ICSD Newsletter June 2024 ICSD Newsletter

June 2024

President’s Update
Dear ICSD Members and Friends, INSIDE

Hope you are having a wonderful midyear break wherever PP. 1–3 President’s Update and Welcome
you are! PP. 4 ICSD Branch News
We are pleased to present to you the June 2024 ICSD PP. 5 SDI Update
Newsletter.
The year 2024 is dubbed as year of elections as 64 countries
PP.6–10 ICSD Members’ News
are scheduled for polls, and some have already completed. P. 10 Membership Inquiry
For scholars of social development, this is significant as PP.11-17 24th ICSD Conference Brochure
participation is the essence of democracy and of social
development. It is critical to think about who participates, Editors: Dr. Manohar Pawar & Dr. Francis Ogojo Okello
and how and why do they participate, and who do not
participate. We have been hearing often about artificial
intelligence, but not artificial democracy. Artificial
intelligence has both pros and cons, in terms of efficiency, WELCOM
productivity, speed and abuse, unemployment and A warm welcome and thanks to the following
inequality within and between nation-states. Artificial colleagues for taking/renewing
democracy has only cons. Often gaining votes and winning institutional/individual membership and joining
elections based on freebies (legitimate and illegitimate and the ICSD.
direct and indirect), misinformation, donations, and
provocative populism give rise to artificial democracy that Institutional Membership
is the antithesis of genuine participation of all people. Some SETU, NGO, Bangladesh (Md. Abdul
countries have cultivated the culture of donating millions of Quader)
dollars for election campaigns. Does genuine democracy
and participation of people need such donations/practices, Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za Socialno
which can result in artificial democracy? Opposing such delo, Slovenia
practices, one of the Australian states, South Australia is Individual Membership
proposing a bill to ban all political donations with a hope to Rebecca Davis Maria Carmen Apuli
make decisions as “it is the right thing to do” rather than Ushnish Guha Moirangthem T. Devi
reciprocation for donations. Like how most of us are David Hollister Hanjabam S. Sharma
thinking about artificial intelligence with curiosity and VarathgowryVasudevan Arno Heimgartner
concern, social development scholars need to think about Pearson Nkhoma Jose Carbajal
dangers of artificial democracy dominated by vested Konde Lingaswamy Sharvari Karandikar
interests and preventing it. Justin F. L. Nicolas Marietta Guanzon
Welcome to Members Yolanda Ealdama C. Ram Ramanathan
I would like to thank and welcome all new individual and Stig Larsson Miyuki Inaba
institutional members as well as existing members who Richard Smith Nurhadi Nurhadi
have renewed their membership. Please see their names in Mary Ann Santiago Velmarie Albertini
the right-side column. Asok Kumar Sarkar Marsela Dauti
If your membership has expired, I would appreciate it if Gordana Berc Madhura Chakraborty
you renewed it. Many colleagues are interested in ICSD; it Eric Schade Melody Kshetrimayum
is a matter of reaching out to them. Please encourage Liljana Richter Francis Ogojo Okello
interested colleagues and institutions to take membership. Apologies if we have missed your name. 1
President’s Update (continued)

Golden Jubilee of the ICSD

This year, 2024, the ICSD completes its 50th Anniversary. The ICSD’s history and achievements are nostalgic and exciting for
all of us! This is a proud moment for all ICSD members and friends! We will be formally celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the
ICSD at the 24th ICSD Biennial conference in Kochi. See more details later at the ICSD website:
https://www.socialdevelopment.net/

With the help of his colleagues, Dr. Mithun Mostafizur R., Vice President for Public Relations and Communications, has
organized the above and below 50th anniversary logos, which are being uploaded on the ICSD website. I thank Dr. Mithun for
his communication strategies.

I completed writing an article entitled “Celebrating 50 Years of International Consortium for Social Development: Honoring
Our Legacy, Shaping Our Future”, to be published in the 50th anniversary special issue of SDI, more details are given below. I
am grateful to ICSD colleagues who kindly provided missing information to me and offered comments on the article.

The 24th ICSD Biennial Conference, Kochi (Cochin), Kerala, India, January 8–10, 2025
As announced earlier, the 24th ICSD Biennial International Conference will be organized by the Rajagiri College of Social
Sciences, Kochi, Kerala, India, from January 8 to 10, 2025. I attended a few preparatory meetings with the organizers and they
are working hard to organize the conference. For details, visit the conference website: https://conference.rajagiri.edu/icsd/
I hope you are able to submit an abstract and attend the conference and join us to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ICSD. I
look forward to meeting you there. A brief conference brochure may be viewed from pages 11 to 16. For tourism details, visit
the last page of this newsletter.

ICSD Best Student Awards

We invited ICSD institutional members to submit nominations for ICSD Best Student Awards. Recently, Dr. Vikash Kumar
emailed an ICSD Best Student Award Certificate to the Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, to felicitate
a student. If you wish to use this award scheme for your students, I invite you to take ICSD institutional membership so that
you can recognize and reward your students. For details, please contact Dr. Vikash Kumar (vikashbsw@gmail.com).

Visits to the ICSD Website

In 2020, we launched a new and updated ICSD website (https://www.socialdevelopment.net/).
Since then, the ICSD website has recorded over 700,000 views. In the last 6 months (January 2024 to June 2024) alone, the
website had over 100,000 visits and views. I hope some of them will be able to join ICSD.

Open Access to Archived Social Development Issues

I welcome you to take advantage of the 46 volumes of Social Development Issues freely available on the ICSD website
https://www.socialdevelopment.net/full-article-access-for-members/ for your research, teaching, and training. This is a great
resource, and I encourage you to read and cite as many relevant articles as possible in your writing and publications.

Social Development Issues

The ICSD’s journal, Social Development Issues (SDI), has published the first two issues of the 46th volume. Under the
leadership of Prof. Brij Mohan, Editor of SDI, the second issue of the 46th volume is a special issue in honor of Prof. Shanti
Khinduka. To have a look at the issue, I welcome you to visit ICSD website https://www.socialdevelopment.net/full-article-
access-for-members/ or https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/sdi/issue/255/info/ The third issue of the 46th volume is also a
special issue, which is being published to mark the 50th anniversary of the ICSD.

ICSD Branches
ICSD branches are busy organizing their biennial conferences in their respective regions. ICSD Africa branch is organizing its
second conference – De-colonisation of social work and social development through African Indigenous Knowledge Systems,
October 14–15, 2024, Harare, Zimbabwe. More details are available under the branch news. I am looking forward to
welcoming the delegates and learning from Indigenous knowledge in Africa, along with announcing ICSD’s 50th anniversary.

The 10th ICSD Asia Pacific branch conference – The Fifth Industrial Revolution Amidst Multifaceted Disruptions: Harnessing
the Power of Social Development – will be organized by the College of Social Work and Community Development, University
of the Philippines, Manila, October 22–25, 2024. For details visit: https://www.socialdevelopment.net/icsdap2024conference/.
I attended a few preparatory meetings for this conference. Abstracts have been reviewed and acceptance and invitation letters
have been mailed to participants. I am going with a colleague and a few students of mine and looking forward to participating
in this conference. We will also celebrate 50th anniversary of the ICSD at this conference.
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President’s Update (continued)
ICSD Branches (continued)

Recently, I was in touch with ICSD Europe branch members to collect a few historical details of the branch activities, and
they were kind enough to provide the available information. They have published proceedings of their previous branch
conference. More of details of this are under the branch news.

ICSD in LinkedIn
Please visit and follow ICSD on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-consortium-for-social-
development?trk=public_profile_topcard-current-company. You can also read this newsletter on the ICSD Linkedin website.

Governance
ICSD Executive Council online meeting was held on 13 April 2024 to discuss several matters relating to the
governance as well as celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the ICSD. This meeting was followed by emails to ICSD
EC to seek its advice and take decisions.

A subcommittee comprising Vikash Kumar, Gordana Berc, Asok Kumar Sarkar, and I has been constituted to increase
the membership of the ICSD.

Dr. Philip Hong, Associate Editor of SDI, has been appointed as Editor of SDI with effect from January 1, 2025, for a
four-year term. Prof. Hong has accepted the appointment, and I am sure you all will join me in warmly welcoming
him in that role. The current editors of the SDI, Prof. Brij Mohan and Prof. Hong, will work together to ensure
continuity of the issues and smooth transition of the roles.

SDI board of managers is being constituted with due process.

Dr. Vikash Kumar has been reappointed as ICSD Technical Director for another four-year term with effect from June
17, 2024. Dr. Kumar is already working in that role, ensuring safety and update of the website and attending to related
matters. I am sure you will join me in warmly welcoming Dr. Kumar as our IT Director.

Considering cost and office access issues in California, ICSD EC has decided to reincorporate ICSD in Illinois, and
this decision will be presented to the ICSD Board and implemented by Prof. Benn Lough, Treasurer, ICSD. We are
grateful to Benn for his diligent advice and initiative to complete this process.

We are planning to organize ICSD elections as per the protocols and a nominating committee is being constituted for
that purpose.

Appreciation
I would like to thank all members of the ICSD Executive Council and Board for their contributions to ICSD,
particularly hosts of the ICSD conferences, conference conveners, organizing committee members, and wide-ranging
local and international partners and collaborators.

Finally, if you have any suggestions, comments, and ideas regarding further development of ICSD, please email me:
mpawar@csu.edu.au

Once again, greetings from Australia and best wishes!

Yours sincerely,
Manohar Pawar,
President, ICSD

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Branch News
ICSD Europe Branch

The activities of the European branch members included collecting data on the history of the
branch on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the ICSD. It is planning to hold the branch
meeting in October 2024.

In addition, the editorial book is published under the title: Kritik und Engagement in der
Sozialen Arbeit: Gesellschaftliche Transformation durch Partizipation und professionelle
Praxis. Full reference: Berc, G., Heimgartner, A., Lauermann, K., Reicher, H. &
Stuhlpfarrer, E. (2024). Kritik und Engagement in der Sozialen Arbeit: Gesellschaftliche
Dr. Gordana Berc, President, Transformation durch Partizipation und professionelle Praxis (p. 174). Verlag Barbara
ICSD Europe Branch Budrich.

ICSD Asia-Pacific Branch

The ICSD Asia-Pacific branch and the College of Social Work and Community Development,
University of the Philippines, Manila have been engaged in preparation activities for the 10th
ICSD AP Conference to be held from October 22 to 25, 2024. The theme of the conference is
“The Fifth Industrial Revolution Amidst Multifaceted Disruptions: Harnessing the Power of
Social Development”. Organisers have reviewed the abstracts and mailed acceptance and
invitation letters. For further details, visit the conference website:
https://www.socialdevelopment.net/icsdap2024conference/
I have attended a number of planning meetings with the organisers, and I look forward to
Dr. Asok Kumar Sarkar, meeting some of you at the conference in Manila.
Chair ICSD Asia-Pacific

ICSD Africa Branch

The ICSD Africa branch is organizing a Social Work and Social Development
Symposium at Cresta Lodge, Harare, Zimbabwe, October 14–15, 2025. The theme
of the symposium is De-colonisation of social work and social development through
African indigenous knowledge systems. The branch welcomes you to the symposium,
which is organized in collaboration with the German Academic Exchange Service.

As part of the working paper series, the branch organized the first webinar on
Critical Analysis of Vision 2030 on Social Development in Zimbabwe by Dr.
Dominic Uzhenyu, on May 30, 2024.
Dr. Lauren Graham,
Convenor, ICSD Africa

ICSD Africa branch members attending the webinar.

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SDI: From the Editor

Call for Papers:

Social Development Issues calls for original contributions toward its thematic issue on Dialectic of Social
Development (Vol 47, 2025). The intended objective is to explore and examine the vectors and forces – historical,
economic, political, and sociological – that intersect with local, national, and global culture which shape the contours
and contents of varied ideologies, theories, and practices. Interested scholars are encouraged to contact the Editor for
guidance. The deadline for submission is October 1, 2024.
(Seehttps://journals.publishing.umich.edu/sdi/issue/255/info/)

Phillip W. Hong, Editors (2025–) pyphong@uga.edu

Brij Mohan (2021–2024) Brijmohan128@Gmail.com

Current Journal Issue

Social Development Issues (SDI)
Volume 46 • Issue 2 • 2024 – In Honor of Shanti K. Khinduka
• Introduction
• Editor’s Note
Brij Mohan
• A Profile: Imagination and Vision
Brij Mohan
• ICSD President’s Tribute to Shanti K. Khinduka
Manohar Pawar
Articles
• Social Development, Change, and Progress
James Midgley
• Human Quantum Mechanics and Human Entanglement Theory: A New Paradigm for
Social Sciences and Beyond
Christian Aspalter
• More Conflicts, More Deaths – Everyone Talks about Winning the War, but No One
Talks About Achieving Peace
Ashok Swain
• Rediscovering the Developmentalist-Productive Roots of Welfare State Policies
Karl E. Johnson
• A Political Economy Analysis of Social Work’s Development in China: A Social
Development Perspective
Qian Meng and Mel Gray
• Reflections on How Social Protection and Social Welfare Policies are Unfolding in
Low- and Middle-Income Countries around the World
Lelia Patel
• Phenomenology of Caste Violence in Education and Limitation of Empathy: A Vimukta
Perspective
Shweta Goswami
• Multistakeholder Participation, Collaboration, and Networking in Disaster Risk
Reduction and Pandemic Management: Insights and Future Policy Framework
Sigamani Panneer, Subhabrata Dutta, Lekha D. Bhat, Prakash Chand Kandpal, Robert
Ramesh Babu P., Rubavel M., and Vigneshwaran Subbiah Akkayasamy
• A Fabulous Paradox: The Developmental Reflux
Brij Mohan
• Book Reviews and Voice
Haruhiko Hoshino
Jhuma Nath Acharya
• Pedagogy and Social Practice
Brij Mohan

Please send comments and questions about Social Development Issues at

brijmohan128@gmail.com or
pyphong@uga.edu
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ICSD Members’ News: Honors/Awards/Appointments – Congratulations!!

ICSD appoints Editor of SDI:

ICSD appoints Prof. Philip Hong as the Editor of Social Development

Issues with effect from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2028.

Prof. Philip Hong is the Dean of the University of Georgia School of Social
Work.
Hong’s research has been supported by more than $4.6 million in funding
from foundations and federal agencies such as the US Department of Health
and Human Services. The social work intervention model that he has
developed, “Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP)”, is a national
model for social policies that promote self-sufficiency and family-
strengthening. The TIP model is being applied and tested to support
communities in the areas of employment and workforce development,
health promotion, youth development and empowerment, returning citizen
reentry, substance use recovery, and violence prevention. He is the author
of more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and other
publications as well as 100 refereed conference presentations.

Hong has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Poverty and Public Prof. Philip Hong
Policy and of the journals Social Work Research and Families in Society.
He also has been an external reviewer for the Office of Policy Support in
the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
Source: https://news.uga.edu/philip-hong-named-dean-of-uga-school-of-
social-work/

ICSD appoints Director of IT: ICSD appoints Dr. Vikash Kumar as the Director of Information
Technology, with effect from June 17, 2024 to June 16, 2028.
Dr. Vikash Kumar currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Social Work at Northern Michigan University, bringing over a decade of field
experience to his role. His expertise primarily focuses on health and social welfare
policies, with research concentrating on implementing health programs targeting
mental health issues and noncommunicable diseases.
Currently, he is leading research projects on policy practice in human rights
organizations and developing solutions to enhance the capacity of frontline
workers. Dr. Kumar collaborates closely with students and colleagues to develop
interventions addressing contemporary social issues. His commitment to advancing
social work is reflected through his dedicated career in research, education, and
Dr. Vikash Kumar practice.
IT Director

Dr. George Palattiyil is promoted to Professor of

Social Work and Refugee Studies at the School of
Social and Political Science, the University of
Edinburgh.
Dr. Palattiyil is the head of the Department of Social
Work and Co-convener of the 24th ICSD biennial
international conference.
With teaching and research experience spanning
across India, Scotland, Jordan, Uganda, and
Bangladesh, he is passionate about internationalising
the curriculum and cross-cultural learning.
Prof. George Palattiyil

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ICSD Members’ News: Honors/Awards/Appointments – Congratulations!! (c0ntinued)

In recognition of his distinguished contributions to international social

work and social development education and research, Prof. Manohar Pawar
from the School of Social Work and Arts, Faculty of Arts and Education,
Charles Sturt University, Australia, has been appointed as:
• Adjunct (Honorary) Professor at Monash University, Melbourne.
• Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburg, Edinburgh, UK.
• Elected as member of the Academic Senate of Charles Sturt
University.

Prof. Manohar Pawar

Prof. Manohar Pawar was invited to deliver a keynote address at the national conference on Social Work Research:
Methodologies of the Peripheralized, organized by the School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
(ranked as number one social work school in India), Mumbai, India, January 8, 2024.

Prof. Manohar Pawar delivering keynote address at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Prof. Manohar Pawar delivering another keynote address at the national conference on Social Work and
Diversity: A Catalyst for Change, organized by the Department of Social Work, School of Social and
Behavioral Sciences, Central University of Karnataka, Kalaburagi, India, January 11–12, 2024, sponsored by
the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

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ICSD Members’ News: Honors/Awards/Appointments – Congratulations!! (c0ntinued)

Dr. Norika Totsuka, Director and Professor, the Asian Research Institute for International Social Work (ARIISW),
Shukutoku University, Tokyo, Japan, presented a plaque of appreciation to Prof. Pawar at the 8th International Academic
Forum of the ARIISW, where Prof. Pawar delivered a keynote speech, “My International Social Work Journey:
Reflections and foreflections”, February 27, 2024.

Prof. Ramanathan presented a keynote speech, ‘Corporate and Individual Responsibility for a Sustainable Future’, on
June 29th, 2024, at RC Government College of Commerce and Management in Bangalore, India. This program was
attended by about 3000 students, and faculty and staff.

Our Associate Secretary General, Prof. Ram Ramanathan was

Among other dignitaries, Prof. Ramanathan was bestowed with a special honor during the ‘Guru Vandana’
felicitated at the College. (Teacher Appreciation/ ‘reverence for the teacher’) Program on
March 4th, 2024, in Bloomington, Illinois. It is also Asian
American Heritage Month. Several teachers in the Bloomington-
Normal area were also recognized for their roles in imparting
education in the area school districts.
Guru in Sanskrit means teacher & Vandana means salutations.
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ICSD Members’ News: Publications

ISBN: 979-8-89406-116-0 (Paperback); 979-8-89406-118-4 (Hardback)

Return of the Leviathan critiques counter-developmental forces that incubate institutional narcissism in a broken society. Its focus
rivets civilizational malaise manifested by the social meltdown and political nihilism. To mitigate the perils of dysfunctional
advancements, Brij Mohan proclaims a post-enlightenment view of human ingenuity and calls for a new social contract to achieve
a civil society that ensures universal humanism. AmazonBookExpert.com will release the book on July 1, 2024.

Mohan, B. (2024). A Fabulous Paradox: The Developmental Reflux. Social Development Issues, 46(2): 12. doi:
https://doi.org/10.3998/sdi.5990
Mohan, B. (2024). New Intolerance: Dialectic of Freedom. Horizon Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research, July.
Ramanathan, C., Colvin, M., Dillard, D., Stephens, N., Vitolo, T. (2023). Social Work and Human Rights: Learning from COVID-
19. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-023-00278-9.
Pawar, M., Osburn, L., Short, M. & Mlcek S. (2024). Integrating Four Teaching and Learning Methods to Deliver
Transformational Social Work Education Online. Social Work Education. DOI-10.1080/02615479.2024.2372393.
Presentations:
Ramanathan, C.S, and Patchner, M.A. (2024). What Does Spirituality Got to Do with Cultural Humility, Cultural Competence,
Sustainable Future, Canadian Association of Social Work Educators, Montreal, Canada, June 20, 2024.
Szto, P., Ramanathan, C.S., Milligan, S. (2023). Anti-racism Reflections from a Global Perspective, CSWE, 69th Annual Program
Meeting, October 27, 2023, Atlanta, GA.
Ramanathan, C.S., Juvva, S., Nathan, S., Scheyett, A., Dutta, S. (2023). ‘Role of Spirituality in Advancing Sustainable
Development’, Canadian Society for Spirituality and Social Work, 11th International Conference on Spirituality and Social Work,
June 21-24, 2023. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Prof. Manohar Pawar has edited a special issue of the International Journal of
Community and Social Development (2024), Volume 6, (No. 2). Special Issue Theme:
Social Policy Implementation: Strategic Insights for Bridging the Gaps.

This special issue provides a glimpse of implementation gaps in the poverty alleviation
program in Ghana, the take up of national health Insurance scheme in rural Indonesia,
welfare of rural migrant workers in India, and media and protesting farmers in the
Philippines. The issue points out the significance of implementing policies without
causing illfare to people. For details visit: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/coda/6/2

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 Springer Series in Social Development
Springer Nature has appointed Prof. Manohar Pawar as a series editor for a new book series, namely, Springer Series in
Social Development.

The Springer Series in Social Development (SSD)* aims to develop and disseminate cutting-edge theoretical and practical
knowledge and skills of social development written by leading social development thinkers and practitioners from
multidisciplinary fields with historical, contemporary, and futuristic perspectives. Its analysis focuses on multiple
dimensions and levels of social development to influence emerging social and community development scholars and
organizers, social work/welfare/human services educators and practitioners, and relevant policies, programs, and action
locally and globally, not only now but also into the future.

If you are interested in contributing to the SSD, Prof. Pawar invites you to consult him with your initial ideas.

*
The SSD follows Springer Nature’s Code of Conduct, including peer review and conflict of interest processes.

Membership Inquiry
Steps for taking membership:
1. Please visit: https://www.socialdevelopment.net/.
Hello, I am Sharvari. I would 2. Go to membership tab and click registration.
appreciate it if you asked 3. Fill out the registration form and create an
colleagues interested in social account (email, name, last name, country, etc.).
development to become 4. Please login with your username/email id and
members of ICSD. If you password.
have any membership 5. Select the membership level.
inquiries, please email at 6. Fill out billing address and your debit or credit
karandikar.7@osu.edu card details for membership payment.
7. Click on Submit and Checkout.

Dr. Sharvari Karandikar Once you have paid your membership amount, you
Associate Secretary will receive an email confirming your membership
General Membership payment.

Next Newsletter
The next newsletter will be published around December 31, 2024. If you have any news items
from July 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, please submit them to our Secretary General, Dr.
Francis Ogojo Okello at email: fokello@msn.com

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A brief information about tourism in Kerala
Looking for a quick getaway? Consider the pristine and picturesque resort, Anantya by the Lake. Located on the border of Kerala and
Tamil Nadu a 90-minute car ride from Trivandrum airport (the resort can organize a vehicle to transport you to Anantya), Anantya by
the Lake is nestled in the plantation countryside of Kanyakumari. With private pool villas jacuzzi villas and other cottages, Anantya
seamlessly combines luxury with the natural world, providing guests with breathtaking views of Chittar lake and a serene environment
that offers respite from the bustle of urban living. Experience the perfect blend of luxury and nature with ayurvedic massage and
gastronomical delights. Conference participants can get a discount using the code ICSD25. A 15% discount can be gotten on the best
rate of the day while booking through the hotel reservations (valid till March 31, 2025).
Explore the area by taking a rubber plantation tour, witness the breathtaking Kanyakumari sunset, and the elegance of old Travancore
architecture. Embark on a journey through nature’s wonders. For more information visit, https://anantyaresorts.com/lake/
(virtual walkthrough) Or call at +91-9363496964, or email: info@anantyaresorts.com

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