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The Hindu : y>

CMR NPS conducted its Senior Sports Day recently. The day began with a magnificent march past. M. N. Reddi, IGP (CID) was the chief guest. He declared the sports meet open. He lauded the discipline of the students and encouraged them to be focused and hard working. Sabitha Ramamurthy urged the students to be diligent with their studies and hone their skills in sports activities. A yoga display and a tae-kwon-do demonstration marked the day. There were events for parents and teachers too. The programme ended with a pyramid formation and elastic drill.

(Input by Sudhindr.A.B.)

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The Hindu : SUDHINDR.A.B.

From cutting down trees to going on trips to space, children found their voices at the elocution competition.

TOPICS OF INTEREST: Their dreams

Who doesn’t enjoy expressing her or his views on their favourite topic? At an interschool elocution competition organised by Ryan International School, Yelahanka, recently, children from seven schools spoke enthusiastically on the given topics. “If I were Santa Claus for a day” and “If trees could speak” were the topics for children of Stds.I and II. And for children of Stds. III and IV, the topics were “My trip to space” and “My favourite game”.

On trees

The children spoke eloquently on the topics. However, “If trees could speak” had many interesting moments. “If trees could speak, they would be angry with us human beings. They would have said, we provide food, we give you shelter, yet we are treated badly,” said a student.

Another student said, “Trees would have said, we give the oxygen in the air you breathe, we enhance your joy, heat your homes and cook your food. Even then you harm us. You should change the way you treat us.”

Some students who spoke on “If I were Santa Claus for a day” said that they would distribute a lot of goodies to children. Students of Stds. III and IV spoke eloquently about the experience they would have, if they were in space and also about their favourite games.

Participants

The students of the host school dressed as Santas and welcomed the participants. At the end of the programme, they distributed gifts and toffees and also sang Christmas carols. Besides students from the host school, students of Ryan International School, Kundalahalli, Nagarjuna Vidyaniketan, Presidency School, Poorna Prajna Education Centre and Sheshadripuram Higher Primary School took part in the competition.

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The Hindu :

Passing by Mugdha Godse is in a happy place right now

From playing a starry-eyed model in “Fashion” to a tough woman whose life is thrown asunder when her fiancé is arrested and sentenced to a life term in prison in “Jail”, model-turned-actor Mugdha Godse has won a great deal of acclaim in the two years that she has been part of Bollywood.

She was a model for nearly five years before making her debut in Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Fashion” that catapulted her to stardom. Though “Jail” flopped, she garnered critical acclaim in the film where she starred alongside Neil Nithin Mukesh. “I owe a great deal to Madhur and ‘Fashion’. He is a great director and provided me a brilliant platform.”

In the city for the Seagram’s Blenders Pride Magical Night tour, Mugdha says: “I love modelling and enjoy acting as well. Acting requires a completely different skill set and perspective. Initially, I faced some teething issues, but have enjoyed the journey since. I cannot pick any clear favourites now.”

Talking of the nitty-gritty of acting the leggy lady says: “I always make an effort to understand the character better and do include some elements of my personality into my characters as well. I feel it helps make the character more realistic and relatable. I like experimenting with different genres of films. Doing a variety of roles helps you learn and grow as an actor a great deal.”

She is thrilled that the newer filmmakers are changing the contours of the industry and making movies that boast of a good script and different storylines. “I feel that for an actor to establish themselves or showcase their talents, a good script and character is needed. You could give a great performance, but if the script is not impressive, your efforts will be wasted.”

For newbies making a beeline to the film industry, she says, “It has become…More

The Hindu : y>

SQUIRRELS BY THE DOZEN

Squadron Leader S. Ravi of the Indian Air Force shares the story of the impish squirrels that have become a part of his family.

One morning around two months ago, my mother-in-law was munching on something on our balcony when a squirrel peeked in at her through the grill. She offered him a bite and sure enough, the next morning he was back. He took the food that she offered him and as the days progressed, so did the number of furry friends who started coming for their freebies. Now, there are a dozen of them who visit during breakfast, lunch and teatime.

When my mother-in-law and wife go out shopping, they’re back in time to feed their furry friends. When the lights are switched on in the morning, they follow my wife to the Pooja room, the kitchen and the bedroom until they get breakfast. My wife is very particular about their menu, more than she is about mine, but I don’t mind. These squirrels are now our pet pals. They are not just our friends but also the friends of anyone who comes to visit.

Squirrel Food Guide

If you’ve recently been befriended by a squirrel, Subhashini Raghavan has some tips on feeding: “No cooked food is right for them and fried stuff like mixtures and chips are very bad. You can feed them small pieces of coconut, seeds (like pumpkin, cucumber, melon, watermelon seeds) with the skin. They love to crack seeds and eat the kernel. I also make small balls of ragi powder with water and perhaps very little jaggery. Pieces of fruits and vegetables are a good idea. Avoid junk food and all fried snacks as they are almost fatal for squirrels”. Subhashini also warns that when you’re switching on your AC after a long period, check the insides to make sure no squirrel is nesting inside as…More

The Hindu :

As Bajaj bid adieu to scooters this past week, the nation drew in a collective sigh of melancholy. Here’s looking at what made it truly Hamara Bajaj

Photo: AFPNothing can beat this! The Bajaj scooter will soon become part of folklore

S ome brands become part of national consciousness. As the Bajaj scooter rode into history this past week, the country saw a kind of emotional outpouring as if a family member is no more. Spin doctors are calling it a generational shift linking to the change of guard in the Bajaj family. But, for the man on the street, it is the demise of his trusted Chetak.

It was one of last symbols of the times when technology hadn’t taken control of our lives. Riding pillion didn’t mean one person on the back seat, and licence raj was very much in place.

Almost everybody has a Bajaj moment to share. Rajesh Kumar reminisces how he took his newly wed all the way from Aligarh to Hissar on his Chetak with luggage. “I had a kind of belief that it will not ditch me. After all, my father rode his Bajaj Cub till he died at the age of 75.”

Medical student Dishant Malik relates how his faith in his father’s scooter multiplied the day he travelled from Mathura to Delhi to appear in his medical entrance. “There was a bus strike but my father was confident that the scooter will see us through. The stepney (spare wheel) used to add to the confidence.”

Emotional connect

Adman Prahlad Kakkar puts things in perspective. “The scooter was originally designed for the young. But in India, Bajaj and the ad agencies hyped it as a family vehicle. It worked because women loved it for the space it offered on the pillion seat and the variety of things one can carry on scooter. As it began to lose out to…More

The Hindu : y>Sound off! Sushmita Prasad bats for stricter and equitable policies against environmental pollution

In recent years, while the courts have come out with strong orders on environmental issues, these verdicts have affected people’s livelihood adversely.

For instance, the courts directed industries in residential areas in Delhi to close down or shift outside city limits. Many of these industries were found to be polluting the neighbourhood and the discharge of waste from these industries was polluting the Yamuna river. Most of these units functioned without basic adherence to the law of the land.

This move forced many people to look for other avenues of employment, while many others were forced to travel to places on the outskirts of the city, where the factories were relocated.

These issues came to haunt these places as well as the spectre of pollution and degradation of the natural resources spread to these areas. Moreover, the issue of worker safety remained unaddressed. Recent research on environment issues in India has highlighted the fact that growing concern for the environment among the middle classes is often at the expense of the poor. While this awareness is necessary for a clean environment, there is concern over the safety and living standards of the workers themselves.

The challenge is to look for solutions where everyone can benefit from a clean environment. This can be done by encouraging factories and agencies that use clean technology. Fines must be imposed on those units that continue to pollute. This will ensure equitable distribution of responsibility and make the world a better place.

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 : HARSHIKAA UDASI

As the countdown begins for the release of Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots, Harshikaa Udasi engages the filmmaker in a chat

Just a few more days left for the release of his third movie “3 Idiots”, and Rajkumar Hirani (who likes to be called Raju) is definitely feeling the heat. Work is eating away into his nights; he is running around promoting his film and his lunch happens close to evening. Still, when we meet he smiles: “ Aal eej well” (‘all is well’) taking a cue from his own film’s song. Is it a cool way to market his film or his own life mantra? “That’s the way I live life. It’s a more positive way to take life’s ups and downs. If you convince yourself that all’s well, you get the energy to deal with whatever’s not well!” he assures.

The director of “Munnabhai MBBS” and “Lage Raho Munnabhai” has it in him to convince you about ideas you may look at cynically. In “Munnabhai MBBS”, he created magic with the ‘ jadoo ki jhappi’ (bear hug) concept, and in “Lage Raho…” it was Gandhism in the times of hate and violence that triggered off the ‘get well soon’ style of protests across the country. With “3 Idiots”, the man is now set to take on people’s insane pursuit for success. “We are trying to say that instead of pursuing success, how about trying to chase excellence? Once you achieve excellence, the rest of the blocks automatically fall in place, but our education system, family, and peer pressures prohibit us from doing this.”

Storyline

“3 Idiots” stars Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and Kareena Kapoor. It tells the story of two friends who find the third friend they had lost. The film is set in IIT, and deals with life in the engineering institute and the career prospects. Why the name…More

The Hindu : y>Bookbole.com hopes to bring books closer to visually challenged people

MAKING A DIFFERENCE The Bookbole.com team

To read a book is a wonderful experience. But imagine the plight of the being visually-challengedand never being able to read Shiv Khera’s ‘You can Win’, or Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos”, or J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Or worse, not being able to read mandatory and fundamental reading material such as like school and university textbooks, user manuals for gadgets or class notes handed out by teachers. Well, that is one of the biggest paucities visually challenged people face – the lack of reading material in forms they can access, like digitized e-text or talking books. But now, visually challenged Randhir Kumar in Delhi and Lakshmi Devi in Chennai who are both pursuing their degrees in Economics, can exchange not just Adam Smith’s textbooks, on Economics, but also their class notes on Economics through bookbole.com, a site created by Chennai-based Rahul Cherian and his friends, Sachin Malhan and Reuben Jacob. “It takes days for an individual to convert a book into an e-text. Earlier, this effort was being replicated needlessly at different places, and very little reading material was available for visually-challenged persons,” says Prashant Ranjan Verma, who runs a resource centre for visually-challenged persons at Delhi.

That is about to change through Bookbole.com. and visually-challenged people can now upload, exchange and share a massive pool of reading material. If there is a book they wish to read that is not already there on the site, they can place a request. Chances are that one of the 2,000 world-wide users of this site will pitch in and upload the book. As Prakash, father of 10-year-old Rohan, who has even been uploading his son’s class notes on the site, says, “We are only helping ourselves.” It is like building a storehouse of knowledge from which visually-challenged people can dip into…More

The Hindu :

This fortnight a indiaplaza.in

Terminator 2 Judgment Day (1991)

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick

Director: James Cameron

Director of photography: Adam Greenberg

Composer: Brad Fiedel

Price: Rs. 299

T his has been a James Cameron week. There was “Terminator” on telly, there is “Avatar” playing to packed houses and here is “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”, that rare breed of successful sequel. When you think of the other sequel that was a spectacular success, “Aliens”, also directed by Cameron, then you begin to wonder whether the king of the world is sequel king as well.

All this is, however, pointless speculation. “Judgment Day” is easily one of the most satisfying action films in forever. “The Terminator” which came out in 1984, told the story of a relentless killing machine, a terminator (Schwarzenegger), who came from the future, 2029 to be precise, to 1984 Los Angeles to kill a woman named Sarah Connor.

In the future, the machines turn on the humans and set off a nuclear war. The humans who survive are hunted down and killed. The humans’ fight back is led by John Connor, Sarah’s son. So the machines send the terminator into the past to finish off Sarah.

The resistance send a warrior, Kyle Reese, to protect Sarah. The movie was an adrenalin-filled chase from start to finish with unforgettable set pieces and iconic lines—who can forget “I’ll be back”? “The Terminator” also proved a break out movie for Schwarzenegger and Cameron.

“Judgment Day” picks up the action 10 years later. Sarah is in Pescadero State Hospital for the Criminally Insane and John is running wild much to the dismay of his foster parents. What starts off just another day rapidly unspools as a terminator arrives from the future to destroy John and another warrior is sent to protect him. What follows are absolutely breathtaking chases with action set pieces bigger and better than the first movie,…More

The Hindu :

Liven up your meal with dill sauce

FRESH Dill leaves

Dill is a unique plant in that both its leaves and seeds are used as a seasoning. Dill’s green leaves are wispy and fernlike, and have a soft, sweet taste.

Dried dill seeds are light brown in colour and oval in shape, featuring a flat side and a convex, ridged side.

Whenever possible, choose fresh dill weed over the dried form of the herb since it is superior in its delicate, fragrant flavour. The leaves of fresh dill should look feathery and green in colour. Dill leaves that are a little wilted are still acceptable since they usually droop quickly after being picked.

Fresh dill should always be stored in the refrigerator either wrapped in a damp paper towel or with its stems placed in a container of water. Since it is fragile, even if stored properly, dill will only keep fresh for about two days. Dill can be frozen, either whole or chopped, in airtight containers.

Dill seed is a good source of calcium, manganese and iron.

Now, for a recipe.

Creamy Dill Sauce

Ingredients

Cream: 50ml

Dried dill: half tsp

Salt and pepper to taste

Butter: 1 tbsp

Method: Combine all the ingredients in a pan. Cook at high temperature for a minute or until the sauce comes to a boil. Pour hot sauce over desired vegetables or seafood.

Note: The sauce can be used with seafood such as salmon and vegetables such as broccoli, potatoes, carrots and Brussels sprouts.

BHOLANATH JHA

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