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The Hindu :

The Oxford Senior Secondary School (CBSE), JP Nagar held its investiture ceremony recently. Principal Mariamma. S. Mathew inducted the newly elected school cabinet members and co-curricular activity (CCA) coordinators on the occasion. Vaibhav Bhargava and Aditi Bakshi were elected the school captains.

Ms. Mariamma told the new leaders that dreams and wishes are nothing more than desires. “Desires are weak. Desires become strong when they are supported by direction, dedication, determination, discipline and deadline. So they strive to adopt a positive attitude to realise your dreams and to achieve your cherished goals,” she said. She, administered the oath and pinned badges on the new leaders.

INPUT BY SUDHINDR.A.B

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The Hindu : SUDHINDR.A.B.

Say ’no’ to drugs the first time and always

Facts and fun: Wholesome enterianment

Various meaningful activities marked the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking observed at Sri Vani Education Centre, Machohalli. Children presented songs and rhymes, which were especially composed for the occasion. The resource persons spoke on various issues such as health and wellness, personal hygiene and the consequences of malnutrition.Entertainment

Students presented skits and also spoke on the topic. One student said that the increasing use of addictive drugs has become one of the biggest social problems threatening various countries. Hence, to create awareness about the damaging effects of illicit drugs on individuals, families and the community at large, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) observes ‘The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking’ every year on June 26.

Another student said that adolescent drug use is an important social issue as its development and consequences impact directly on academic achievement, high school dropout rate, early sexual initiation, and troubled interpersonal relationships. The effects are far-reaching and make substantial demands on state social services. Hence, it was important to focus on issues such as adolescent substance abuse, effects of drug use and prevention strategies.

The senior students came out with skits, mono-acting and quizzes on personal and environmental hygiene, drug abuse, physical fitness and deficiency disorders. Various activities such as poster-making, collage, and poetry-writing on these sensitive issues were fostered. The creative and artistic charts as well as posters prepared by them carried thought-provoking messages.

Students enthusiastically participated in the science-social quiz, while some enthusiastic children performed various “asanas” and inspired other children to emulate them. The activities gave a lucid message to students to exhibit responsible behaviour and they also emphasised on the slogan – refuse the first time and every time.

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The Hindu : y>

Epic tale Jodhaa Akbar is in the running for many awards

AXN celebrates the achievements in the action genre in Indian cinema at the Bollywood Action Awards on July 12, at 8 p.m. on AXN. Join the vivacious and stunning Neha Dhupia, as she announces the winners and has a tete-a-tete with the stars.

The AXN Action Awards serves to recognize actors for their stellar performances across various action genres. The Best Actor category features action packed performances by Akshay Kumar in the stylish “Tashan”, Hrithik Roshan in the historical epic “Jodhaa Akbar” and Aamir Khan in the “Memento”-inspired “Ghajini”. In the Best Actor in a Negative Role there is chocolate boy Imran Khan from “Kidnap”, Saif Ali Khan in Abbas Mustan’s twisty thriller “Race” and Kay Kay Menon in the superhero film “Drona” are battling it out for the top spot.

Nominated in the Best Director category are Murgadoss for “Ghajini”, Ashutosh Gowariker for “Jodhaa Akbar” and Abbas Mustan for “Race”. These movies are also up against each other in the Best Action Film category.

AXN fans got a chance to gun for their favourite stars by casting their votes onwww.axnactionawards.com, via SMS and through ballot paper polling held during the on-ground promotional activities.

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The Hindu : y>

Mahalakshmi Parthasarathy on the joy of watching kittens at play

Kittens spend almost eighteen hours a day asleep and when they’re awake, all they do is play. If you see them performing stunts and somersaults, don’t panic for that’s how they entertain themselves. Kittens should be allowed to roam free.Spend a lot of time with your kittens and ensure that everyone at home is ready to welcome them into your lives. If you’ve adopted two (It is always better to have two kittens than one, for the companionship is important to them) you can spend the entire day just watching their antics.

The best playthings are nice plastic balls.Keep away mobile chargers.Tie up all loose wires as mischievous kitties are sure to go straight for the wires when they are excited. Wall hangings and soft toys are best kept out of reach.And if you have a laptop, remember not to leave it open, since the little ones love tugging at the keys.

Kittensexpress their affection in unique ways. Some of them rub their furry faces against you while others prefer to curl up on your lap while tugging gently at your clothes .Remember that these are overtures of friendship andbe prepared for the little acts of naughtiness. Did you know that your cats can kiss? Show them your index finger and they’ll lean forward to kiss it. Studies say that this is the best reflection of the trust your cats have in you. I’m lucky to be at the receiving end of around 25 kisses a day.

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BOW WOW

“Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”

George Eliot

“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

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TAKE ME HOME

Gorgeous Dipstick a.k.a. Dippy is a one-year-old sterilised, vaccinated female…More

The Hindu :

When you are pregnant, don’t be surprised if folks at office start looking a little uneasy

PHOTO: AFPMORE THAN MEETS THE EYE A pregnant woman’s long absence at workplace has far-reaching effects

Omigod, did you see that? She’s got a bump, a bump I say!” gasped Mrs. B. “Hmm, yes, quite distinctly large around the middle,” remarked Mrs. L grimly. “She’s pregnant, no doubt! When do you think she’s due?” asked Mrs. B, anxiously.Open discussion

Now, Mrs. B and Mrs. L aren’t a couple of nosey-parkers whiling away their day gossiping; they are two very concerned mums speculating their kids’ class-teacher’s pregnant-status. Oh, I know what you’re thinking — that it’s politically incorrect to discuss other people’s pregnancies, unless it involves (a) celebrities, in which case it isaccompanied by glossy close-ups, or (b) medical problems, where private stuff can be thrashed out in the public domain. A class-teacher, however, fits neither category; so what exactly are we getting at here?

Well, here’s the thing — while a pregnancy may seem perfectly timed and counts among the most delightful tidings for the ecstatic couple and their overjoyed family, a few unfeeling souls may beg to differ; why, there are (especially, I’m told, in workplaces) some quiet groans among all those hearty cheers!

Because, you see, when a woman goes onmaternity leave, it isn’t only her career-graph that might get slightly impacted. It has far-reaching effects, invisible to the naked eye, not unlike the first few weeks of pregnancy itself…

‘Will she be around to complete the year/project/appraisal?’ Clearly nobody is ever going to ask a pregnant woman if she plans to simply drop things and run off to have her child; nor are they going to deny her (not openly at least!) any opportunity / promotion / raise that is due to her.

“However”, says Deepa Sriram, banking professional, “in the informal circuit, there is endless speculation…More

The Hindu : y>SOUND OFF! Vivek M.V. takes umbrage at the lopsided media coverage

Sreesanth takes it. India win” Even before the start of the second edition of the World Twenty-20 championship, TV news channels were already whipping up mass hysteria.

Through the day channels beamed footage of the team practicing, a batsman taking guard, bowlers shattering stumps and attempting catches. If the channels were to be believed, it was the only event on the planet. To see all news channels follow similar programming and discuss the past performances of the team was disappointing. In the hoopla, many channels forgot to make even a passing mention of the death of Kamala Das, arguably one of the finest poets the country produced.

The entry of the team into the super-eight stage was overshadowed by the victory of boxer Suranjoy Singh in the Asian Championships, ending a 15-year-wait for an elusive gold medal.

Once the team were eliminated, from the tourney, it was time for post mortem on the team performance.

A host of issues were brought out and discussed. Gone are the days when a few channels, maintained the right balance. Maintaining the correct balance is the key and should be followed by news organisations, in print and television.

The loss of that balance can alter the meaning and concept of news and would be damaging in the long run.

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>TECHNOLOGY Two-line updates… 140 characters are changing the way the world communicates. SUDHISH KAMATH reports on the impact of Twitter

When over 150 geeks gathered at Buzz 140, the recent Twitter unconference conducted by the Knowledge Foundation in Chennai, they didn’t realise that the largest gathering of Twitter folk in India had the same concerns.

One: Twitterbugs had eaten into their blog statistics. Not only did the frequency of updating their blog come down after taking to Twitter, the number of hits on their blog too took a hit. “Traffic has gone down by about 50 per cent,” says Kiruba (@Kiruba on Twitter), one of India’s most-known bloggers and one of the early birds who took to Twitter in the country. “Because by the time it takes you to make one post, you would’ve already updated your status five times.”

Two: Men seem to be doing it more.

India today has about 6.5 lakh unique Twitter users. According to a study by ViziSense, nearly four out of five Twitter users in India are male. Hence, it was no surprise that hardly 15 per cent of the turnout at Buzz 140 was female. “Maybe women find 140 characters too little to express what they are up to,” laughs Kausikram (@Kausikram on Twitter) “Or maybe they haven’t embraced technology yet,” he adds.

A study conducted by Harvard Business School recently observed that around the world, women account for 55 per cent of the users. So why are Indian women Twitter-shy? The same Harvard study may offer an insight. The study notes that women do not like to follow men they do not know and mostly it is men who end up following men.

Three: Social Media could help you build a brand, protect it or ruin it. As Aishwarya Rao (@AishwaryaRao on Twitter) explains with a presentation: “Twitter is becoming the ideal tool to brand your company, product…More

The Hindu :

Amitabh Kant’s Branding India is not to be missed. After all he gave us Incredible India and other successful tourism campaigns

Photo: S. SubramaniumCHANGING INDIA’S FACE Amitabh Kant

In bureaucracy it is perilous to have a face. But Amitabh Kant managed to walk the tight rope. Kant will be remembered for being the face of the team that turned the tide first for Kerala with the God’s Own Country promotion and then replicating it at the national level with Atithi Devo Bhava and Incredible India campaigns.

“I got an opportunity to be associated with one sector for more than a decade. First as Secretary, Tourism Kerala and then as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism,” says Kant, who launched his book “Branding India”, where he has relived his experiences.

Kant says the world is moving towards experiential travel. “Sea, sun, sand theory no longer works. People want to see the place as it is. They want a differentiated product. The grass-root experiences like the British foreign minister had with Rahul Gandhi in a UP village is one example. Endogenous or rural tourism is going to be hit.” He says it works for India because we need not dilute our cultural ethos to attract the foreigners.Crises as catalyst

“It worked in the case of Kerala because we promoted backwaters and Ayurveda followed by Kathakali, Mohiniattam and Kalaripayattu. Now Bihar could be promoted as a major Buddhist centre. Orissa and Madhya Pradesh are already working on it.” In tourism, Kant insists, crises should be turned into opportunities. “Kerala came to the scene when Kashmir became terror-prone. In fact, Incredible India was launched when the tourism sector was in the doldrums after 9/11. Now the downturn after 26/11 could be used as a launch pad. We should use the time to create many more budget hotels. In future the tourist inflow is not going to come…More

The Hindu :

PHOTOGRAPHY Six photographers record the cityscape in varying angles at this exhibition

Symbolic Preeti Sood’s photographs feature peeling images of portraits, books and manuscripts

Peeling posters, reflections in a pond, a web of wires and stripes. “In Focus — Contemporary Indian Photography” by Crimson — the Art Resource, featuring the works of six photographers, is an interesting title. Six cameras focus on various cityscapes in varying angles.

Atul Bhalla, Gigi Scaria, Preeti Sood, Rachel Immanuel, Shankar Natarajan and Vivek Vilasini capture unusual portrayals in their photographs.

Delhi-based Atul Bhalla is said to have been involved with water in Delhi. Using archival pigment print, Atul captures the reflections of trees in an almost-still and clear pond.Mirror images

Two identical images are side by side, almost like mirror images and reflections of each other. In another, six photos capture olive-green water swirling over a rock in different stages of high tide.

Gigi Scaria’s digital print on archival paper are images captured of the artist’s own installations. Tall, alienating structures reflect urban lifestyles and philosophies. The structures can also be viewed as crosses or even rockets in their design sense.

Preeti Sood’s images which are digital print on archival paper are historical records. Peeling and ripped posters on walls serve as memories being eaten away.The stripped layers reveal periods in the past, and the colours of the rust, old walls and yellowing paper give the desired effect.

Rachel Immanuel’s stark black-and-white images capturecontrast in unique observations. Black wires and poles set against a white sky and buildings with blackened surfaces become a maze, and street sellers display their wares against a striped wall . Conjoined images of a man in a striped shirt sitting at the park surrounded by buildings in Connaught Place, New Delhi.Urban aesthetics

The photographer brings out the aesthetics of urban life and uses white light to give her images a poetic feel.

Shankar Natarajan’s are side…More