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The Hindu : y>

Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV), Hebbal conducted its annual sports meet recently. C. G. Kishore, director, Sports Authority of India, Southern Region, was the chief guest and he declared the meet open.

He told the students to take active part in sports activities.

Sports promotes positive attitude towards life and develops one’s personality, he said. He also gave away the prizes.

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The Hindu : SUDHINDR.A.B.

Students presented spectacular programmes of music, dance and theatre

Talent on show: Spontaneous

It is a day eagerly awaited by students to showcase their talents. And many schools that are part of The Hindu’s NIE programme have recognised this and conducted school day or annual day to bring out the best in their students.

Self management

A spectacular Blossom Fest was held recently at Blossom, Kanakapura. It was a unique celebration where the students of the school were selected as guests of the day through a lottery. Vinutha.M of Std X presided over the function, while Adarsh of Std. IV Noorsaima of Std.VI and Abhishek of Std. VIII were the chief guests for the fest.

The entire programme was managed by the students. Bibi Ayesha of Std. X welcomed the gathering, while Nagashruthi Shivakumar of Std. X read the school report. Meritorious students of the 2008-09 batch were honoured with cash awards. The cultural programme presented by students included bharatanatyam, light music and a play.

Excitement

Jain International Residential School, Kanakapura celebrated its 10th annual day with great pomp and show recently. The “Sprintoor” indoor stadium brimmed with excited parents who had come to see their children perform and also to be a part of the grand celebration. The theme of the programme was “colours” which was related to the five elements.

The performance was lauded by R. Chenraj Jain, the chairman of Jain Group of Institutions. Wg. Cdr. Ganesh Sharma, chief executive officer of the school was present.

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The Hindu :

blauk.com, a micro-blogging site, lets you talk about strangers you’ve seen and see if they can find you!

Photo: M. KarunakaranSOCIAL NETWORKING’S NEW HEIGHTS Samson Manickaraj

Each time we step out of our houses, we are confronted with strangers. They leave impressions, just as we do. But these nameless people snap off from our lives abruptly. Can we reconnect with them? Can we tell them that in a fleeting moment they filled our lives? Can we find out what they thought of us in that momentary locking of eyes?

Blauk.com is the answer. A micro-blogging site, it allows people to leave messages about encounters with strangers.

Through preset fields, it encourages the user (called blauker) to describe the place where the encounter happened filling in details such as city, and time, describe the person — appearance, clothes, the people with him etc. The details should enable the described person to identify himself if he chances upon the entry. Also post a comment about him. The next line reveals the username, sex and age of the blauker. Finally, an optional line where the blauker can leave information that can help visitors identify him. A response can be invited to an entry. If a blauker does not want one, he does not turn on the ‘reply’ option.

Samson Manickaraj, creator of blauk.com, is confident it will take social networking to a different level. “It will make social networking dynamic. We are talking about something beyond Twitter and Facebook.”

Strangers encountered at the shopping mall, the beach, on the lift, or anywhere else can amuse, irritate, inspire, draw admiration, and evoke a myriad other emotions. But, these people will quickly fade away from our memories. “Through blauk.com, you can attempt to make these strangers more than a faded memory. Or, at the least, you can express your feelings about them.”

Samson, who has a masters in Computer Science, from the…More

The Hindu : SARASWATHY NAGARAJAN

Santosh Sivan sketches his mindscape, as Saraswathy Nagarajanwatches the cinematographer-director morph into an actor too

FRAMED LIKE A PICTURE Santhosh Sivan agreed to act because Makaramanju is based on Ravi Varma’s life

In a white dhothi, silk kurta and angavastram, you almost miss seeing cinematographer-director-actor Santosh Sivan on the sets of his new film Makaramanju.As you gape at him in his new get-up, he laughs loudly and adds that he never knew acting was so cool.

Facing the camera

“Both the director and a cinematographer leave the set only when pack-up is announced. Now I am so pampered on the sets. After my shot is over, I am allowed to go home and in between my shots, I can interact with the cast and crew… This is really cool,” says Santosh.

After Raakh, Santosh is facing the camera for the first time as hero in Lenin Rajendran’s Makaramanjuafter years of proving his excellence behind the camera as cinematographer and director of both commercials flicks and art house films.

He says the stars of Raavan(Abishek, Aiswarya and Prithviraj), on which he was working as director of photography, encouraged him to face the camera. “You know, once Shah Rukh told me: ‘Santa, act with me… then people will say I look good,” he says with a guffaw.

Santosh, an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (1985 batch), says he agreed to don the greasepaint only because it was Ravi Varma who he reveres as “this artist has shaped our visual aesthetics…”

It could also be because Santosh not only paints the silver screen with his breathtaking visuals but also wields a brush to fill canvases with his impressions of things around him.

Exhibition of paintings

“In fact, Owais, M.F Husain’s son, and I plan to hold an exhibition of my works soon,” says Santosh, a little reluctant to reveal more about his paintings. “You will see,” he says.

Moreover…More

The Hindu : y>Complete a story for Karadi Tales

Karadi Tales, is organising a story writing contest called “Will You Write With Me?”

Karadi Tales will also publish your work.

To participate, log on to www.karaditales.com and read the first half of a story.

“It is been left incomplete at the most intriguing point,” say the organisers.

You need to complete the story in less than 800 words, and email it to Karadi Tales. Three best entries will be published in an audiobook narrated by the inimitable Jaaved Jaaferi. The winners will sign a publishing contract with Karadi Tales.

Last date to send in your entries is February 28. E-mail your entries to contest@karaditales.com.

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The Hindu :

Enhance your brain power with a balanced diet

NUTRITIOUS Gorge on fruits and vegetables

This is the time of the year students and parents go through the mentally exhausting drill of tuitions, pre board exams, and then the finals.

The next two months are traumatic for the high school students who have to use their brain power to the optimal by analysing, categorising, memorising and reproducing all the taught knowledge of the preceding months. What every parent prays for his or her child is that they retain and remember all that was learnt, during the exam time.

In a nutshell, the power of memory looms larger than any other virtue for the student.

How can we enhance our brain power? Are there foods that help? What is the role that nutrition plays in brain functioning? Are there foods that damage the brain cells?

Yes, there are. It is known that food affects the mood and behaviour of man.

Foods that deteriorate the mental functions

Over eating, too much of starch (rice, bread), fried foods, fatty red meats, junk foods, highly sugared drinks, artificial sweeteners and additives are proven to be detrimental to a healthy brain.

It has been shown that the kind of fatty acids known as trans fatty acids found in processed foods and junk foods can actually replace the good fats in the brain cells.

Foods that augment brain functions

Omega 3 oils – Sixty per cent of the brain is made up of fats, mainly omega 3 fatty acids which are hugely needed for brain cell structure, thus improving cognitive and behavioural functions. Our daily requirement of omega 3 is about two to four gms. One tablespoon of flaxseed (linseed) oil/day would supply this.

Foods that contain omega 3 are flaxseeds and its oil, fatty fish like sardines, seeds, nuts especially walnuts and cashews, extra virgin olive oil, egg and green leafy vegetables.

Choline – positively affects learning abilities and…More

The Hindu : y>Sound off! N.K.Raghavendran talks about the woes of a hearing impaired person

The picture you see here is that of a HIP. That’s me. In these days of acronyms, let me explain. HIP stands for Hearing Impaired Person. I am penning this column on behalf of all hearing impaired people .

Why is it that when a visually challenged person or differently abled person manages to evoke instant sympathy, we are at best tolerated with amusement.

In many cases, we are also made the butt of numerous jokes and made caricatures in many films. I feel that instead of trying to disguise our disability by wearing expensive and tiny hearing aids, we should wear larger sets so that the other person would be forewarned, much like a blind person with a cane.

This might result in a fall for demand of miniaturised hearing aids . My point is if people are not ashamed of wearing spectacles, why should we make a hue and cry on hearing aids?

Why is it that the system of hearing in the human body is so complicated that no lateral adjunct has been able to bring it to normalcy? This is in contrast to most problems with eyesight that can be managed with the help of relatively cheaper glasses. It is as if even God was against the HIPs!

The travails of HIPs are countless, but there are some advantages. What is the difference between a gun and a wife? The wag replies “You can put a silencer on the gun.” “I can silence the wife with the flick of a switch. Not only the wife but any annoying sound will be off whenever I desire!” Now, isn’t that a great advantage?

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…More

The Hindu :

Geeta Iyer’s Illuminating Lives With Yoga is a ready reckoner that’ll put you on the road to fitness

Learning yoga Postures and easy-to-follow steps are given for every asana

Did you know there are some yogic asanas that can be done immediately after a meal? So much so if you feel you have overeaten, doing these asanas can speed up digestion and flush out the extra food? That the mind and the body are closely connected and that the bridge between the two is the breath? That coming out of postures the right way is very important? That stretching one’s hands above one’s head stimulates many organs and awakens the system? That pranayama or yogic breathing done with a crepe bandage over the eyes helps quieten the mind further?

These were only a few of the many facts about yoga that came to light at the release of the self- published book “Illuminating lives with Yoga” by Geeta Iyer. The author, a yoga practitioner based in Chennai, with 18 years of experience practising and teaching yoga , has come up with a ready reference manual that both the trained and the uninitiated can use. Richly illustrated and peppered with notes and pointers on how to do each asana, with numerous tips relating to diet and lifestyle, the book is a great buy. Only the author’s profile and the photographer’s credits are missing.

The book was released recently by Dr. Priya Selvaraj, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Fertility Research Centre, GG Hospital, and Anuradha Ananth, Head of Features Programming, NDTV-Hindu.

Dr. Priya Selvaraj said, “Yoga has a scientific basis, works on different muscle groups and increases lung capacity.” Describing the book as unfussy, Anuradha Ananth said Indians were lucky to have the ancient system of yoga. If one had doubts about whether yoga could be learnt from a book, Geeta had the answer. “This is a book even…More

The Hindu : MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER

Amitabh Bachchan tells MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER, thanks to the rapidity of the information exchange, our lives have become that much more frenetic, frantic and hectic

Photo: Murali Kumar K.A NEW LOOK At the way the media works

It is difficult to be blasé about interviewing Amitabh Bachchan especially when one believes the perfect recruitment test would be a “Sholay” quiz! After a hectic security search where the strong silent men gazed long and hard at the orange I had got for lunch, I was ushered into a chair to await The Man.

The steady hum of conversation around me, where the exact temperature of the AC, the correct angle of the flowers in the vase and the right colour of the serviettes were discussed with utmost seriousness, suddenly gave way to pin-drop silence and there he was politely saying “Hi, I am Amitabh.”

I swallow the dino-sized butterflies in my stomach and remind myself firmly not to gawk. “There is something traditional about holding a newspaper in the morning,” he says conversationally. “I feel my day is not complete unless I read the paper. I follow the news on the Net, on telly and on radio. But even when I read news online, I look at the e-paper, which is the electronic version of the print paper!”

While admitting that one has to wait for 24 hours for the next round of news in print, Bachchan says: “Despite that, one goes to print for the systematic analyses and the editorials.”

In town to promote Ramgopal Varma’s “Rann” Bachchan says: “I was drawn to Vijay Harshvardhan Malik because the character is topical. I found the concept interesting — of how the electronic media deals with being the conscience of the nation, as well as a business. Malik is the owner of a channel. He has great integrity and is respected for it. Things change and his integrity…More

The Hindu :

The five-part series on fibroids: what every woman should know, concludes

Tammy, who has a large fibroid, has been advised by her gynaecologist for the past five years that no treatment is required since she has no symptoms. Tulsi, on the other hand, wants to have a child, but has a fibroid growing into the uterine cavity. She has been advised to have the fibroid removed.

The treatment options for uterine fibroids are varied. To decide what is best for a particular woman, certain questions need to be answered.

· What are the symptoms and how do they affect the quality of your life?

· Do you plan to have children in the future?

· Are there risks associated with the treatment chosen?

· What are the costs involved?

Different scenarios require a different approach.

For women with no bothersome symptoms and who are not planning to become pregnant

These women can be watched. No intervention is required. Depending on the size of the fibroid, these women can see their gynaecologist every six to 12 months. As long as a woman is reassured that the large size of the fibroid is not going to interfere with her health, she mostly will choose to watch and wait.

For women with heavy bleeding but who are not planning a pregnancy

There are several options. Oral contraceptive pills may be used to control the flow as well as provide contraception. Women, who have fibroids and a normal size uterine cavity, may get relief from heavy bleeding by using a progestin-releasing intra-uterine device (IUD). The hormone in the IUD thins the uterine lining. The menstrual flow will progressively decrease and within six months there will be negligible bleeding during the periods. One scientific study showed that by three to six months, 85 per cent of women returned to normal bleeding.

For women with heavy bleeding but who are interested in future fertility

There are several options depending on…More