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The Hindu : SUDHINDR A.B

PHOTO: Sreevivasa MurthyMoving performance: Celebrations.

It is Yuletide time at many schools that are part of the NIE programme of The Hindu. Excitement loomed large at The Bishop Cotton Girls’ High School, St. Marks Road. The school building was decked up for Christmas celebrations.

The highlight of the programme was the dramatic presentation “Long time ago in Bethlehem” by the middle and senior school children.

The programme began with a prayer for peace that urged “for a world without war and violence”. The middle school choir presented a medley of Christmas carols. Vasant William Renick, Director, Karnataka Auxilliary, Bible Society of India, gave a message on the occasion. The Principal, Princess Franklyn, welcomed the gathering.

St. Ann’s School, Rajajinagar, celebrated Christmas after offering a silent prayer to the victims of Mumbai terror attacks.

The angels gently swayed to the melodious rendition of “Gloria in excelsis deo” and the little Santas delighted the audience with their joyful yells and leaps.

The chairman, T. Balakrishna, stressed the need for inculcating values in children.

Principal Sulochana Balakrishna was present. The programme concluded with wishes for “a grace-filled and fun-filled Christmas and New Year”.

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The Hindu : T. MURALI

Little ones live it up at the Mini Olympics

Going for it : Running ahead.

It was not meant to be just competitions for the tiny kinds, but lots of fun too. Enthusiastic students belonging to schools across Bangalore city actively participated in the Mini Olympics, an inter school sports and literary festival.

The three-day event, organised by the Jain Heritage School Bangalore, was held from December 19 to 21.

Events galore

More than 250 schools ,including Bishop Cotton Girls School, New Baldwin International Residential School, Delhi Public School, Christel House India, Kidzee, Euro Kids, Kangroo Kids, Sindhi School, Sacred Hearts, Air Force School, Vidya Sagar Buddhi School and Carmel School made the mega event colourful and attractive.

While competitions were held in running race, power throw and other games under sports category, literary events featured shloka recitation, story telling, fancy dress and dance competitions. Children were categorised according to their age. The first day programme had more than 100 students participating.Winners

Among the winners in the sports category were Yogitha C., Shree Sai Saravanan, Eliza Bernadina Gomez, Harshith S. Prabhakaran, Harikrishna, Chengappa, Yuvaraj, Jayalakshmi, Sudhiksha Rajkumar, Varun Tejas and Tarun Chowdhary.

Those who won literary contests included:

Sudhiks RajKumar, Sunitha, Yogitha C., Trivlin Thomas, Chetana Agnihotri, Ujwal D. Jain, Gayan Gowda, Karthik, R. Jaswanth, Charuha, Manikanta, Sachitha R.J., Arjun P, Ananya Padiyar, Arvind and Yuvaraj.

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The Hindu : y>Here is a chance to slap MTV’s Raghu online

A FIRST YOur chance to get back at Raghu

MTV is giving you a chance to virtually slap the most hated man on television – Raghu Ram in “Slap Raghu”. All you have to do is log on to mtvindia.com/roadies to play the game. After the unprecedented shoe throwing at US President George W. Bush last week, online games that enable you to slap or hit or throw things at real people have become wildly popular overnight, say the organisers. These web games give the ordinary man a chance to do something he wouldn’t dare do in real life, they add.

MTV has taken Roadies to the next level with virtual games that test your mettle and just might help you gather some pluck for auditions next season. The other games are “Croc-o-die”, where you have to tame the crocodile and remove the immunity card from his man eating jaws, “Mussle Tussle” has you arm wrestling MTV’s version of a undertaker and “Sore High” tests your sky diving skills.

These games are available on mtvindia.com/roadies.

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The Hindu : y>Check out where to ring in the New Year

Aqua and i-bar, on the premises of The Park Hotel, M.G. Road, will celebrate New Year with a dance floor created in the pool with laser lights. Music is by DJ Shan with fire performers. There will also be starters and beverages. Entry is priced at Rs. 4,999 for a couple and Rs. 2,999 per person.

The Park’s i-t.ALIA is offering a gourmet dinner on December 31 . The menu offers a five-course meal and is priced at Rs. 3,999 per person with Italian house wines, and Rs. 2,999 (sans wine).

Monsoon Magic will have a three-piece band playing the best of music coupled with a gala buffet, unlimited snacks, wine and beer for Rs. 1,499 for adults and Rs. 750 for children below 10 years. Call 25594666 for details.

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The Lalit Ashok, Kumara Krupa Road, has organised a special New Year’s celebrations on December 31. The dance floor events will be hosted by DJs Rohit Barker and Clitus.

The party begins at 8 p.m. and will also offer a hot and cold buffet with unlimited food and drinks. The event is priced at Rs. 2,500 plau taxes per person.

24/7 will offer traditional dishes like oriental duck, Mediterranean veggies and a sea food feast including a glass of sparkling wine.

The live band will play your favourite music for Rs. 2,500. Baluchi will offer its signature kebabs and curries with live ghazals for Rs. 5,000 for a couple. Sutra too will offer unlimited wine with a lavish buffet for Rs. 2,500 per person. Lalit Ashok can be contacted on 30527777.

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The Hindu : y>Nikhil Sen has conceptualised Rosebys, a home décor store keeping the perfectionist in mind

two much Nikhil and wife Payal, plan to release a book on the latest trends in the home furnishing industry

Nikhil Sen — director of Rosebys London, a store that offers a wide range of home furnishings — comes across as a person who is deeply committed to his work. He is very well informed about his field. “Doing interiors has always fascinated me. I got interested watching my mother take hours to decide on the interiors of our house. Every minute detail, including the selection of curtains would be gone into in great detail. This obsession with detail is not unique and happens in all Indian households,” Nikhil comments.

About Rosebys, Nikhil says: “It is conceptualised for women. We believe women are perfectionists in every field — be it make-up, apparel or home décor. Rosebys is basically a lifestyle brand that aims at setting a standard in the home décor market in India. There are not many stores that cater to this segment, barring a Bombay Dyeing.”

The young entrepreneur adds: “Our aim is to create a good standard for home furnishings goods in the Indian market. We are not a metro-centric brand. We are yet to open stores in Delhi and Mumbai. However, we plan to open many stores in emerging metros like Pune, Ludhiana Ahmedabad and Bangalore.”

Nikhil feels that in comparison between the pricing and quality of a product, the quality can never be compromised. “If you price a suspect product at a high price, no one is going to purchase it. It is tantamount to cheating consumers. Quality standards must be strictly adhered too.”

On the business model of the stores, Nikhil says: “We are following a franchise model. Rosebys is a completely single branded retail store. We provide all goods in the home décor market and aim…More

The Hindu : y>Manjunatha Kumata feels that Indians now belittle the Vedanta way of life

The world is rushing to achieve very different goals and in all directions, as an attempt to achieve these goals. This spontaneous flow should be directed with a sense of a positive approach. However, it seems that most people are happy being strawsfloating in a big stream. If they run into turbulent waters, they may never be able to achieve their goals. This wayward nature and directionless march to achieve goals is responsible for the miserable condition of youngsters today.

Some feel that society has taken a turn for the worse.This is not always true. In entirety, society has retained many good values, as a result of perseverance of assiduous institutions that aim at preserving the very core of our social values such as Ved-vedanta, a moral value system etc, in spite of numerous problems and tribulations. The knowledge of the Upanishads is no longer locked up. People from across the world are studying the Upanishads to understand and bring out solutions to eradicate the present day maladies. The Upanishads are not the preserve of any sect. However, with intense research, Upanishads have become a subject of academic interest and a correlation between Upanishads and day-to-day living has been lost.

Groups, which extol the virtues of these texts and uphold them as science also exist. The earlier misconceptions are slowly being cleared and an effort is being made even by westerners to comprehend the true meaning of Vedanta. The loss of the knowledge contained in the Upanishads may result in the disintegration of many cultural values and the ethos we consider dear. The principles of Vedanta are not meant only for the old, neither are they one with unrealistic projections. Vedanta provides unequivocal guidance on the path to a peaceful life.

Do you have anything to say? About the state of the world,…More

The Hindu : y>SUDHISH KAMATH does a countdown of Bollywood’s best in 2008

This year was about friends and enemies. Stories about individuals revolved around relationships, and films with social issues used terrorism as the backdrop. Overall, 2008 brought with it alot of fresh blood. Debutants rocked Hindi cinema. Homosexuality came out of the closet. Small films with a big heart won us over as star power fizzled out at the box office. Usual disclaimersapply. For the record, this is a purely personal list that in no way reflects box office performance. Nor is it based on a compilation of reviews, ratings or popular opinion

10 Dasvidaniya

Though Vinay Pathak delivers one of the finest performances this year, this inspired piece of filmmaking hopes to exploit the dreams of the lowest common denominator with its eyes on the mass market and ends up using every single trick from the Bollywood book of drama — the maa melodrama, the dost-dost-na raha syndrome, the “Deewar” polarisation, and unrequited love, among others. Almost a classic.

9 Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

This twisted tale with a dark, psychotic subtext should have been rightly called “How To Mess With Your Wife’s Head.” But you can’t deny that Adi Chopra creates some fine moments in this Spiderman-like-tale of the Indian Superhero as the tribute to Indian cinema — Raj, the Mohabbat-Man who can make any girl fall in love with him. Add to that the magic of Shah Rukh Khan and you have a time pass film that simultaneously celebrates the actor and the star.

6 Tied: Mumbai Meri Jaan/ Aamir/ A Wednesday

If it wasn’t so repetitive and redundant in parts, Nishikant Kamat’s film would’ve been higher up the list. “Mumbai Meri Jaan” shows us the impact of terrorism on modern-day society from different perspectives, almost breaking our hearts before uplifting our mood with a subtlety we are not used to in Indian cinema.

While “Aamir’”s brilliance…More

The Hindu : y>

Surviving disaster Bear Grylls faces up to extreme conditions

Man Vs. Wild gives viewers the opportunity to experience some of the most extreme conditions in the world, with Bear Grylls as the ultimate adventure expert. In this thrilling series, Bear showcases survival skills needed to survive the toughest environment in the planet, by putting himself in the position of a stranded tourist.

He parachutes into rainforests, abseils into deserts and lakes, and onto the highest, most inhospitable peaks in America.

Watch him, use his skills and climb massive cliffs, navigate white water and icy crevasses, encounter snakes, spiders, forage for food from maggots to roots and raw fish.

Catch all this action only on Discovery channel tonight at 9 p.m.

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The Hindu : y>Planning to have a baby? If you have a family history of an inherited disease, orother risk factors for a genetic condition, it is wise to consult a genetic counsellor

PHOTO: k. ananthanCOUNSELLING TO THE RESCUE For a healthy baby

Shreyasee has a baby with thalassemia major. Seeing her child having to undergo repeated transfusions, she and her husband want to know if they can have an unaffected baby. They want to understand the risk of having another baby with thalassemia major.

Susheela had a baby with cystic fibrosis. The child died at the age of five. She and her husband are worried. Will they have another baby with cystic fibrosis?

Shreyasee and Susheela both have had babies with a genetic disorder. They need to be seen by a genetic counsellor. In the 21st Century, there is more and more knowledge being uncovered about the genetics of common diseases. If there is a genetic disorder in the family, a genetic counsellor helps you understand your risk of having a baby with that disorder. If a couple has already had a child with an inherited birth defect, genetic counsellors can help them understand what their chances are of having another baby with the same genetic disorder. They can also help them learn what testing, surveillance or prevention strategies are available.

Who is a genetic counsellor?

A genetic counsellor is a person who has studied genetic diseases and how these diseases run in families. The genetic counsellor can help a person and the family understand the risk for genetic conditions (such as cystic fibrosis, thalassemia, hemophilia, muscular dystrophy or Down syndrome), educate the person or family about that disease, and assess the risk of passing those diseases on to children.

A genetic counsellor may be a doctor who has specialised in genetic counselling or somebody who has studied genetics and has had training in counselling. They work with families to…More

The Hindu : y>DIVYA KUMAR lists some highlights in the world of fiction

From Aravind Adiga to Jeffrey Archer, Jhumpa Lahiri to J.K. Rowling, and some Chetan Bhagat thrown in for good measure… there was something for book lovers of all sorts in India to cheer about in 2008. Here’s looking at some of the highlights from the world of fiction

Booker Diaries

It was the year that Salman Rushdie firmly cemented his position as the darling of Booker prize committees past and present by winning the one-off The Best of the Booker award for “Midnight’s Children” (1981). So it’s probably only fitting that it was an Indian author who walked away with the Man Booker prize for 2008. First-time novelist Aravind Adiga was the surprise winner for the flashy “The White Tiger” that explores India’s underbelly of corruption and exploitation of the poor. The choice has brought controversy in its wake – while it was well-received in some quarters (read Western) for tackling the issue of the Indian poor, it has drawn flack from Indian critics for, among other things, a lack of authenticity. A very different book – “Sea of Poppies”, Amitav Ghosh’s sweeping, solidly-researched tale set against the background of the illegal opium trade of the 19th century – also made the Booker shortlist this year. The first book in an epic trilogy, it maps the journey of a motley crew of indentured labourers and convicts from India to Mauritius. And that caps another good year for desis at the Booker.

Chetan Bhagat goes celluloid

Few writers of popular fiction in India have perfected the formula of the contemporary masala novel quite the way Chetan Bhagat has. This year saw his third novel “The Three Mistakes of My Life” – on the perennially hot topics of cricket and religious politics – hit bookstore shelves with its typically meagre price tag of Rs. 95. A…More