Latest news with #Sajeesh
New Indian Express
30-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Wayanad disaster a year on: Rehab by different groups progresses; IUML, Congress' promises remain unfulfilled
KALPETTA: Sajeesh, a Chooralmala native, who was a daily wage worker, is now staying in the new house constructed by the Association of Automobiles Workshop Kerala in Muttil. He had undergone four surgeries after being injured in the landslide and he is included in the rehabilitation list. Though he's missing his old neighbourhood, he chose to stay in the house donated by the association because he can't wait for the completion of the township. 'We are included in the final list of beneficiaries for the rehabilitation. We are thinking of receiving the compensation of Rs 15 lakh and continuing to stay here because the township project may be delayed further. We have been staying in a rented house, but staying in your own house gives great relief,' said Sajeesh, while sitting in the living room of the new house. The house has two bedrooms, a hall and a kitchen. The occupants can add more rooms on the first floor in future. Like Sajeesh, five more families, including those added in the government's beneficiary list for the proposed township, have already shifted to the houses constructed in Muttil. Similarly, three policemen, who were affected in the landslide, received houses in Meenangadi from the Police Association and the Kerala Police Housing Cooperative Society. While around 20 families have started staying in the houses built by different organisations, the promises made by the IUML and the Congress still remain unfulfilled. The foundation stone of the housing project announced by the IUML in the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide was laid in April this year. The party leadership has stated that 105 families will be provided houses on 11 acres on Muttil-Meppadi Road and the land was purchased at a cost of Rs 12 crore in the name of IUML state president Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal. However, the construction was delayed after the Revenue Board sought an explanation from the former land owner for handing over the plantation land for construction purpose. 'The land owner has produced the documents to the department. The construction is delayed due to rain,' said K K Ahammed Haji, IUML Wayanad president. Meanwhile, the KPCC leadership that had offered 100 houses and the Youth Congress leadership that offered 30 houses haven't identified the land for construction yet.
The Hindu
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Malayalam film ‘Moonwalk' has put the spotlight back on Footloosers, Thiruvananthapuram's pioneering breakdance academy
How about stopping the traffic by putting on your dancing shoes? Siblings Santhosh Kumar, a.k.a Babu Footloosers, 58, and Sajeesh Kumar, 53, did just that on Manaveeyam Veedhi on a Saturday evening. As the dynamic duo broke into some killer moves, those who passed by halted for a while. Giving them company were their two students, Sajith Viswanathan and Vipin Raveendran. Think breakdance and Thiruvananthapuram had one address in the late '80s — Footloosers. Even though the dance academy has adapted to the changing times, Babu and Sajeesh, the founders are happy to be under the spotlight again. Thanks to Moonwalk, a film, currently streaming on OTT, which breezes through the lives of a few youngsters in Thiruvananthapuram who were passionate about breakdance. The storyline is inspired by several real-life people and incidents. 'Vinod [Vinod AK, director of Moonwalk] had planned to make a documentary on breakdancers in Kerala initially. Thanks to the work that went into the project, there was a rejuvenation in the community. The current generation has no clue about how we learnt the style and went on to become popular at a time when there was no social media. It felt good to be in the limelight again,' says Babu. Among the early members of his group was his friends from Government Arts College — Padmakumar BS, Praveen Sadasivan Pillai, Ajith Kumar and Riyas Hussain. Sajeesh, then a school student, Sreekumar and Anil Bose joined later. 'We got a video cassette on the street dance groups in the US and that was a treasure for us. Since we couldn't afford a VCR, we were at the mercy of those who had one. We would watch it on repeat mode to learn the steps,' Babu remembers. They used to practice in a space behind the college. Sajeesh, who joined a private college, used to join them during intervals. 'We had a tape recorder, and the battery would die off within an hour. We would pool in money to buy new ones!' says Sajeesh. Thanks to a non-teaching staff at Arts College they got their first show at Peringamala. 'We were known as Crimmers then. The crowd was surprised to see the style and they loved it,' Babu recalls. As interest grew he started dance classes at his home, 'charging ₹80 as admission fee and ₹60 as a monthly fee'. They also set new trends in fashion. 'While my hair was thin and long, Babu chettan's was curly,' says Sajeesh. Babu adds, 'We styled our hair at this salon at Manacaud. I followed cricketer Raman Lamba's hairstyle. Acid-wash jeans, baggy pants etc were in vogue then. We would flock to Melody at Spencer Junction, the one-off place from where we could buy these and also wore bright, colourful T-shirts with loud designs. In fact, we all loved flaunting our style. Of course, we had so many female fans. Fashion became a passion for us!' says Babu. Both of them dropped out of college to focus on dance and dance classes. Kochi also had a vibrant breakdance community then but their styles were different. 'While they wore flashy, glittery costumes and a lot of accessories, we opted for the 'gentlemen' look — black pants, white shirt, gloves etc. We bought steel studs from Chala market, fixed them on rexin sheets and tied them on our waist and wrists,' Babu says. Their popularity shot up after a programme at Chengannur. By then the group was named Footloosers, inspired by an English song, and they registered it in 1988. 'Since my dream was to become a stunt guy in cinema, I knew acrobatics and martial arts. We incorporated those in our dance routines and that gave us an edge over others,' Babu says. He jokingly adds that since they did not know the name of the steps they used codenames. 'It was much later that we learnt terms such as mule kick, worm, windmill, crabwalk, swipe, knee spin, neck roll, back flip, air cartwheel etc,' Babu adds. While locking, popping and isolation moves were Babu's speciality, Sajeesh excelled in slides, moonwalk, windmill, waves etc. Sajeesh even won first place at the all-Kerala breakdance competition held at Kochi. 'My father didn't want me to go because he thought I had no chance in front of experienced dancers. But chettan encouraged me, and asked me to take his bike and go to Kochi,' says Sajeesh. He also went on a four-month tour to the UK with the dance group, Attakkalari, in 1997-98. Although Babu fractured his thigh bone while trying a new move in mid-90s, he was back on stage after a year and continued to dance till 2000. Sajeesh was active till 2010. Now they or their students take classes at their studio at Vanchiyoor (currently being renovated) and various schools in the city. 'We kept getting students who went on to become solid dancers. It is now the fifth and sixth generation that is taking classes. As our work is being discussed now, many of our old students are getting in touch with us,' say the brothers. Among their disciples is Sreejith P Dazzlers who used to come on his bike from Kochi on weekends for the classes. Footloosers has branches in Kerala and West Asia. Babu remembers how he used to walk around seeking opportunities to perform. 'We just wanted a stage to show what we learnt,' he says. Besides being a choreographer or assistant in over 65 movies, Babu also acted in small roles. He has also turned producer and is awaiting the release of his first film. He mentions that 'there were a few other breakdance troupes during that time such as Spindles by Tom Antony and Boomers by Ajith Nath and Aneesh Nath. Then there was Padmakumar who made a name with his Michael Jackson moves.' Reflecting on other dancers of the time, he mentions Johnson master, who pioneered the scene in Kochi. 'I taught at Kalabhavan [in Kochi] upon his invite. Then there is Shelton from Thrissur, who was superlative when it came to robotic acts,' he adds. Nizar master from Kottayam was also popular then, adds Sajeesh. In 2023, Babu and Johnson went viral on social media when they performed at an event to felicitate them organised by KL7Gary, a YouTube channel. 'We were thrilled with the response. Among those who commented was some of the current popular choreographers and dancers in Bollywood and Hindi reality shows,' Babu remembers. The duo stresses that the current generation does not want to learn pure breakdance. 'There is little interest in the style. The focus is now on steps and the rhythm,' Sajeesh says, adding, 'Our dream is to organise a programme in Thiruvananthapuram specifically for breakdance. We have been planning it for sometime.'
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Kerala Lalithakala Akademi's Contemporary Solo Art Exhibition Project showcase of three artists' works
Sajeesh Pallikkara's surreal works push the boundaries of imagination Sajeesh Pallikkara's works are not for the casual viewer. The paintings, large mosaics of seemingly disconnected images, demand your undivided attention. Both in charcoal and colour, the paintings are extraordinarily detailed. Sajeesh finds it difficult to put a finger on his creative process. 'It is a flow,' he says, 'of thoughts, people, ideas, words and images' and his skill lies in finding a balance in this chaos. His surrealistic works inhabit the space between dreams and reality, constantly challenging the viewer to push the boundaries of imagination to question, ponder and remember. The show, Axiomatic ipso facto, brings a selection of his paintings including the one that won him the 2016-2017 Lalithakala Akademi award. The show includes larger works, one of them as big as 16 ft / 5.5 ft. In addition to the expansive canvases, Sajeesh has also showcased smaller drawings of people and fantastical images. The tea-washed rice paper lends a unique vintage appeal to the charcoal drawings. Though each image is vastly different from the other, they are connected by a theme. Sajeesh explores the idea of landscapes in their entirety. 'What happens when entire communities are moving out of cities that can no longer accommodate them? Even though people are moving physically, what would they be carrying with them in their minds and hearts?' he asks. Each work demands time and effort. He interviews people, watches documentaries and reads in order to fuel his inspiration. An art teacher at Fr. Joseph Memorial Higher Secondary School at Puthuppady, Muvattupuzha, Sajeesh devotes his free time to his art practice. Sajeesh is currently working on a new unnamed series. The show has been curated by Shaju Nellai. Unnikrishan C's metaphors from everyday and the political space of bricks The works of Unnikrishnan C on show, The Whispering Walls, also part of the exhibition, are wonder inspiring for the sheer freshness of expression, how they have been imagined and executed on bricks. Yes, those red bricks, made of natural clay. Thought provoking, the installations speak about his engagement with his quotidian surroundings. He looks very closely at the house or home and the activities around it; rather than an outsider he is the insider and therefore his gaze is more intimate. 'The local and the personal stories are a connection for me. As far as I am concerned, a brick is one of the most political spaces that an artist can use.' The visual metaphors are derived from his everyday life and find space on his 'canvas', whichever that may be — an actual canvas or a brick or a door . What Unnikrishnan says about the brick would strike a chord, we seldom imagine it as an artist's space. We see it either as a building block (which it is) or as an agent of destruction when pelted as or in protest. The show challenges perceptions or status quo. The installations includes a rectangular box-like 'room' of bricks, placed in the centre of the gallery; some of the bricks that make up the 'walls' have commonplace items — steel tumbler and plate, coconuts, mangoes and other fruits, flora and fauna, painting brush, a switchboard, bowls of rice gruel and curry, mobile phones — and the not so ordinary, stuff of the imagination. Another installation is the series of his daily sketches placed or arranged as a stack of bricks would be. The curatorial notes calls Unnikrishnan's perspective vernacular, which it is. His art is inspired by his life, as he lives it. An alumni of the Government Fine Arts College, Thrissur, the Nenmara (Palakkad) native's works have been part of the Kochi Muziris Biennale and the Sharjah Biennale, besides having his first show in Switzerland, and being part of the Seattle Art Fair. The show has been curated by Sudheesh Kottembram. The interconnectedness of everything in Abhijith Udayan's works For his solo show, Liminal Continuities and the Interstitial Possibilities of Existence, artist Abhijith Udayan has drawn inspiration from his life and his community. He writes in his artist statement, 'I draw inspiration from my everyday interactions with society, especially the rhythms and realities of life in Alappuzha, Kerala, where I was born and raised. The fishing community here plays a central role in shaping my artistic perspective. Their tools, their labour and their collective spirit inform the materials and metaphors I work with.' Therefore, we see the canvases through a 'fishing net' painted on them. The net is inescapable. 'It is a part of my life and I have integrated it into my art!' he says. It transforms into a layered metaphor for life and of choices. For instance, he says, some would associate a net with a feeling of being trapped but he sees it as an unifying element. One that binds the people of the community together. However as his practice evolved and him as a person along with it, the recurring net reflects tension, 'sometimes it stands for interconnectedness and support; other times it suggests entrapment, control and oppression.' His art becomes a medium to express the duality and interconnectedness in his everyday life. The works may look deceptively simple, but they are layered with images which reveal themselves on a close look. Each canvas has a deeper philosophical meaning than meets the eye. Abhijith, a graduate of the Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts, Mavelikara, is currently pursuing his Masters in Fine Arts (painting) at the Central University, Hyderabad. Also on show is one of his paintings which earned a Special Mention in the student's category at the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi State Awards (2022-23). The show has been curated by Megha Sreyus. The shows, organised by the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi as part of its Contemporary Solo Art Exhibition Project, at Durbar Hall Art Centre, Kochi, conclude on July 5.
