Born in a conservative Hindu Nair family, she embraced Islam in 1999 at the age of 65 and assumed the name Kamala Suraiya. Like the themes of her stories, conversion too kicked up much heat and dust in the social and literary circles. People wondered how a person of such rebellious thoughts, writings and life can conform to conservative Islam. But inconsistency is inherent in her character. In a 1984 interview, she made the following statement: "Yes, I know, yesterday I might have been ...

See also:

Kamala Das, Kamala Das - Biography, Kamala Das - Conversion to Islam political adventures and other controversies, Kamala Das - Writings in English, Kamala Das - Writings in Mayalam, Kamala Das - Awards and other recognitions, Kamala Das - Bibliography

Read more here: » Kamala Das: Encyclopedia II - Kamala Das - Conversion to Islam political adventures and other controversies

The main religion is Hinduism, with many castes - Menon, Pisharody, Nair, Ezhava, Ezhuthachan, Namboothiri (Kerala Brahmin), Iyer (Tamil Brahmin), trader (Moothan), Gupthans, artisan community like carpenter (Asari), goldsmith (Thattan), blacksmith (Kollan) and potter (Kusavan). There are some tribals also in the forest areas. Nairs are traditionally the warrior caste. They are now in all fields, mainly in government service. Ezhavas and Ezhuthachans are mostly farmers, the educated among them in other areas also. Namboothiris work as temple priests. They were big landlords once and some of the families were of great as ...

See also:

Palakkad, Palakkad - Statistics, Palakkad - People, Palakkad - Traditions of Palakkad, Palakkad - Places of worship, Palakkad - Climate, Palakkad - Industry, Palakkad - Educational institutions, Palakkad - Transport, Palakkad - Places of Interest, Palakkad - Famous festivals, Palakkad - Municipalities of Palakkad Dt., Palakkad - Kerala Assembly seats of Palakkad Dt.

Read more here: » Palakkad: Encyclopedia II - Palakkad - People

Modern Romantics Kuttippurathu Kesavan Nair (1883-1959) Nalappat Narayana Menon (1887-1955) G. Sankara Kurup (1900-1978) Edappalli Raghavan Pillai (1909-1936) Changampuzha Krishna Pillai (1911-1948) Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon (1911-1985) Other Modern Poets Vayalar Ramavarma Edasseri Govindan Nair O. N. V. Kurup Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan Satchidanandan Sugathakumari Vishnunarayanan Namboothir ...

See also:

Malayalam literature, Malayalam literature - Poetry, Malayalam literature - Fiction, Malayalam literature - Literary Criticism, Malayalam literature - Others

Read more here: » Malayalam literature: Encyclopedia II - Malayalam literature - Poetry

There are a number of schools and colleges including engineering colleges. Government Victoria College is a more-than-a-century- old institution which has many eminent persons as its former students. They include E. M. S. Namboodiripad(late communist leader), former Chief Election Commissioner T.N.Seshan, writers (the late) O.V.Vijayan and M.T.Vasudevan Nair and cartoonist Ravi Shankar. The NSS College of Engineering is an Institution by Nair Service Society and was established in the 60's. It has one of the best facilities for pure E ...

See also:

Palakkad, Palakkad - Statistics, Palakkad - People, Palakkad - Traditions of Palakkad, Palakkad - Places of worship, Palakkad - Climate, Palakkad - Industry, Palakkad - Educational institutions, Palakkad - Transport, Palakkad - Places of Interest, Palakkad - Famous festivals, Palakkad - Municipalities of Palakkad Dt., Palakkad - Kerala Assembly seats of Palakkad Dt.

Read more here: » Palakkad: Encyclopedia II - Palakkad - Educational institutions

The people of this district have, as is the case in other parts of the state, a distinctiveness in personal appearance, marked by fairness of complexion, regularity of features, clean habits and a simple life. The major religious groups are Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Brahmins, Nairs, Ambalavasis, Thiyyas and Kammalas are the major divisions of the Hindu community. Thiyyas in the northern parts of the district are known as Belichappad. The sub-divisions of Nair community are Nambiar, Menon, Kurup etc. Kammalas are artisans like Th ...

See also:

Kasargod District, Kasargod District - History, Kasargod District - National Movement, Kasargod District - Geography, Kasargod District - Climate, Kasargod District - Demographic profile and customs of people, Kasargod District - Places of interest

Read more here: » Kasargod District: Encyclopedia II - Kasargod District - Demographic profile and customs of people

C. V. Devan Nair, the third President of Singapore hails from Thalassery. Oyyarathu Chandumenon, author of the first Malayalam novel Indulekha was from Thalassery. Herman Gundert, the German missionary who lived in Thalassery wrote the first English-Malayalam translator dictionary. Sanjayan (M. R. Nair), the Malayalam satirical essayist and contemporary social critic was from Thalassery. ...

See also:

Thalassery, Thalassery - Early history, Thalassery - About the name Thalassery, Thalassery - British influence, Thalassery - Thalassery Fort, Thalassery - Of Cricket Cakes and Circus, Thalassery - Literary and Social Contributions, Thalassery - Edcuation, Thalassery - Famous personalities, Thalassery - How to reach, Thalassery - Geography

Read more here: » Thalassery: Encyclopedia II - Thalassery - Famous personalities

Indian space program - Present. Budgetary Allocation for the Department of Space was Rs. 2267 crore (Rs. 22.67 Billion ) for the Financial year 2003-04 [1]. Employment statistics: ISRO employs approximately 17000 people[2] Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India holds charge of DoS. Mr G Madhavan Nair is Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation; Chairman, Space Commission; Secretary, Department of Space Indian space program - Missions. See also:

Indian space program, Indian space program - Objectives, Indian space program - History, Indian space program - Present, Indian space program - Missions, Indian space program - Planned Missions, Indian space program - Establishments, Indian space program - People

Read more here: » Indian space program: Encyclopedia II - Indian space program - History

List of Indians - P-R. P Chidambaram P.K. Vasudevan Nair P. V. Narasimha Rao Pranab Mukherjee Pratapsinh Rane, Chief Minister of Goa R R Patil, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Rabri Devi (born 1959) Rahul Gandhi, MP from Amethi Raj Thackeray, (born 1968) Rajendra Prasad Rajiv Pratap Rudy Ram Vilas Paswan (born 1946) Ravi Shankar Prasad List of Indians - S-Y. See also:

List of Indians, List of Indians - Armed forces, List of Indians - Arts, List of Indians - Business and Industry, List of Indians - Cartoonists, List of Indians - Economics, List of Indians - Fashion modelling and beauty, List of Indians - Literature, List of Indians - Mass Media, List of Indians - Movies, List of Indians - Directors, List of Indians - Producers, List of Indians - Actors, List of Indians - Actresses, List of Indians - Music, List of Indians - Organised Crime, List of Indians - Philosophers, List of Indians - Politics, List of Indians - A-I, List of Indians - J-L, List of Indians - M-N, List of Indians - P-R, List of Indians - S-Y, List of Indians - Religion, List of Indians - Royalty, List of Indians - Sciences, List of Indians - Social work, List of Indians - Sports, List of Indians - Others

Read more here: » List of Indians: Encyclopedia II - List of Indians - Politics

The most popular sports are Football and Cricket. Basketball, Badminton and Volleyball are also popular, mostly in schools. The Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium is a prominent football stadium and has hosted both national and international level matches. The University stadium has hosted two international cricket matches and is also used for athletics. The Jimmy George Sports Complex, the GV Raja Sports School and Lakshmi Bhai National College for Physical Education (LNCPE) are the other major sports establishments in the city. The city also has a golf lin ...

See also:

Thiruvananthapuram, Thiruvananthapuram - Origin of name, Thiruvananthapuram - History, Thiruvananthapuram - Geography, Thiruvananthapuram - Climate, Thiruvananthapuram - Economy, Thiruvananthapuram - Government and politics, Thiruvananthapuram - Transport, Thiruvananthapuram - Demographics, Thiruvananthapuram - Culture, Thiruvananthapuram - Education, Thiruvananthapuram - Media, Thiruvananthapuram - Sports, Thiruvananthapuram - Science and Technology

Read more here: » Thiruvananthapuram: Encyclopedia II - Thiruvananthapuram - Sports

The DAP was originally the Malaysian branch of the Singaporean People's Action Party (PAP). However, Singapore seceded from the federation in 1965, just two years after the territories had merged. Most of the Malaysian PAP members decided to remain with the original party, but those that decided to continue the party, including future President of Singapore Devan Nair, stayed in Malaysia to form the DAP in October 1965. [1] The party formally registered it ...

See also:

Democratic Action Party, Democratic Action Party - History, Democratic Action Party - Chairman and Central Executive Committee, Democratic Action Party - Prominent members, Democratic Action Party - Notes, Democratic Action Party - External link

Read more here: » Democratic Action Party: Encyclopedia II - Democratic Action Party - History

Bharathiraja started his film career as an assistant to director P.Pullaiya and Kannada film maker Puttanna Kanagal. Eventually working with Krishnan Nair, Avinasi Mani and A. Jaganathan, he learned the grammar of film making and got his first directorial opportunity in 1977. His first film 16 vayathinile for which he wrote the story and the script broke convention to create a new genre of village cinema. Costumes were uncomfortably true-to-life, dialogue was as-is-spoken, village characters were tellingly genuine. As Bharathiraja him ...

See also:

Bharathiraja, Bharathiraja - Early Days, Bharathiraja - Film Career, Bharathiraja - Filmography, Bharathiraja - Awards

Read more here: » Bharathiraja: Encyclopedia II - Bharathiraja - Film Career

Famous Parsis include the founder of Indian Civil Aviation and legendary industrialist J. R. D. Tata, Phirozeshah Mehta, Dadabhai Naoroji, Bhikaiji Cama, symphonic conductor Zubin Mehta, nuclear scientist Homi J. Bhabha, the similarly-named philosopher Homi K. Bhabha, the first and only field marshall of India Sam Manekshaw, screenwiter Sooni Taraporevala (of the films Salaam Bombay and Mississippi Masala, both directed by Mira Nair, as well as author of a photography book on the Parsi community entitled Parsis: The Zoroastr ...

See also:

Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrianism - Principal beliefs, Zoroastrianism - Specific Zoroastrian concepts, Zoroastrianism - The Prophet, Zoroastrianism - Zoroaster's meditations, Zoroastrianism - Zoroaster's preaching, Zoroastrianism - Holy Book, Zoroastrianism - History, Zoroastrianism - Historical importance, Zoroastrianism - Principles of modern-day Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrianism - Adherents, Zoroastrianism - Famous Zoroastrians, Zoroastrianism - Notes

Read more here: » Zoroastrianism: Encyclopedia II - Zoroastrianism - Famous Zoroastrians

Indus constellation - Star with proper names. (α Ind) 3.11 The Persian (or Al Nair, see α Gru) < النائر an-na´ir The illuminous (ε Ind) 4.69 Epsilon Indi – nearby; has a binary brown dwarf companion Indus constellation - Stars with Bayer designations. β Ind 3.67; γ Ind 6.10; δ Ind 4.40; ζ Ind 4.90; θ Ind 4.39; η Ind 4.51; ι Ind 5.06; κ Ind 5.62 + 6.13; μ Ind 5.17; ν Ind 5.28; ο Ind 5 ...

See also:

Indus constellation, Indus constellation - History, Indus constellation - Mythology, Indus constellation - Notable Stars, Indus constellation - Star with proper names, Indus constellation - Stars with Bayer designations, Indus constellation - Notable Deep-sky Objects

Read more here: » Indus constellation: Encyclopedia II - Indus constellation - Notable Stars

Before 1980 it had been virtually impossible for a woman in India to become a film maker. Now Mira Nair, Aparna Sen, Vijaya Metah, Sai Paranjpye, Kalpapana Lajmi, Deepa Mehta and Gurinder Chadha are among the best known indian women film makers. The portrayal of female sexuality, especially lesbian, is still very controversial in India. In Japan for a long time Kinuyo Tanaka was the only woman to make feature films. She was able to do this against fierce resistance because she enjoyed a status as star actress. Using genre conventions her films showed women "with a humorous affection rare in Japan ...

See also:

Women's cinema, Women's cinema - Silent films, Women's cinema - Classic Hollywood, Women's cinema - Experimental and avant-garde cinema, Women's cinema - Impact of second-wave feminism, Women's cinema - Representing sexuality, Women's cinema - Resisting violence and violent resistance, Women's cinema - Afro-American, Women's cinema - African, Women's cinema - Asian, Women's cinema - Latin American, Women's cinema - European, Women's cinema - Re-entering the mainstream?, Women's cinema - Bibliography, Women's cinema - Films small selection, Women's cinema - Films about women directors, Women's cinema - Film festivals

Read more here: » Women's cinema: Encyclopedia II - Women's cinema - Asian

Lee Kuan Yew - Self-government administration. In the national elections held on June 1, 1959, the PAP won forty-three of the fifty-one seats in the legislative assembly. Singapore gained self-government with autonomy in all state matters except in defense and foreign affairs, and Lee became the first prime minister of the state of Singapore on June 3, 1959, taking over from Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock. Before he took office, Lee demanded and secured the release of Lim Chin Siong and Devan Nair who were ...

See also:

Lee Kuan Yew, Lee Kuan Yew - Early life, Lee Kuan Yew - Early Political Career, Lee Kuan Yew - Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew - Self-government administration, Lee Kuan Yew - Merger with Malaysia then separation, Lee Kuan Yew - Post-independence administration, Lee Kuan Yew - Decisions and policies, Lee Kuan Yew - Relations with Malaysia, Lee Kuan Yew - Legacy and controversies, Lee Kuan Yew - Senior Minister, Lee Kuan Yew - Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew - Family, Lee Kuan Yew - Values and beliefs, Lee Kuan Yew - Memoirs, Lee Kuan Yew - Awards

Read more here: » Lee Kuan Yew: Encyclopedia II - Lee Kuan Yew - Prime Minister

Chattampi Swamikal (b:1853 - d:1925) was one of Kerala’s famed social reform activists and learned men. Chattampi Swamikal worked in parallel with his contemporary and soul mate Sree Nārāyana Guru to bring social equality to an otherwise heavily ritualistic and caste ridden Hindu society that prevailed around the late 19th and early 20th centuries across the present-day Kerala (erstwhi ...

Including:

• Chattampi Swamikal - Early life
• Chattampi Swamikal - Soul mate of Nānu Āśān
• Chattampi Swamikal - Maha Samadhi
• Chattampi Swamikal - Teachings of Chattampi Swamikal
• Chattampi Swamikal - Literary works of Chattampi Swamikal

Read more here: » Chattampi Swamikal: Encyclopedia - Chattampi Swamikal

Palakkad was a part of Malabar district during the British rule. After independence, it came under the Madras state. It was made a separate district of Kerala when the state was formed in 1956. Agriculture is the main occupation. The most prominent crop is rice. Palakkad is known as the Rice Bowl of Kerala. But in recent times, rice cultivation has become unremunerative due to high wages and low prices. Hence farmers have turned to other crops and the area under rice cultivation has decreased drastically. In the areas bordering ...

See also:

Palakkad, Palakkad - Statistics, Palakkad - People, Palakkad - Traditions of Palakkad, Palakkad - Places of worship, Palakkad - Climate, Palakkad - Industry, Palakkad - Educational institutions, Palakkad - Transport, Palakkad - Places of Interest, Palakkad - Famous festivals, Palakkad - Municipalities of Palakkad Dt., Palakkad - Kerala Assembly seats of Palakkad Dt.

Read more here: » Palakkad: Encyclopedia II - Palakkad - Statistics

The Paliam family features prominently in Kerala History. The oldest male member of the family is called the Paliath Achan. The Paliath Achans were Hereditary Prime Ministers to the Rajah of Cochin from 1632 to 1809. The main family tharavaadu (Nalukettu) is approximately 450 years old. There is also another building that served as the Paliath Achan's palace (Kovilakam), and was built by the Dutch. In addition to these buildings, there are a number of secondary buildings. They are anywhere between 250 to 300 years old. The last member ...

See also:

Paliam, Paliam - Origins, Paliam - Interesting Facts, Paliam - Paliam Today

Read more here: » Paliam: Encyclopedia II - Paliam - Interesting Facts

The major sources about Bodhidharma's life conflict with regard to his origins, the chronology of his journey to China, his death, and other details.One proposed set of birth and death dates is c. 440–528 CE; another is c. 470–543 CE. Bodhidharma - Biographical details from the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang 547 by Yang Xuanzhi. The earliest historical record of Bodhidharma was compiled in 547 by Yang Xuanzhi, the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang, in which Yang identifies Bodhidharma as a Persian Central Asian (Wade-Giles: po-szu kuo hu- ...

See also:

Bodhidharma, Bodhidharma - Biography, Bodhidharma - Biographical details from the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang 547 by Yang Xuanzhi, Bodhidharma - Biographical details from the Biography of Bodhidharma by Tanlin, Bodhidharma - Biographical details from the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks 645 by Daoxuan, Bodhidharma - Biographical details from the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall 952, Bodhidharma - Spiritual approach, Bodhidharma - Portrayals of Bodhidharma, Bodhidharma - Legends, Bodhidharma - Encounter with Emperor Liang, Bodhidharma - Nine years of gazing at a wall, Bodhidharma - Bringing tea to China, Bodhidharma - Daruma dolls, Bodhidharma - Bodhidharma and Huike, Bodhidharma - The lineage of Bodhidharma and his disciples, Bodhidharma - Works attributed to Bodhidharma

Read more here: » Bodhidharma: Encyclopedia II - Bodhidharma - Biography

(on 1 January 2002) Peeters 33,273 Janssens 31,529 Maes 25,654 Jacobs 20,229 Mertens 18,927 Willems 18,604 Claes 16,822 Goossens 16,202 Wouters 15,950 De Smet 14,491 The ten most common names in Belgium, shown above, are all of Flemish origin. The ten most common names in the Walloon region are: Dubois 9.804 Lambert 9.099 Martin 7.266 Dupont 6.688 Dumont 6.614 Leclercq 6.431 Simon 6.285 Laurent 5 ...

See also:

List of most common surnames, List of most common surnames - Argentina, List of most common surnames - Belgium, List of most common surnames - Brazil, List of most common surnames - Bulgaria, List of most common surnames - Canada, List of most common surnames - Quebec, List of most common surnames - China, List of most common surnames - Croatia, List of most common surnames - Czech Republic, List of most common surnames - Denmark, List of most common surnames - Estonia, List of most common surnames - Finland, List of most common surnames - France, List of most common surnames - Germany, List of most common surnames - Hungary, List of most common surnames - India, List of most common surnames - Ireland, List of most common surnames - Israel, List of most common surnames - Italy, List of most common surnames - Japan, List of most common surnames - Korea, List of most common surnames - Latvia, List of most common surnames - Mexico, List of most common surnames - Nuevo León, List of most common surnames - The Netherlands, List of most common surnames - Norway, List of most common surnames - Philippines, List of most common surnames - Poland, List of most common surnames - Portugal, List of most common surnames - Romania, List of most common surnames - Russia, List of most common surnames - Serbia and Montenegro, List of most common surnames - Spain, List of most common surnames - Singapore, List of most common surnames - Slovenia, List of most common surnames - Sri Lanka, List of most common surnames - Sweden, List of most common surnames - United Kingdom, List of most common surnames - United States, List of most common surnames - Vietnam

Read more here: » List of most common surnames: Encyclopedia II - List of most common surnames - Belgium

It was at Perunnalli Krishnan Vaidyar’s house that Chattampi Kunjan Pilla first met the young Nānu Āśān (later known as Sree Nārāyana Guru. By then Chattampi Kunjan Pilla was well versed in yoga and spiritual matters and their meeting proved to be the start of a profound and cherished companionship, although the two were of different temperaments. In those days Nānu Āśān was a soft-spoken introvert and Chattampi Kunjan Pilla an outspoken extrovert. When around 1884 Nānu Āśān was searching for a guru to teach him advanced yoga, Ch ...

See also:

Chattampi Swamikal, Chattampi Swamikal - Early life, Chattampi Swamikal - Soul mate of Nānu Āśān, Chattampi Swamikal - Maha Samadhi, Chattampi Swamikal - Teachings of Chattampi Swamikal, Chattampi Swamikal - Literary works of Chattampi Swamikal

Read more here: » Chattampi Swamikal: Encyclopedia II - Chattampi Swamikal - Soul mate of Nānu Āśān