Archive for November 25, 2007
November 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm
· City · Youth Affairs
The Hindu : PAVAN KUMAR H.They won the team championships at the National level CBSE chess tournament MANGALOREThe Rook, Bishop, Knight and Queen are the closest friends of this year’s under 14 national level CBSE chess team champions – Nihal Manjunath, Adith Jagadish, Yashas Salian, Rammohan Bhandari and Akash Harendranath. The ‘famous five’ are eighth standard students of Lourdes Central School and trained by Derik’s Chess School participated in the national chess competition held at Chennai last month. The team scored 19.5 points in the six rounds to win the title. “Every day I practise for three hours at the chess school and sit in front of laptop for two more hours in practising chess. I study previous games of great players on the Internet net and try to solve them online”, says Nihal, the team captain. He doesn’t believe in sparing himself and makes sure he works very hard to sharpen his skills. …More
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November 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm
· City · Youth Affairs
The Hindu : In the not so distant past, the sight of grandparents, especially grandmothers regaling the tiny tots with stories from all over was a common sight in most households.
Given the sway that this oral medium of information dissemination had on children, it was not surprising to see the eagerness with which they waited for their vacations to commence so that they could head to their grandparents house and listen to thestories over and over again.
Cut this scene to Generation Next and one finds that they are more or less likely to head to their nearest music store to pick up the latest digital video or video compact discs featuring exploits of their favourite mythological or novel characters. With most having a basic home theatre system, the choice for students to learn their mythological stories has just gone from oral to visual.
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November 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm
· City · Youth Affairs
The Hindu : A trek in the woods can be an exhilarating experience. Thirteen young nature enthusiasts had three days of unique break during the Dasara vacations. To camp out in the rainforests of Agumbe near Shimoga was an occasion not only for a get together but also to experience the amazing world of nature and wildlife….More
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November 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm
· City
The Hindu : If it is possible, at seven in the morning it is both rudely sunny and ruthlessly cold. We are driving to Thadagam Forest in the Coimbatore Range, all the while trying to bring back some action into our unfeeling fingers. Getting off at Sembukkarai check post, the walk into the forest begins: a watch tower and the Mangarai waterfall await us. We are accompanied by forester M. Senthil Kumar, guard Kumar and a few watchers.
As we get further into the forest, the path is only as wide as my sneakers. The way is dotted on either side with various wild shrubs all sopping in gleaming dew drops. The touch-me-nots look happy, fresh and poised, almost daring you to touch them.
The path gets narrower, sunshine becomes scarce, and you ache for sunbeams to dance all over you. The walk gets challenging as we take on dicey rocks to get to the watch tower. All along, we hear the rhythmic burble of a stream nearby. We take the stairs to the watchtower that is under construction, and ha! what a sight to behold.
It’s just blinding shades of green around, with plenty of rocks and a waterfall thrown in. The sheer joy of such a sight is quite marred only by a heap of dead bugs. Around 2,000 tiny wild bugs share an open grave, punished with smoke for interfering with the construction.
The mass grave is soon forgotten as we march carefully towards the waterfall. Though we cannot reach the slim waterfall, the clear water flowing down is irresistible. So, I do the foolish thing: dip my hand into biting cold water. A three-second dip and my hand takes a good five minutes to return to body temperature. A five-second dip is a sure way to dismember your digits.
As a solace to this misadventure, the forester says there are crabs around. Crabs!
To those…More
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November 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm
· City
The Hindu : PHOTO: AFP
SPEED THRILLSSpeed Week will uncover the human quest for speed
Discovery Channel goes vroom with its annual Speed Week, a week-long marathon that focuses on the science and psychology of speed. Packed with adrenaline, Speed Week races onto television screens with a special line-up that connects viewers with the human desire to push the acceleration threshold – whether behind the wheel of a death-defying race-car or breaking the sound barrier in a military fighter jet. Speed Week will bring episodes on future cars, power boats, street racing and race dynasties. Follow Michael Czysz and the MotoCzysz team as they are trying to bring an American designed and built machine to the forefront of international road racing.
Dedicated to all things fast, Discovery Channel’s Speed Week uncovers the human quest for speed since the beginning of time, humans have been driven by the desire to do things better and faster. Whether it was Howard Hughes setting a speed record 70 years ago by going 352 miles per hour in the H-1 (the world’s most advanced plane of its time) or today’s fastest cars which reach speeds in excess of 240 miles per hour, there seems to be no limit to our desire for speed. Male or female – on land, water or in the air – we all want to get places faster and feel the exhilaration when soaring down a hill or across the ocean. Watch Speed Week on Discovery Channel from November 26 to 30 at 10 p.m., with a repeat episode the following day at 4 p.m….More–>
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November 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm
· City
The Hindu :
The Sunshine Coast in Queensland is so pretty that you will be overcome by the surreal feeling of being in a picture postcard
CAPTIVATING COAST The gateway to the beach
It was serendipity that brought me to the Sunshine Coast of Queensland in Australia. I could have ended up in one of the metros. Sydney or Adelaide perhaps. But fate and Google conspired, and I found an internship project here, in a place so pretty I’m often overcome by the surreal feeling of being in a picture postcard.
The Sunshine Coast occupies a small corner of southeast Queensland about an hour-and-a-half’s drive north from Brisbane. It covers the area from Caloundra at the bottom to Noosa at the top. The four major towns are Maroochydore, Caloundra, Nambour, and Noosa. Drive inland from the coast and you enter the picturesque and artsy mountain towns of Maleny, Montville, Eumundi, and Kenilworth. Tourists usually stick to the beachside towns like Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headland (“Alex” to the locals), Coolum and Noosa Heads.
I find the names intriguing, doubtless deriving from aboriginal roots.
Sixty-five kilometres of the stunning Pacific coast by itself would be a magnet, but throw in the climate, and it becomes irresistible. It’s cool without being chilly, and the sun is out everyday. All rather idyllic, a little removed from reality.
Walking to my bus stop in the mornings, I often see young children lining up with their surfboards for the morning class, and sun-reddened 60 and 70-year-olds packing away their surfboards into their cars. A lot of people move to the Coast and accept lower paying jobs, for the lifestyle. There are jogger’s paths laid out all over the town and there are always people jogging, walking their dogs, or ‘power-walking’ alongside them.
After rugby, Australian Rules football (‘footie’), and cricket, barbecuing seems to be the country’s most popular activity. In the few weeks since I arrived, I’ve…More
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November 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm
· City
The Hindu :
Hong Kong Winter Fest begins this year from November 30 and goes on till January 8, 2008. The fest offers loads of shopping and food experience to visitors. The place will be brimming with animated illuminations on both sides of Victoria Harbour, streets and malls. As a special winter offer restaurants will serve seasonal delights and also have some food promotions for visitors. The highlight of the festival is three key districts of Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui, which will come alive with events and activities with street performances. Christmas shoppers can flock to Causeway Bay and there is the Tsim Sha Tsui too which is said to be the tourist Mecca. Between November 27 and December 9 “Swan Lake” will be presented by ice skaters and the 42nd Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo begins on December 8. For details log on towww.discoverhongkong.com.
November 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm
· City
The Hindu :
Aa DinagaluAananda Audio, CD, Rs. 50
Aa Dinagalu is a film on the underworld, but not yet another film on it. The film has received rave reviews for its treatment of the subject.The film based on a real life incident set between 1985-86, has its source in Agni Shridhar’s novel by the same name.
If film lovers are raving about the film, film music lovers aren’t too far behind. The film has score by the genius Ilaiyaraja. Grapevine says maestro was so impressed with the film that he stayed for 13 full days to complete the re-recording for the film.
“Aa Dinagalu” is a period film. The film is of an incident that took place between 1985-86, a time when underworld was just beginning to show its fangs in Karnataka. So, the album has a lot of commentary and sound track too, most of which place the film in its period even as it exposes the political involvement in underworld and how dons were the creations of such a system.
Ilaiyaraja’s music, which has a generous use of piano, violin and sax has an Eighties feel too. One is reminded of all those grand scores he made for the so many Tamil films and the Kannada film, “Pallavi Anupallavi”. The film has just two songs, though in bits they keep coming back, working like a refrain, but as instrumental pieces. The violin-dominated chunk of “Sihi Gaali” is particularly haunting. The counters between the two sets of violins is absolutely remarkable with the cellos working in the lower octave and build a beautiful contrast. It’s at once flowing, lasting and evocative.
The opening of “Aa Dinagalu” has some lovely phrases on violin and piano. It’s a soft song and has a leisurely pace, soaking in nostalgia. There’s so much of the 80s Ilaiyaraja in it; the way he works his rhythm pattern and the manner in which he…More
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November 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm
· City
The Hindu :
Osim offers a range of automatic exercise machines, where you don’t really have to do as much as shake a leg
AT THE CLICK OF A BUTTON For those who don’t have the time or inclination to exercise
Lifestyles are changing. Gone are the days when one’s schedule included plenty of physical activity. Today everything comes at the click of a button. Be it cooking, cutting, grinding, washing or even cleaning up your home, there are more than enough machines that will ensure you do not move a muscle by doing all the work for you. Why, even fitness these days comes at the click of a button! Many products — massage chairs, foot massagers and eye soothers — all are programmed to work on you, “help tone up your muscles or give you relief from crammed muscles” while you just sit there, close your eyes and let go. But all this comes at a price of course.
One new store that caters to such a lifestyle is Osim India on Langford Road. This exclusive store for Osim was started by Shaily Grover, M.D., OSIM India. Osim is a Singapore-based company that has been around for 40 years and forayed into India in 2004. Earlier the products were available at leading multi-brand outlets. “This is the first exclusive outlet for these products,” explains Shaily.
Some of the products are iDesire (a full-body massage chair), uPapa (a portable drum massager for the back, thighs and calves), iGallop (a horse-riding exerciser) and iSqueez (for tired legs and painful feet).
The other products are uSonic (a chemical-free way to clean jewellery, eyeglasses) and iLife (air ioniser and purifier), U-zap (tummy trimmer), i-care (an eye care range with eye massager, eye vibrator, and an eye mask), u-kid fever band (to be used after refrigeration) are the other products that are on offer. There are products like the foot massager…More
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November 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm
· City
The Hindu :
At Singapore’s National Orchid Garden, you’ll need all the time in the world to admire a flower so delicate and prettyPhoto: National Parks Board, Singapore and author
Eye-catching A yellow beauty named after Shah Rukh Khan
This orchid is a light brownish orange with a blush of purple, and forms part of a spray 60 cm long. And, is named Dendrobium Amitabh Bachchan. Another’s character is true to the person it is named after: Ascocenda Shahrukh Khan. It flowers with vigour, and puts out blooms that are a passionate red-orange.
These orchids named after the Indian matinee idols are but two of the many that grace the VIP garden at the National Orchid Garden, a part of the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Happily, the garden has much more going for it than just celebrity glitter.
Right at the entrance are endless rows of flowers in deep violets, blushing pinks, perky yellows, and dignified whites that wow visitors from across the globe.
A smattering of alien tongues makes its way into your ears as guides explain to people from diverse nations as to what makes the garden special.
And, the fragile beauty of the orchids does a good job in breaking geographical barriers. Who really needs a language to appreciate Nature at its prettiest?
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