Extra extra read all about it...

Students of Kodaikanal International School in the Backwaters of Alleppy
The locals watched with great delight as the group of international students who rowed their canoes through the backwaters of Alleppy. The beauty of the place and the activities gave the students a memorable experience which they would cherish.

A group of 28, comprising of grade 11 and 12 students from Kodaikanal International School came to Alleppy for canoeing as part of their social experience, which is an essential part of their curriculum. There were 18 boys and 6 girls. The group was led by the Vice Principal of the school, Mr Faddeggon and three other staff members.

The group went through R Block, Kavaalam, Kidangara, Neerettupuram, Edathva, Chembakulam, Nedumudi and Chendangani to cover a total distance of 80 kms. They also visited St Anthony’s Orphanage in Alleppy and spent time with the children singing and dancing. The staff Neil Hutton, Dan Winfred and Shreya DeMonte said that the interaction with the children was an enjoyable experience.

They chose this place for the field trip as they had heard about the scenice beauty of the backwaters. In the group was a Keralite from Calicut, US, Japan and New Zealand in the group. The tour was organized by ‘Alleppy Backwaters’

*The post on the trip will be up soon, but this article came out in the Malyalam Manaroma on 19 Sept 2008. And yes the trip was fantastic!

Inspiration or plagarism

India churns out highest number of movies every year in the whole world. However most of them are blatantly copied from other movies. Some of them just take some inspiration and some of them are simply a remake and some even go to the extent of copying the original movie scene-by-scene.

Is being a director in India a tough job, hell no - just watch an english movie, convert it into hindi, add some music and you have got yourself a movie.

These people need to be sued. A couple of cases have been taken up but to my knowledge nothing really has happen. Sony is currently in the process of sueing Ero's for plagarizing the movie hitch (the hindi remake was - Partner)

So next time you are watching a hindi flick, you probably have paid to watch a film you have already seen.
Hindi movie ...........English movie it is based on
Naksha.......... The Rundown
The Killer....... Collateral
Krrish.......... Paycheck
Mr Ya Miss ............Hot Chick
Sauda - The Deal............. Indecent Proposal
Salaam Namaste............... Nine Months
Koi... Mil Gaya.............. E.T. & Forrest Gump
Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai........... My Best Friends Wedding
Hari Puttar ......................Home alone (you thought Harry Potter dint you!)

I raise my glass

To the people I treasure
To the people I love
For all the times you stood by me
For all the times you fought for me
To the times we laughed
To the times we cried
And to the times you consoled
Through the good times and the bad
I thank you for being there
For the hugs
The pats on the back
The jokes
The love
I thank you for being special
I thank you for being my friend
To you my friend I raise my glass
To you my friends - a toast
For the time shared
For the memories created
To YOU
Cheers!