Mani Ratnam’s new venture was reportedly halted when the crew violated the norms specified by the Kerala Forest Department. The famous director who is currently shooting for the adaptation of epic ‘Ramayana’ in the jungles of Malayathur was stopped by the Forest Officials as the crew had constructed three temporary huts against the rules. 

Bharananganam (Kerala)/Kolkata, Oct 12 : Hundreds of Christians gathered in Kottayam in Kerala today to celebrate the planned canonization of Sister Alphonsa by Pope Benedict at a special ceremony at the Vatican.

Sister Alphonsa will become India''s first woman saint.

They thronged the Saint Mary church in the town of Bharananganam in Sister Alphonsa''s native Kerala ahead of the occasion.

Special masses are being held in all Catholic churches in the state, where Saint Thomas, one of the 12 apostles, is believed to have arrived in 52 AD, bringing Christianity to India.

The priest at the Saint Mary church said they were praying for Sister Alphonsa as she had done so much for the people.

Vatican, Oct 12 : Sister Alphonsa from Kerala will become the first nun from the country to be canonised by the Vatican today.

The date was announced after a formal meeting of the Pope and other cardinals in the Vatican on March 1.

Her beatification - that is recognition by the Church of a dead person''s accession to heaven - was ordered by the then Pope, Pope John Paul II, during his visit to Kerala in 1986.

Sister Alphonsa was born at Kudamaloor in Kottayam District in 1910. She joined the Clarist congregation.

Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are ready to shoot their upcoming flick titled, ‘Ravan’ with ace film maker Mani Ratnam, in a forest near the Athirapally waterfalls in Kerala. 

The shooting of the film with other actors has already begun, and the pair will join them soon.

A source said that Ratnam is settling the film locations, and the shoot will begin sometime next week. 

The Athirapally waterfall is Mani’s best-loved site. Previously, he shot portions of the Dil Se song, Jiya Jale and the Guru song, Barso re at the same place.

Kochi, Oct. 7 : A steel-made snake boat has entered the Guinness Book of World Records here for recently carrying 141 persons and being the longest ever made boat of its kind. The previous record was of 118 people on board.

A first of its kind in Kerala, the steel boat is 143.25 feet long and 5.74 feet wide. It weighs eight tonnes and has been christened as ''Aries Chundan''.

On May 1, the boat carried a crew of 141 rowers, including five helmsmen, in Punnamada Lake in Alapuzha district.

Hyderabad-Based Lanco Infratech Limited has informed that the company has bagged a Letter of Intent (LoA) from Kerala Government, for Vizhinjam international transshipment terminal port project work. 

The Project was awarded to the Consortium of LANCO and Pembinan Redzai Sdn Bhd of Malaysia after the Government of India formally granted the security clearance to the Consortium earlier this month.