Dr M S Sunil is a zoology professor at the Catholicate College in Kerala's small town of Pathanamthitta but what she does is much more than just teaching. It started a few years ago when she decided to build a home for one one of her students who lived in very shanty conditions. What started off as a solo effort has now grown into what many call the M S...
11:00 AM, Feb 05, 2013
Southern Railways on Tuesday joined issue with a section of Lord Ayyappa devotees, who protested over water shortage at the Erode Station, and said the allegation of water shortage and stoppage of trains arose only during the Sabarimala season. ...
07:22 PM, Dec 11, 2012
As the popularity of the famous Hindu temple at Sabarimala increases with each year, authorities are faced with a huge garbage problem. This year, 35,000 big bags of garbage were taken out from the shrine complex and the foothills in a massive clean-up operation initiated by by the Mata Amritanandamayi Mutt. ...
11:42 AM, Nov 29, 2012
Sabarimala: Five days after the Sabarimala pilgrimage season opened, some unsavoury reports about prasadam and fleecing of pilgrims have come in, but administrators say it is just media sensationalism. As one climbs the hill from the base point at Pamba to reach the temple atop, traditional crackers being burst is the first point of fleecing pilgrims. A Rs 5 fire cracker is being sold for Rs 10 to pilgrims. At...
02:32 PM, Nov 20, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: Southern Railway has opened a reservation counter at Pampa on the foothills of Sabarimala to serve devotees visiting the hill shrine, where the annual pilgrim season is underway. A divisional railway release on Monday said the single window counter for ticket booking, cancellation and fare related enquiries would function from 8 AM to 8 PM. The Railway has announced special trains from different destinations in the country and back...
11:57 AM, Nov 19, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: The famous Sabarimala temple pilgrimage season is all set to begin when the sanctum sanctorum opens in the early hours of Friday. The pilgrimage season coincides with the first day of Malayalam month 'Vrishickam' (this year it falls on Nov 16). Situated on the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats, at an altitude of 914 metres above sea level, Sabarimala temple is four kilometres uphill from Pamba in Pathanamthitta...
11:03 AM, Nov 15, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: Former Kerala Minister M P Govindan Nair was on Monday sworn in as the new president of the Travancore Devaswom Board at a function here. The TDB administers temples, including the Lord Ayappa shrine at Sabarimala, in the Travancore region. V Subhash was sworn in as the second member under the general category which was to be nominated by the cabinet, as per the Devaswom ordinance issued by the...
04:09 PM, Nov 12, 2012
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Travancore Devaswom Board to take steps to provide suitable fencing at the entrance to the Nadappanthal at Sabarimala. A Division Bench comprising Justice Thottathil Radhakrishnan and Justice A V Ramakrishna Pillai issued the directive while considering a report of the Devaswom Ombudsman in this regard. The TDB will immediately take steps to provide fencing, barricade or cattle trap at the entrance...
02:13 PM, Sep 06, 2012
Kochi: Bringing to an end the six-year-old controversial episode, the Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court on Tuesday found Shobha John and eight others guilty in the blackmailing of former Sabarimala Thantri Kandararu Mohanaru. The sentence will be pronounced on Wednesday. The prosecution had submitted that the accused had hatched a conspiracy and threatened the Thantri with a gun in a flat in Kochi and grabbed his ornaments on July 23, 2006....
02:50 PM, Aug 08, 2012
New Delhi: The Kerala High Court on Friday quashed all charges against Kannada actress Jayamala and astrologer Unnikrishnan in the 2006 Sabrimala case. Jayamala was accused of touching the Sabarimala deity, in violation of temple traditions and offending religious sentiments. The court ruled that the charges were legally invalid. ...
03:14 PM, Jul 13, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: Devout Hindus here on Saturday heralded Vishu, the Kerala new year, with traditional cultural fervour with people visiting temples in the morning. Crowds gathered at the famed Sabarimala, Guruvayoor, Sree Padmanabha Swamy temples since early morning. The most important event of the day starts with the 'Vishukani darshan' , the auspicious sight of their favourite deity. In Hindu homes, preparations for 'Vishukani' starts the night before with cleaning of...
12:18 PM, Apr 14, 2012
New Delhi: It's been exactly a year since the tragedy near Sabarimala Temple that killed a hundred people took place. CNN-IBN re-visited the spot to find out how prepared are authorities this time around. Over a 100 pilgrims were killed in the stampede after the Makaravilakku festival. The Kerala government, which faced severe criticism from all quarters, especially the Kerala High Court, is making elaborate arrangements for the event on...
08:02 AM, Jan 14, 2012
Sabarimala: Last year, this place suffered a terrible tragedy when 102 people died in a stampede. But pilgrims are still thronging the Sabarimala temple, the revered Hindu shrine situated in the Western Ghats in central Kerala. What is more, the temple these days is experiencing an excess of everything - from snakes to pickpockets to its earnings in the current pilgrim season. The authorities of the Travancore Devasom Board (TDB)...
06:32 PM, Jan 09, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is keenly pursuing measures to make people in Tamil Nadu aware of the earnest attempts being made by the Kerala Government to ensure waters from Mullaperiyar to that state, even while raising the demand for a new dam, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said. He said that the government would also ensure the safety of Sabarimala pilgrims and Tamil people living in the state. Addressing a meet...
03:59 AM, Dec 23, 2011
Thiruvananthapuram: It was an eventful year for Kerala as the Congress-led UDF voted out the LDF while discovery of treasures in the vaults of the famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple drew worldwide attention to 'God's own country' even as tension with Tamil Nadu over the Mullaperiyar Dam escalated. A gruesome stampede at Pulmedu near Sabarimala hill shrine on Makarsankranthi day claimed lives of 102 pilgrims, most of them from neighbouring Tamil...
12:14 PM, Dec 20, 2011
Sabarimala: Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president M Rajagopalan Nair would seek Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's assistance to take up the issue of safety and smooth passage of Sabarimala pilgrims through the border check-posts with his counterpart in Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa. Talking to newsmen in Sabarimala on Wednesday, Rajagopalan Nair said that he would meet Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Devaswom Minister VS Sivakumar on taking up the matter...
07:49 AM, Dec 17, 2011
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In view of the Sabarimala pilgrimage season, the Southern Railways have announced additional Sabarimala/ Winter Special trains. Certain trains have also been sanctioned temporary stops at Chengannur and Thiruvalla till January 19, 2012, said an official release here on Wednesday. Advance reservation for the additional Sabari/ Winter special trains would begin on November 22. The trains are: Train no. 06009 Chennai Central-Kollam Weekly Special, 06010 Kollam - Chennai Central...
08:42 AM, Nov 24, 2011
CHENNAI: Just as the Sabarimala pilgrim season is gaining momentum, a group of Ayyappa devotees were taken aback at the airporthere when they were reportedly not allowed to carry their irumudis (kit with offerings for the deity) on a Kochi flight by the Jet Airways staff. Santhanam, along with eight others, was all set to depart for his yearly pilgrimage by a flight at 6.55 am on Monday when the...
09:47 AM, Nov 22, 2011
Sabarimala: The Sabarimala pilgrimage in Kerala, during which over 100 pilgrims were killed in a stampede early this year, began early on Thursday morning as the sanctum sanctorum of the famed temple here was opened. At 3 a.m. sharp on the first day of Malayalam month Vrishickam, temple melshanthi N. Balamurali opened the doors for the two-month-long pilgrimage season amid shouts of 'Swamiye Sharanamayappa'. The temple, situated on a hilltop,...
02:39 PM, Nov 17, 2011
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the flow of Sabarimala pilgrims to the city set to begin from next week, the City Corporation has come up with elaborate arrangements with regard to parking and other amenities. Mayor K Chandrika told a press conference here on Wednesday that the parking for buses carrying pilgrims which used to be parked in front of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple and its premises has now been arranged at Attukal...
08:57 AM, Nov 17, 2011
