Kerala Corner

[SpArK]

 

[december]

it was super effort from pollard after that misfield..............................

 

[rockstarIN]

Supriya Menon marries Malayalam actor Prithviraj

BBC World journalist Supriya Menon is getting married to Malayalam actor Prithviraj. As per reports, the couple met more than a year back while Supriya was reporting on southern cinema. Prithviraj used to fly in to Mumbai to meet her.

The couple is tying the knot today in Palakkadu. After the traditional wedding, a grand reception has also been planned in Thiruvananthapuram for the film industry and fans.

 

[acetophenol]

all malayalees come in!
Namuku kochu varthamanam parayam!

 

[Water Car Engineer]

Whats with the pillars? What are they making.

 

[JanjaWeed]

all malayalees come in!
Namuku kochu varthamanam parayam!

what 'varthamanam' that you can't share with rest of us??

 

[acetophenol]

what 'varthamanam' that you can't share with rest of us??

No dude,all r welcome!

 

[SpArK]

KERALA RUBBER LEAGUE
​

It was indeed a powershot worthy of being tagged DLF maximum, but to the utter astonishment of the batsman, the ball hit high to the offside was thrown back from the sky and was caught by the bowler! Thanks to the fertilizer Factomphos 20-20-20 the rubber trees have well spread out branches, that act as the fielders stationed all across the ground and up in the sky. Welcome to KERALA RUBBER LEAGUE(KRL), Kerala’s answer to Gully Cricket.

Rubber plantations spread across acres of land are a common sight in Kerala so are the paddy fields. Playing in the paddy fields in unbearable summer heat requires too much sunscreen, which is not affordable for budding local talent, so the next option is rubber plantations. The cool atmosphere, rubber tress as fielders creates an ambience such that you can play till you drop. Once the sun blows cold in the evening the venue is shifted from plantation to the vast paddy fields.

THE TOSS SANS COIN



Stricter and smarter than RBI, the Keralite parents track down both the inflow and outflow of their children’s money. The net result is the non availability of coins for toss. Here the leaves come to the rescue. The light and the dark side of the leaf act as the heads and tails of a coin. It is not easy as in IPL, the strict rules of KRL demand that it must be re toss if the leaf touches, a tree, a plant or person before it touches the ground. In KRL, once a captain wins the toss, there is no hesitation; he will bat first, a tradition that’s followed till date.

THE CHEER BOYS



If the trademark of IPL is hot cheer girls, for KRL it is hardworking cheer boys. The cheer boys are the aspiring teens who are raring to prove their talent to the senior guys. They are called locally as ‘out perukkikal’ (ball boys), and their entry to the team depends on various factors like quick return of the ball hit to the boundary, fetching water from the nearby well and above all how well you cheer. If the guy is shrewd enough he will always support and cheer with loudest possible noise for the best in the pack and makes a quick entry.

ART OF MAKING BAT AND BUYING BALL



If you know the art of making a cricket and buying a ball, then you will be considered as an icon player of the team. Bats are either made from the mid-ribs of coconut leaves or from local timber. The wood is selected and dried in sunlight and shaped with the locally available instruments. The artists make the bat branded by carefully and beautifully painting MRF, NIKE and the like.

A KRL player also must be an expert in buying the best rubber ball from the shop. The expert local players say that first you need to shake the rubber ball, if you hear the clinging sound then check out other brand. The local wisdom says that the sound indicates the presence of salt granules that has been deliberately kept to ensure the ball will break fast! Once the ball is broken no fourth umpire arrives with a packet of shining balls, but the play is called off till enough money is received as contribution from the members to buy the new one.

THE BALL MAYA



In IPL, the ball disappears once it is hit out of the park, but in KRL, the ball can disappear even after it is being hit for a single! That’s ball maya of KRL. The fallen rubber leaves ensure a kind of smoothness like that of grass in the stadiums but it comes with a rider. If it is one of those unlucky days, the ball gets into the leaves and escapes your eyes. Once the ball is lost massive search operation is planned with both batting and bowling team taking part in it. If the search is unsuccessful for about 15 minutes it is called off and ways and means to buy new ball is discussed. The most disgusting thing is finding that same ball once you start the game with a brand new ball!

OWNER AALA RE!

.


Like the tussle between IPL Franchisees and Stadium owning corporations or authorities with regard to tax and other issues, the local Rubber league too faces a host of problems. If the son of the plantation owner is not playing with you, then expect trouble any time. The problem lies in the fact that playing cricket damages the tapping patches as the ball hits them. The bowl that collects latex from the rubber tree is also at the receiving end. So playing cricket in rubber plantations is not at all healthy for the rubber trees.

Usually the owner lives away from the plantation. But you can be assured of the occasional visits. Once you see the owner advancing towards you with local expletives the only way out run and only run. If you happen to get caught be calm, receive an earful, give a wrong name and house name and slowly walk off. The very next day the Kerala Rubber League resumes as usual.

THE ‘NATIONAL’ TOURNAMENT



Once your locality have a good team, after playing all those Rubber League matches during day and evening matches in the paddy field, confidence oozes out that matches with local teams are organized. The rules are interesting; each member has to bring Rs. 10. If their team wins he can take home Rs. 20. But there is a rider, the team which loses can always ask for another match to regain the lost money and pride and there is this unwritten rule that the winning team should pay heed to this demand.

The next level is the ‘National’ tournaments organized with participants from nearby towns and villages. The registration includes participation fee that ranges from 250 to 500 together with two tennis balls. The organizing committee makes sure that local team wins the trophy and cash prize. While the players fix matches in International level, here in the ‘national’ level, local umpires make sure the favourite team of organizer wins.

“ I WANNA BE A TUSKER”

Elephant is the state animal of Kerala and Keralites have a special regard for Tuskers. At one point of time ownership of an elephant in the family was a matter of pride in Kerala. The Thrissur pooram, Kerala’s famous temple fest, is the literal show off the best tuskers in town. It’s because of this fact that when their IPL baby was re christened as KOCHIN TUSKERS KERALA, the mallus cooled off after the public display of anger after the Indi-commando fiasco.

Well, now the young kids who sweat it out in the Kerala Rubber League has just one dream….”I WANNA BE A TUSKER!”

 

[acetophenol]

@sparky: well said!

 

[SpArK]

@sparky: well said!

have you had any similar experience like that. Playing with madal bats in countryside using rubber balls ???

PS: that article is not written by me... i saw it yesterday and posted today.. cause it brought back some memories...

 

[acetophenol]

have you had any similar experience like that. Playing with madal bats in countryside using rubber balls ???

PS: that article is not written by me... i saw it yesterday and posted today.. cause it brought back some memories...

Surely! I am doing it now!
Njangalku rubber plantation onnum ella. School grounds,mattu purayidangal,railway stations etc are our stadiums.
Paddy fields are reserved for
Football. Madal battinu pakaram cricket bat.

 

[acetophenol]

@spark: joli entha? Ethra vayasai? Uae-yil eyideya? Answer if u don't mind.

 

[SpArK]

Surely! I am doing it now!
Njangalku rubber plantation onnum ella. School grounds,mattu purayidangal,railway stations etc are our stadiums.
Paddy fields are reserved for
Football. Madal battinu pakaram cricket bat.

Well some 15 years back we have to be content with limited resources. And we played with whatever we had.

That article is kind of nostalgic for the older lot.

 

[SpArK]

@spark: joli entha? Ethra vayasai? Uae-yil eyideya? Answer if u don't mind.

Joli media field thanneya.. but ippol veruthey kuthi irikunnu... vayasum pallintey ennavum same , muppathi randu... UAE junctionil... adutha masam naatil erangum veendum... kudumbini ivudeyaanu .. athu kondu naadu kanan ivudey ethy....

 

[acetophenol]

Well some 15 years back we have to be content with limited resources. And we played with whatever we had.

That article is kind of nostalgic for the older lot.

eppol sponser mare kittan elupama. Estam pole mobile phone kadakal undalo.
Eppo badmintonum trenda.
Kho-kho and kabadi are gone.