Pooktre Artists

How much do we like if our furnitures are also trees? A tree which is also a chair, a tree which is also a coffee table, and trees that have the shape of people. This is exactly what two people have done in Australia and have named their art as Pooktre. These artists are Peter and Becky who have designed their garden in different shapes of furniture using trees. This is similar to a topiary which is also design using shrubs and leaves in different shapes of animals, birds, etc.
They have used wild plum trees for their design and carefully guide their growth so that they get the required shape. Even though it takes some years to shape the trees in the various shapes, the idea is very much new and the outcome is superb. Their garden is just like visiting a dreamland from some of the English fairy tales. They even have a website called Pooktre and have some wonderful photos of the trees uploaded form their garden. But one thing for sure, this one is for people who like art and outdoors much.

Cities of Kerala, Actually small towns

I read a book same as the title edited by Baiju Natarajan and photographs by Ramu Aravindan who I think is the son of noted film-maker G.Aravindan and some sketches by E.P Unny. Actually saying about the book, it is authored by a host of well known writers including Paul Zacharia and C.R.Omanakuttan and this is not exactly a tourist's guide to Kerala or yet another of the numerous travelogues for sale. The book describes the socio-political scenario in the present day Kerala emphasising the cultural and religious diversity prevailing in 9 major cities/districts in Kerala. As the name suggests there is not even a single place in Kerala that can be classified as a big City but the living standards and amenities are more or less evenly distributed throughout and readily available. The surprise element is that the globalised malayali has a better life style in Kerala than people from other states in India. And the class divide amoung the people is even. The 9 major cities (rather towns) explained as seperate chapters are Trivandrum, Kollam, Alapuzha, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kannur with photo illustartion by Ramu Aravindan. E.P Unny's sketches about Palakkad and the potryal of Tamil brahmin culture arouses a sense of familiarity as these are common to my area too. Another notable context is the communist roots which is explained by all the authors and I think that is the only unifying factor all throughout Kerala. I find certain things that are integral part of Kerala like art, movies and dramas missing.
But the photographs do indeed show of major culture prevailing in the State. The photos begin with the cover page showing the grandeur of the mahout smoking the traditional beedi while his subordinate bathes the mighty tusker - a scene synonymous with the cultural identity brought by the growth of communism in Kerala. Then there are photos of the metre guage train through Palakkad town, passenger boats in lake, tea shop or chaya kada and other unusual but common scenario native to Kerala.
In Trivandrum the photos indicate protests and rallies, while for Kollam it is about fishermen, their boats, an auto in Vallikkavu ferry and cashew themes. An interesting photo that I liked is that of players in football field and some people relaxing. This is one strong deviation found in Kerala as regards to other parts of the country where cricket is much hyped.
In the chapter about Alapuzha Vembanad Lake and the commercial canal are shown and that of the land of letters,Kottayam, the famous KK road, river meenachil and a Gothic chapel from CMS campus are pictured. The carefully captured people show a christian or catholic charisma all around. Ernakulam is picturised with the boat jetty, people and ofcourse the MG road. And the advertisement hoardings inside paddy fields.
For the cultural city of Kerala they have included Guruvayoor elephant sanctury, Swaraj round and Sakthan Thamburan market and bus stand. In this chapter there is photo showing buses racing - another common scene in which private buses vie for more passengers. Yes cheap Private bus service in the communist land!Unique?
For Kozhikode they have shown mosques, masjids and people in traditional Muslim dresses - the mappila aura. Seeing the photo I remember having visited the Kappad beach. For Kannur they mainly show Thalasseri part. There is this photo of a thatched house with a poster of Che Guevara that is both laugh evoking thinking about the local malayali talk about Cuban revolution and also shows the communist strength of this part.
I do miss one photograph that could have been added, the one showing a city life with a Mohanlal movie poster in the backdrop amoung others.