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It was celebration time at Presidency School, Nandini Layout as it received two awards from its management. It bagged “The Presidency Principal of the Year” and “The Presidency Champion School of the Year”. The Principal, J. Bhuvaneshwari received the awards from Hema Hattangadi, CEO, Conzerv Systems at a glittering function held in The Taj.

The Coordinators of the champion school were felicitated with a citation, a certificate and a cash award. The teachers were acknowledged with certificates and cash awards for their sincerity and commitment in achieving targets set for them and reaping in good results at the Board. Chairman of Presidency Group Nissar Ahmed and director Thangadurai were present.

(Input from Sudhindr. A. B.)<FONT …More

The Hindu : SUDHINDR A B

Multiple rounds were held to decide the winner.

The “Bees” of Bangalore have done the city proud yet again. They won many prizes at a national level spell bee competition held recently in Thrissur, Kerala. Prerana. N., a student of VVS Sardar Patel High School bagged the second prize in category five, while Shubham Achal Goenka and Varun Ram Rajagopalan, both from Vidya Shilp Academy, the third place in category three and five respectively. Namratha Nagaraj won the fourth place in category five and Pranav Vivek of New Horizon Public School in category one. Manasi Korni, a student of PSBBLLA won the sixth place in category one.Rounds

There were multiple rounds at the national level competition. Participants had to successfully go through several rounds such as a dictation round, word application round and synonyms and antonyms to qualify for the final stage. 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 skills.

The competition is based on the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionaries and it works on a word base of sixty thousand words, classified into various levels of difficulty. “The objective of this competition is to impel and create curiosity in the students to explore the beauty of the language and use its power of the language for a better life.

The words are categorised by the absorbing level of the students, so that there is very little stress on these young minds,” said Dinesh Kumar Boswan, Area Coordinator, MaRRS Intellectual Services (Karnataka). He added that 62 students have been selected for the MaRRS International Spell Bee, which will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal in October.

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The Hindu :

Katrina Kaif says her latest film, New York, tests one’s loyalty and convictions

Her take Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif effortlessly inspires awe among her co-stars. “Her very presence makes everyone alert. And most take it as an honour to work with her,” says co-star Neil Nitin Mukesh. At a press conferences, she is the picture of poise as she takes uncomfortable questions in her stride, and parries the label of ‘most googled actor’ with a soft ‘thank you’.

Talking about “New York”, Katrina impressed with her straight approach to a rather sensitive subject.

In the film, which is the story of three friends in New York against the backdrop of 9/11, Katrina plays Maya, a young collegiate with Sameer (John) and Omar (Neil).

Shares Katrina fixing her hair, “The film is stylish. It talks of the feelings of three friends who undergo a change post 9/11, as the story extends till 2008. It is the affection, love, romance and friendship that bind these three and separates them too. How Sameer and Omar are detained and tortured on suspicion after 9/11, and how Maya is made to believe their dual identity, takes the story further.”

The film is based on true incidents in New York. Khan’s research and Katrina’s past references further intensified the feelings. She shares, “This film had the strongest effect on me. As an actor, I have done so many roles, some of which had grave emotions too. But the emotions in this film made me restless. We got really involved because it is a human interest story.

“It tests your intelligence, loyalty, conviction and bearings. And that’s why it has so many layers, something which I found extremely difficult to portray. As we shot shades of emotions on everyday basis, it didn’t feel all that profound. But as we watched the final product together, it became difficult to get over it. The truth stings….More

The Hindu :

Another academic year starts and the debate over the dress code is revisited

Photo: R. Shivaji RaoDressing down A dress code in place doesn’t stop students from trying to dress as they please

Students say goodbye to the freedom of summer vacations and hello again to the constraints of the dress code.

College-age students are deemed responsible enough to vote for our country’s leaders and eligible for a driver’s license but when it comes to dressing for college, officials do not trust them to make their own decisions.

According to the formulators of the dress code, it was put into place to make sure that female students dressed “modestly”. Many also feel it serves as a safety precaution, because a lot of female students use public transport and being decently dressed would keep them safer. So according to the rules of the code salwar-kameez is the preferred attire but if a female student insists on wearing jeans, , she has topair them with a long kurta.

A number of girlsare fine with the idea of a dress code as they feel it keeps away unwanted male attention.

There are otherswho disagree. Maya, a final year mass-communication studentsays, “Boys make comments whether you wear salwar-kameez or jeans with a t-shirt, so why ban t-shirts?”

However strict and un-yielding the dress-code might be, girls find a way to get around it. Jackets are used to cover bare arms when wearing a sleeveless top. T-shirts are covered with dupattas and stoles.

Some courageous souls blatantly wear t-shirts and sleeveless tops with jeans to college.Maya says, “As long as you make it past the main gate where the principal stands checking the girls’ clothes, you are safe.” How does one get past the principal though? Maya makes it sound easy enough, she says, “If you are wearing sleeveless, wrap a stole around you.” Maya was unfortunate enough to get caught…More

The Hindu :

Tired of the mainstream narrative, and keen on experimenting with new roles and situations, Ranvir Shorey has made his mark

Photo: D. GopalakrishnanMARQUEE MAN Ranvir Shorey shines on stage and in films

“Ho ya na ho, sawaal bas yahi hai” yells Ranvir Shorey, in the course of the rehearsals for the play “Blue Mug” directed by Atul Kumar and featuring actors such as Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak and others. The play was staged at Kyra Theatre and Ranga Shankara last week.

“These are my favourite lines from all my movies. It helps me relax. DK, the character I essayed in “Mithya” is very close to my heart,” says the veejay turned actor.Gamut of roles

Like his good friend Vinay Pathak, Ranvir is a maverick of sorts, and is known for a gamut of roles, each removed from the other. From his portrayal of a common man caught up in the murky world of the underworld in “Mithya” to a goofy sidekick in “Bheja Fry” and the aggressive younger brother in “Khosla Ka Ghosla”, he has managed to provide a major leg up to off-beat cinema.

“When I was growing up and making a mark in the industry, I was tired of the mainstream narrative and was keen on experimenting with new roles and situations. I am happy that over the past few years, off-beat stories are being recognised in Bollywood. It has been a very positive development. More young directors with fresh narratives and new styles are emerging in the industry.”

He adds, “I feel that over the years, it has become easier for outsiders to make a mark in the industry.”

Talking about his role in the “Blue Mug”, he says, “I play myself, narrating some of my life experiences. You tend to think that playing yourselves would be a walk in the park, but it is a fairly difficult task. You have to…More

The Hindu : y>Party Girls will rock your gigs

PHOTO: V.V. KRISHNANMaking a mark The songs are a concoction of new symphonies

It lookslike old wine in a new bottle. As item girls and cheerleaders struggle to capture the attention of music lovers, Leo One Music has launched a band of four girls – Tanya, Seema, Munira and Kelly. The new album “Party Girls” comprises eight tracks and was launched recently.The songs, it is claimed, are not remixes but a concoction of new symphonies . The music videos have been choreographed by Jojo Khan. The four girls were chosen after by auditions across the country.Golden chance

Theparty girls have plans to performat parties and other occasions and seem confident of attainingsuccess. As Seema, a model from Allahabad puts it, “We are very happy that we got this golden opportunity.” Munira Shek who has come all the way from Assam to fulfil her dream of doing an action film with Akshay Kumarsays she is the number one dancer.. Kelly Singhsays, “I have worked with Mika Singh, Daler Mehndi and Kailash Kher and when I was offered this video I just grabbed it”. For Tanya, a model, this is her second album. Richa Sharma has sung the songs whilelyrics and video direction is by Saajan Agarwal.

ISHITA MEHTASHIVANGI PUSHKARNA

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The Hindu : y>Technology has snatched our ability to spell straight, offering its own illogical alternatives, writes Nandini Hebbar

Photo: AFPQUEEN BEE OF SPELLINGS Kavya Shivshankar’s triumph doesn’t necessarily indicate that all Indians spell well

Indian children abroad have made winning the spell bee contests a rite of passage. The latest, Kavya Shivshankar won the (US) National Spelling Bee 2009 in May is the seventh champion of Indian origin in the last decade. Her final word was laodicean – lukewarm, especially in the matters of religion – which she spelt effortlessly. If spellings are mantras for Indians in the West, back in India however, people have become laodicean to spellings.

A wave of bad spelling hits you like sin every time you step out into the street: “Puncher Shop” umpteen boards announce; “Weregene Mobiles” another pristinely declares, while “Gants Beauti Parleuer” graciously beckons you.

Purists cry blasphemy at the form and turn spellings now take, thanks to features such as spell-check and T9 that make knowing actual spellings of words passé.

“People know meanings of words,” says David Justin, one of the founders of Toastmasters – India, “without knowing the spelling and ultimately compromising language.” “Not really,” says M. Arun Nayak, a final year engineering student from PES Institute of Technology, “Features like Thesaurus on Microsoft Word introduces us to new words, and spell-check corrects words that we spell wrong.”

I have a spelling checker

It came with my pea sea

It plainly marks four my revue mix steaks eye kin knot sea

Geetha Sharma, a teacher of soft-skills at the ICFAI Business School, points out that features that are meant to enhance language have actually contributed to their deterioration. Spell-check, for example, substitutes errors with the closest dictionary word, often with hilarious results. Homonyms and wrong words, spelt right go unnoticed:

Eye have run this poem threw it,

I am shore your pleased to no

Its letter perfect awl the way

My checker told me…More

The Hindu :

A reading of the play, Mandap, to be performed by Habib Tanvir’s Naya Theatre, explored themes close to the master’s heart

PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMARHabib Tanvir The Unfinished Project

TransMedia, Bangalore Little Theatre and Vibgyor paid tribute to the late Habib Tanvir with a reading of Vijay Padaki’s “Mandap”, which was due to be performed by Naya Theatre.

The play was read in English by Priya Rao, Ravi Srinivasan, Naveen Kumar, Sunitha Rajagopalan, Aliyeh Rizvi, Padmavati Rao, Anand Ramprasad, Vijay Padaki, Pritham Kumar and Firaz Peer.

Theatre artiste Vijay Padaki, who was part of an educational programme in Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh, spent time with Tanvir in Bhopal. Based on factual material from field experiences, the play is fictional. Unfortunately, “Mandap” was shelved because of two tragic incidents in Habib’s life. “The Unfinished Project” was to be performed in Hindustani and Chhatisgarhi.

As an extremely visual and performance-based play, the readers tried to capture some elements with images projected on a screen. Set in rural North India in a large land-owning household, the play revolved around the story of the newly-wed woman, two household helps, the landlord and the pigeon trainer Ratan. The multiple characters are emblematic of superstition and objectification.

The mandap is used as an important construction to reveal the goings on. The landlord has humiliated his newly-wed son in public, the daughter-in-law’s movements and whereabouts are carefully monitored and controlled and the help has been raped by the landlord. The daughter-in-law is curious and childlike, completely unaware of the trap she is about to get into. She is fascinated by the pigeon-trainer’s craft and the pigeon-trainer is smitten by her. The servants who feel wronged, devise a plot to catch them together.

Aliyeh Rizvi was convincing as the wide-eyed, innocent bride , Padmavati Rao articulated her role as the household help determined to take revenge, as was Anand Ramprasad, Pritham was captivating as…More

The Hindu :

Sonali Bendre’s focus remains firmly on her family

Photo: Sandeep SaxenaPerfect priorities Sonali Bendre

Stunning is the word that continues to describe Sonali Bendre even years after she bid goodbye to tinsel town.

“My son is my priority right now. Even if I do a supporting role in films, it requires at least 10 days at a stretch, which I can’t afford. I don’t mind adding glamour to reality shows as long as the concept is meaningful and I am not expected to wear short clothes and say inane lines.”

Did fame come early to her? “No, fame never comes early. It is always late,” she insists.

“I keep in touch with acting through theatre. I am going to Bangkok with ‘Apki Sonia’.”

She is still promoting Omega, while Shah Rukh Khan has moved to Tag Heuer. “Well, I am loyal to the brands I promote.”

Nudge her a little and she picks “Sarfarosh” and “Anahat” as her best performances. “Drona” may have sunk without a trace, but Sonali is confident that her husband Goldie Behl will bounce back. These days she is busy with “India Has Got Talent”, where she is one of the three judges.

“It is one show where I can take my son along. We are learning about so many untapped skills. Recently I saw a Bihu dance and was amazed at the detailing and intricacies they achieved in the two-minute act.”

She agrees she is not equipped to judge all of them. “What we are looking for is how they hold our attention for two minutes.” Given a chance to express her own talent, she would like to polish her Odissi dance.

ANUJ KUMAR

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The Hindu : y>Sound off! Ekta Grover talks about the advent ofinformation in modern times

Reading about the silk route, years after I left the school and stopped reading history books, triggered myriad feelings in me.

So what was the silk route? Was it the trade of luxuries such as silk, satins, musk, rubies, diamonds, pearls, and rhubarb, while simultaneously serving as a conduit for the spread of knowledge, ideas, cultures, and diseases between different parts of the world such as China, India, Asia Minor and the Mediterranean ?

Or was it something else ?

To me, the silk route symbolises a story about the inherent human desire of reaching out and connecting with counterparts across the planet. It is this desire that leaps to the fore front when a user in an unknown district of a developing country sits at his terminal and reads about news from across the planet.

So, the “Silk Routes” were not only conduits for silk, but also for many other products. They were very important paths for cultural and technological transmission by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, missionaries, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from across the planet.

As I type this, technologies such as Twitter, Blogs, Facebook is changing the way we communicate and connect and generate intangible value. And once we carve theses relationships, the bonding that arises will not only facilitate an immense amount of learning but also add meaning to our survival. For the progress of the Human race, we must not only add value to our information base, but also enrich the lives of those around us.

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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