By G. Mathew & E. George
Butterflies are highly fragile organisms with diversified habits, and require specific ecological conditions for survival. Natural forests, grasslands, canopies of trees as well as wet areas along the banks of rivers and streams are the typical habitats of butterflies. Habitat loss, commercial collection, and incidence of parasites and predators are the major threats for the survival of butterflies.
By Mary Ann Chacko
As part of my doctoral dissertation I am studying a cadet program designed by the Kerala Police for school children. My field work, thus, takes me into police stations for interviews with police officers. After one such interview the police woman I had been speaking to offered to take me to visit a sub-jail adjacent to the police station. Just as we were about to go to the jail, we met an advocate, the parent of a student at the school I am conducting my fieldwork.
By Mary Ann Chacko
Walking through the Butterfly Garden was an invigorating and calming experience. But I felt a tinge of sadness when I realized that these breathtakingly beautiful creatures had such a short life span. To make matters worse, during this walking tour I learned that the natural habitats of many butterflies have been destroyed due to human interference thereby threatening the survival of many species.
By Mary Ann Chacko
Education is never ideologically neutral and debates over the communalization of education are not new in India. For instance, from 1998 – 2000, the national government was led by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a coalition government, led by the Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This period was marked by, what critics of the right-wing government refer to as the process of “saffronisation.”
By Yoonus Bin Muhmmed
Along with the star players’ elegant cut-outs, the banners highlight a side’s advantages and strengths over its rivals and list the rivals’ feebleness. Sometimes the banners issue stark and aggressive warning against its rivals: ‘No Kakas will fly over Messi’ (Kaka means crow in Malyalam), suggesting the usual rivalry between Brazil and Argentina!
By Mary Ann Chacko
As she sifted through the photos she took in Kerala, it occurred to her that the Lungi or sarong, a traditional garment worn, predominantly by men, around their waist and the Newspaper, best capture the culture of Kerala. In this painting, she took newspapers and blended it with the painting. One news item features Kerala’s campaign against the pesticide, Endosulfan.
By Mary Ann Chacko & Mosarrap H. Khan
In this Cafe Dissensus Conversation, Director Jayan K. Cherian discusses his new film, Papilio Buddha, which deals with the land-struggles of dalits and adivasis in the Western Ghats of Kerala.
By E P Mohammed Swalih
This is what I mean by “consumer citizenship” – you mark your identity and belonging through material goods. This is of course connected to prosperity but it is not reducible to wealth. I remember one of my first interviewees in Dubai telling me that when he was growing up in Kerala, Carrefour plastic bags were considered status symbols.
By Mary Ann Chacko
To demonstrate how this distinction between educational access and educational quality is popularly understood, I would like to discuss two short clips from a Malayalam movie titled ‘Vadhyar’ [School Teacher, 2012], which portrays the struggle of a government school to survive amidst a corrupt bureaucracy, high-fee-seeking English medium private schools, and government-aided schools run by religious organizations.
By Mary Ann Chacko
In the summer of 2010 I had the opportunity to work as a research assistant on a project funded by the ICICI Foundation. The study sought to examine the relationship between the pedagogical practices of school teachers (across three Indian states) and their worldviews.
Cafe Dissensus Everyday 