Discover the heart of Kerala through stories that pulse with life and history. This book invites you to explore the world of sorcerers, warriors, and poets, where myth and reality intertwine. From the ancient gateway of Malabar to the vibrant communities that shaped its culture, these tales reveal the depth of Kerala’s heritage. Meet the figures behind the legends, delve into the histories that defined a region, and experience a society rich in tradition and intrigue. With a blend of deep insight and accessible writing, this collection offers a fresh look at Kerala’s fascinating past.
This unique volume is not just an in-depth analysis of Professor Swaminathan's brilliant contributions to basic cytogenetics, radiation biology, mutagenesis and genomic affinities of cultivated potato and its wild derivatives, but also the application of the new knowledge gained to improve the productivity of agricultural crops, as also to enhance their resistance to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. No other earlier biographies of Professor Swaminathan bring out these salient dimensions of his scientific achievements made at the Wageningen University, The Netherlands, Cambridge University, UK, and Wisconsin University, USA as well as Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. This biography is also unique for its revelation that Professor Swaminathan's contributions par excellence have been in contemporary areas of crop improvement for productivity and resistance to pests and diseases.This volume is also unique in bringing out that Professor Swaminathan, Father of India's Green Revolution, wanted to use this chemically intensified system only to gain 'breathing space' and went on to propose a 'systems approach' — based evergreen revolution in order to 'achieve productivity in perpetuity' through various pathways of ecoagriculture, and also integrated it with avenues for on-farm and non-farm livelihoods. Towards this goal, he made innovative uses of ecotechnologies in a 'biovillage' paradigm and modern information and communication technology (ICT) in Village Knowledge Centres (VKCs) to provide skill and knowledge empowerment respectively of the resource-poor rural women and men towards sustainable management of the natural resources for creating income-generating on-farm and non-farm livelihoods. This volume also brings out how Professor Swaminathan elegantly combined intellect and labour (hard work), and professional zeal with compassion for the poor. He is always open to new ideas, and new technologies without of course, compromising the values of traditional knowledge and ecological prudence of the rural and tribal people. This volume nicely captures how Professor Swaminathan with a deep and comprehensive understanding of the threats to the ecological foundations of agriculture and sustainable rural development, environmental degradation, social inequities and the climate change risks, has also harnessed science and technology to convert challenges into opportunities. This volume is written in a manner to serve also as a text book, going beyond the scope of just a biography. That should benefit generations of students on one hand, and sustain an interest in the book for many years on the other.
Amar Chitra Katha brings you Stories from Kerala, a collection of our existing titles Narayana Guru, Tachcholi Othenan, Kochunni, Velu Thampi and Maarthaanda Varma. Each title in this collection narrates the stories of individuals who, in their own ways, influenced and changed the course of Kerala's history.
Gangadharan Menon gave up advertising after 28 years to take up his first and second love: teaching and travel. He now teaches at Rachana Sansad College of Applied Arts, Mumbai, and does travel photography and travel writing. His articles have been published in The Hindu, The Times of India, DNA, Hindustan Times, Mid-day, and in Hornbill, the journal of Bombay Natural History Society. Through his writings he encourages people to discover the joy of travelling in India, a country that is made up of many countries. He can be contacted on [email protected]
Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic activities around the world. This book is the first volume in the new series Biodiversity Hotspots of the World, which highlights the 36 hotspot regions of the world, regions that were designated as reaping maximum benefit from preservation efforts. This series is our humble attempt to document these hotspots as a conservation and preservation measure. This first volume in the series focuses on the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, construed as forming a community of species because of their shared biogeographical history. The volume explores the diversity and conservation efforts of the extraordinarily rich species found here, including plants, many of which are found nowhere else in the world; forests, which face tremendous population pressure and have been dramatically impacted by demands for timber and agricultural land; as well as the hotspot’s diverse mammals, birds, insects, and amphibian species, and more. The volumes in this series will be essential resources for researchers and practitioners in the fields of conservation biology, ecology, and evolution.
* From Srinagar to Kamrup-Kamakhya and from Calcutta to Kochi, the name of Adi Shankar was like a torchbearer to illuminate my path. While searching the footprints of that great traveller, it was not known when the circumambulation across India was completed effortlessly. * Every reform becomes a stereotype over a period. It is the habit of history to witness every revolution becoming hypocritical and free warriors becoming dictators. While being a monk, he had the courage to say that | am neither an idol nor a worshipper, nor am | a priest, nor religion, nor caste. * Adi Shankaracharya has the answers to all the questions of today’s youth, their curiosities and frustrations as well. Who else would be the outstanding management guru than him who changed the consciousness and the ways of life of the entire nation. The monks who were beyond all the disciplines of the world, he organised them into arenas and ashrams. He made them disciplined and organised. The conflict between Buddhism and Hindus was pacified. Shaivas, Vaishnavas, Shakyas, Ganapathis all were put together in one thread. * I hope that this story of that amazing, brilliant child, the miraculous teenager and the charming young Shankar may light up your path and the story might unfold the mystic episodes of his life, which is the prime humble motive behind writing this book.
