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The Hindu : y>

Members of Nature’s Pals, the civic club of Prasiddhi School, Vasanthnagar, took up a unique campaign during the parent-teacher meeting recently.

The members educated the parents on the importance of being active citizens, their right to vote, their rights and duties and the need to elect the right leader. Parents were also introduced and familiarised with their wards and the forthcoming BBMP elections, through various activities and games.

Pinning the badges which read “I am an active citizen”, the club members appealed to parents to vote in the forthcoming BBMP elections.

Dressed as political leaders, they held placards thatsaid “I am an active citizen and your vote counts.”

(Input by Sudhindr A.B)

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The Hindu : SUDHINDR.A.B.

The Interactive Science Fest brought originality to the fore.

Students from 31 schools participated in the competitions open for Stds. IX and X.

Proud moment: Talents on display

Young scientists were at work at the Interactive Science Fest organised by Deeksha Centre for Learning, recently. Students from 31 schools of the city participated in the competitions open for Stds. IX and X.Tapping talents

Over 150 students had an opportunity to exercise their lateral thinking and challenge their grey cells to endlessly imagine, innovate and integrate their scientific know-how.

It was an opportunity to tap their hidden powers of creativity and ability to apply theoretical principles to practice.

In “Quick-Fix”, the participants worked with electromagnets to create automatic lifts and got a chance to find the height-of- a-room. They also created magic using lasers, mirrors, rulers and other geometrical instruments.

In the “Red Alert” event, the participants had to assemble burglar alarms. The team from Ryan International School, Kundanahalli impressed everyone when they completed the hour long task in just 15minutes.

In the “Publi-science” event, each team came up with an innovative poster, advertise their product and market it in 45 minutes. The team also had to display its entrepreneurial skills. The “Balancing act” was an activity in which the students had to balance a load using six pulleys. The ethos at the fest seemed to be one which suggested that imagination has no limits.Overall winners

The team from Ryan International School aced in all three events and emerged overall champion.

The Ryan team comprising Utsav, Rahul, Bittu, Sheshadri, Harish, Avantika and Devanshi walked away with the rolling trophy.

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The Hindu : y>Join Kylie Kwong for an expedition into the secrets of good cooking

Kylie Kwong’s Sydney restaurant Billy Kwong is famous for its mouth-watering crispy skin duck with fresh blood plum sauce. Diners absolutely rave about it. Kylie shows us how to prepare this lavish dish in your own home, using the freshest duckand juicy blood plums. Kylie also loves entertaining friends and family. With fish bought from the local markets, she prepares a variety of seafood recipes for them. Rice is a staple dish that’s cooked in many different ways. In this episode of “Kylie Kwong Cooking with Heart and Soul”, Kylie shares her favourite ways of preparing the fluffiest rice using the absorption method. Watch this episode on September 8 at 10 p.m. on Discovery Travel & Living.

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The Hindu : y>If you enjoy indulging in the country’s colourful handicraft, then Triblaa is the way to go

WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT? Figurines and jewellery at the exhibition

The welcome gate to Triblaa, an art and craft exhibition at Safina Plaza is a stunner. The innovative gate, with its jet black tribal masks on a tan reed mat base, gives you an idea of the craft items on display inside.

Bastar iron craft with an antique finish from Madhya Pradesh, with intricate craftsmanship by the tribals had several buyers.There were also interesting palm leaf engravings which could be used as wall hangings and each told a different tribal story.

Costume jewellery from Chattisgarh priced at Rs. 160 onwards interested several young college girls who found the intricacy of the pieces unusual. And there interestingly-shaped door handles and folk art.

The famous Bankura horse from West Bengal, which is the All India Handicrafts logo was on sale in different sizes. Originally made in terracotta, horses fashioned out of wood were also on sale.

Colourful Banjara bags from Hyderabad in different shapes and sizes had the attention of the women buyers who had sauntered in.

Clutch bags, shoulder bags, drawstring purses… even a little pouch for your mobile, embroidered with mirror work and cowrie shells were all there.Bangles and paintings

If you love bangles there is one stall dedicated to all some colourful varieties. “The proprietor is the third generation in the business,” revealed Manas Parida the secretary of the Arts and Crafts Exposition, which has its head office in Chennai.

Madhubani paintings, known as Mithila paintings which are normally done on freshly plastered mud walls of huts in Mithila were on sale. Ashok Kumar Das, a veteran artist of the style, had colourful vegetable dye paintings framed and ready to be displayed for as little as Rs. 295 onwards.

There were also striking “kajal” work pieces drawn with a nib and,…More

The Hindu : y>

Photo: K. GopinathanDIP DIP DIP While Ganesha is set for a dip, technology puts him on freeze!

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The Hindu : y>

Claws and jaws Prehistoric Predators

Prehistoric Predators” on Nat Geo transports viewers back in time to experience a world where monstrous beasts roared and fought with foot-long claws, 10-foot-long tusks and five-ton bodies.

Imagine stepping into a prehistoric world filled with massive beasts armed to the teeth.

“Prehistoric Predators” will utilise the latest CGI animation techniques and transport viewers back in time to experience a world where monstrous beasts ruled the world. In addition to using high-energy CG animation to recreate nature’s gigantic beasts, the cameras will zoom into active dig sites, museums and high tech labs across the planets.

Nat Geo will also search for each ancient creature’s fossilised bones to deconstruct these majestic animals and piece together clues to find out how each ancient beast survived. Tomorrow at 9 p.m., Nat Geo will unlock the secrets of the “Killer Pig”.

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The Hindu : y>There are controversies and controversies. Then there is Salman Khan — unfazed, untouched. He remains wanted as ever, finds SHAILAJA TRIPATHI

PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUMRomantic at heartSalman Khan says if ever he turns director, he would like to make a romantic film

He looks fresh as dew. His skin glows and his eyes sparkle. The controversies — most recent being the ongoing war with the King of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan — don’t seem to have any effect on Salman Khan as he promotes his upcomingflick “Wanted” at Marwah Studios in Noida with the film’s director Prabhu Deva and music composers Sajid-Wajid.

When someone from the cheering crowd of students around him asks him to say a few dialogues from the film, Salman happily obliges. When an African student fan of his performs a rap song she has composed for him, he hugs her. And when he spots two over-enthusiastic girls, he asks them to come up on stage, and shakes a leg with them. The humour is intact but nothing over-the-top.

Clad in jeans and his philanthropic foundation’s T-shirt, ‘Being Human’, he is relaxed and content.

Maybe it’s the success of “Dus Ka Dum” Salman’s TV show on Sony which has got an extension to its second season, maybe it’s the new responsibility of becoming the brand ambassador of the Indian football team, or maybe he is still in the skin of the character of Radhe. In Boney Kapoor’s “Wanted”, Salman plays the role of Radhe, the tough serious cop who goes all out to finish the mafia. The remake of Telugu superhit “Pokkiri” will mark Salman’s return to action after a gap of five long years.

He donned a similar role in “Garv – Pride and Honour” released in 2004, but that, he says, didn’t have as much action as this one.Return to action

“The return to action is painful. We haven’t used a body double….More

The Hindu : y>Dr. Afzal Mohamed, Partner and Senior Veterinarian, The Ark Veterinary Clinic warns pet-owners against self-medication

Doctor, my cat looked like he had fever last night so I gave him half a tablet of Crocin (Paracetamol), but there was no improvement. In fact, he looks much worse today.” Every time I hear these words, I shudder with dread. Why dread? After all, isn’t Paracetamol (also known as acetaminophen, APAP) one of the safest anti-fever, anti-inflammatory, painkiller drugs around? Yes, if you’re human, but in cats, it is absolutely lethal. Even a small dose can be fatal.

Doses as low as 10mg/kg body weight can induce symptoms. Doses of 50-60mg/kg are usually fatal. The average adult domestic cat weighs 3-5 kg and most Paracetamol tablets contain 500 mg, meaning even a quarter of a tablet can kill.

Toxicity signs set in within four to 24 hours and symptoms last for days, culminating in death if left untreated. Early signs include loss of appetite, vomiting and excessive salivation. Later, the mucous membranes of the eyes and mouth turn brown or blue as the toxic metabolites affect the blood and reduce its oxygen-carrying capacity; the urine turns red or chocolate brown and the face and paws swell up. Jaundice and liver failure can develop. Though there is an antidote (expensive) and timely intervention can save several cats, severity is largely dose dependant and many cats will die a horrible death despite treatment. The most unfortunate aspect of Paracetamol poisoning in cats is that the drug is administered with the best of intentions by owners who are unaware of its toxicity. Paracetamol is unsafe for dogs too.

This is a short list (by no means exhaustive) of the common over-the-counter brands containing Paracetamol – Calpol, Combiflam, Crocin, Dolopar, Febrex, Panadol, Proxyvon and Spasmo-Proxyvon. Also be aware while filling out prescriptions given by your vet that pharmacists sometimes dispense the “equivalent” of…More

The Hindu : y>You’re hitting 30 and feel your brain is slowing down. Here are seven steps to prevent cognitive decline

PHOTO: RAMESH KURUPREGULAR EXERCISE Keeps your body fit and brain alert

Around the time we hit 30, our brains begin a slow, steady downward trajectory, or so popular wisdom would have it. But cognitive decline is by no means an inescapable side effect of aging. In fact, according to a flurry of new reports, you can counteract age-related changes in the brain with a surprisingly simple regimen of activities guaranteed to nurture and fortify your mental muscle power. Here are seven easy ways to keep your brain quick, sharp, and bristling with youthful vigour.

Surf the Net often

When you search the Internet, you engage key centres in your brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning. And these few clicks may be more mentally stimulating than reading, say UCLA scientists. Their studies found that Internet searching uses neural circuitry that’s not activated during reading — but only in people with prior Internet experience. MRI results showed almost three times more brain activity in regular Internet searchers than in first-timers, suggesting that repeated Googling can be a great way to build cognitive strength over time.

Tip: Spend around 20 minutes a few days a week searching topics you’ve always wanted to learn more about regardless of how seemingly frivolous: Whether you’re researching a celebrity’s latest pratfalls or musical harmony, the benefits to your brain are the same.

Exercise

Yes, exercise can stave off or delay dementia but did you know it can actually reverse brain aging too? A team from the University of Illinois’ Beckman Institute recently reviewed dozens of past studies and found that aerobic exercise boosts not only speed and sharpness of thought but also the volume of brain tissue. As little as 50 minutes of brisk walking three times a week was found to have this brain-expanding effect.

Brush…More

The Hindu : y>K.P. Suresh talks about the many issues that runners in Indian cities face

Running events usually receive a great deal of media attention, mainly owing to the fact that they see participation by renowned athletes or are inaugurated by film stars.

I wish to highlight the plight of ordinary runners or those who want to take up running as a form of exercise.

I have been following on this activity for many years now. I feel that most Indians consider running as an “occupational’ sport and associate it with only athletes or army personnel.

We run in most cases only to get into buses and trains; or at annual sports events in schools. Public running is frowned upon, forcing many a runner to hit the treadmill at expensive gyms that seem to have made a killing from this situation. Most of the walkers are above the age of 60 or 50.

The young people below the age of 40 seldom seem to have time for inane activities like running and prefer to keep their bodies in shape by hitting the neighbourhood gym regularly. Moreover, an ordinary runner has to contend with horrible traffic, stray dogs, who may give an occasional chase to a nervous runner.

Many runners are also forced to bear with snide and rude comments from onlookers who seem bemused at the apparition of people running for no reason. When runners pursue their activity in parks, the walkers consider them violent intrusions. Most walkers in parks walk clockwise, in large groups, talking about various events that shape their lives on a daily basis, forning many a runner to tweak their speed and running path accordingly.I have on many occasions, encountered walkers who resent this intrusion by runners and have been told to run on the road, instead of disturbing walkers in the park. Through this column, I request walkers to allow runners to run in…More