Musings from Antique Origins

BCCI letter of 1937 addressed to Vizzy by Anthony De Mello Sir Vijayananda Gajapathi Raju, Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram (Vizzy) T he Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI, needs no introduction to the sports lovers of this Country. It is the richest sports organization among other national sports councils in the world. Its annual income exceeds Rs 10000 million. The global media rights for TV transmissions for the games played in India will fetch it USD 610 Million from the production house, Nimbus over the five years upto 2011. Then there is USD 220 Million for the telecast of one day match rights to be received from Zee Telefilms. These are exclusive of other sponsorships and IPL incomes which run to millions of US dollars. One really wonders at the financial clout of BCCI and at the scope for great contributions to sports for which it is capable of. The BCCI was formed in December 1928. Anthony de Mello, an Anglo Indian, born in Karachi was the founder secretary. R.E. Grant ...

Stamp paper of value 32 puttans. T he studies on the court fee stamps, revenue stamps and other stamp papers of the pre- independent days of India can be of much interest to enthusiasts. Those pertaining to the princely states of Cochin and Travancore and done with much aesthetics and are of great historical importance. The stamp papers were designed by the British as a means to collect taxes from residents of some of the Princely States as early as 1797. The designs of these papers included the name of the state as well as the amount of tax imposed. Early examples of stamped paper from British India and the Princely States were simpler and often colorless, much like a notary's seal. Later, these were replaced by typeset or engraved stamps. Subsequently, color was added, and printings for many of the states were imported from Europe. I have gone through some of my collections and found the portrait series of Cochin much to my liking. Sir Sri Rajarshi Rama Varma I, Raja of Cochin, ...

Before the great pyramids with Yousef, the guide. L ast July, I was in India on annual holidays and returned to Dubai after a month. In August, I had to come again because I wanted to attend my niece’s marriage as also to celebrate the 90th birthday-Navathy- of my father. I thought of saving some money and booked the tickets by FlyDubai, a budget airline which had just announced its inaugural flight to Coimbatore. When the journey day approached, FlyDubai advised the cancellation of the flight as it could not get through some official formalities. Since the Onam holidays were approaching, I had to book tickets through another airline costing a lot more. However, the whole ordeal threw in some surprises too. Besides refunding the money paid for booking in full and apologizing for the inconvenience, FlyDubai graciously offered a free return ticket to any of the sectors it was operating. Searching the sectors, I decided to fly to Alexandria in Egypt so that I could take a train to Cairo ...

Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja T he Malayalam film Pazhassi Raja has been creating many headlines in the media, and apparently there is a revival of interest about the historical settings of the twilight years of the 18th century South India. A peep into some of the actual recordings of those days as history unfolded itself shall be quite appropriate and interesting. One of the remarkable attributes of the Englishmen had been the habit of writing daily journals. This was especially true of the early travellers and adventurers of the empire. These journals have helped us in no small measure to understand history and to learn about the people and their lives of those far away times .While the writing of journals was rather a norm with the Englishman, the habit was more of an exception with the Indian. A classic exception is that of the journals of Anandaranga Pillai who was a translator- Dubash- in the service of the French East India Company and who was a confidante of the then French Go...

M y cousin Suma started a blog aptly named Aparajitha. She is one who bravely battled polio, graduated and became an accomplished musician. She also paints and despite her severe limitations lives contentedly in Cochin with her parents. While searching the word Aparajitha , I came across a blog under the same name from a most promising and talented teen-aged girl. She had quoted a questionnaire supposedly asked to a celebrity by a media man and had given her own interesting and most original answers, assuming that these questions were aimed at her. This made me to think as to how I would have answered these questions, if it were asked to me. I think, by answering these questions, we express our personality to enable a friend or reader to understand us more. I would request my fellow bloggers and readers to answer these questions themselves- whether to publish or not- for the fun of it and for a self analyzis. It can be quite exhilarating. Here are the questions and my answers. Fun to ...

Afghanistan I was amused to see a news item in an English daily about Indians now joining the British Army to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. They are entitled to sign up as Commonwealth nationals. It is further informed that there were more than 80 Indians in the British army as of March 2009 which obviously may have increased considerably by now. The report says that Sharat S. Mulchandi, 18, from Karnataka, is undergoing army cadet training at home and plans to join a British infantry regiment when he flies into the UK. 'Pakistan is a breeding ground for terrorists, it's dangerous for India. We will never forget what the fanatics did last year in Mumbai,' The Sunday Express quoted, him, as saying. Afghanistan and adjoining areas had always been a constant problem for the British Empire over centuries. By 1877, the British in their quest for expanding the empire had grown very suspicious of Russia, which encroached on to its north-west Indian border. The British preferr...

Elephants in procession in Palakkad Traditional functions on the eve of niece's marriage at Thiruvizha Niece as part of traditional functions on the eve of marriage Traditional functions on the eve of niece's marriage Niece's marriage , 30th August 2009 Maveli visited us with drummers in modern costumes( 2nd Sept 09) Onappoo at home in Cherthala, 2nd Sept 2009 Traditional Sadya on Dad's navathy 3rd Sept 2009 Kerala, 6th September 2009.