Vizhinjam - The proposed ICTT Terminal

A 5500 cr Port is proposed. Vizhinjam is a Deep Sea Port. It is on the Asia - Europe route. There is a natural depth of 18 metres here. This Port will be able to accomodate ships with displacements about 300, 000 tonnes. Other ports are hard pressed to accomodate ships of even 200,000 tonnes ! A 5 metre dredging can mean that Vizhinjam can accomodate the biggest ship in the world, with a displacement of more than 564 K tonnes !

The Vizhinjam Port can handle supertakers and the biggest container mother ships with ease.  This Port is closer to the international shipping line than any other Indian port, which makes it all the more economical for ships to call here. This opens up avenues for refueling or bunkering of ships as well as ship repair. On the crude transshipment front, a transshipment facility with a storage complex and docking piers will reduce the turn around time for ships. Crude is India's biggest import and Vizhinjam lies very close to the Persian Gulf - Far East shipping lanes used by most supertankers.

VALLARPADAM, the Lovely Island

Vallarpadam is one of the two main islands of Kochi, the other being Willingdon Island. It is situated next to Bolgatty Island on the West and linked to the mainland by the Goshree Bridges. It is about 3.5 km in length in the north south direction and hosts a population of 10 K people. It is about one km away from the mainland.

Vallarpadam and the proximate island New Vypin holds tremendous development potential. because of its nearness to the international east west trade route between Asia and Europe. It is situated in the 200 km long Vembanad Lake, known as the Lake of Kochi.

Vallarpadam is connected via Rail with the Edappally Railway Station with a 4620 m long Rail Bridge. This rail connectivity is for transporting containers from the ICTT.

These are some of the photos of the ICTT at Vallarpadam

Vallarpadam is flanked on the east by Bolgatty Island.

and on the West by Vypin Island.

These are two beauteous islands  on the Kochi Lake, the Wembanad Lake. Tourists find these islands heavenly. Experience it for yourself !

How to make Dal Vada !

How to make Dal Vada

Grind the dal in a mixie ( not too much). Add sliced onions and chillies. Also curry leaves. Make it into balls. Flatten the balls and put it it boiling oil and lo ! you have Parippu Vada !

Roasted Peanuts !

Put peanuts in a glass bowl. Add red chilli powder, some oil and salt. Heat in the microwave oven for 3 minutes and roasted peanuts are ready !

The Alpha Numeric System of Mathematica Indica

Known as Paral Sankhya, the Alpha Numeric System was developed by Vararuchi. It is also known as Katapayadi, as 1 represents the letters Ka, Ta, Pa and Ya, whose corresponding digit is 1.


Number Letters

1 ka ta pa ya
2 kha tta pha ra
3 hu da bha la
4 gha da ba va
5 nga na ma sha
6 cha tha sha
7 chha dha sa
8 ja dha ha
9 jha ddha
0 nja na ksha

The Value of Kaa ki ku ke and ko was 1


31 was represented by Kala

Kala is ka + la = 31 ( The digits are counted from the right )

and 351 by Kamala
Kamala = ka + ma + la = 351

Ginger Curry, part of spicy Kerala cuisine

These are two dishes which I like. Inchi Thair, ginger in curd, is a great dish. So is Ginger curry.

Ginger has the ability to digest food fast and is used in all dishes. The Indian cuisine is modelled after Ayurveda, with herbs and spices in almost all dishes.

Ginger has the ability to reduce pain from arthritis, reduces cholesterol and is good in treating hypertension and heart disease. It is also useful in treating Anxiety Neurosis.

My Trip to Bolgatty

It was Monsoon Tourism, as Aslesha Njattuvela was on. It was raining heavily, cats and dogs in Kerala. I got the rains when I reached Kochi. I had some work at the Passport Office and I finished the work at Noon. Then I went on a tour of the famous Goshree Islands.

I went by boat yesterday to the beautiful Bolgatty Island. A two minutes walk saw me entering the lovely Bolgatty Palace, a resort by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation.





I walked to the Bolgatty Bus Stand and took a bus to Vallarpadam International Container Terminal. Now everything is in place and one ship, OEL Dubai, was unloading. The progress of the ICTT is slow, but steady.





The Bolgatty Palace is beautiful and well situated in the Mulavukad Island. This island is connected to Vallarpadam by a bridge. Vallarpadam is in turn connected to Vypin by a bridge. In fact these bridges are known as Goshree Bridges, as these beateous islands are known as Goshree Islands. In Vypin, one can see the GAIL LNG terminals, which adorn Puthuvypin.




A new bridge, parallel to the existing Vallarpadam bridge, is being built to ease the traffic. I saw a barge jetty at Bolgatty and a barge carrying containers there.




Kochi is a cauldron of world cultures. A versatile land where visitors from abroad, right from Arabs and Phoenicians to the Chinese, Italians, Portugese, Dutch and British have left indelible marks. A great Port, universally known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea. The newly renovated Bolgatty Palace has 4 palace suits, 6 waterfront cottages, 16 well maintained rooms and one can enjoy four star faciliites and a range of leisure options.





Said a honeymooner, Asmita, Calcullat about Bolgatty " We went to Kerala for our honeymoon and Kochi was our first stop. We reached the resort at around 3:30pm after a long flight and were famished. Since we reached post lunch timings none of the restaurants were open, however the room service was very prompt and we had an amazing keralite food. The rooms are large, and built in a princely way. The property is equipped with all the modern facilities and the stay was really comfortable.
We enjoyed the Kerala body message in the resort . The location is also great. Overall its a great place to stay ".

The Bolgatty Palace was built in 1744 by the Dutch and is a short boat ride away from the Ernakulam Mainland. This is one of the oldest Dutch Palaces outside Holland the only Palace Hotel of its kind in Kerala. Now she has a Palace block and a resort block, called Bolgatty Island Resort. Amenities here comprise Swimming Pool, 9 hole Golf Course and is a destination of choice for select Indian corporates for their conference. It is a favourite destination for Indian elite and overseas tourists. The Kochi Airport is just 32 kms away and the rail and bus terminals just 2 km away.

Kochi International Marina is a KTDC venture located on the eastern coast of Bolgatty Island in the Bolgatty Palace Heritage Hotel. It is the first full fledged marina of international standards in Bharat. It provides berthing facilities to 37 yachts and also offers services like electricity, water and fuel for boats. It is close to the international sea route at the South West Coast of peninsular India , with minimum tidal variations and favorable conditions.






The Bolgatty Event Center overlooks the backwaters of Cochin Seaport and is an exotic venue for conducting Conferences, Exhitions, Wedding Receptions, Conventions and theme dinners. Imbued with resplendent greenery, the Arabian Sea and the ICTT at Vallarpadam gives an easy access to the Center.