(This article was appeared in The New Indian Express Newspaper)
Tuesday 30 June 2015
Double Delight
On the chessboard too, twins Swathi and Swetha are identical in churning out novelty in every step to force their opponents into perplexed positions.
Through their astounding performance in the sub district-level Inter-school Chess Tournament held at St Antony’s High School in Vadakara a few days back, identical twins Swathi Sathyanath and Swetha Sathyanath secured their third successive sub-district championship title.
Hailing from Madappally, Swathi and Swetha, class IX students at the St Antony’s High School, Vadakara, buddied up with chess tactics from their infancy itself.
“Playing chess is like leading a battle, any deviation from the chess piece may expel you from your territory,” Swathi said.
According to the chess prodigy, concentration matters a lot in chess.
“By foreseeing the opponents’ movements, we could avoid approaching doom,” said prognostic player Swetha.
“A player is bound to keep himself off from mistakes,” she said.
On their success in chess, the budding chess players said, “We used to discuss our shortcomings after every competition.
The open analysis act as a boost to perform better in the coming contests.
” “Since I am a Physical Education teacher, I wished to engage my children in sports,” said their father and trainer Sathyanath.
“To my excitement, with exceptional memory power and ability to grasp things faster, both of them found their space in the chess world in a short span of time.
In the past two years, they have participated in state-level chess tournaments.
Their movements are vital enough for a rapid checkmate,” said their trainer.
For the past 25 years, Sathyanath has been serving as the physical education trainer at BEM High School, Vadakara.
While Swathi feels comfortable with Knight, the only chess piece capable of leaping over other piece, Queen instills confidence in Swetha with flexibility in movements.
Asked what is their strong point, with a wide grin on their face they said, “We play for the situation.
Movements of every chess piece teach lessons of baring the obstructions from the way to success.
” “When they were class V students, they were contented with participation in the tournaments.
Practicing with their brother Sachin Sathyanath, a class XI student at Government High School, Thalassery, helped them for the better assimilation of the acquired knowledge,” their father said.
Aspiring to be renowned chess players in the future, they admire Viswanathan w as their role model.
(This article was published in The New Indian Express newspaper in 2012)
Thursday 25 June 2015
Paralysed by Polio, Johnson Writes Life Saga with LED Light
Huddled up in a chair, the physical frame of this 45-year-old is not bigger than that of a toddler. Paralysed by polio, he cannot even move on his will. But, then deformities have never been a limiting factor in life for Madathinakath Johnson, a polio survivor, who has made his mark as an entrepreneur assembling LED device, and dreams of an energy-efficient future.
Johnson, who has turned his house in Peruvannamuzhi into a production unit, has no ‘assistive’ devices or technology to help him, only a sense of dignity and belief in ‘self-worth’. The company M-Digital, owned by him, assembles LED emergency lamps, street lights, LED bulbs, step-up transformers and electronic chokes.
A great champion of energy efficient LEDs and solar energy, Johnson feels that it is only a matter of time before people would
embrace the technology. “I am ready to wait till then,” said Johnson, a recipient of an Energy Conservation Society award in 2008.
Born in 1969, Johnson contracted polio when he was just six months old. He has a hectic work schedule that begins at 5 am with a prayer. A deep passion towards work and life helped him brave the odds.
He launched M-Digital in 1993. According to him, it was his uncle who inspired him and financially helped him to embark on the path of an entrepreneur.
Within a couple of years he could provide employment to more than 10 youngsters. M-Digital products are now available in more than 50 shops across Kerala.
Women, including his wife Usha, play a special role in assembling devices and Johnson is all praise for their skills.
Chess prodigy
Putting her heart and soul on the chessboard, 14-year-old C H Meghna from Athanikal has proved herself to be a promising player. The budding chess player secured fourth position in the 30th National Sub Junior Chess Championship 2013 for Girls held in Kolkata recently.
Of the three girls from Kerala who participated in the event, only Meghna managed to get into the list of the first five players. As many as 98 students had showcased their talents at the champioship. Meghna, a class X student of the Silver Hills Higher Secondary School, scored eight points from 11 rounds and secured the fourth position. Her low tie-break score pushed her to the fourth spot and she missed the bronze medal.
Her outstanding performance has earned her a place in the Indian team, which will take part in the London Classic Chess Tournament slated to be held in the first week of December 2013. For the young chess prodigy, playing chess is same as fighting a battle. “She never takes her eyes off the chess board when the game commences,” her father said. Meghna fell in love with chess when she was just four years old. She is rarely at a loss for words when she starts speaking on her passion for chess. “My father is my first guru. He taught me the basics of chess,” Meghna said. She is also thankful to her teachers at the Silver Hills Higher Secondary School for extending their wholehearted support to her.
“I hope she will be the cat’s whiskers at the London Classic Chess Tournament,” said her father C H Atmaj. “We want our girl to be a renowned chess player as she likes,” he added. “Since Meghna feels comfortable with chess, we did not compel her to try any other games,” said Atmaj. The other two girls who participated in the national championship from Kerala, Hilmi Praveen and Bhagya Jayesh, reached 22nd and 26th positions respectively.
“Meghna is a promising player. Since she is settled in Kozhikode, I used to give her online coaching,” said her coach and treasurer of the Chess Association of Kerala, T J Suresh Kumar. She has been learning new tactics in chess from Suresh Kumar for the last three years. Ganesh Bhat of Ernakulam was offering training to her when she was a student at the Kendriya Vidyalaya in Ernakulam.
Awards and accolades are not new to this chess lover. She has already won 14 Kerala state championships in various categories including U-7(3), U-9 (2), U-11 (4), U-13(1), U15(1), U-17(2) and U-19(1) . She has also won two national chess championships (U-7 National Chess Championship at Goa in 2006 and U-9 National Chess Championship at New Delhi in 2008). At present, Atmaj, the only breadwinner of the family, is struggling to meet the travel expense of his daughter who has got the chance to participate in several world events.
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(This article was published in The New Indian Express newspaper-23/08/2013)
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The Fruits of Labour and Love
Women complaining about their mothers-in-law should visit Thazhe Nedumpurath Radhakrishnan's house at south Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode district.
Here you can see a rare bonding between his mother Kamalakshi Amma and his wife Shyni, which has benefited the family a lot. The women have been reaping success in vegetable farming for the past two years.
They began the venture last year, when Shyni expressed interest in cultivating snake gourd in a 10 cent plot adjacent to their house. Kamalakshi Amma made full use of the experience she gained by working with her husband Sankaran Nair, who is a farmer, and stood by Shyni. “We spend many fruitful hours together in the field by watering and looking after the plants,” says Kamalakshi Amma, 73.
"According to me, agriculture is the most rewarding career", says Shyni while thanking her husband for helping them with levelling and ploughing the land. “The support of our family is remarkable in our joint venture. Without my son and grandchildren it would not have been possible for us to focus more on the endeavour", says Kamalakshi Amma. This year also snake gourd is the main crop. The longest snake gourd they produced is 152 cm long. People from nearby areas approach them for seeds. Tomato, long beans, cucumber and bittergourd are the other vegetables that are grown in their farm.
"To prepare sadya (feast) for this Vishu we mainly used our produce. We were able to give vegetables to my sisters-in-law too", says Shyni.
“Whenever we get free time we prepare fertilisers and pesticides,” says Shyni. "From the very beginning itself we decided to avoid chemical fertilisers in our field. We are fully aware of the ill-effect of chemicals on vegetables", she says.
"They cultivate vegetables not with an aim to market them. They just want to make use of their time and facilities in an organised way", says Radhakrishnan. Most of the vegetables required for a house are being produced in the farm.
According to the proud farmers, cattle manure is the best fertilizer when it comes to vegetables. To meet the requirement, they nurture cattle too. Kamalakshi Amma's husband, 82-year-old Sankaran Nair, is still active in plantain cultivation. At times he visit their farm and gives suggestions to increase the quality of crops. Lower primary students Athul Krishna and Athulya find pleasure in helping their grandmother during vacation holidays.
This article was published in The New Indian Express newspaper-24/04/2014)
This article was published in The New Indian Express newspaper-24/04/2014)
North Kerala Gives Medical Refuge to Ailing Arabs
Musabah Saeed Khalfan Al brought his younger brother Mohammad Saeed Khalfan from Oman to Kozhikode to check the accuracy of a diagnosis report they had received from a leading hospital at their native place.
After a thorough check-up at the Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS), he was told that the doctors in Oman had made a mistake with the original diagnosis and that his brother was not suffering from cancer.
“Praise to the lord, this diagnosis report is such a huge relief for us,” said Musabah Saeed Khalfan after consulting the doctor.“I am thankful for the facilities and expert doctors available here,” he said.
Musabah’s is not an isolated case. Doctors of many major private hospitals in North Malabar come across several such patients, especially, those from the Middle East who come here to verify the diagnosis made by the doctors back home or else for treatment due to the better facilities available here.
For the Arabs, North Kerala is turning out to be a healthcare hub as almost all the leading private hospitals here offer special treatment facilities, international desks, international waiting lounge, exclusive wards, or rooms for them. When contacted Dr. R Bijayaraj, convenor of the Academy of Family Physicians of India(AFPI) Kerala chapter, he said the cost of treatment and assured quality are the two significant elements that attract foreign patients to Kerala. At a time when they have to pay `25, OOO for an MRI scan in gulf countries we charge only `4, OOO, which they find to be affordable.”
Saleh Mohammed Hussein from Yemen, baby Mallak from Oman, and Hassan Abdulla Yusuf Al from Bahrain are the patients who came to Kerala after learning about the medical facilities available here through word of mouth.
“Appropriate advice at all the stages of the caring process is new to me. Hence, I prefer coming to the Malabar region for treatment,” said Mohammed Ahammed from UAE. Al Shifa Hospital at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district is another big hospital that caters to a huge influx of foreign patients.
“Patient satisfaction is an important dimension of the healthcare sector.
“Since our departments have Arab as well as African patients the total revenue of the hospital increases by `3.5 to 4 Crore annually,” said NP Muhammad Ali, manager of the Department of Overseas Operation in Al Shifa.
“Though treatment facilities for the foreigners were available at MIMS hospital during its initial years, the international desk got into full swing from 2006 onwards,” said Georgiana Vandana, deputy manager of Medical Value Travel, MIMS Hospital.
“Every day our doctors have at least 30 Arab patients for consultation,” she said adding that Medical tourism in the state has emerged as the fastest-growing segment of the tourism industry.
Family members or those who accompany the patient are also fascinated by the old-world charm of the Malabar region and make it a point to visit various tourist spots while the patient undergoes treatment.
There is an increase in the number of patients over years. According to Georgiana Vandana, 45 percent of the hospital’s total revenue is from the international desk. Similar facilities are available at the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Lakeshore, and Lourde Hospital in the southern part of the state.
(This article was published in The New Indian Express newspaper-12/09/2014)
Meenakshi’s passion is Kalaripayattu
Meenakshi is following in the footsteps of Unniyarcha, the legendary woman warrior in Vadakkan Pattu, the ballads of Malabar.
Even at the age of 68( in 2011), she is going strong as the Kalari Gurukkal of the Kadathanad Kalari Sangham in Vadakara. She is perhaps the oldest woman trainer of Kerala’s martial art and her passion for wielding the sword and shield remains undiminished.
Apart from holding regular Kalaripayattu stage performances across the state, she finds time to train young children without charging any fee, deeming Kalaripayattu as an art that transmits a lofty cultural legacy.
She trains about 15 girls and 115 boys in her Kalari.It was the sight of children of neighbouring houses going to learn Kalari that kindled a love in her towards the martial art.
“When I was seven, I sought permission from my dad to learn Kalaripayattu. After an initial refusal, he gave me the green signal to go ahead. We were an academically- inclined family and it was the first time a girl went to learn Kalaripayattu from our family,” Meenakshi says.
And it was not as easy as she had expected. “Soon after joining, I was asked to take part in a Kalaripayattu competition. All I could do was to nod dumbly,” Meenakshi chuckles. But it did not deter her from pursuing her passion and now Meenakshi’s proficiency in using the sword and shield has earned her ardent admirers across the state.
Meenakshi’s husband V P Raghavan, who died a year ago, was the founder of the Kadathanad Kalari Sangham. “I got married at the age of 18 and since then, he was my trainer. At the time of the marriage, he promised that he would make me a Kalaripayattu trainer.
He kept the promise. He is my inspiration and driving force,” Meenakshi recollects. Like her husband, Meenakshi is a strict disciplinarian and insists on rigorous sessions.
“Kalari demands dedication and discipline. The aspirants must try to achieve mastery over their body movements and balance in their training period. At this age I could easily perform Kalari because of the physical fitness I gained through practice,” she says.
Every year, training is held from June to September. And she charges no fee for the training.“I value the love that my students have for me over anything else,” says Meenakshi.
(This article was published in The New Indian Express newspaper-23/05/2011)
Pickle Swamy’ sits beside a pile of food
When the saffron swamis are being targeted for their fake promises and prophesies, a person, who neither claims himself a 'swami' nor performs any magic, is gaining the attention of hundreds of devotees.
"We don't know who exactly he is. May be a saint or not. That doesn't matter. We get relaxed when we bring food and sit beside him," says Ramakrishnan, a resident of Chengottukavu, near Koyilandy in the district.
What inspires the people to have faith in a man who sits beside a pile of food articles, fresh and stale, in a shed near railway gate at Chengottukavu, is not known.
Baba, who neither takes bath nor wash his hands, is still a mystery even for the devotees.
Anand Kumar who runs Sai Mandiram in Thiruvananthapuram and his wife had a 10-hour drive to Kozhikode only to get a glimpse of their Chengottukavu Baba.
He neither chants mantras, give Vibhoothi, deliver prophecy nor he claims of any magical powers, but devotees from all walks of life reach to see the man not for achieving anything but to relax their minds.
"Baba who is known as 'Pickle Swami' among locals for his love for pickles was a North Indian who came to Kerala about 30 years ago," recollects Ramesan Mahe, a devotee who stays with Baba.Sukumaran a regular visitor to the place recalls an instance when his son was bedridden with fever.
"Baba visited my son in his dream and consoled him. His gentle words were more than enough for curing my son," he remembers.The residents of Chengottkavu believes that the arrival of an ascetic foreseen by an astrologers during the renovation of Subrahmanya temple became true when the Baba decided to stay in Chengottkavu. The temple was rebuilt after his arrival, they cited.
Meantime, there are a few who term Baba an eccentric and a fake saint. Alleging him of cheating the occupants of Chengottukavu, a group of assailants attacked him and broke his legs.However, the devotees claim that the assailants got their comeuppance for their cruelty.
Breathing Life into Stones
Any talented artiste, irrespective of gender and religion, can sculpt idols for temples, says Subrahmanyan, who does not give room for religion in temple architecture. He strongly believes in respecting all religions equally. “Dedication matters in sculpting since it is a time-consuming and patience-demanding work,” he says. His work has taught him to be patient under any circumstance.
Clad in saffron dhothi and kurta, he now leads a disciplined and pious life in a hut-come workshop near his house. In his words, a good sculptor can give life to a stone. Panayi Bhagavathy temple in Balussery and Subrahmanya temple in Kavumthara proclaim his craftsmanship.
“I have worked in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and some regions of Thalassery and Kannur. Those years were the training period in my life when I imbibed the art of sculpting,” he says. He cannot point out a guru in the art of stone carving as he learnt it from various persons and places. Subrahmanyan has studied till class V. He started working on stone at the tender age of 13.
Subrahmanya speaks of ‘Krishna sila’ with utmost passion. ‘Krishna sila’ is strong and perfect to make idols. According to him, the duration depends on the nature of the work. Dancing Siva, Gulikan, Krishna, Goddess Bhadrakali, Ganapathy and Subrahmanya are a few of his works. He has also carved the sanctum sanctorum of temples in his region. Subrahmanyan does not approach any devaswom committee to get orders. “I am very particular about my work. If I am confident enough I will take up the job,” he says. Several devaswom committees had expressed their desire to hire him. But he was not ready to limit his talent to a single temple.
Father of five children, Subrahmanyan did not force any of his children to follow in his footsteps. “We cannot compel anybody to take up any job. Sculpting demands undying passion,” he says.There is no fixed time for this sculptor to engage in work. “It is something part of my life,” he says. Asked why he works even at this age, he says there is no retirement for a sculptor. “I want to die while sculpting,” he adds.
(This article was published in The New Indian Express newspaper-21/02/2014)
Wednesday 24 June 2015
Polyhouse Farming Lessons
If polyhouse farming has made a mark in the agricultural sector of Kozhikode, the credit goes to the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), which has made the farming method popular among farmers. A polyhouse demonstration farm set up by the training and education wing of the CWRDM on the CWRDM campus in 2012 is the most reliable source of knowledge on hi-tech farming.
“When I came to know that adequate training programmes in polyhouse farming was minimal in the district, I took the risk of setting up one in a five cent plot to experiment its scope in our soil,” says head of the training and education wing, Kamalam Joseph.
To her surprise, compared to the yield of the traditional farming method, without much effort, they started receiving a good yield. The advantage of a polyhouse, a tunnel-like structure made of polyethylene, is the scope of cultivation even in the monsoon season.
Since the polyhouse is equipped with facilities such as drip irrigation with fertigation, fogger, improved medium of soil for better plant growth and paired rows for cultivation, there is no need to appoint more labourers to maintain the farm. While explaining more on the method, officials with the Department of Agriculture say there are mainly four types of polyhouse models: Quonset-shaped with one side ventilation, gable-shaped greenhouse with roof ventilation on one side, multi-span greenhouse and greenhouse structure suitable for high humid areas.
“Any crop can be raised, irrespective of external factors like climate,” says Kamalam. Salad cucumber, long beans, Chinese cabbage, Indian cabbage, celery, green chilli and marrow have been raised on the CWRDM campus.
According to her, cultivation of long beans and cucumber is profitable as there is a high demand for these vegetables in the markets here. While admitting that large-area polyhouse farming can only be commercially viable for farmers, she says instead of trying out mixed crops it would be better for farmers to go for a single crop to meet the requirements of the market.
“Now there are takers among youths for polyhouse farming as it is innovative and lucrative. Common crops as well as high-yielding cash crops can also be tried out in the farm,” says technical officer Jayaprasad. Any farm enthusiast who wishes to know more about this farming technique can visit the demonstration farm.
This article was published in The New Indian Express newspaper-15/08/2014)
Aquaponics..a success story
Aquaponics is growing fish and vegetables in an attractive and integrated system. The term aquaponics is derived from hydroponics - growing plants without soil in water, and aquaculture - fish farming. In this harmonious blend, fish fertilises the plants through its excretion. “We had heard about hydroponics earlier, but are still apprehensive about its success,” says Choorakattil Resmik, who extends his whole-hearted support to his wife in the venture.A young couple from Feroke Resmik and Rekha, are full of hopes and dreams as they have tried their hands at aquaponics, a novel farm technique which is not so familiar to Keralites.
Apart from farm activities, what makes them busy nowadays is attending phone calls from farm enthusiasts regarding its implementation.When they thought of using the plot adjacent to their house creatively, they decided to try out aquaponics. “We could have gone for some other mode of cultivation, but we stuck to aquaponics to make it known to those who are struggling without enough land to start farming,” says Rekha.
Explicating more on the project, Rekha says, “What we have to do is to feed the fish. The bacteria within the specially arranged system will convert fish waste into nutrients fit for plants. An amount of `3 lakh has already been used to arrange the infrastructure here with the support of Vijayakumar Narayanan, who spreads awareness about the technique among Keralites.”
According to experts in the field, centuries ago, a primitive version of this farm technique was very common in South Asia. During that time, people used to plant crops on floating river islands to make use of fish waste to fertilise them.
“At present we have planted vegetables like ladies finger, brinjal and capsicum. After six months, more crops will be tried here,” she says. The couple are also planning to take up aquaponics in a commercial way. Though not all kinds of plants can be grown this way, most of the vegetables are fit for the medium. Tilapia and prawns have been stocked in a pond set up on a four cent plot.
“At a time when creative intervention is minimal in the aquaculture sector, the couple have done a great job,” says director of C STED, K V Mohammad Kunhi. “Their innovative step can be taken as an exemplary model for women who are looking forward to embarking on a profitable venture,” he says. In his words, aquaponics is appropriate for farm enthusiasts, especially in urban areas. He further says that this farm technique, which is more organic in nature, is not so common in Malabar region. According to Mohammad Kunhi, women can try the technique only with the support of an expert in the field.
(This article was published in The New Indian Express newspaper-11/07/2014)
Savouring success together, on and off stage
They were overwhelmed with joy and every word they spoke closely related to drama. Murukesh Kakur and Kalamandalam Sandhya, husband-wife duo, hailing from Kakur in the district have reasons to cheer as they have bagged the 2012 state professional drama awards instituted by the Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy this year. The theatre duo has won the best actor and best actress state award for their role in the drama ‘Kuriyedath Thathri.’
Thathri was a bold lady who disregarded the conventional thought in a male dominated society. The fairness and justice found in the smartavichara (trial for adultery) of Thathri was an aberrant one. At a time when men used to influence the trial with money and material and often managed to escape from severe punishment, Thathri produced visible and non-visible proofs. After the six month long trial as many as 64 men were found guilty in which two died and the King punished all the men involved in the affair. The drama has been performed on nearly 200 stages.
While explicating Thathri, the personification of boldness, Kalamandalam Sadhya became eloquent and profound and spoke from the depth of her heart. “For me it was a challenging role but I was confident on the acceptance of the Thathri among the audience,” she said. Unveiling her happiness to win the state award with her husband, Sandhya said the drama brought to fore the ill practices in the past and present society and sows the seeds of hope.
With close to 50 awards in state-level drama competitions, Sandhya is known among theatre buffs as Krishna Meera for her performance in the drama ‘Theerthadanam’ by Vadakara Varadha drama troupe. In her words, a performer can gain maximum exposure and experience in amateur troupes than in professional one.
Donning four roles as a eunuch, Kavumkal Sankarapanicker - a Kathakali acharya, Kuriyedath Raman - husband of Thathri and Vadakkedam Chomathiri - a smarthan in the same drama, Murukeshan Kakur easily won the hearts. “All the four characters in the drama Kuriyedath Thathri were visibly different in nature,” he shared.
On winning the state award Murukeshan said, “Though I have been in the field for the past 30 years, this is the first time that I participated in the state competition. I believe my hard work and efforts finally paid off. Awards, of course, have a powerful impact on a theatre actor,” he said, adding that it increases the responsibility of a performer.
Performing in nearly 100 of dramas, Murukeshan has become a star value actor in the theatre scenario. Going down memory lane Murukeshan said it was ‘Vagbhadacharyan’ of Thrissur Manappuram Karthika which brought fame to him. Murukeshan was 15 year old when he first acted in the drama named ‘Vrikasuravadham’ as Naradan.
Remembering his guru Madhavan Kunnathara, he said “For around eight years I worked as an associate of Madhavan Kunnathara and learned the basics of drama.” An artist cum freelance photographer, Murukeshan bid adieu to photography to focus purely on drama. He was part of the Kozhikode Mass, Kollam Kalpana, Kozhikode Kalinga and Vadakara Varadha. “The director of Vadakara Varadha, Pournami Sankaran, has played a key role in elevating my status as a theatre artist,” he adds.
“We are so much linked with drama. We tied the knot in 2000 after staging ‘Iruttinte Athmavu’ and ‘Thanneer Thanneer’.” After marriage the theatre duo have staged close to nine dramas including ‘Theerthadanam’, ‘Swapnathinethra Vayas’, ‘Snehayathra’, ‘Nanni gramam’, ‘Janapriyan’ and Aswathammavu’. Accolades are not new to the couple as they have already received NN Pillai Smaraka State Professional Drama competition award, Sreenath Memorial Award, Balan K Nair Memorial award and the list goes on.
(This article was published in The New Indian Express newspaper-14/06/2013)
Through the lens of a camera buff
Kerala’s Earnest Antony has a collection of more than 200 cameras, from old pinhole to the present digital ones.
Around 40 years ago, a priest from the Church of South India in Mananchira, Kozhikode, gifted a German-made Rolleicord camera worth Rs 500 to craft teacher-cum-photographer Henry Antony. But it was his son, Earnest Antony, who was drawn more to the camera. “This gift, which worked only in daylight, marked my foray into the world of cameras,” says 68-year-old Antony.
At his old-fashioned home named Jesinta in Eranhipalam in Kozhikode, Antony has a collection of over 200 cameras ranging from an old pinhole to the latest digital ones. “I was passionate about cameras right from my
childhood,” says Antony, a former freelance photographer.Antony’s collection comprises popular brands like Nikon, Canon, Mamiya, Sony, Yashica Click III, Kodak 620 box camera, Agfa Isoly, Nikkormat and Polaroid 600. “I have shelled out more than `2 lakh to get these cameras,” he says. Though digital cameras have now conquered the world of photography, the Nikon 35 mm camera remains his favourite.
One of the heaviest in his collection is a 50-year-old field camera weighing 25 kg. “I used a field camera to take group photos when I worked in a studio,” says Antony. This field camera is the most expensive, while a 35mm film Konica camera is the cheapest. Around half the cameras in his collection are in working condition but they cannot be used because of the unavailability of film rolls.
His son-in-law had recently gifted him a disposable camera that can be used under water. Sivan, a camera repairman, gave him several old cameras when he shifted to a new shop. “We thought his obsession for camera will end at some point,” says his wife Joyce, a retired schoolteacher. “But even years after our marriage, his first love is still the camera. He used to store the cameras under the cot, on top
of cupboards and on the shelves.”There were moments when Antony brought her to tears because of his passion. Once, in order to buy a camera, he sold the wedding ring, without the permission of Joyce. “When she came to know, she began crying,” he says.
But Joyce does get help because of Antony’s hobby. She makes sculptures made of thermocol of their family members and asks her husband to take photographs of them. Antony began his career by working in the National Studio. He was there for 23 years. Thereafter, he became a freelance photographer in Kozhikode. But, owing to the advancement of technology, professional photographers
are losing their significance. “Today, anybody can take photographs,” he says. “I used to observe photographers with great admiration during my childhood. But for the present-day children, photography is nothing but child’s play.”
Recollecting his experience as a freelance photographer Antony says that on several occasions he received appreciation from customers for taking good photographs. Meanwhile, leading a retired life now, Antony has still not got enough of his craze for cameras.
Though several visitors expressed their wish to buy some of his cameras, he has refused the offers saying the collection was not for sale. “This hobby keeps me free from stress. I am always looking for new cameras to add to my collection,” he says. Antony’s immediate plans include buying a spacious house to store his collection.
(This article was published in The New Indian Express (Sunday Magazine) newspaper-14/04/2013)
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