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The Hindu : y>

Sagar N., a student of Roan International School has brought laurels to the institution by bagging the second prize in the essay competition organised by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board at Bal Bhavan recently. The topic for the essay was the prevention of pollution. Sagar, a Std.X student firmly believes that rapid urbanization and unplanned growth is cause for concern. De-urbanisation and strengthening rural infrastructure could solve the problems. Transportation too is the single largest consumer of fuel and hence the largest contributor of environmental pollution, he says. Emissions due to air transportation have caused immeasurable harm to environment and the ecosystem world over.

It is also proved that energy derived from renewable sources is already powering mass rapid transport systems in many parts of the world, Sagar says.

(Input by Sudhindr. A.B.)

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The Hindu : TERRINA JAIRAJ AND RADHIKA DIXIT

Children in remote areas get access to computer education.

Making learning interesting: Through novel techniques.

Fourteen-year-old Veerabhadra hails from Government Composite High School in Chikkaballapur in Karnataka. Thanks to the joint initiative of the government and an NGO, he has of late been playing and learning through the computer.

This new mode of learning, in fact, has inspired him to want to pursue a career in software engineering. “I love computers. I find it more interesting than any other subject,” he smiles.

Veerabhadra is one of the characters in a documentary by Educomp Solutions, an education company handling school computer programme.Innovation at the core

The 12-minute film by the company highlights the stories of four children from Orissa, Haryana, Gujarat and Karnataka, where the company’s ‘Edureach’ programme has been going on. Under this programme Educomp works closely with Central and State Governments to bring computer education mainly to remote areas across the country.

The film also talks about various innovative tools and techniques created to make education more appealing to the students. Some of these include MagiKeys, a software providing chat, email and online word processing through virtual keyboards in 12 Indian languages, Mathemagic Kit, which offers a variety of materials to play with and learn mathematical concepts, and SmartClass, a technology that uses animation, 3D and 2D multimedia modules that are lesson specific and make teaching and learning more interesting.

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The Hindu : y>Catch the secrets of attraction on Nat Geo

National Geographic reveals the naked truth about the secrets of sexual attraction. In this episode of “Naked Science”, Nat Geo measures the intricate inner workings of lovers in love, as well as lovers that stray, and dares to suggest that we are a lot less in control of love than we may think. You will see what can transform the ecstasy of love into a cocaine-like addiction and you’ll learn what draws men to women and whether a family guy or a hunky action hero is more of a natural match. Watch “Naked Science — What’s Sexy” on Nat Geo, this evening at 9 p.m.

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The Hindu :

Do you seek help when you lose a loved oneor do you take it in your stride? It depends on your gender. Read on to know why

PHOTO: APHANDLING GRIEF Men and women have different mechanisms

Man or woman, coming to terms with the loss of a loved one, is not easy. And, years of societal conditioning and the mental and emotional make-up of the sexes complicate matters.

So, how do men and women handle grief? Vijay Nagaswami, psychiatrist, relationship consultant and author, elaborates: “Women tend to express their emotions more easily and readily in any situation. Men, on the other hand, tend to discharge their emotions in a more controlled manner and over a longer period of time, and sometimes in slightly disguised ways.”

The emotion is the same — whether it’s the loss of a spouse or child or parent — says Sujata Ramanathan, head, Department of Sociology, Stella Maris College. “But, there is a difference in the manner in which the genders cope” she notes.Unwritten rules

And then, there are unwritten rules that tend to be followed. Ennapadam S. Krishnamoorthy, senior consultant in neuropsychiatry, VHS Hospital and St. Isabel’s Hospital, points out that “society expects men to be more restrained”.

This pattern shows up even when the bad news is first broken. SaysAnand Ramamurthy, consultant, Centre for Liver Disease and Transplantation, Apollo Hospitals: “Women tend to break down, but more often than not, men react to news about death with stunned silence. Denial is common in women, who find it hard to accept the truth, while men display resignation.”Different ways

Explains K. Latchumanadas, senior consultant cardiologist, Madras Medical Mission: “Men try to look at the event logically, and make an attempt to find out what happened. They also believe they have to be in control. Besides, they don’t know how to ventilate.”

The bottomline, according to Dr. Krishnamoorthy, is that “both…More

The Hindu :

An unusual concert in an impromptu setting

MOVING MUSIC From Rudy and Tipriti

Rudy Wallang and Tipriti Kharbangar of Soulmate performed at an unusual setting for interested onlookers at Landmark, The Forum on a busy Saturday evening. The duo from Shillong, on a tour to promote their latest album “Moving On”, performed tracks from both their earlier album “Shillong” and their new one.

Tipriti, with her powerful throaty voice and Rudy, with his guitar-playing struck the audience with their haunting sounds and lyrics inspired by blues, blues-rock, soul, rock n’ roll, funk and RnB.

In the crowded Landmark in the linen and card section, a tiny space was cleared out for a stage and some standing space. Released by Blue Frog Records, “Moving On” comprises 12 songs.

Starting with the slow and smooth “Set me Free”, Tipriti moved with her caressing voice and mesmerising lyrics about being in a relationship. Down from a four-member band to being a duo, Tipriti and Rudy still manage to make for an arresting twosome.

“Cup of Tea” which glimpsed into Tipriti’s life with its simple but meaningful lyrics, saw a commanding voice that was unleashed to its full potential. “If You See My Baby” was a toned-down version from their earlier album Shillong.

With the overriding theme of love and life, Soulmate also performed a track dedicated to blues guitarist Rory with “Remembering Rory” and “Come ’Round my House”. They also performed a tribute to the queen of blues Koko Taylor with her catchy “Voodoo Woman”. Songwriter, singer and blues guitarist Rudy Wallang grew up listening to his father Toto Wallang and Tipriti Kharbangar’s voice stunned all with her Aretha Franklin-ish style. In the end, curious passers-by, family and children or just those who wanted to tap their feet and listen to some good old blues made up a sizeable crowd for the performance.

AYESHA MATTHAN

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The Hindu :

Combined with anchovy paste, capers, pepper and more, olives can make a tasty sandwich spread

JUST PICKED Green olives turn dark on ripening

Olives cannot be eaten right off the tree; they require special processing to reduce their intrinsic bitterness, which is concentrated in their skin. Processing methods vary with the olive variety, the cultivation region, and the desired taste, texture and colour.

Some olives are picked green and unripe, while others are allowed to fully ripen on the tree and become black in colour. Yet, not all of the black olives available begin with a black colour.

Some processing methods expose unripe greens olives to the air, and the subsequent oxidation turns them a dark colour.

In addition to the original colour of the olive determining its finished characteristics, colour is affected by the processing methods that olives undergo, including fermentation and/or curing in oil, water, brine or salt. These methods may not only cause the olives to turn black, purple, brown, red, or yellow, but also affect their skin texture, causing them to be smooth and shiny, or wrinkled.

Some of the many available delicious varieties of olives include Moroccan oil-cured, Kalamata, Nicoise, Picholine and Manzanilla.

In addition to varying size and appearance, the flavour of olives ranges from sour to smoky, to bitter, to acidic. In addition to whole olives, you can often find them pitted.

Olive oil is available in a variety of grades that reflect the degree to which it has been processed.

Extra-virgin is the initial unrefined oil from the first pressing. Virgin olive oil is also derived from the first pressing but has a higher acidity level than extra virgin olive oil. Chemically, the difference between extra virgin and virgin oil involves the amount of free oleic acid, which is a marker for overall acidity.History

Olives, one of the oldest foods known, are thought to have originated in Crete between…More

The Hindu : y>Young, bubbly actors replace industry veterans as brand ambassadors. HARSHIKAA UDASIreports

THE NEW BRIGADE Sonam Kapoor

Ring out the old, ring in the new” said Tennyson, and advertisers (the ones who give film celebs their daily butter chicken) seem to be following this like never before.

Check out who’s endorsing brands today, and you’ll see it’s raining fresh faces. There’s Genelia D’Souza who has caused quite a few upsets by positioning herself as the new vivacious girl on the block. She has replaced ‘bubbly’ Preity Zinta in Cadbury’s Perk and Rani Mukherjee in Fanta advertisements.

Katrina Kaif created big news last year when she took over Aishwarya Rai’s seat as Nakshatra’s brand ambassador, and even edged her out as the Indian face of Barbie during the 50th year of the doll’s launch. She also elbowed out Sushmita Sen, from Pantene.

Katrina Kaif

Asin too is steadily climbing up the ladder. After Mirinda and the regional advertisements for Tata Sky, the actor is set to take over national commercials too. She also endorses CavinCare, Big Bazaar and Pril, besides Tanishq. Among the guys, only young turk Ranbir Kapoor seems to be doing well.

Brand endorsements form a very large share of the money that film actors make. According to industry estimates, it’s a large Rs. 1,000-crore market out there. Obviously, celebrities are on the lookout for their share of the booty; especially at a time when there are more celebrities than models endorsing products.. ‘Young? Done!’ seems to be the guiding mantra for brand managers. Adman Prahlad Kakkar sees nothing wrong with that. “The business of business is to take risks. I wouldn’t say young faces are usurping established ones. But, brands are always looking for fresh faces as they generate excitement, and audiences are curious about who they are and what they do. The flipside is that these young faces do not have the deliverance…More

The Hindu : y>Hemavalli. S thinks finding out details of prospective partners is essential

Gone are the days when marriages were arranged among families that knew each other or through common friends. Now, we look at newspaper classifieds and matrimonial websites. Though these have their advantages, one major worry is the possibility of falling victim to intentional non-disclosures..

These may be explicit (done on purpose, and hiding obstacles such as history of epilepsy/treatment for psychiatric disorders/impotency/past or current love affairs).Such non-disclosures are dangerous, as a friend discovered. After marriage, she discovered about her husband’s failed businesses and massive debt, on account of unpaid loans. When she confronted her husband and his family, they retorted, “If it was that important, you should have asked us before marriage.”

Such incidents may not result in financial loss, but could result in a major loss of trust.

The best solution would be to address the root cause of the problem – to prevent the prospective partner from lying, just to get a good match. In the absence of common friends, hiring a detective agency is also a good way to ensure that one can get all information. It costs less than 10 percent of the wedding expenses.

Quick fix marriages must also be avoided and the partners should wait at least a month or two after the initial talks for the engagement ceremony. Although most arranged marriages do not end up in family courts, we do not want our loved ones to be caught up in such a situation.

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 to bangmetro@ gmail.com or post it to MetroPlus, The Hindu, 19 & 21, Bhagwan Mahaveer Road (Infantry Road), Bangalore 1.

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The Hindu :

It’s not something you’d associate with an action hero. But to Ajith Kumar, photography helps beat the stress of rigorous shooting schedules

It was in 2000, while shooting his film “Dheena” that Ajith Kumar got hooked to photography. Cinematographer Arvind was an enthusiast and his infectious interest rubbed off on Ajith. Ever since, Ajith has been dabbling in photography.

“In fact, after I gave up active motor racing, I took my camera to Sepang, Malaysia last year to the Formula One races and shot a whole lot of action pictures,” says Ajith.

But, it was only recently that Ajith decided to get trained by a professional photographer to really understand the technical aspects of photography. “I attended a crash course in photography organised by Raja Ponsingh.”

The actor, has also equipped himself with a Nikon D2X and D700 SLRs with a complete range of lenses, a tripod and a monopod.

Earlier it was more of amateur shooting. “The camera became my constant companion, especially while on long outdoor shoots. I’m able to relate better to the filming camera after my interactions with my Nikons,” feels Ajith. While there are no special subjects he would like to shoot, he loves the unusual, candid pictures he has been able to take, like the ones reproduced here.

“It is really true how a picture speaks a thousand words. I am able to communicate better with my friends and associates and, hopefully, my fans will be able to identify better with me and my views.”

“I spotted the fish in an auto when I was on the way to a location shoot in Visakhapatnam in 2008. These are fleeting moments on the road and, if not captured on the spur of the moment, are lost forever.”

While commuting, Ajith keeps his camera ready for an instant click. In the midst of tiring days of continuous shooting, the camera comes as…More

The Hindu :

This fortnight at seventymm.com

following leads Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) crosses Toschi’s (Mark Ruffalo) path

Zodiac (2007)

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Chloe Sevigny, Anthony Edwards

Director: David Fincher

Screenwriter: James Vanderbilt (From a book by Robert Graysmith)

Composer: David Shire

Cinematographer: Angus Wall

David Fincher abjures the depravity and graphic violence of his earlier movies (“Fight Club” and “Se7en”) and goes in for a spare, toned-down style. The film is based on the true story of a serial killer, who called himself Zodiac and terrorised the public and taunted the police in San Francisco’s Bay Area in the Sixties and Seventies.

For a movie on a serial killer with all the hyperbole of Jack the Ripper, Fincher creates a masterpiece of palpable dread and tension without resorting to any gimmicks or cheap thrills. As Fincher explains in the marvellously detailed making-of featurette, the idea of “Zodiac” was not to show blood, guts and gore, but rather to show how crime affects everyone — from the victims’ families and the suspects to people involved in solving the case.

A common enough theme in crime thrillers, “Zodiac” reveals how the killer becomes an obsession with three men — the policeman assigned to case, a journalist who looks at the murders as an opportunity for advancement and a cartoonist who is drawn to the case. This police-procedural-meets-newspaper-movie does not offer a neat Hollywood-style tying of loose ends. The leads and clues are presented to the audience who has to then work out who the Zodiac is. The fact that this case was never solved gives an extra frisson of suspense.

The film opens with the first of the Zodiac’s recorded killings, a young couple on lover’s lane. The scene shifts to the hurly-burly of a newspaper office, The San Francisco Chronicle, where a cipher arrives from a person who calls himself Zodiac claiming responsibility for the killings and demanding the cipher be…More