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The Hindu :

Learning mathematics is fun. This message was given at the Ramanujan Day celebrated in Sri Vani Education Centre, Magadi Road recently. The students were made to understand that mathematics existed in our daily lives. Children presented a variety programme to highlight how to have fun with numbers.

The programme began with a speech on Ramanujan, the great mathematician, his achievements and his contribution to the world of mathematics. This was followed by a song on the basics of mathematical concepts. Children also presented a skit and it depicted how mathematics exists in our daily lives, teaching the audience to relate the same at home. This would help them know the importance of mathematics.

INPUT BY SUDHINDR.A.B.

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The Hindu : SUDHINDR.A.B.

A science park with exciting models has been designed for students to learn more…

Full of curiosity:At the park

To enhance the interest in science among students ‘Vagdevi Vijnan Utsav’ 2010 was held recently. The special attraction at this year’s science festival, spread over two days and hosted by Vagdevi Vilas Educational Society, was the ‘U.R. Rao Science Tech Park’.

The variety…

The park has been designed in such a way that students can learn about the equipment related to environment, science and space and their use. There is a hydro power station, mineral home, audiometer, sound echo system, the structure of genes, and a sun-dial and other equipment which provide information about science. U. R. Rao inaugurated the park and said, “Space science is one field which generates a lot of interest among children. Research has enabled students to know more about space, the origin of earth, the stars, planets, satellites and so on. Facilities and infrastructure should be developed in every school so that children are able to see and learn about instruments related to science and technology.”

Models galore

There were models of satellites, rockets, and remote sensing equipment and also Chandrayan and photos, charts of other types of rockets at the science exhibition. Apart from this, aero-models from the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Science and Technology generated a lot of curiosity among students.

Over 4,000 students from 150 schools across the city participated in about 20 competitions. There was a competition for young software programmers too. C.V Vishveshwara, a scientist who has contributed enormously to space science was conferred the ‘Vagdevi Vigyana Ratna’ award.

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The Hindu : y>

The saga continues Survival of the strongest

In season five of “Lost”, six survivors are rescued from the mysterious island; they decide to go back to rescue the rest as the series returns for its penultimate season. Tune into “Lost” season five, every Monday to Thursday at 10 p.m. on Star World.

Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Sun and Claire’s son, Aaron have been rescued and continue to pick up the pieces of the lives they knew before the crash. Jack and Ben must convince all of them to return to the island to save those left behind. The saga of the survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island, “Lost” tells the story of what happens to a group of people after Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island. The survivors discover that the island holds many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, a group of island residents known as “The Others,” and a mysterious man named Jacob.

This will prove quite a feat to achieve since Jack is still wrestling with his addictions, Kate won’t speak to Jack, Hurley is in a mental institution, Sayid is an assassin and Sun blames Jack for Jin’s death when the freighter exploded. Adding to their worries is the fact that they also have to take the body of Jeremy Bentham – aka Locke – with them in order to make things right with the island. But locating the island may prove even more difficult since Ben moved it!

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The Hindu : y>

Devika Khazvini tells us why every cat is unique and what makes them so lovable.

Have you ever tried semi-adopting a kitten? You will find yourself in a battle of wits that you are unlikely to win. First, they come timidly to your door for a bit of food. Then they start meowing loudly for their meals. Then they wind themselves lovingly around your legs and into your heart. Before you know it, there is a cat asleep on your sofa.

Manee, our three-legged kitten is crazy about helping me with the housework. His favourite occupation is not letting anyone sweep. He attacks the broom, rolls in whatever dust we have swept up and redistributes it as quickly as he can. He discovered that walking straight emphasizes his handicap as his body dips to compensate for the missing leg, so he has devised a way of moving sideways like a crab, and he does it so fast you can barely see his legs move. Kalpaka is a heart patient. He has figured out that the stairs make him pant, but he loves going to the roof of the building. So he simply sits outside the lift and goes “Yeow” loudly and then rides up with whoever will take him.

Cats have their own strange chemistry. Two of our cats groom each other. One of them puts a paw on the other to hold her still. They then curl up together and go to sleep. The thing about cats is that they are so satisfying to have around. They do not intrude. They are beautiful to look at — a cat sleeping in a patch of sun is a work of art. If you’ve seen them play, you’ll notice how immensely comical they are. When they’re ill, they’re so stoic, brave and uncomplaining (except when we’re sticking needles in them). Their companionship is so rewarding that…More

The Hindu : y>How easy is it to be, and remain, positive in our real world, asks BINDU TOBBY

Acheesy line that my husbandused on me during ourcourtship days was “My attitudeis my blood group. B(e)positive!” I must admit the funnyline had me in splits but what was(far) more impressive is his abilityto see the `sunny-side up’ in themost dismal of situations.

Is positive thinking a virtue onlysome of us seem to have, whilethe rest of us crib and curse, thenstart all over ranting and ravingthrough life? Or again, is `thinkpositive, stay focused’ only a partof boardroom banter, part of selfhelpbooks or corporate pep talk?Think again.

A lot of positive thinking hasunconsciously become a part ofour routines. We go to bed eachnight, setting our alarm clocks towake up in time to do all thethings we plan for the day. And yetthere is no guarantee that we willbe alive to see the next morning.

No pain no gain

Women go through nine longmonths, waddling, tired and nauseousfor the most part bearingthe kicks of a growing human insidethem, knowing child birth ispainful and yet staying positive.And sure enough, that little miracleof life (pink cheeks, delicatefingers et al) turns all those negativeemotions right on its head.We exchange sacred weddingvows at the altar, positively believingthat together, with ourbetter halves, we have what ittakes to make the relationshipblossom and mature into a trulylasting marriage.

“The important thing is to beaware of all the emotions that youface in a given situation and understandthe reason for negativeemotions. But it’s more importantto isolate those thoughts andfocus on the positive aspects topropel you forward,” says T. Zacharias.He adds, “I firmly believein the adage that in adversity liesopportunity, and situations likethe time when my dad suffered aheart attack, I had the choice ofeither ruminating on the negativesor stepping up to the situationand providing the emotional, financialand psychological supportthat was the need of the hour forthe…More

The Hindu : y>Sound off! Harish Prakash is upset with the way people behave with caged animals

Animals are hardly worth seeing in enclosures, I have reminded myself a million times. However, I give in to my mind and head out to see these animals on occasional trips.

I recently visited the Bannerghatta National Park on the outskirts of the city.

As I entered the park, I was taken on a safari trip to see the most majestic members of the cat family, the tiger. Travelling in barricaded vehicles, we found that the tiger in the lair hardly seemed to mind the intrusion of his privacy. We also got a glimpse of a turf war at the lair of the Panthera tigris, between the albino white and the yellow stripped tigers.

The spotted deer ate anything and everything offered by the tourists, from the sweet and salty biscuits to sodium laced chips that people also love to gorge on. A member of the primate species also made some efforts to grab some attention and get some morsels of food.

We also saw a Himalayan black bear with distinctive V-shaped white fur walk restlessly in his cage, while tourists provoked him, to take pictures. The tourists hobbled around with their children occasionally providing nuggets of information such as “That is an Emu, it is the second largest bird after the Ostrich, but it can’t fly. It is from Australia. Do you know where Australia is?”

I learnt that an infection had claimed the lives of many animals at the park. The cages placed very close to each other were serving as havens for the spread of disease. Unless they are made animal-friendly, zoo and parks will soon run out of animals to showcase.

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…More

The Hindu :

This fortnight at indaplaza.in

Patriot Games (1992)

Cast: Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, James Earl Jones, Sean Bean, Patrick Bergin, Thora Birch, Polly Walker, James Fox

Director: Philip Noyce

Screenwriter: W. Peter Iliff and Donald

Stewart (from a novel by Tom Clancy)

Composer: James Horner

Director of photography: Donald M. McAlpine

Price: Rs. 499

H ollywood action movies from the Nineties are characterised by a touching naïveté in the inherent goodness and correctness of the American way of life. “Independence Day” had the Americans led by the go getter President saving the world from evil aliens and in “Patriot Games” you have Jack Ryan of the CIA doughtily saving his family (which could be expanded to the world) from crazed terrorists.

Obviously the Bourne’s CIA populated with crooked agents and malevolent assassination programmes have no place in the CIA of Jack Ryan and his boss Admiral James Greer.

Ryan is an analyst for the CIA. On a lecture tour in England, Ryan saves the life of a British minister during an assassination attempt by a splinter group of the IRA. In the gunfight, one of the terrorist’s is killed. The dead man’s brother, Sean Miller, swears revenge on Ryan and follows them back to the States.

After an attempt on the life of Ryan’s wife and daughter, Ryan demands to be brought back into active service. In a spine-chilling climax, Ryan faces off with Miller in his home amidst a raging storm.

A sequel to the excellent “Hunt for the Red October” (1990) which starred Alec Baldwin as Ryan, “Patriot Games” is that strange breed of action film which places emphasis on family. We get to see Ryan as a family man. With Anne Archer playing his doctor wife Caroline and Thora Birch (remember her in “American Beauty”?) as his daughter Sally, the emotional quotient is pretty high.

Apparently Baldwin did not reprise his role as he had committed to a Broadway revival of “A…More

The Hindu :

French New Wave cinema, with its brash irreverence for everything, and its gorgeous heroines, made for a delightful week of movie-watching

CAPTIVATINGA scene from Pierrot le Fou

Someone once told me, “The films of (Jean Luc) Godard and (Francois) Truffaut should become a compulsory part of our school syllabus. Only then will all of us learn the meaning of life or rather, cease seeking the meaning of life, and learn to live.” The person had obviously been drinking and we had just come away from watching a Godard film. It was my first Godard and I was feeling slightly dazed, elated but also struck by the fatalism of “Breathless”. After that, I have seen several films by Godard and some by Truffaut as well — two of the leading directors of French New Wave cinema. There have been some films that I have liked more than others, but every film manages to provoke a wild, racy thought in my head making me believe in anything impossible.

In Truffaut’s “Jules and Jim”, there is a scene early on in the film when an anarchist is writing ‘Down with everything’ on a wall and the paint runs out midway. He turns, slaps the woman with him and screams, “The people might think that anarchists can’t spell.” It is this irreverence that this set of film makers had even for anarchy. Nothing was holy — not relationships, not friendship, not love.

Bangalore was witness to the frenzy of the French New Wave as part of the Bonjour India celebrations across the country brought by the French Embassy in India. The film festival was also to mark 50 years of the French New Wave since the time a group of film critics in Paris who wrote for the film journal Cahiers du Cinema revolutionised filmmaking by making films that did not conform to any conventional understanding of cinema,…More

The Hindu :

How to age healthily with nary a supplement

Walk along Make exercise an integral part of your routine

T he desire to achieve a healthy old age is laudable indeed, and will be even more so in the future. According to a projection of the century-long rise in life expectancy published in The Lancet in October, more than half the children born since 2000 in wealthy countries can expect to celebrate their 100th birthday.

If so many of us are destined to become centenarians, it is all the more important to be able to enjoy those years unencumbered by chronic disease and disability. There is no virtue in simply living long; the goal should be to live long and well.

But while much is known about how to raise the odds of a healthy old age, only a minority of Americans incorporate into their lives what is likely to give them the biggest bang for their buck. They’d rather rely on supplements of vitamins and minerals, fish oils and herbs, perhaps washed down with pricey antioxidant juices.

Unfortunately, sound evidence for the benefits of most such products is sorely lacking; in some cases the best scientific evidence has shown no benefit, and in a few cases has even shown harm.

The longevity diet

After decades of government guidelines and advice from friends, family and physicians, Americans have made some improvements in their eating habits. On average, we consume less red meat and saturated fat and somewhat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

But, and this is a big but, we are a long way from consuming the kind of diet most closely linked to a low risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke and dementia. That diet need not be strictly vegetarian, but it should emphasize plant-based foods over the meat and other products that come from animals that eat plants. The closer to the earth we eat,…More