Rattan

Rattan (from the Malay rotan) is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae (Greek 'kálamos' = reed), native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia. Rattan is also known as manila, or malacca, named after the ports of shipment Manila and Malacca City, and as manau (from the Malay rotan manau, the trade name for Calamus manan canes in Southeast Asia.).

Structure

Most rattans differ from other palms in having slender stems, 2–5 cm diameter, with long internodes between the leaves; also, they are not trees but are vine-like, scrambling through and over other vegetation. Rattans are also superficially similar to bamboo. Unlike bamboo, rattan stems ("malacca") are solid, and most species need structural support and cannot stand on their own. However, some genera (e.g. Metroxylon, Pigafetta, Raphia) are more like typical palms, with stouter, erect trunks. Many rattans have spines which act as hooks to aid climbing over other plants, and to deter herbivores. Rattans have been known to grow up to hundreds of metres long. Most (70%) of the world's rattan population exist in Indonesia, distributed among Borneo, Sulawesi, Sumbawa islands. The rest of the world's supply comes from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bangladesh

Roatán

Roatán, located between the islands of Útila and Guanaja, is the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands.

The island was formerly known as Ruatan and Rattan. It is approximately 77 kilometres (48 mi) long, and less than 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) across at its widest point. The island consists of two municipalities: José Santos Guardiola in the east and Roatán, including the Cayos Cochinos, further south in the west.

The most populous town of the island is Coxen Hole, capital of Roatán municipality, located in the southwest. The easternmost quarter of the island is separated by a channel through the mangroves that is 15 metres wide on average. This section is called Helene, or Santa Elena in Spanish. Satellite islands at the eastern end are Morat, Barbareta, and Pigeon Cay. Further west between French Harbour and Coxen Hole are several cays, including Stamp Cay and Barefoot Cay.

Location

Located near the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea (second largest worldwide after Australia's Great Barrier Reef), Roatán has become an important cruise ship, scuba diving and eco-tourism destination in Honduras. Tourism is its most important economic sector, though fishing is also an important source of income for islanders. Roatan is located within 40 miles of La Ceiba. The island is served by the Juan Manuel Gálvez Roatán International Airport and the Galaxy Wave Ferry service twice a day.

Rattan (film)

Rattan or Ratan is a 1944 Indian Bollywood film starring Swaran Lata, Karan Dewan and Amir Banu. It was the highest grossing Indian film of 1944 and is cited as an "All Time Blockbuster". The film is noted as the film which made Naushad one of the top contributors to music in Indian films and enabled him to demand a fee of Rs 25000 a film.The heroine of the movie Swaran Lata had said in a live interview with the Pakistan Television years later that the tunes of the songs of Rattan were set by the lyricist D. N. Madhok himself.

Abdul Rashid Kardar production spent rupees seventy five thousand in 1944 to make ‘Rattan’. The music by Naushad Ali was such a phenomenal hit that the company earned Rs 3 lacs as royalty from Gramophone sales in the first year.

Cast

Music

The film had music by Naushad, with lyrics by the renowned poet of the 1940s D. N. Madhok