Trivandrum MICE: Meetings, Incentives, conferences and Events

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Defence might, spirit of adventure on display

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first day of the Army Mela organized at Pangode military camp here saw hundreds of visitors on Saturday. The mela is aimed at making youngsters aware of the functioning of the defence wings and promoting in them a spirit of adventure.

The mela, which returned to city after a gap of four years, includes a display of weapons like the BMP tanks, Bofors guns, radars, anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers and communication equipment. The arms on display included parachute motor display, guns, small carbine, light machine guns, micro UZIs and INSAS rifles while the armoury included the most-modern T-90 'Bhishma' tank, T-72 M1 Ajeya tank and ATGM unified launcher.

It was the M4 A1 carbine rifle that was used successfully by the paramilitary force during the 2008 Mumbai terror attack that took the cake at the display. "The US-made rifle weighing 2.7 kg and has a magazine capacity of 30 rounds and a rate of fire of 700-970 RDS/minute was the star weapon in the Mumbai counter-terror attack. The light weight and sharpness allow the gunner to make swift movements and fire perfectly," Havildar Manoj TV was heard explaining to young visitors to the mela.

It was also an occasion for the public to have a glimpse of the skills of defence personnel in motorcycle stunts, skydiving, slithering and martial arts. Band displays and dog and horse shows were also organized.

However, it was the Shwet Ashwa, a motorcycle display team of the Corps of Military Police, that stole the show on the day. The 31-member team performed over 50 deadly acrobatic stunts with precision including the dangerous ones like scissor-crossing, criss-crossing, parallel crossing, 'V' crossing, ladder march, sudarsana chakra, bar exercise and side balancing.

Drills by the canine wing of the army was another eye-stealing performance, which got a big round of applause. The mela will culminate on Sunday.

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Army mela fascinates public



Parachutists dropping out of the blue sky, speeding bike riders leaping over 20 men, show jumping involving some of the best-trained horses in the country and flashy tent-pegging demos- there never was a dull moment at the Colachal Stadium, Pangode, on Saturday as the ‘Know Your Army Mela 2012’ opened here to a packed crowd.

The two-day event is meant to bring the Army and the people of Thiruvananthapuram closer to each other, and to encourage youngsters to join the armed forces.

The highlight of the event is an exhibition of military equipment including battle tanks, missiles and guns.

Inaugurating the event, Defence Minister A K Antony promised full government attention for the welfare of serving and ex-service armed forces personnel.

“The Centre had hiked the pension of ex-servicemen twice and would do so again when an opportunity comes,” he said.

“The armed forces were on hand to assist the State Government at times of contingencies such as natural calamities,” he said. He gave away tri-scooters to disabled ex-servicemen and honoured widows of soldiers killed in various wars and counter-insurgency operations. A series of demonstrations by various units of the Army followed. Armymen showed off their tent-pegging skills first, which was followed by kalaripayattu, show jumping and skydiving demos. A dog show involving five Army Labradors and an Alsatian drew cheer, and so did a breathtaking stunt ride by the ‘Shweta Ashwa’ team of Army police.

The one-and-a-half hour show ended with the ‘extraction’ of commandos by a helicopter.

Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor; Southern Army commander Lt Gen A K Singh and Commanding Officer of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala area Lt Gen V K Pillai, actor and Lt Colonel of the Territorial Army Mohanlal were present. The mela will conclude on Sunday and entry is free.

[RajeshVR]

Kerala University to host prestigious history meet

By Express News Service - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The Kerala University will host the 33rd Annual Conference of the South Indian History Congress in the city early next year. Hailed as one of the significant gatherings of social scientists, the Congress will be held on February 15, 16 and 17, 2013.

The Department of History, University of Kerala, has been entrusted with the task of organising the conference of the South Indian History Congress, founded in 1978 at Madurai. Around 2,000 participants and erudite scholars from across the country will be participating in the three-day deliberations on various facets of South Indian life and history.

The Vice-Chancellor, University of Kerala, had invited the South Indian History Congress (SIHC) in June 2012 to conduct its Annual Session at Thiruvananthapuram as part of the University’s platinum jubilee celebrations. A team of officials of the SIHC had visited the university and accepted the proposal, a statement from the organisers said.

The conference will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor will deliver the keynote address. The Minister for Education P K Abdu Rabb will preside over the function. Five simultaneous sessions would be held at different venues after the inaugural ceremony. Four endowment lectures, erudite discourses, public sessions, cultural programmes and exhibitions would form part of the Congress.

[RajeshVR]

source: Mathrubhumi.

Eco-friendly Handicraft Exhibition at Trivandrum from Dec. 12-14 2012

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Meet on ‘quality assurance in higher education’

International consultations on ‘Quality Assurance in Higher Education’ would be held here on December 12 and 13.
This is to discuss the roles and responsibilities of the State Assessment and Accreditation Council which is to be set up by the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC), said a press release here on .

The two-day conference is being organised to ensure that the new accreditation body is “compatible with national and international norms”, and will see the participation of experts from national and international bodies. Some of them include key officials from bodies like National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bangalore; NVAO, The Hague, Netherlands; Commission for Academic Administration (CAA), Abu Dhabi, UAE and Quality Assessment and Accreditation Council, Sri Lanka.

The sessions will include paper presentations and discussions on the relevance of setting up accreditation councils, methods, models and tools of assessing quality in higher education; and international practices followed for the same.

The event is being organised against the backdrop of the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institution Bill 2010 which has been introduced in Parliament. The Bill aims at improving quality of higher education in India. “If the Bill is adopted in Parliament, it will introduce a mandatory accreditation regime and will have wide-ranging implications for the higher education sector in India,” stated the release. Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb will inaugurate the event on December 12. KSHEC vice-chairman T P Sreenivasan and P Anvar Member Secretary will also be present.

By Express News Service - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

[RajeshVR]

Three-day seminar on ‘Energy Secure India’ from Tomorrow

By Express News Service - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

An international seminar and exhibition on ‘Energy Secure India’ is being organised from Thursday to Saturday at Mascot Hotel as part of the National Conservation Day celebrations.

It is a joint effort of Energy Management Centre, Kerala; Japan Cultural and Information Centre, Thiruvananathapuram; Alumni Society of AOTS, Thiruvananathapuram, International Non-Governmental Cooperation Organisation for Renewable Energy (INGCORE), and Society of Energy Engineers and Managers (SEEM).

Experts on the subject will deliberate on identifying options and strategies to mitigate energy security. Emeritus professor Chem Nayar of Curtin University, Perth, who won the sustainable energy industry excellence and innovation ambassador award of Australia in 2011, will speak on ‘Energy security in small islands and remote communities through innovative micro-grid systems.’ Two tutorials; on ‘Solar photovoltaic power stations’ and ‘Power quality and energy efficiency’ will be held on Thursday and a business meet jointly with the Kerala Chapter of Confederation of Indian Industries will be held the next day.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will formally inaugurate the seminar on Friday and also distribute the Kerala State Energy Conservation Awards. Minister for Electricity and Transport Aryadan Muhammed will preside over.

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation K C Venugopal will inaugurate the session on ‘Renewable energy for security’ on Saturday

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[RajeshVR]

Sivagiri pilgrimage begins on December 30



The 80th annual Sivagiri Pilgrimage will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on December 30.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Sree Narayana Dharma Sanghom Trust president Swami Prakasananda said the processes associated with the pilgrimage would begin at 6 a.m. on December 31.

Ten conferences have been scheduled as part of the pilgrimage. On December 30, Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P.J. Kurien will inaugurate a conference on the need to abstain from alcohol.

This would be followed by a seminar on the media and the vision of Sree Narayana Guru, which will be inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Labour Kodikunnil Suresh. An all-religion conference would also be held on the day.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K.. Advani will inaugurate this year’s pilgrimage conference at 10 a.m. on December 31. Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi will preside.

Minister for Agriculture K.P. Mohanan will inaugurate a conference on the agriculture industry

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ATTOI (Association of Travel Trade Organizations, India) has announced a first-of-its-kind travel and technology conference in India. Named International Conference on Travel Technology India, it is slated to be organized in Kovalam, Kerala during the month of June, 2013.

http://icttindia.org/

[remobecks]

Bonjour India is back

Riding the wave of success of the first edition of Bonjour India (2009-2010), the embassy of France in India and the Institut Français en Inde, in association with the Alliance Française India network and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), unveiled the second edition of the festival from January.

Music, dance, literature, cinema, education, sports, fashion, architecture, photography and performing arts are the focus of Bonjour India that continues till April 2013. “Bonjour India is an invitation to discover and re-discover France through its whole artistic dimension. As a real cultural dialogue between French and Indian artists, the
festival will show the sheer friendship linking France and India,” said François Richier, ambassador of France to India.
From Jaipur to Kolkata, Delhi to Trivandrum, via Mumbai, Chandigarh, Nashik and several others, a total of 15 cities will play host to about 150 cultural events. These will encompass the entire gamut of people-to-people exchanges between India and France. The best of French trends spiced up with Indian flavours will also come to India through such platforms. Namaste France, Festival of India in France, soon usually follows, enhancing the people to people contact.
“This edition is about the evolved state of cultural exchange between the two countries where eminent artists from the both sides will discover and learn from each other. Eric Vigner will cast actor Nandita Das as the chief protagonist with an all Indian cast in an adaptation, Marguerite Duras’ play Gates to India Song, Subodh Gupta will design the sets for the Ballet Preljocaj ‘and then, one thousand years of peace’, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan will play an original sarod concerto by composer Pierre Thilloy with a symphonic orchestra from Avignon, light sculptors Patrick Rimoux and Nandita Palchoudhuri shall dress up Jantar Mantar. These are the sort of immensely enriched cultural projects that arise as a consequence of such festivals and help influence and introduce novel and mutually enriching concepts to artists and experts in both countries,” says M. Thierry Robert, deputy director, Institut Francais en Inde.

[RajeshVR]

Antique jewellery exhibition on

By Express News Service - TIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The antique jewellery exhibition, ‘Ancient Secrets’, being organised at Prince Jewellery, East Fort, will conclude on December 24.
The exhibition include originals, reproductions and originals remodelled to suit modern tastes from Chettinad, Travancore and Mughal era.

Prince Jewellery was the first to revive the interest in antique jewellery. The highlight this year is a necklace of gold and rubies, with all symbols associated with Siva along the side, equally spaced. The centrepiece is a lingam, followed by the ‘udukkai’ to the right of the wearer with a golden snake coiled in the centre and raising its hood; Devi, Trishulam, Ganga, a flower and ‘rudraksha’ line up on the right.

“Those days, jewellers used to work with their hands and tools creating intricate designs that are difficult to replicate today, except by traditional jewellers,” explains Princeson Jose, chairman, Prince Jewellery.

“Many families refuse to part with their heirlooms even when we promise them a good price because it is a precious part of their collection,” he adds, stressing the value of these pieces.

[RajeshVR]

PYKKA meet at LNCPE

The group one events of Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) nationals comprising athletics, volleyball and taekwondo will be held at Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE), Kariavattom, from December 27 to 30.
Around 1,500 sportspersons from all states and union territories are expected to take part in the four-day event.

PYKKA scheme was introduced in 2008-09 by the Centre to improve rural sports infrastructure as well as bring unrecognised talents to the mainstream.

“We expect almost 1,500 sportspersons from the rural parts of the country. The girls will be accommodated at SAI-LNCPE, while the boys will be housed in nearby schools and colleges,” said State Sports Council secretary P Abdul Razak.

Participants aged 16 years and below and residing in rural areas alone are entitled to take part in the events under PYKKA. The competitions in other disciplines were held earlier elsewhere and this is the final phase of the national meet.

Being the host, Kerala this time around has fielded a full contingent comprising 71 sportspersons and six officials. The state is currently the runners-up in athletics. Kerala Sports Council, which is organising the event on behalf of the Ministry of Sports, has also sought the cooperation of SAI in technical aspects.

The importance of PYKKA is that sportspersons from panchayat, block and district levels alone can participate in the competition. The key objective behind the scheme is to provide youngsters in the rural area access to sports training. This scheme has gone down well more with the northern states, where sports infrastructure has been limited to urban and suburban areas.

“In Kerala, we may not feel the the logic behind the scheme as we literally don’t have rural areas here. But in the north and north-eastern states there is a big dearth of sports infrastructure in the rural areas and the scheme was a shot in the arm to make sports popular among the rural folk,” said SAI Kerala region director Dr G Kishore.

The meet will be inaugurated by Sports Minister K B Ganesh Kumar.

By Express News Service - TIRUVANANTHAPURAM

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Pilgrim’s DESTINATION


For connoisseurs of music, the curtain on the festival may come down in Chennai, but a classy fare awaits them in Thiruvananthapuram, where the Kuthiramalika festival will be held next month. This writer made a visit to the hallowed venue, considered divine by artists, many of whom find it a privilege to perform.

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/p...cle4221651.ece

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Vyapar 2012

A five day international business and trade fair is being held from 19-23 of this month

The business fair includes exhibitions on technology, electronic gadgets, tourism, textiles, infrastructure, real estate, finance and other sectors. The participation of government and private agencies, which promote entrepreneurial assistance is also a main attraction of the fair.The fair would also provide a platform for business owners and young entrepreneurs to meet each other.Seminars on various subjects will be conducted by eminent personalities. Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan inaugurated the function, which was presided over by K. Muralidharan MLA . A 'Franchising Session' was inaugurated by Excise Minister K Babu. The event also hosted a cultural night.

A seminar on Creative Journalism will be organised on December 20. On 21st, the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate a seminar on 'police Complaint Authority' at 10.30 am. At 3pm a seminar on consumer rights also will be conducted. On 23rd, classes on online marketing will be held with the focus on youths."This is really a welcoming scenario in the economic front of the state. It will help budding entrepreneurs like us and give us an opportunity to meet successful businessmen from all over the world," said Nithin an MBA student, who was present at the event

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Source: City Kaumudi

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Source: City Kaumudi

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Source: Mathrubhumi

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Source: Mathrubhumi

[RajeshVR]

Kumaran Asan cultural fete from Friday

www.thehindu.com

[remobecks]

Family art exhibition from tomorrow


The capital city will witness a three-day unique art exhibition starting from Friday. Vijayagiri Art Exhibition, paintings and artworks of members belonging to a single family, will be on display at Jawahar Bala Bhavan, Vellayambalam till Sunday. Vijayagiri is one of the oldest families of Thiruvananthapuram comprising 45 members, most of whom are artists and designers.

The exhibition brings together around 100 of the finest folios and paintings by the family members. The proceeds of the exhibition will be donated to Asha Bhavan, an organization under the social welfare department catering to destitute and rehabilitated women.

The head of the family is late Capt. ARS Nair, who served in the Indian Army and later the Kerala police and his wife late Vishalakshmi Amma and their six children - five sons and a daughter -(Sasikumar, Ravikumar, Gopakumar, Harikumar, Vijayakumar and Girijadevi).

Health minister VS Sivakumar will inaugurate the exhibition at 5.30pm. Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan will preside and also release two short films directed by Gopakumar and Anuj Gopakumar. The book authored by Vijay Kumar -- '100 Design Methods -- will be released during the inaugural function. In addition, a painting competition for school children will be held on December 29 to promote budding talents in city-based schools. The valedictory function will be presided over by Gauri Parvathy Bai of Travancore royal family.