From: tstpcc@gwunix1.gwu.edu (Paul C. Chemmanoor)
Newsgroups: alt.culture.kerala
Subject: F.A.C.K.[Rel. 1.6] Welcome to alt.culture.kerala
Date: 2 Jan 1993 19:33:42 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu


F.a.q. for Alt.Culture.Kerala.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Revision: 1.6
Current Originator: paulchem@tigger.cs.colorado.edu

Changes from last release <<
   1. Recipes added to and separated from FACK.
   2. Information about Kerala population is given districtwise.
   3. Information about acksharam/KairaLi, the ack magazine. is given.
   4. Information about the proposed amendment to the charter w.r.t.
      religious propaganda.
>>

This is a regular weekly posting that explains alt.culture.kerala to new users.
This article attempts to answer some of the questions that are 
frequently posed in this newsgroup. 
This includes how to access alt.culture.kerala (a.c.k.), how to post etc.

In addition some information
about Kerala and malayalam are provided as a basis for understanding
what this group discusses.

Information about how to post to ack and how to access a.c.k by mail
and other network related information is given in this article.
People who are new to newgroups in general and ack in particular
may find this article very useful.

This F.A.C.K. is in multiple parts.
(I) Questions and Answers about a.c.k.
(II) Information about Kerala.
(III) Recipes from Kerala.
(IV)  The Ackerlist.

It is intended to be split into separate sections once these
sections grow to their final sizes.

Parts III & IV have already reached a size that justifies
their separation from this posting.

Any sections marked with [ ---- --- -- ] are to be filled in 
future releases of the F.A.C.K. Responses are invited from the
readership for these entries. Readers are encouraged to send in
other questions that they feel are relevant to be included in the
F.A.C.K. Please direct responses to the current originator.

Part - I : Questions & Answers.


Q (1) 	What is alt.culture.kerala ?
A (1)	This is a newsgroup devoted primarily to discussion of the
	culture of the people who originate from the state of Kerala
	in the south of India. Its charter includes 
	(i)	Books.
	(ii)	Films.
	(iii)	Nostalgia.
	(iv)	Social Issues.
	(v)	Politics. 
	(vi)	News.

	relating to Kerala or its language : Malayalam.

Q (2)	When was alt.culture.kerala formed ?
A (2)	alt.culture.kerala was formed in September 1992.


Q (3)	How do I post to alt.culture.kerala  if I dont have 
	access to newsreaders or I dont have post priveleges ?
A (3)   Mailing the article to alt-culture-kerala@cs.utexas.edu
	will cause the article to be posted on alt.culture.kerala.

Q (4)   What is the scope of distribution of articles in alt.culture.kerala ?
A (4)   alt.culture.kerala has a world-wide distribution.
	Most newsreaders including rn will automatically insert a 
	line describing distribution during posting of an article.
	The default distribution is "world" for alt.culture.kerala.

Q (5)	Why dont I get alt.culture.kerala at my site ?
A (5) 	Since the usenet news mechanism relies on internetworked
	machines, any site which acts as the sole source for another
	site can control what groups the downstream group recieves.

	This is also the reason why some sites show 0 articles all
	the time. The best way to solve these problems is to contact
	the local news admin who will be able to better brief you 
	about your options.

	The news mechanism involves store-and-forward type algorithms
	for messages. This creates a need for disk space on a very large
	scale. So system admins have to be selective about what groups
	they carry. Certain newsgroup hierarchies are as a convention
	carried always, like the soc. and rec. groups. 
	The larger degree of freedom allowed in the creation of the
	alt. hierarchy groups lends itself to abuse, with the result that
	many sites avoid carrying alt. groups.

	alt.culture.kerala is planned to be moved into the soc.culture.kerala
	in the future, thereby assuring that most sites will carry it.

Q (6)   My site doesnt have news. How do I get to alt.culture.kerala ?
A (6)   telnet to bbs.oit.unc.edu
	The system will tell you the rest.

	An alternative way to get the newsgroup by e-mail if you have 
	a e-mail address either bitnet or internet is :

	Send a message to paulchem@ucsu.colorado.edu with
	'SUBSCRIBE ACKMAILSERV'
	in the subject line.

	To get info about the server, send mail to paulchem@ucsu.colorado.edu
	with 
	'INFO ACKMAILSERV'
	in the subject line. You will recieve a description of the service by
	e-mail.


Q (7)   What kind of articles can I expect to see on alt.culture.kerala ?
A (7)   Articles that in the past have appeared include
		(i) Discussions on the concept of Dowry.
		(ii) Feminism in the indian and keralite context.
		(iii) Nostalgic articles about kerala.
		(iv) Recipes and hints for getting stuff for keralite cooking.
		(v) Dating vs Arranged Marriages.
		(vi) Articles about "ackers" -- the insider word for readers
		     of alt.culture.kerala.
		(vii) Lyrics from malayalam film songs etc.

Q (8)  What are the places to see in Kerala on a visit ?
A (8)  [-- --- --]

Q(9)   What is acksharam/KairaLi ?
       Acksharam/KairaLi is the magazine of a.c.k.
       The format of a/k is be :

(1) Editorial.
(2) Articles on current topics.
(3) News from Kerala.
(4) Fiction- Poetry.
(5) Fiction- Prose.
(6) Humour.
(7) Travelogues.
For any information about a/k or for pledging contributions
or sending in articles send mail to any member of the commitee.
            The a/k: commitee.
Santy Kumar --     skumar@eagle.wesleyan.edu   ,
Mathai Chundat --  mchundat@essex.ecn.uoknor.edu  ,
Dominic Kailath --  kailath@donald.aix.kingston.ibm.com ,
Jacob Thomas --    jacobt@nynexst.com  ,
Paul Chemmanoor -- paulchem@tigger.cs.colorado.edu .

Q(10) What is the proposed amendment to the charter of a.c.k. ?
      In the last few weeks of Dec 1992, there appeared two postings
      which were felt to be unsuitable for posting in a.c.k. by some 
      ackers because of the treatment of religion they contained.
      To get a picture of what the majority on ack think about this
      issue, a vote was proposed, and is currently underway.
      The result will be released on 8th of Jan, 1992.
      The result will either affirm the amendment proposed to the charter
      or reject it.
      To get information about this vote please contact anyone on the 
      ackerlist.

Part - II: Information.

Kerala.

Population stats of Kerala, Courtesy Ajit Nair at auburn univ.
***********************************************************************************
Population of Kerala: 25,453,680
Area                : 38860.57 sq km


DISTRICTS               AREA (sq km)            POPULATION
*****************************************************************
Trivandrum		2186.00			2,596,112
Quilon			2687.50			2,192,901
Alleppey		1360.58			1,865,580
Pathanamthitta		2518.98			1,107,658
Kottayam		2195.50			1,697,442
Idukki			5149.62			  969,292
Ernakulam		2358.19			2,535,294
Trichur			2993.90			2,439,543
Palghat			4389.80			2,044,399
Malappuram		3632.30			2,402,701
Kozhikode		2333.30			2,245,265
Wyanad			2125.60			  554,026
Cannanore		2968.00			1,930,223
Kasargod		1961.30			  872,741
*******************************************************************
Source: Malayala Manorama Year book 1989
*******************************************************************


[ --- -- ---]

Malayalam.
----------
[ --- -- --- ]


Malayalam-English Transliteration scheme for A.C.K.
---------------------------------------------------
[Courtesy of Mathai Chundat]

The Malayalam Alphabet
________________________________________________________________________
Vowels                               
________________________________________________________________________
a   aa/A  i    ee   u   oo   R~   
                              
e   E     o    O   ai  ou   am   a:

u + a = wa                            
________________________________________________________________________
Consonants With                      Combination of Consonants 
Group Numbers                        0.  Double consonants
				     n.  Combination with the group 'n'.
________________________________________________________________________
1.                               
ka   kha    ga   gha    nGa      
		            0.	 k~ + ka = kka, g~ + ga = gga
				 nG~ + nGa = nnGa

                            2.   k~ + tha = ktha

			    3.   g~ + da = gda
				 g~ + na = gna

                            6.   k~ + ya = kya, k~ + sha = ksha
				 k~ + La = kLa, k~ + Ra = kRa

				 kh~ + ya = khya

				 g~ + ya + gya, g~ + ra = gra
________________________________________________________________________
2.
cha  Cha    ja   jha    nJa      
			    0.   ch~ + cha = ccha, j~ + ja = jja
				 nJ~ + nJa = nnJa

		            2.	 ch~ + Cha = cCha
				 
				 j~ + nJa = jnJa
				 
				 nJ~ + cha = nJcha, nJ~ + ja = nJja

		            6.	 ch~ + ya = chya

				 j~ + Ra = jRa
_______________________________________________________________________
3.         
ta   Ta     Da   Dha    Na   
			    0.   t~ + ta = tta, D~ + Da = DDa
				 N~ + Na = NNa

		            3.	 D~ + Dha = DDha

                                 N~ + ta = Nta, N~ + Ta = NTa
				 N~ + Na = NNa
_______________________________________________________________________
4.
tha  Tha    da   dha    na   
			    0.   th~ + tha = ttha, d~ + da = dda
				 n~ + na = nna

		            4.   th~ + Tha = tTha, th~ + dha = tdha

				 d~ + dha = ddha

				 n~ + tha = ntha, n~ + da = nda
				 n~ + dha = ndha

		            1.   th~ + ka = thka, th~ + ma = thma
				 th~ + ya = thya, th~ + sa = thsa
				 th~ + bha = tbha, th~ + Ra = thRa

	                    6.   Th~ + ya = Thya

				 d~ + ya + dya, d~ + ra = dra

				 dh~ + ya = dhya, dh~ + ra = dhra
_______________________________________________________________________
5.
pa   pha    ba   bha    ma      
			    0.   pa + pa = ppa, b~+ ba = bba
				 bh~ + bha = bbha, m~ + ma = mma

		            5.   m~ + pa = mpa, m~ + ba =mba

				 m~ + ga = mga

		            6.   m~ + Ra = mRa, m~ + La = mLa
________________________________________________________________________
6.
ya  ra  la  va  Sa  sha  
sa  ha  Ra  zha La  TTa   
			    0.   y~ + ya = yya, l~ + la = lla
                                 v~ + va = vva, S~ + Sa = SSa
				 s~ + sa = ssa, L~ + La = LLa

		            6.   l~ + ya = lya

				 v~ + ya = vya, v~ + Ra = vRa

				 S~ + Ra = SRa, S~ + La = SLa

				 sh~ + ya = shya

				 s~ + ya = sya

				 h~ + ya = hya, h~ + La = hLa

				 L~ + ya = Lya

                            3.	 sh~ + ta = shta, sh~ + Ta = shTa
_______________________________________________________________________
chillaksharannGaL
_______________________________________________________________________
l  L  n  N  R  m
_______________________________________________________________________

III. Recipes.

     Here recipes from kerala are collected and made available.
     If you have a recipes for a kerala dish please send it to 
     paulchem@tigger.cs.colorado.edu for inclusion in the list.

     Recipes are posted once a fortnight as a separate article.


IV. The Ackerlist.

The ackerlist is a list of people who read or use a.c.k. 
and wish to have their names and other info available to 
the net.public. 

To access this list send mail to paulchem@ucsu.colorado.edu
with "ACKERLIST SEND" in the subject line.
To add your name and info to this list send mail to paulchem@ucsu.colorado.edu
with "ACKERLIST ADD" in the subject line.

Please get the list and look at the format using the "ACKERLIST SEND" before
adding your data via the "ACKERLIST ADD".
Please note that the SEND request mail body will be ignored,
while the ADD request has to have your info in the mail body.