG diploma in Tourism Management from Annamalai University and  MBA degree in human resource management from Pondicherry  University while in penal incarceration. He is still a life prisoner  at the open prison at Nettukaltheri in Thiruvananthapuram. Now he is doing MSC Applied Psychology from Annamalai university. “I killed a 65- year old woman for money.  She was my neighbour. The incident took place on  June 16^th, 2000. I was studying for a nursing degree at Chitradurga in Karnataka when the incident happened, he remembered. Use of drugs  led to the incident, he said ."My stint in jail has given me the confidence to imagine a second life when I get a release. I would like to become an academician after my  jail term.” Rijo says. In 2008, Rijo had created history by becoming the first life-termer appearing for the civil services examination.

The lives of Rijo Joseph and Babu Mathew were not isolated incidents. Like them, a large number of  inmates in the 52 jails in the  state are channelising their energies in pursuit of learning despite the constraints of the prison life, by dreaming a better life. Now there are 148 inmates doing their 4^th, 7^th and SSLC at the  open prison at Nettukaltheri in Thiruvananthapuram. Apart from that, two inmates are doing post graduation and graduation respectively here. In Kannur Central Jail, as many as 84 inmates are studying for various courses.

"We conduct classes from the primary to the high school level,” says K. V. Mukesh, Welfare officer  of Kannur central prison. “The classes start at 9 am and end at 4 pm. We provide all facilities for the 4th, 7th, and 10th equivalent examinations. We have a teacher too. Apart from that teachers from various schools and colleges are also offering their free services,” he said. Facilities are also provided to attend contact classes for graduation and post graduation courses. We have started a study centre of  Indira Gandhi National Open University at Kannur central prison, he said. We use qualified inmates to teach others. Interestingly, the inmates who are studying in the school become well-disciplined," he added.

Another significant change that has taken place in Kerala jails now is that  they have become a revenue-generating entities and that in the coming days jails in the state would generate more revenue. Now the jails are active with various economic activities like agriculture, food making ventures, organic farming and brick production etc. According to  Prison Department  the prison food business have posted an impressive turnover of Rs 22.28 crores in 2013-2014 financial year as compare to Rs. 9.81 crores in 2012-2013 and Rs. 38.49 lakh in 2011- 2012 financial year. People from all walks of life queuing up in front of the sales counter outside the jails for chapathi and chicken curry and other food items are a common scene in the state.

“In 2011, there had been a debate in the Kerala Assembly on the escalating prices of food items in hotels in the state. It led to the idea of making food in jails using the labour force of prisoners,”  Said  Alexander Jacob, former Director General of prisons and Correctional Services, who implemented the food making venture.   “On an experimental basis, we started production of chappatis in Viyyur Central prison. It was a grand success and we extended the food business to other jails in the state , “ Mr. Alexander added. Now there are nine prisons including three central prisons in Kerala  which are engaged in food production ventures. Poor people who could not afford the rise in price for food were our target customers and we wanted to provide them quality food at a cheap rate," Alexander Jacob said.

“We prepare high quality food items like chapatis, curries, idli, Biriyani, banana chips, laddu and cake,  in the most hygienic conditions and serve them fresh at affordable prices,” says K A Kumaran, Chief Welfare Officer, Jail department. The reforms implemented in the last few years had brought about many revolutionary changes in the state's prisons, he added. The prisoners are now fully engaged and most of the prisoners have developed positive thinking.

 “We started production and sale of a variety of food items, commercial cultivation of vegetables, fruits, paddy, medicinal plants and flowers and dairy and poultry farming in addition to conventional activities such as weaving, carpentry and soap making in the jails to teach prisoners some useful skills as they usually while away the time playing cards or plotting to escape,” says TP Senkumar IPS, Director General of prisons and Correctional Services. We are planning to introduce some new skilled jobs like coconut climbing and beautician course, Mr. Senkumar added. Some convicts who were part of the food production unit were released and are employed in various hotels and a good one can even get paid Rs 1,000 a day, Mr. Kumaran said.

Food  business in the Kannur central prison  has contributed  Rs. 1.71 crore profit to the government  exchequer in 2013-2014 financial year. This central prison  has ventured into the business of food articles   launching of Chapati and curry under the brand name ‘Malabar Freedom’. “Now the demand for  the chapati and other food items are going up every day said  Welfare officer KV Mukesh.  Now we are making 25000- 30000 chappatis daily, he added. We are selling these items   through a main counter, which was set up at Kannur central prison and a mobile unit, which  covers Kannur  town.   We  have plan to expand the mobile unit  to other places of Kannur district too, he added. Now chappati is selling for Rs. 2 per piece. Egg curry and  vegitable curry are priced Rs. 15 each and  chicken curry is sold for Rs. 30.

After the success in the sale of chappatis, the prison had also   launched banana chips in March, 2013.  “We expanded  the business only because of the  wide acceptance of the products.  The price of  one kilo chips is Rs. 200 in the prison. Now we are making  nearly 250  kilo chips daily. These chips are  natural and we don’t apply any flavours  or colours,” Mr. Mukesh added.  Apart from these items, the central prison is also making  vegetable biriyani , chicken biriyani,  and laddu. As many as 75 inmates are engaged in the food making business here.

Apart from food making ventures  the prisoners are also now producing paddy, long beans, banana, cabbage and sugarcane. According to  Prison Department , the prison Garden produce  turnover was Rs.23.23 lakh in 2013-2014 financial year.  In 2012-2013  it was Rs. 1.75 crore and in 2011- 2012 financial year it was Rs.1.89 crore. These kind of activities have not only been bringing a steady income to the inmates, who can use it for supporting their family or save them to start their own business after their release, but also offering a therapeutic effect on them, Mr. Senkumar added. A prisoner who does jobs related to cooking and food processing gets Rs 117 a day. This dissuades them from returning to crime after being released while the money sent home from prison makes sure their families don't do anything illegal to survive. At the end of the month, Rs 3,500 is sent to the family,” Mr. Senkumar said.  "Often when the male member of a family is imprisoned, the woman and son too end up in jail as they engage in illegal activities for survival. But such incidences have come down as the family is getting money every month," he added.

Apart from educational opportunities and income generation, the prisons also give the inmates  avenues for their  literary and creative skills. There are published authors  among the inmates and  their books have  been received  well by readers  and reviewers. Just imagine the  self esteem and the sense of dignity such endeavours and accomplishments  give to a prisoner who is otherwise an outcast and a pariah. Such attempts  to transform  and channelise the energies  and frustrations  and disappointments  of the prisoners  towards constructive  ways  are sure to be beneficial both  for the individual and the larger society.

‘Jailil Mottitta Kathakal,’ (‘Stories blossomed in the prison’), a collection of short stories penned by 34 inmates of various jails in the state have  been received  well by readers  and reviewers. The book, a brainchild of the Prisons Department, was published by Poorna Publications, Kozhikode. “ The stories  of the book were selected  by conducting a competion. Lissy, a 40 year old women from Chulliyode in Wayanad district  and an inmate of Women’s Jail, Kannur, came first in the competition. “The life in the jail helped her in becoming a better writer. “I want to write more and  the award was the first recognition of any kind in my life,” “ Lissy said. K.N. Shobhana, Kannur jail’s welfare officer (in charge), says now more inmates have expressed desire to write stories and poems.

 Meanwhile, An anthology of poems by C R Shaji, an inmate of the Central Prison Poojappura, had  also published by Aswasa Bhavan, Kottayam.  Apart from that  Jesus fraternity had also published book, ‘Thadavara Sangeetham’, which is a collecton of short stories and poems by the inmates of Kerala prisons  recently. “The Prisons Department organises poetry, essay, and short story contests every year to find the upcoming writers, said Mr. Kumaran. We will give all support to the upcoming writers of various jails in the state, he added.

These new activities are a good move from the part of the Jail authorities to put the prisoners on the right path and make their life after jail release a much better one and also useful to their families and society. This endeavour was aimed at the evolving trend of seeing prisons as correction centers rather than centers of detention and punishment. This is the way, how the prisoners, when they come out of the prison can be productive citizens to feed themselves and their families. Else, they will go back to the old lifestyle of crime and more headaches to the society. This way, they get a second chance in life and their in-born gift and potential can be wisely used for their betterment. 

Mollywood comes to Kochi By Subin Mananthavady

Kodambakkam in Tamil Nadu used to be film buffs’ destination and centre of film activities once. The Hollywood of India’s South then, its high road was lined with film studios. The homes of the living gods and goddesses and the superstars were located around the belt. Directors and producers chose the area for settling. Moreover it was the abode of Mollywood too.
The situation has changed. Kochi, the business capital of Kerala, has now become the Kodambakkam of Mollywood. Like Kodambakkam, Kochi is also growing up as a film city. Mollywood’s glitterati—actors, directors and technicians—based in Chennai and different places in Kerala shifted their residences to Kochi. They include Mohanlal, Mammootty, Jayaram, Indrajith, Prithviraj, Jayasoorya, Lal, Kavya Madhavan, Meera Jasmine, Bhama, Samvritha, K G George, Joshiy, Rafi Meccartin, Shafi and Siddique. They own their own houses or flats in the city.
Why did they choose Kochi as their home? Each has his/her own reasons.
“Every State has its own film cities, Tamil Nadu has Chennai, Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad, Maharashtra Mumbai. Likewise Kochi is becoming Kerala’s film city”, says Indrajith, who shifted to Maradu in Kochi from Thiruvananthapuram nearly five years ago. “Take a look at my shooting schedules. I used to spend most of my days in Kochi, but only few days in Thiruvananthapuram. Staying in Kochi is advantageous to me”, adds Indrajith.
His brother Prithviraj owns a flat at Kadavanthra. Kunchacko Boban, the ‘chocolate hero’ of Mollywood, came from Alappuzha nearly five years ago to take up residence in a flat, also at Kadavanthra.
“I used to feel like a frog in the well while being in Alappuzha, my hometown. My arrival here has wrought a lot of changes in my life. It has made me understand the new trends and current developments and opportunities in the film world. Most of the people connected with the Malayalam film industry, especially technicians, artists and directors, now live here, some in their own flats or homes and others in rented houses. My being here enables me to interact with them easily”, says Chackochan. He expects Kochi to become a Kodambakkam very soon. “Kochi has been in the news for long because of the IPL controversy. It is fertile enough for business too,” he says. Besides being an actor, Chackochan is also a well-known businessman. He admits that his entry into Kochi has made him enter the film industry too.“We can easily spot locations suitable for any scripts in Kochi in a matter of two or three days,” says art director Salu K George. He moved from Changanassery to settle in Kakkanad seven years ago. “Kochi has its own beauty. Within a radius of 30 km you can find many different landscapes in Kochi for shooting a film—the sea, paddy fields, lagoons, rubber plantations, high-rises, port, harbour, forest, airport, railway station, villages. That’s why a majority of Malayalam films are now shot in and around Kochi,” adds Salu George.
“There is no such location in Kerala as Kochi. Everything is available here”, says Lal, director, actor and producer. He is now staying at Kakkanad. “Besides good locations, all technical facilities are also available here. With new equipment and studios, Mollywood will prove self-sufficient in filmmaking technologies within a short time. Until a few years ago we had to depend on Chennai for post-production works. With the launching of studios like Lal, Vismaya and DLS in Kochi, we can do the technical works at very competitive rates and save a lot of money,” says Lal. Editing, dubbing, sound effects, graphic work, song recording, final mixing—every facility is available here. Travel and transport facilities in Kochi are also very good. We have railway stations and an airport. So artists and technicians from Chennai and other parts of the country can reach here easily. After their work, they can also travel back easily”, says Lal. Availability of prime fitness centres like Talwalkars and Biorhythms is another attraction for artists to choose Kochi as their home.
Samvritha Sunil came from Kannur to Kochi three years ago and has settled at Kaloor. “I started learning dance as a child. I continued this till I reached Kochi. Gradually my travelling for shooting purposes became more frequent, which affected my dance classes. Then I decided to go to a fitness centre. I benefit a lot by attending the centre. I spend at least one hour in the gymnasium after shifting my residence to Kochi”, says Samvritha. “Kochi is the main venue for the poojas of all Malayalam films. I had great difficulty reaching here from Kannur for such programmes. But now it is easy. Most of the activities for Malayalam films presently take place in Kochi.” says Samvritha.

vanishing dreams by subin mananthavady

The beginning of 21st century marked an increase in hard ships of Indian farmers especially in Kerala. During this time Globalisation badly affected the price stability of Agricultural products. This pushed farms in to debt trap. Now the farmers in Kerala want to escape from the debt trap and so they are investing in diverse crops like Ginger Banana and increasingly Vanilla. Only through this they can hope to find an escape route.
The intelligent ones walk before the times, the other with the times. A group of people in Kerala tried to walk before the times and so they have been able to find out new avenues in cultivation. Vanilla is an important aspect of this innovative agricultural investment. Vanilla is a partial shade loving plant. It is grown under coconut and areca net plantations. In India it is more cultivated in States like Kerala, Karnataka and in Tamilnadu in lower Pulneys and the Pollachi area. Elevation up to 1500m provides ideal setting for vanilla cultivation.
In this situation Vanilla fetched Rs. 3800/Kg. in 2003. But this year the price is just Rs.250/Kg. The processed Vanilla, which fetched Rs.25000/ Kg in last year, has no buyers today. Now the price of the processed Vanilla in the international market is in the range of Rs.2000 to 2500. The vine that was sold at Rs.150/mtr. Now fetches a meager Rs.10/mtr. On the one hand vanilla cultivation spreads throughout because of its high price. On the other hand, it is affected by fungal and viral diseases. Recently diseases like root decay fading etc. are found in Vanilla due to fungus and virus. In 2004, one of the farmers in Kalpetta, Wayanad dist. burned his acres of Vanilla plants, due to these diseases.
There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for Vanilla farmers. Those farmers who had plunged in to processing Vanilla beans to protect themselves from the fall in the price of the raw produce, have landed In a spot as the treated produce is begging for buyers. Vanilla farmers in Kerala are at a quandary with tones of treated produce eat their disposal. Buyers had kept away from the raw beans market during this harvest season. Farmers perceived this as a deliberate attempt to crash the price of the raw beans.
Hence farmers with the financial and technical support of the spices Board and the Indian institute of spices research, ventured in to Vanilla processing expecting a better price. However, much to the discomfiture of farmers, the processed beans is found no takers in the market. Though the spices board has announced that it would purchase the best quality processed Vanilla, farmers are chary about move.
The spices board which preached about the opportunities of Vanilla told that farmers would get minimum 4000 Rupees per Kg. raw beans and they gave 425/- rupees as subsidy per one unit. All these tempted the farmers to turn to vanilla cultivation. The next step was to secure this precious plant. Farmers adopted high-tech farming methods to get maximum profit. Price of Vanilla vine rose from Rs.15 to Rs.150.
The vanilla farmers evolved novel methods to protect their crops last year. The old five-feet high barbed iron fencing on stone poles were replaced by eight - feet concrete pillars with eight lines of inter lacing iron fencing or costly iron net. Apart from using dogs to guard the farm, some farmers even electrified their fences. Tribes who were adept in using bow and arrow were also deputed. As the vine thieves to increase many farmers had to appoint Ghoorkhas to prevent it. For these security measures, some farmers spent up to Rs.3000/- to Rs.5000/- as monthly salary to Ghoorkhas.
The thieves did their homework to out smart the farmers. Even country bombs were used to scare away watchman and farmers. The police in the Wayanad District registered more than 50 cases of Vanilla theft last year and a few were also nabbed. In the Kalpetta circle alone the police had registered ten cases and five persons were arrested. All this has come to an end. Vanilla farming has lost its charm. But some farmers still retain faith in the crop. Benjamin Isho, state president of the Vanilla growers association said that the association had 18000 farmers from the Wayanad District as members. About 90 percent were newcomers to Vanilla farming, he said. With the crises continuing to haunt the sector, the plants now remain unattended. Apart from the poor demand from the buyer the danger of processed beans gathering fungus due to climatic changes to has hit the farmers bad.
In the beginning banks were competed to sanction loan to farmers. Some banks gave up to 1 lakh rupees per acre. Loan festivals were conducted even in villages. Farmers believed that they could repay the loan only after harvest. But now they lost all hopes because they don’t have even a market to sell it. The multinational companies stopped collecting beans to destroy the Indian Market, like Cadburys Company they too never revealed the method of vanilla processing.
Thus the farmers had to sell the beans the very same day of harvest. This was a real trap to destroy farmers. In Wayanad itself the production of vanilla will reach 50 tones. In whole Kerala this will be 300 tones. Last year it was almost 50 tones in whole Kerala. Majority of the farmers doesn’t have the facility of processing and stock up to raise the price even through they lost that hope. “In International level ten multinational companies dominate the market. They unite together as one or two companies. That will affect the price of vanilla negatively. The after effect in the lack of competition between companies to buy vanilla. This is a technique to reduce the price by the farmers themselves” says Biju one of the vanilla grower of Wayanad.
It was 8 years back Biju’s father Plavelil Varghese died. His 2 acre’s was full of coconut and pepper cultivation plot. But it all proved great loss due to many deceases. At that time spices board selected Koilery bad Thanickal as the places to establish model vanilla plantations to spread vanilla cultivation in Wayanad. They considered these places as very suitable to cultivate vanilla.
That time there was no agricultural product which had a fair market price like vanilla. So Biju and his brother Saji decided to cultivate vanilla. Biju remember that 8 years back there wasn’t anybody to stock vanilla except one or two small companies. So every body contempt us. They even teased by asking is it flourished! And so on........ Later due to the effective campaign of spices board about the golden price of vanilla every farmers of that area turned to vanilla cultivation. When it accepted widely the people of Wayanad started buying vanilla vines even from Karnataka. Mediators got a very good profit by selling vanilla vines which they collected by 20 rupees from Karnataka and sold it as 150 rupees per meter in Wayanad.
In 2003 price of vanilla reached to the maximum. At that time the representatives of big companies came direct to plantations and brought vanilla. Even regional managers of some famous companies came themselves and telephoned farmers to buy Vanilla. They came to plantations before harvest to collect unripped and spoiled beanses. First quality beans sold for 4000/-Rs. Per one kg. First quality 70 beanses weight one kg. That means price of one beans might be 50 or 60 rupees. Thus majority of farmers turned to vanilla cultivation. But now they are in a great dilemma.
Any of these companies turned to farmers hither to even at the time of harvest. Farmers are in great hurry to sell this beanses because it is getting over ripped. Indian companies are in crisis due to their export of spoiled and unripped beanses and got returned it too. There started the unlucky period of Indian companies. Thus nobody in there to buy even good beanses from India. “These are all the tricks of companies to reduce the price of vanilla. Even the employees of the spices board get a share of this profit. We do not know their parameters and do not know whether the board would purchase our processed produce. It is not known how many firms would come forward to purchase the produce from farmers at this rate”, Biju said.
Vanilla growers association too accuses spices board for this. These same spices now are in a hurry to create new vanilla growers. Processed vanilla is still get golden price in market. In this situation they can easily handle this problem by collecting raw beans from farmers and export it after proper processing. They never tried at least to get down in to vanilla market to control it. They consciously avoid this tragedy and went on to distribution process of tissue cultured vanilla plants. Due to rushing price farmers were in a hurry to secure this. The wide spread of vanilla cultivation several companies were established for its subsidiary things like fertilization, cultivation, practice, security, watering and even vanilla collection. These companies attracted farmers and exploited them and consumed great profit.
Now these companies spread the news that the price of vanilla is decreasing and turned their face from buying processed vanilla. They conducted a National Seminar at Bangalore on 13, 14 February 2004 which is lead by unique Exposians Ltd registration fee of 1950 to 2950 to destroy the hope of farmers. More than 2000 farmers participated in this seminar.
Madagascar was the first large scale producer of vanilla. The farmers were inspired by the news that the representatives from Madagascar farmers would come there to participate in this seminar. But the representative who presented an essay in this seminar was not the representative of farmer but Dominic Andrias, who is a business manager of Trinity Company, which is one of the leading vanilla processing and marketing company in Madagascar. The 17 essays which were presented in this seminar were full of fears and foretelling about the falling price of vanilla for the coming seasons. These are all gives a crystal clear idea about the exploiting mentality of multinational companies. Due to this seminar the organizers squeezed lakh as from farmers and that becomes a business meeting to create new marketing techniques of multinational monopolies.
In the past, vanilla market prices were effectively controlled by the Madagascar based Vanilla Alliance. A carted which stockpiled and released vanilla beans on the world market, depending on supply and price considerations. With increased production and exports by other countries and smuggling of vanilla out of Madagascar at below official prices. Prices have dropped dramatically on the world market. The fluctuations in process currently are mostly due to shifts in supply of vanilla from source countries, particularly Madagascar and Indonesia.
Since most purchases of vanilla by US buyers are for extraction purpose they bend to buy beans which are lower in quality, and therefore cheaper than those purchased for much smaller gourmet market. Some US importers report that prices are falling faster for the extract grades of vanilla. The problem for producer is that the gourmet market is much smaller than the extract market.
The vanilla which had been a great demand in international market last year faces disaster with in months because of their well planed campaign. The reason for the recent quick hike in prices of vanilla is the large scale destruction of vanilla plantaions in Madagascar due to a twister and in international level real vanilla gets more acceptance as a part of avoiding synthetic vanilla from food items.
It blocked the import of vanilla to the USA which is the main consumer of vanilla. Recently the USA banned the use of synthetic vanilla. So the requirement of natural vanilla has quickly gone up. This yields high prices for natural vanilla. The USA and other vanilla importing countries turn to India for vanilla. Naturally the situation helps to increase the price of vanilla in Kerala. The high price of vanilla influences the social and economic structure of some parts of our state. So the market value of land has suddenly increased.
Many factors influence the price of vanilla and its future. Now the situation of vanilla is very poor because the price of vanilla has suddenly decreased. The high use of synthetic vanillin is also a reason for the decreasing price of vanilla. India itself uses more than 400 tones of synthetic vanilla. In whole world it is about 28000 tones. Campaign was that in near future natural vanilla should be inevitable in international level. Thus the farmers would get high marketing opportunity and warned the farmers against the cheatings of multination controlled market. Their fate would be same as the coco cultivators of Kerala.
Madagascar, the world’s largest vanilla cultivators produced 1000 to 1500 tone vanilla per year. But the thing change after the attack of a twister 3 years back. It reduces the production as 500 tones. From 1985 – 2000 price of raw beans had been 400 per kilo and processed vanilla got 4000 Rs. When production decreased, price increased in very large scale.
In 2003 price of processed vanilla was 12000-15000. In 2004 January it increased as 24000-30000. For processed vanilla it was about 33000 rupees. This year the expected production of Madagascar is about 1000 to 1500 tone. Thus according to merchants the price will decrease. But farmers can’t agree with it. Now any of these farmers never expects the last year price of 3600 per kilo but they hopes for a minimum price to survive.
(The writer is a Kerala-based freelance journalist, can be contacted on: subinmdy@journalist.com or subinmdy@gmail.com )

tender hands to render greenery by subin mananthavady

Keeping in tune with the Kerala Government’s deep
commitment to preserve the environment and utilising the
State’s natural recourses in a sustainable manner, the
Government initiated the ‘Ente Maram Padhathi’ (My Tree
Project) in schools, which was jointly organised by Education
and Forest Departments. Around 22 lakh students of standards
V to IX planted tree saplings in their house premises on June
5, the World Environment Day as part of the project. A diary
bearing poems of ONV Kurup, Sugathakumari and Vyloppilly
Sreedhara Menon and tips for environmental conservation
was given to the students. Being the largest school forestry
project in the world, the programme is meant to create
environmental awareness among students.
The participation of renowned environmentalist Medha Patkar
who planted the first sapling at the inaugural function brought
‘MyTree project’ to national and international attention.
This programme is especially relevant in the context of rampant
deforestation, mindless exploitation of nature etc. and is a
positive step towards a better earth and a better tomorrow.

Whom Watery Eyes Search For in Emptiness?by subin mananthavady

Whom Watery Eyes Search For in Emptiness?by Subin Mananthavady
Kairali Pravasalokam narrates the story of a television programme engrossed in discovering the missing Malayalees in Gulf countries which later evolved into a socially dedicated activism.
Who knows their agony?
‘’The false notion prevalent in society that people who go to Gulf countries are secure and affluent was torn to pieces by Pravasilokam, bringing the harsh reality that they still work like slaves’’- claims P.T. Kunjumohammed. According to the unofficial reports, around 30 lakhs of Malayalees from Kerala work in gulf countries. The mutant government hardly attend to their safety so these abandoned lot create many problems for the modern world. Their miserable plight with no labor rules, meager salary, lack of proper treatment when ill, solitary life, forfeited of their basic right to keep custody of their passports while travelling add to their woes.Hundreds of social and labor organizations, women’s associations, political parties, all turn a blind eye to their miserable state. Many jubilate at the expense of the money tainted with their sweat and blood. Many go to Gulf countries to raise funds, to conduct cultural programmes, to receive awards but none to voice the grievances of these depraved people.The sad tale of women too who lead a similar miserable life in Kuwait, Saudi, Muscat which leaps in number day by day is also no exception. These women who are employed as housemaids suffer badly without any food or medicines. A great majority are poor.‘’ we have many crew in different parts of the country to search for the missing people’’- says P.T.Kunjumohammed. We also get aid from cultural organizations from Muscat, Saudi, Singapore and Malaysia in our activities. We also do a weekly visit to hospitals and prisons. There are many in gulf countries who are deceived with the false promise of offering a visa by the agents, or jobs. We telecast thousands of cases like these through our programme. As the number of cases mount up day by day, we now inquire into such cases only who have disappeared within two years’’– pauses Kunjumohammed.
Gopalan and Raju
M. Gopalan who hails from Vengara Moolakal house in Kannur reaches Muscat in 1988. in the beginning he used to send money and letters to his family but afterwards there was no information about him. His wife lodged a grievance with Pravasilokam. Due to improper health she had to do menial jobs to bring her five children up. In between she had to stop her daughters’ studies to bring her sons up as she found hard to meet both ends. Finally the crew of Pravasilokam found him in Bisiya in Muscat. He was in hiding without any legal documents of his job. The friends of Pravasilokam arranged a visa for him. He now works in Muscat.Parakatt Narayanan and his wife Gauri of Kasargod had no expectations about their son’s return who left for Sharjah. When he disappeared Narayanan contacted Indian embassy for four years and raised a complaint about it. But it was all in vain. After that he sent a letter to Pravasilokam. With the efforts made by the architects of pravasilokam they released Raju who was imprisoned for a small offence in jail. They also arranged a job for him in gulf.
Waited for one but came another
A native of Nadapuram, Devi’s husband Kanaran went to gulf to earn his bread and butter 12 years ago. But later it turned a strange story when he disappeared. Devi told her sad story to the crew of Pravasilokam. The friends of Pravasilokam did a thorough search for the Indian embassy of Bahrain. Finally he was found astray abroad. Then he was immediately sent to his homeland with a ticket by Pravasilokam. Devi’s eyes searched for each passenger who departed from karipur airport in Calicut. The last passenger too came out. But her husband, Kanaran for whom she was desperately waiting did not come.When contacted the embassy in Bahrain, it was told that he was already sent to his homeland. According to the chart of airport authorities, he had reported to be arrived. With the information received from the embassy, the Pravasilokam reached Kanaran’s . But instead of Devi’s husband, it was another Kanaran who too left gulf 18 years ago and roamed about without any information. The family was in a celebration of their joy in recovering him.
Having lost all hopes and totally shattered, devi was taken back home. While leaving her, nobody can ever forget her sad face. It was a smile at first which slowly turned into an outburst of tears. When it was copied for the camera their eyes too filled up. Many incidents like these had to be presented in Pravasilokam which had completed 325 episodes. Many people who were straggled abroad like these were brought back to life by the programme. Despite all these many helpless situations too occurred. Devi’s incident is one such.In 2000, when Kairali TV was launched, Mr Rafiq Ravuthar suggested the idea of presenting a half an hour programme for gulf Malayalees – recollects P.T. Kunjumohammed. ‘’ At that time we had only an idea of presenting a half an ordinary programme in our mind. In the first few episodes we were just introducing some of the eminent personalities in the gulf countries. It would have been confined to an ordinary programme had it not turned to a creative activism. Few people sent a person named Kunjumohamed from Edapal district to participate in Pravasalokam. He sold his kidney for 25,000 rupees to live happily with his family atleast for one day in his life for last and ever before he end his life. Instead of presenting a well-known personae in that episode, kunjumohammed was introduced to the viewers. It was his tragic tale which paved the way for the possibilities of the programme ‘Pravasilokam’. After listening to his sad story, the M.A.K Group owner, Mr Yousuf Ali took mercy on him and offered a visa and a job. He now works in U.A.E. Many similar incidents are many to quote – says Rafiq Ravuthar.
When telecast ends activism begins
After this incident many families were continuously contacting us of whose people who went abroad in search of a job and were missing. We found 250 of them- recalls Kunjumohammed. After each episode the visual pattern of the programme changed. It got a different form. Then it was no more a programme. Our work really starts when an episode is telecasted. we became conscious of the fact that we are handling a serious social issue. After each episode we got completely involved in finding the missing ones.It was Madathil Rajan hailing from Kozhikode whom we regained first through the programme. Another memorable incident to cite is a military man, Mathew from Tiruvalla who were found after 23 years. He reached his homeland for his son’s marriage. Many dramatic moments like these are many to be cited- says Rafiq.
The unfortunate lot who fell into trap
After completed telecasting of 150 episodes about 30 families about Pravasilokam could not find any information were called for a programme at Ernakulam. Their absconding did not arise out of the escapism from life. Can we say that those who went in search for a living were escaping from life? The great majority of the absconding resulted out of deceit from the agents. They were the bait of the trap laid by the visa agents. When people who go to gulf with the desire of minting money, have a nightmare of the debts which crops up in their hometown , people who are jobless and spend their life in prisons take refuge in absconding.A person’s disappearance is a terrible condition than his death. When a person dies it is certain that he will not come back. But when a person disappears, it is indefinite whether he is alive or dead. Their relatives are not free from this uncertainty. They become anxious about their missing people’s terrible condition abroad. The relatives send all the details and photographs of their missing people to Pravasilokam. Based on this, the presenter of Pravasilokam, P.t. Kunjumohammed contacts the relatives through phone and collects more details about them. The photograph presented on the screen for five minutes can be viewed by the Malayalees all over the world. Viewing this, if someone could give any information about the missing person, would contact the representatives of Pravasilokam. It is through this way that the missing people are searched for and brought back to their native land.Fathima of Kozhikode decided to leave for gulf to raise her family comprising of her five year old son , her mother and her sister when her husband deserted her. Finally she reached the house of an Arab woman, Affat Mohammed Mulla for a job in Kuwait. Her days of torture began from that day onwards. She was thrashed with long stick and sandals. She underwent starving for many days. Most of the days she would be given dry Kuboos (a loaf in Gulf made of flour and yeast) to eat. She passed her days of misery like these for four years. Since she was illiterate she couldn’t even write a letter to her house. Neither she was allowed to contact her house through telephone. She was denied her salary too. By that time her passport also began to expire. It was not renewed until Affat’s sister intervened with Fatima’s signature on the condition that she received her full salary. She was finally presented to the embassy with a ticket. She reached Mumbai. Allthese time Fatim’a mother was searching for her daughter without any information.
Alavi’s Tale
Alavi is the son of Chiranjan Marrakar and Lyaatutti. He left for Gulf for a job in 1975 to look after his family including his aged father and mother and his wife. Afterwards he came twice to his native land. When he went back again in 1986 he had to wander about in search of a job in gulf for fourteen years. In between he was imprisoned. But fortunately he did not have to starve with the kind heart of his natives. In 1987 and 1991 when amnesty was declared he did not surrender himself to the police. But that did not stay too long when he was finally caught by them in 1998.He was imprisoned for one month. The court questioned him why he refused to go back to his native land when amnesty was declared. He replied that he was helpless due to poor living conditions in his land. Later the court of immigration took him. After the expiry of his visa, since he stayed back he was fined heavily with 36,000 rupees for one year. His advocate told if he had that money in hand he could have gone back to his homeland. Unfortunately his destiny again was reverse. He was again imprisoned for one month. Later he was sent to Mumbai. But he did not go back to his homeland.
In search of missing ones
In between Alavi’s family searched for him in many ways. But it was fruitless. Those people who absconded like Fathima and Alavi were brought back to their homeland by the workers of a channel. It deserves special mention and commendation, the people who worked for the programme ’Pravasilokam’.
May 11, 2008
Subin Mananthavady from Wayanad is a journalist and has worked as a reporter/sub-editor with Thejas Daily. He writings focus on rural and social issues. He can be contacted at subinmdy@gmail.com