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The Hindu : STAFF REPORTER

Learning about the environment is as important as studies.

Care for trees: It means caring for ourselves.

More than 3,000 school children from economically weaker sections of society participated in a four-day camp on environment consciousness organised by the Asha Foundation, under the aegis of the Archdiocese of Bangalore.Plant many saplings

The camp was inaugurated by Archbishop Dr. Bernard Moras at St. Germain’ School in Frazer Town. “Plant as many saplings as you can, wherever you can and you will inherit fresh air and good health,” he told the children.

The camp took place simultaneously in several locations in and around Bangalore and had children from over 96 units from nine districts participating.

“Care for the environment should be of equal concern to you as much as you care for your academics,” he added. The co-ordinator of the Asha program and camp, Sr. Theresa Mascarenhas, spoke to the children and involved them in workshops to help them contribute to a better environment.

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The Hindu : SUDHINDR.A.B.

Kids had a great deal of fun tackling spelling and pronunciation

Wonder kids: Sure of themselves

The ‘Bees’ were at it again – fighting with words at The Bangalore Interschool Championship of MaRRS International Spelling Bee held recently. The objective was to enhance the spelling and literary skills of children by encouraging them to explore the English language, expand their vocabulary, and improve their communication and comprehension .Levels of difficulty

The competition is based on the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary and it works on a word base of 60,000 words, classified into various levels of difficulty. The competition was divided into six categories and it had multiple rounds. In the “pronunciation key round”, the participant had to identify the word from the key given, spell the word and give the meaning, all in less then seven seconds for each word.

Manasi Korni of PSBB School, Karthik Rajagopalan of Vidyashilp Academy, Karan Rao of PSBB School, Ridhi Adyanthaya of Vidyashilp Academy, Prerana of Vidya Vardhaka Sangha School and Priyanka Ganesan of Vidya Mandir emerged winners in various categories.

Many remarked that the contest was a thrilling experience. “The contest was fun. We had to concentrate,very hard when asked similar sounding words,” said a participant. “ You have to be very sure when you give the answer,” said another. The contest, started at the school level has reached the interschool level. It will progress to the State and National levels. The competition is currently being held in 18 states. In all, 453 students between the ages of six – 17 participated in the competition.

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The Hindu : y>

Bear necessities Mowgli learns the rules of the forest

Setting the tone for the holiday season, Pogo has introduced a new series, comprising classic tales such as “The Jungle Book” and the adventure packed new season of the popular series “Chhota Bheem”.

“The Jungle Book” will be telecast on weekdays at 5.30 p.m. and will provide children an opportunity to step into the fascinating world of Mowgli and his animal friends created by Rudyard Kipling. The movie with the sinuous Kaa, the scary Shere Khan and the lovable Balu the bear among scores of others and hummable songs made it an instant classic. Meanwhile, the children from the fictional town of Dholakpur will help start your Sunday mornings with their new adventures and escapades in “Chhota Bheem” at 9.30 a.m. on Sunday.

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The Hindu :

Strawberries are rich in vitamins and tickle your taste buds too

Photo: k. ananthanRefreshing Strawberries

Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did.

Dr. Boteler’s words certainly carry more meaning as people continue to rediscover and reap the benefits of this extraordinary fruit.The strawberry (Fragaria) belongs to thefamily Rosaceae.There are more than 20 named species and many hybrids.

Strawberries have grown wild for millennia in temperate regions throughout the world.

They began being cultivated sometime before the Christian era and were highly prized by many ancient Romans. Yet, after the fall of Rome, they seemed to have lost their favour until they re-emerged in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Cultivation techniques of the European varieties, which were much smaller than the American varieties, were advanced at this time, although the resulting fruits were not as sweet and fragrant as the strawberries of today, and therefore, they did not readily gain widespread popularity.Medicinal value

Strawberries are an excellent source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K and manganese. They are also a very good source of dietary fibre and iodine.

Strawberries are also a good source of potassium, folate, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium and copper.

Wild strawberry roots areusedas a tonic and blood purifier. Wild strawberries aremashed into a paste to remove tartar and clean teeth and arealso used for toothaches.Strawberry jam

Ingredients

Strawberries – 1 1/2 kg

Sugar – 4 cups

Citric acid – 1 tsp

Method

Remove the stalks and wash the strawberries.

Put the fruit in a heavy pan and stir till it boils.

Mash, add sugar and lemon juice.

Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Remove the scum. Boil rapidly till it sets when tested.

Cool and pour into clean and dry jars. Seal with wax and close the lid tightly.

PRADEEP PRASANNAN

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The Hindu : y>Enjoy IPL with stacks of food, drink and contests

Photo: APParty on Cheer your favourite team

The Lalit Ashok is organising the IPL With Lalit Ashok from April 18 where you can watch the match on a big screen with unlimited beer and snacks for Rs. 500.

You can also treat yourself to music by DJs at 24/7 through the IPL season. The cover charge is Rs. 750

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Catch cricket fever at The Taj Hotels with a live screening of IPL matches at all the Taj properties till the finals. There will also be a complimentary cocktail with each cocktail order, unlimited selected snacks and beer at Rs.1,200 inclusive of tax, unlimited cocktails with selected snacks for Rs.1,500 inclusive of tax.

Besides this there will be quiz and surprises, say the organisers. Dry days will be observed on April 23 and April 30.

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ITC Hotel The Windsor celebrates the spirit of IPL with the “I Prefer it Large” offer at Dublin, its Irish pub.

There will be a comprehensive coverage on a myriad large screens without interruptions, coupled with great offers on fine whiskeys, spirits and the legendary Dublin draft, say the organiser.

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You can also watch IPL live at Aqua on the premises of The Park. Besides watching the game on a giant screen you can also treat yourself to the barbeque package every evening 7.30 p.m. onwards till May 24.

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World of Titan is organising a contest. You have to answer six questions on cricket and win a chance to meet Amir Khan. To participate, walk into the World of Titan, buy a watch worth Rs. 3,000 and above and answer six questions. For every right answer, you score runs. The more runs you score, more discounts you earn. Customers can enjoy a maximum discount of Rs. 525, which can be redeemed at the time of…More

The Hindu : y>SOUND OFF! M. V. Achuthakrishnan feels that seniors with employable skills must not be ignored

Consider this situation; A bunch of new graduates and a older person, aged over 45 years are ushered into the interview room. The HR person goes through the names and starts the process.

While the young graduates utter barely audible phrases; the older person presents the facts clearly and succinctly. Finally, the results are announced. The new graduates will have to wait in the room, but the senior will have to wait until certain permissions are obtained for him to proceed further.

Such issues continue to crop up in all aspects of our daily life, and older people are often rejected, without consideration for individual merits and challenges, that the person without a job shall face. Despite individual merit being on his side, the older person is more often forced to continue his job hunt.

Many seniors with impressive records are treated this way and left to whims of HR professionals. These individuals are trying to obtain a place to earn a wage to protect themselves and their families. All of them are educated, trained in some occupation and understand the requirements of the business, yet they are treated shabbily.

What I fail to understand is why they get this type of treatment. In the India of today, older people are ignored in the job market.

I urge organisations to reflect on the predicament of seniors and create a desk to hire such individuals, who approach them for employment. Such moves will help them regain their self respect in society.

Do you have anything to say? About the state of the world, the city, your angst?

Pen it stylishly and you might get it published.And dash off your piece with your photograph. Email it tobangmetro@gmail.com or post it to MetroPlus, The Hindu, 19 & 21, Bhagwan Mahaveer Road (Infantry Road), Bangalore 1.

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The Hindu : y>Want to let the world know what’s happening in your life and the world around? Probably, you should start Twittering, says SUDHISH KAMATH

time to twitter Share thoughts with friends and the world at large

Barack Obama finally returned to Twitter recently, after the White House nearly took away his Blackberry. Jennifer Aniston dumped her boyfriend John Mayer for spending too much time on Twitter.

And, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore have made Twitter and their fans a part of their life. Recently, after posting a candid picture of his wife in a bikini, he made up to Demi Moore by making his followers wake her up with thousands of tweets of ‘Good Morning’ messages or a “Love Tsunami” as he called it.

More recently, as Kal Penn is set to make the jump from House to The White House, the actor used Twitter to thank his fans.Best of both worlds

Touted as the next big thing after blogging and networking, Twitter combines the best of both worlds by catering to the needs of people to network without them needing to fill up too much information.

So, what is Twitter? Twitter is your online status message. It tells people what you are doing in two lines. So, the more frequently you post an update online, the more you are in touch with people who are interested in knowing what you are up to.

Think of it as blogging meets SMS meets Facebook. A recent Nielsen report notes that Twitter has recorded over a 1,000 per cent increase in its user base over the last year with over seven million unique visitors in February this year.

A survey by ComScore puts the latest figures at 10 million users. Another report estimates that the average age of Twitterers (or Tweeters) is 31 and that Twitter attracts more working adults than teens or college students.

“It was the techies who first got…More

The Hindu :

WB, a 24-hour English entertainment channel, provides a fascinating mix of movies and series

EXHAUSTIVE MENU WB has over 6,000 titles to choose from

Roman Polanski, the Oscar-winning director of distinctly-disturbing movies like “Rosemary’s Baby,” directed Harrison Ford in a little-known film called “Frantic.” The film, which was released in 1988 told the story of an American doctor Richard Walker (Ford) who comes with his wife to Paris for a medical convention. His wife disappears while Walker is taking a shower and he has to do whatever he can to get her back—a tough job considering the fact that he is in a foreign land and might be in over his head in some sort of international conspiracy.

In the beginning Polanski is able to ratchet the tension to unbearable levels and even though towards the end, the tension dissipates, “Frantic” is a fascinating little gem, a little-known work of an undisputed auteur directing a superstar. It is the kind of movie fans of Polanski and/or Ford would necessarily have in their DVD collection.

So it made sense that the film was aired on WB, a new English entertainment channel from Turner and Warner Bros. Entertainment. “WB is like an entertainment buff playing the best of the best from his personal DVD collection,” says Monica Tata, Vice President and Deputy General Manager – Entertainment Networks, South Asia, Turner International India.

“There are over 6,000 titles to choose from and WB will also air popular series like “Blade” apart from the movies. There will be different packages such as Platinum that will showcase channel premiers, Nitro that will feature adrenalin-charged action hits and Triple Play, where a favourite film would be played three times.” The cineaste can watch it over and over again and ruminate over whether Neo should have taken the blue pill or the red one or whether Rick should have left with Ilsa…More

The Hindu :

Sanjay Manjrekar tells us that he retains his penchant for perfection

Raring to go! Sanjay Manjrekar’s first big assignment will be Twenty-20 World Cup

“I have carried the lifestyle of my cricket days to commentary. I go to bed early on the night before the game, avoid heavy lunch…my colleagues find this pursuit of perfection boring.” This is Sanjay Manjrekar for you. As he joins ESPN-Star Sports’ team of commentators, he still strives for flawlessness.“I don’t go with any preset notions. I treat every shot and player on merit. When I host, I go with basic questions because I feel answers will lead to more genuine questions,” says Manjrekar, who started his career as a commentator with Ten Sports.

As for music, he reveals he is very particular about his net practice, the riyaz. “I am learning from a big name in the industry for the last 18 months. I don’t want to reveal his name because it will amount to name dropping. Let me hone my skills and then I will come with an album.” Manjrekar had cut an album “Rest Day”, where he sang his team-mates’ favourite songs. Manjrekar says the game has changed over the years and there is no longer a rest day in a Test match and so have his interests in music. “I love to watch Twenty-20 and I am working on contemporary music!”

The dressing room atmosphere also seems to have changed. “When I got selected for the first time there was considerable gap between senior and junior, but by the time I retired it was pretty much covered. Now I believe it is even better.”

He doesn’t like to look back at the past. “Despite repeated requests, I haven’t picked the bat after 1998 for any format. But from my experience I would suggest youngsters take the game in a relaxed fashion. I was so much after…More

The Hindu :

With a bouquet of organic and hand-made soaps to choose from, your beauty bath becomes more interesting

PHOTO: R. Shivaji RaoWORK UP A LATHER Organic soaps come with essential oils that have therapeutic properties

Roshini loves long showers and pampers herself with the fanciest soaps and body gels available. Her parents worry that excessive use of soap can be harmful because of the chemicals in them. So, what does thisdamsel in distress do?Stagger in her pink stilettos to the river bed and scoop up earth?

Not when she has organic and hand-made soaps to choose from. These soaps are said to be devoid of chemicals, and use natural ingredients such as olive oil, coconut oil and almond oil.

Aroma therapy too

Since many of these soaps are infused with fragrant oils such as ylang ylang, lavender and vanilla, they also provide aroma therapy.Most organic or handmade varieties are therapeutic, but do find out a bit more about the ingredients used, for not all oils suit everyone.

For example, bergamot is an excellent anti-depressant and has antiseptic and antispasmodic properties, but pregnant women should check with their doctor before using it.

Shalini, who is addicted to natural soaps, says, “I have been using organic soaps for the last three years and it has worked well. I made the switch after my skin became rough.”

Organic and hand-made soap lovers may rejoice, but there are issues concerning these soaps’ purity.A cosmetologist warns that all soaps are composed offatty acid and alkali. So these soaps may have natural ingredients, but may not be 100 per cent chemical-free.

Dr. Vijay Karthik, a dermatologist, says, “One good aspect is that these soaps may not contain sodium lauryl sulfate, which damages the skin. Theoretically speaking, the risks of side effects are less with these soaps. If you are fed up of chemical soaps, give these soaps a try.”

Paroma, 24, made her transition from baby…More