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Abraham Kovoor
Abraham Thomas Kovoor (10 April 1898 – 18 September 1978) was an Indian professor and rationalist who gained prominence after retirement for his campaign to expose as frauds various Indian and Sri Lankan "god-men" and so-called paranormal phenomena. His direct, trenchant criticism of spiritual frauds and organized religions was enthusiastically received by audiences, initiating a new dynamism in the Rationalist movement, especially in Sri Lanka and India. Early life and career Abraham Kovoor was born in a Saint Thomas Christian family at Thiruvalla, Kerala. Kovoor was the son of Rev. & Mrs. Kovoor Iype Thoma Kathanar (Kovoor Achen), Vicar General of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar. After working briefly as a lecturer in botany at C.M.S.College in Kerala, Kovoor arrived in Ceylon in February 1928. Before his arrival in Ceylon, Kovoor married Kunjamma, daughter of a judge. The couple had a son, Aries. Kovoor's first assignment in Ceylon was teaching botany at Jaffna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thiruvalla
Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of the Pambas and Manimala rivers, and is a land-locked region surrounded by irrigating streams and rivers.It is the largest town in the district and central Travancore. Thiruvalla is regarded as the "Land of Non resident Indians". It is the financial,educational,cultural and commercial capital of central travancore. Demographics The town spans a geographic area of with a population of 52,883 as of 2011, a decline from the 57,800 recorded in the previous census. Males constitute 48% of the population and females 52%. In Thiruvalla, 5% of the population is under 6 years of age. Etymology Tradition tells that the name Thiruvalla comes from the word "''Valla Vaay''", named after the river Manimala which was known as ''Vallayār'' in anci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceylon Rationalist Association
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre. Sri Lanka has a population of around 22 million (2020) and is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation's population. The Tamils, who are a large minority group, have also played an influential role in the island's history. Other long established groups include the Moors, the Burghers, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali language, Bengali films. He has been recognised as an influence for actors and filmmakers in the Tamil film industry. He is also known for introducing many new technologies and cosmetics to the Indian film industry. He has won numerous accolades, including four National Film Awards and 20 Filmfare Awards South, Filmfare Awards. He was awarded the Kalaimamani, Kalaimamani Award in 1984, the List of Padma Shri award recipients (1990–1999), Padma Shri in 1990, the List of Padma Bhushan award recipients (2010–2019), Padma Bhushan in 2014 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (''Chevalier'') in 2016. Haasan started his career as a child artist in the 1960 Tamil language, Tamil-language film ''Kalathur Kannamma'', for which he won the Rashtr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PK (film)
''PK'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language fantasy comedy drama edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani and written by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi, and jointly produced by Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the banners Rajkumar Hirani Films and Vinod Chopra Films respectively. The plot follows an innocent alien (Aamir Khan) who lands on Earth but loses his communication device. He meets Jaggu (Anushka Sharma), a heartbroken reporter, and tries to find his device. With time, he raises many thought-provoking questions. After the success of ''3 Idiots'' (2009), Hirani and Joshi began scripting their next project; finding similarities with the plot of ''Inception'' (2010), they scrapped the film. It was later rewritten with a different angle and tone. During production, the film was initially titled ''Talli'' and later ''Ek Tha Talli'' before being changed to ''PK'' as the latter title was found to be too similar to ''Ek Tha Tiger'' (2012). The film's soundtrack was composed by Shantanu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aamir Khan
Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian cinema. Khan is the recipient of numerous awards, including nine Filmfare Awards, four National Film Awards, and an AACTA Award, with one of his film productions also receiving an Academy Award nomination. He was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri in 2003 and the Padma Bhushan in 2010, and received an honorary title from the Government of China in 2017. Khan first appeared on screen as a child actor in his uncle Nasir Hussain's film ''Yaadon Ki Baaraat'' (1973). As an adult, his first feature film role was in ''Holi'' (1984). He began a full-time acting career with a leading role in ''Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'' (1988). His performance in ''Raakh'' (1989) earned him a National Film Award in the Special Mention category. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telugu Language
Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language family and one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India. It is one of the few languages that has primary official status in more than one Indian state, alongside Hindi and Bengali. Telugu is one of six languages designated as a classical language (of India) by the Government of India. Telugu is also a linguistic minority in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal, and the union territories of Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is also spoken by members of the Telugu diaspora spread across countries like United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand in the Anglosphere; Myanmar, Malaysia, South Africa, Mauritius; and the Arabian Gulf count ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maru Piravi
''Maru Piravi'' () is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language erotic thriller film directed by T. R. Ramanna. It stars R. Muthuraman and Manjula. It is the Tamil remake of the 1971 Malayalam film ''Punarjanmam''. The film was released on 9 February 1973. Plot Cast * R. Muthuraman as Elango * Manjula as Saratha * S. A. Ashokan * Vijayasree *Sukumari * Nagesh * Thengai Srinivasan *M. R. R. Vasu * Manorama * Lalitha Soundtrack Music was by T. R. Pappa and lyrics were written by Kannadasan Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was an Indian philosopher, poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India. Freq .... References External links * {{IMDb title 1970s erotic thriller films 1970s Tamil-language films 1972 films Films scored by T. R. Pappa Indian erotic thriller films Tamil remakes of Malayalam films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamil Language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Puducherry. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in the four other South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is also spoken by the Tamil diaspora found in many countries, including Malaysia, Myanmar, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and Mauritius. Tamil is also natively spoken by Sri Lankan Moors. One of 22 scheduled languages in the Constitution of India, Tamil was the first to be classified as a classical language of India. Tamil is one of the longest-surviving classical languages of India.. "Tamil is one of the two longest-surviving classical languages in India" (p. 7). A. K. Ramanujan described it as "the on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Punarjanmam
''Punarjanmam'' ( en, Reincarnation) is a 1972 Indian Malayalam-language erotic thriller film starring Prem Nazir and Jayabharathi. The film is directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan, based on a case study published by famous atheist and psychiatrist A. T. Kovoor in ''Mathrubhumi'' weekly. The film as well as Prem Nazir's performance won immense critical acclaim. The film was remade in Tamil as '' Maru Piravi'' with Muthuraman and Manjula in the lead roles and in Telugu as ''Vintha Katha'' starring Krishna and Vanisri. The film is considered to be the first erotic psychic thriller in Indian film history. Plot Aravindan, a college lecturer, falls in love with his student Radha and marries her. However, the couple's sexual life is a failure, causing intense agony to Radha's father, Panikkar who is keen to have grandchildren. When all other means fail, Panikkar approaches a psychiatrist, who finds out that Aravindan's inability to have sex with Radha may have something to do with his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was designated a "Classical Language of India" in 2013. Malayalam has official language status in Kerala, and Puducherry ( Mahé), and is also the primary spoken language of Lakshadweep, and is spoken by 34 million people in India. Malayalam is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the neighbouring states; with significant number of speakers in the Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, and Kanyakumari, district of Tamil Nadu. It is also spoken by the Malayali Diaspora worldwide, especially in the Persian Gulf countries, due to large populations of Malayali expatriates there. There are significant population in each cities in India including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune etc. The origin of Malayalam remains a matter of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Randi
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. Rodrigues 2010p. 271/ref> He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87. Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', famously expo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basava Premanand
Basava Premanand (17 February 1930 – 4 October 2009) was an Indian skeptic and rationalist from Kerala, India. He organised many tours around rural India for the promotion of scientific thinking, exposing alleged miracles and scams carried out by various charlatans and godmen while spreading awareness of dangerous superstitions. Premanand was the founder of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, the convener of Indian CSICOP, and the owner-publisher-editor of the monthly magazine ''The Indian Skeptic'', which investigates paranormal claims in India. Early life In the 1940s, Premanand quit school to take part in the Quit India Movement. With that his traditional schooling ended. His next seven years were spent in the newly started Sri-Steila Gurukula, where the Shantiniketan-Wardha brand of education was imparted. He was strongly influenced by Helena Blavatsky in his early years and in 1976 met the Sri Lankan skeptic Abraham Kovoor during his Miracle Exposur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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