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The Hindu : y>

National Public School, Koramangala, emerged overall champions in “Cascade”, an annual fest conducted by Nehru Bal Sangh. Trisha Dasgupta and Shruti Iyer bagged the first prizes for “presidential debate”, poetry writing and creative writing.

The team from NPS Koramangala also grabbed the first place in quizzing and Indian dance, second place in cartooning and third place in poster making and extempore. It was moments of ecstasy for the school when Rooshil Shah was crowned “Cascader of the year”.

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The Hindu : SUDHINDR. A.B.

Being selected a leader is both exciting and filled with challenges.

Upholding values: At Mount Carmel.

Investiture ceremony, the formal appointment of captains and prefects impresses upon the students that with position comes responsibility. Holding an important portfolio means living up to the faith instilled. The academic year begins with investiture ceremonies. And, at schools that are part of The Hindu’s NIE programme, new leaders eagerly await to take on the mantle of responsibilities.Taking oaths

Achala Vidya Mandira English High School, Rajajinagar conducted secret ballot elections for the school cabinet. The school captain, vice-captains, pupil’s secretary, the sports leader, band leader, four house leaders and vice leaders and discipline leaders were elected through the process.

The counting of votes was completed in a couple of days and the much-awaited results were announced during the morning assembly. At the investiture ceremony, the new leaders took an oath to uphold the values of the school. The Principal Sudha Ramamurthy administered the oath and pinned badges on the new leaders. BGS National Public School, Hulimavu, inaugurated its co-curricular and sports activities at the investiture ceremony held recently. Manan Patel and Debyani Mishra, were sworn-in as school pupil leaders, while Nikhai and, the school sports captains.

Carmel School, Padmanabhanagar, held its investiture ceremony too. F. A. Kudroli, chairman of the institution presided over the function. He handed over the badges and flags to the new leaders.The school captain delivered the acceptance speech.

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The Hindu :

Snehal Shah aka DJ Rink on the dance and DJ culture in the country

Sensational beats DJ Rink

India’s dance and DJ culture together have evolved drastically over the last few years, and nobody knows it better than Mumbai’s Snehal Shah — popularly known as DJ Rink. Having first rocked the Mumbai nightlife, and fast becoming an international sensation, Rink takes her music seriously, having undergone professional music training for a greater understanding of the tunes she mixes.

She has been dubbed one of India’s leading DJs, organising techno and DJ events across the country. Excerpts from an interview:

There are fewer female than male DJs today, though DJing is increasingly popular as a profession among women. Do you think it’s an issue?

No, I don’t think so. There’s no different aura between male and female, you know, it’s about whoever has a perfect sense of music.

We’re all human beings, and anybody can play music if they choose; music is universal.

You play hip-hop, house and desi — an unusual fusion. What made you choose these three genres?

I play desi because it’s popular. People love Bollywood music, they lovedancing to it. The music scene has changed with the influence of movies impacting what people enjoy dancing to. House is a personal liking, and I use hip-hop to change the tempo.

Have you ever experimented with more extreme genres while DJing such as electro or dubstep?

I have; I’ve just finished my sound engineering course, so I’m now into music production, and there is some influence of drum and bass on my desi remixes.

Is there any DJ / musician whom you look to for inspiration?

Iadmire DJ Suketu. His remixes are popular in India; he has a perfect sense of blending music, mixing desi and house.

You’ve also got a diploma in Business Management, so how did you start DJing? Was it just a hobby or did you always aspire to…More

The Hindu :

Face Up by Sunil Gupta and Anna Fox is a series of portraits

PHOTOS: SAMPATH KUMAR G.P.Facing up to the truth Anna Fox captures small town life, (and below) Sunil Gupta’s works drive home the message that the LGBT community is also a part of the middle class

Before photographer Sunil Gupta moved to Montreal from New Delhi, he was taken up by the melodrama, colour and narrative style of Bollywood films. In the city for “Face Up”, a joint exhibition with Anna Fox organised by Tasveer, Sunil Gupta says, “It is a kind of repressed sexuality, like in the scenes of running round the trees.”

In the early 70s, as a part of the students’ union where students from McGill and Concordia University gathered, the Delhi- and London-based Sunil was part of non-commercial movements and policy-making. “There was a focus on minorities. We are all part of a minority at some point in our lives.”Family photographs

In the early 80s at the Royal College of Art, London and University College for the Creative Arts at Farnham, he was involved in the founding of “Autograph” (Association of Black Photographers) with the support of the Greater London Council.

“Autograph comprised people of colour — basically photographers from former British colonies with Ireland being the first colony. It was a conscious decision to move away from displaying at elitist galleries and contributing to commercial magazines.” The first exhibition featured the documentation of extended families of the photographers.

“Wish you were Here — Memories of a Gay Family”, published by Yoda Press in 2008 is Sunil’s family album. “I document a set of relationships that are formed by choice, and not biological connections.”

He feels that relationships between the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) communities are powerful as they are regardless of race and gender.

“Mr. Malhotra’s Party” is a series of photographs of the queer community,…More

The Hindu : y>Allan Moses R. comes back charmed by Austrian band Bauchklang’s vocal acrobatics

PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.CHARMING MUSICIANS With a good command over one’s vocals, anybody can beatbox, believes the band

As the five-member band mounts the stage and picks up the mike, the crowded café goes silent. Without instruments and starting on a low note, the band suddenly breaks into a high tempo of musical notes while, for some time, the crowd remains dumbstruck figuring out where the music is coming from.

Creating music solely through the power of their voice, the Austrian band Bauchklang beatboxed their way into the hearts of Bangaloreans at a recent performance in Hard Rock Café organised by Tuborg’s “fun starter nights”.

Aptly called “vocal groove project”, Bauchklang (which translates as ‘gut sounds’) creates a vocal acrobatics scenario where the music compiles beats, heavy bass-lines, percussion fill-ins and edgy rap. With a blend of human sounds, percussion and deep guttural harmony, Bauchklang brings forth a revolution to a genre of music built on a-cappella.Vocal percussion

Pumping out their favourite numbers, Bauchklang also invited people from the crowd to beatbox. Proving to the Austrians that the new age genre is picking up in the sub-continent, numerous youngsters joined in.

Bauchklang comprises Alex Boeck, Andreas Fraenzl, Gerald Huber, Philipp Sageder and Bina.

Fraenzl, the lead vocalist, says, “Beatboxing is a tool that originated from hip hop and rap and provides the rhythm as a drum kit would. It is a form of vocal percussion which blends drum beats, rhythm and sounds into a musical gamut using the mouth, lips and tongue.”

“We met at music school, started singing and almost immediately blended together,” says Boeck, who formed Bauchklang with Fraenzl, Huber and three other (now former) members in 1996. “When Sageder and Bina came on board in 2006, they transformed the band’s sound.”

Through the years, the Austrian group’s mastery over voice generates an entire orchestra…More

The Hindu : y>V.Ganeshan talks about the need to provide retirement benefits to private sector employees

The term ‘Non-Pensioned Hero’ may look odd. It has been coined to bring into the limelight the plight of those people who have worked in major public and private sector organisations and face issues due to the lack of a pension that manygovernment employees enjoy. Though they receive some benefits in the course of their services, they only get gratuity and their PF savings, which may not be a very large sum.

Many are forced to remain employed later in life, in firms with low wages to make ends meet.Those who work in Government departments do not have to undergo these problems. Their working hours, leave and other facilities are also more attractive than many private sector organisations. After retirement, a government servant also receives gratuity, PF contribution and monthly pension that look after the needs of his family. .

This situation forces many retired people to depend on their life long savings and meagre interest on their deposits for survival.

It is sad that people who have made significant contributions to the country are forced to live in such conditions post retirement. One of the many solutions to improve this situation is to increase the interest rate on deposits made by the people falling in the senior citizen category and make provisions for further enhancements to overcome inflation worries.

The state could also extend medical facilities under CGHS.

If these measures are implemented, at least some justice would have been done to these unsung heroes, who played a vital role in the economic growth of the country.

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,…More

The Hindu :

Hearing loss need not always be lasting. Some deficits are temporary and can easily be reversed

PHOTO: MURALI KUMAR K.SOUND IMPACT Keep the volume within safe limits to prevent damage to hearing

You’ll know a sound is harmful — and has done lasting damage — if your ears ring after you move away from its source. More than half of people in their 50s have some degree of hearing loss. In fact, some deficits are temporary and can easily be reversed. Here are three common causes of hearing loss in mid-life adults — and how to turn the volume back up.Clogged ears

About 12 million people (that’s 1 in 20 adults) visit the doctor each year to have earwax removed, according to a new report from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS). “We can hear with as little as three to five per cent of the canal clear, so it may take years for enough wax to accumulate to stifle hearing,” says Peter Roland, MD of the department of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “But if water gets in — while you shower, for example — it can cause wax to swell and create a blockage.” When that happens, patients often worry they’ve suddenly gone deaf. Fortunately hearing is immediately restored after their ears are cleared.

Clogs, which can cause dizziness, pain, and a full feeling in the ears, require a visit to your doctor or an otolaryngologist. Three treatments are advocated: wax-dissolving solutions, irrigation (squirting a jet of water or saline into the canal to break up wax and allow the canal to empty), and manual removal (using an instrument such as a suctioning device to pull wax out). Your physician will determine which one is best for you.

One thing docs don’t recommend: using a cotton swab. “It may feel like you’re…More

The Hindu :

Let the depressed person know that you’re not angry or frustrated with him but with the disease

Sambhavi has not slept in many days. She is worried sick about her daughter. This lovely young teenager has gradually become sad, cries all the time, has lost her energy levels and wants to sleep all the time. She hardly eats or sometimes binges on food. This has been going on for more than a month now. What is most terrifying is that she keeps saying that life is not worth living.

Sabitha’s husband has always been a quiet person. But of late, he has become very restless, has to be forced to go to work and does not seem to be able to make the simplest decisions. He constantly expresses feelings of hopelessness and says he is worthless.

Sambhavi and Sabitha have loved ones who suffer from depression. They not only have to help them, they also have to learn to help themselves live with a depressed person.

Does your loved one have depression?

Everybody has periods of depression due to a sad or stressful event. This reactive depression is short lived and people will come out of it within a few days or weeks. Clinical depression, however, is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. The person affected has constant feelings of sadness, irritability, or tension. Depressed people may show decreased interest or pleasure in usual activities. They suffer from a total lack of energy and feel exhausted and sleepy all the time. They may lose or gain significant amounts of weight. They may find it difficult to carry on the simple process of life.

Helping the depressed person

Depression can take everybody by surprise. It not only affects the persons suffering from it but colours the life of everybody associated with them. It has a major impact on the immediate family. Though there are times when the…More

The Hindu : y>Watch Park written and directed by Manav Kaul today

An English play “Park” will be staged this evening at Indiranagar. Written and Directed by Manav Kaul, Just Theatre presents “Park”, a comedy in English.

Written originally in Hindi, and directed by Manav Kaul, “Park” has performed to critical and mass acclaim in Mumbai at Prithvi Theatre. The English version (translated by Deepa Gehlot) will premier at Kyra Theatre today at 8 p.m. It’s a single show. Kyra is an intimate theatre on 100 feet Road Indiranagar and can seat a maximum of 200 people. Contact: 43419999/9632203333. Online booking :www.indianstage.in orwww.bookmyshow.com

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The Hindu : y>

Authentic craft Get the collection at Bimba

Bimba The Art Hut showcases some exclusive vegetable-dyed handloom-woven stoles, dupattas, saris and fabrics in the Oruna tradition from Orissa. The fabrics have rustic motifs of temples, implements like axes, sickles, and arrows, and animals and birds.

Goberdhan Panikka, a master weaver from Koraput district in Orissa, uses just two vegetable colours against the textured and treated off-white background, weaving in age-old motifs and his imagination. He learned the process of making yarn and vegetable dyeing of the Kotapad tradition under the strict and watchful eye of his guru, his grandfather. With help from his wife Jema and some women, he prepares the vegetable dye from the bark of the aal tree to get red and dark brown. The yarn is treated to 15 hand washes after a specific oil application and addition of cow dung. Bimba The Art Hut is at 256, 5th main, near 36th cross, parallel to Nanda Talkies/ Rose Garden Road, Jayanagar. Call 41489354.

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