Tag Archives: Mammootty

Temple tragedy: Mamootty’s act of compassion

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, ,

Kollam, KERALA :

REACHING OUT:Actor Mammootty consoles Surumi who lost her husband in the Puttingal fireworks tragedy.— Photo: C. Suresh Kumar
REACHING OUT:Actor Mammootty consoles Surumi who lost her husband in the Puttingal fireworks tragedy.— Photo: C. Suresh Kumar

Heartrending scenes were witnessed when the actor hugged siblings Krishna and Kishore who lost their parents in the disaster.

Film actor Mammootty undertook one of his most poignant roles in real life when he arrived at Paravur on Tuesday to comfort the traumatised victims of the Puttingal fireworks tragedy.

As he addressed the victims at the Kottapuram LP School hall in the township, Mammootty even whimpered and that had a relay effect on the audience, especially the victims.

The actor, who arrived there shortly after noon, spent more than an hour with the victims.

The gathering was jointly organised by the Puttingal Nagar Residents Association, the Mammootty Fans Association and the Patanjali Herbal Exports Private Limited.

Heartrending scenes were witnessed at the venue when the actor hugged the siblings Krishna and Kishore who had lost their parents in the tragedy.

He was seen comforting 21-year-old Surumi who had lost her husband Vishnu in the tragedy. Carrying her one-and-a-half-year-old son, she burst into tears as the cine star approached her.

The actor said comforting the victims was a herculean task. Still, if his presence there could make a little contribution, it would be precious to him, he said.

“The tragedy at Puttingal has no comparison.”

The thrust now should be the rehabilitation of the victims, especially helping them overcome their mental shock. “This is one tragedy in which the living victims cannot be comforted by mere words alone,” he said

Fireworks are a dangerous entertainment which should always be enjoyed from a safe distance, he added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Kollam – April 20th, 2016

Actor in a Tractor

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, , , ,

Mammootty takes up farming in a battle against chemical fertilisers

SAYING NO TO CHEMICALS Mammootty has turned to natural paddy cultivation
SAYING NO TO CHEMICALS    Mammootty has turned to natural paddy cultivation.

Mammootty has played farmer in many films. Now, dismayed by the use of chemicals in farming, he has taken the tractor wheel in his own hands. Busy with his main vocation, the actor had given the 17 acres of land he owned in Cheepungal, near Kumarakom in Kottayam district, on lease for paddy cultivation. This season onwards, he says, he will cultivate the paddy himself. Mammootty insists that his renewed interest in farming is not just a hobby or gimmick and reminds sceptics that he hails from a peasant family.

“When I leaarned about natural farming, I got interested,” he says. “This is very natural paddy cultivation by using only natural manure like green leaves, cow dung, etcetera.” Mammootty has no plans of turning to organic farming. He thinks it is not viable.

It was a pleasant surprise for Cheepungal locals when the superstar appeared on the farm last Wednesday in a traditional white dhoti, brown shirt and his favourite sunglasses. Appu, his childhood friend, and KM Hilal, a former Left-wing student leader and now a natural farming proponent, accompanied him to the paddy field. The actor drove the tractor and assisted the workers in transplanting the saplings. Mammootty, who has won the National Award for best actor three times, hopes he can inspire others to turn to natural farming. “For paddy, chemical fertilisers are absolutely unnecessary. Cow dung and cow urine are the best manure,” he says.

Mammootty is keen to protect varieties of paddy seeds that are diminishing due to chemicals and is seeking experts who can guide him. “Our ancestors had 3,000 such seeds and at present only 60 exist,” he says. “These seeds succumbed to pests and pesticides.”

Mammootty seems to have been inspired by the concept of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) popularised by agri-scientist Subhash Palekar. This promotes crop rotation, mechanical cultivation, biological pest control and green manure. Earlier, Malayalam actor- director Sreenivasan and director Sathyan Anthikkad were in the news too for similar agricultural ventures.

source:  http://www.openthemagazine.com / OPEN Magazine / Home> Open> Regulars / by Shahina KK / July 23rd, 2013