January 2016 by james paul

FROM EDITOR’S DESK

Parental paradigm Are you a role model for your child? Parenting can be tough, but one of the most basic ways we can raise our children is simply by being a good role model for them. The first institution of a child where he learns is his home. Parents play a vital role in the education of their child. Although a parent’s role in their children’s learning evolves as kids grow, one thing remains constant: we are our children’s learning models. Our attitudes about education can inspire them. The real challenge for parents is to provide a positive example as often as possible. Parents serve as role models not only through direct interactions with their children, but through the examples they set with their attitude and behavior within the family and in the outside world. By addressing their concerns, sharing their lives, and maintaining a constructive perspective, parents can contribute to their children's personal growth and development. Parents are not perfect. We lose our tempers, say things we are sorry for and are not always as kind as we would like to be. We are human. It is important to admit our mistakes,

say we are sorry, and show that we try to make things right. Being a positive role model for your children is one of the most important and rewarding things you can do for your child. Challenge yourself to identify the positive things you can role model for your kids — things like happiness, consideration, self respect, patience, generosity, self-discipline, diligence, kindness, bravery, and compassion. Kids respect adults who walk their talk. Credible adults inspire kids’ confidence and admiration. Communicate with your children and stay active in their lives. Take time to listen and share their concerns, so they feel both loved and respected. Practice respect and tolerance, to provide clear standards of acceptable behavior. Develop fun and engaging family activities, which share and develop the interests of both you and your children. Be a role model for learning. In the early years, parents are their children’s first teachers — exploring nature, reading together, cooking together, and counting together. Create a loving environment and having good relationships among all family members will create a positive impact in your children.

MAGAZINE ON EDUCATION VOLUME 03 | ISSUE 08 | JANUARY 2016

Managing Editor Dr. Varghese Panthalookaran

Editor James Paul

Associate Editor Dr. Prasant Palackappilly

Columns K. L. Mohanavarma Dr. K. N. Raghavan Dr. Jose Cletus Plackal Sajith Malliyoor Adv. Tharakan PKG Jose Panthaplamthottiyil Tas Jawaharlal Nehru

Marketing Manager Varghese Kachappilly Design Sajo Joseph Contact: Rajagiri Media, Rajagiri Valley P.O, Kakkanad, Kochi-39. Phone : 0484 2973979 Mobile : +91 9497711010 E-Mail : editor@rajagirimedia.com Web : www.pallikkutam.com

CONTENTS

24 CO VER ST OR Y COVER STOR ORY

Role of parents in education 26 Parental pedagogy KSR Menon

Children whose parents tended them with love, had time to answer their queries, and hugged, kissed and praised them, enjoyed higher IQs. They had better memory and better language skills.

28 Parenting the student Adv. Hariraj M R

Parents have to be all what we want our children must be. What model are we providing a child who finds their grandparents and parents glued to the Television during the entire evening?

31 The motivating factor Geetha Jayaraman

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you think it is our duty to spare our children the misery and unhappiness that we have undergone by sharing the lessons we have learnt from our own mistakes.

34 Give them space, they are unique Dr. Devi K Varma Train the child to accept success without over pride and to face defeats without distress and disappointments. Recognize and encourage the talent potential of your child. Give him space. Observe and listen. Express to the child that he is unique in all possible ways.

JANUARY 2016 INTERVIEW

EXPERT COUNSEL

STORIES OF LIFE

PERSONAL

11 15 18 20

Preparing future leaders through innovative education

REGULARS

James Paul

NEWS.................................. 06

The Outliers

INSIGHTS........................... 09

Dr. K. N. Raghavan INFOTECH.......................... 43

On the dynamics of becoming a terrorist or ‘martyr’

INNOVATIONS.................... 46

Dr. Jose Cletus Plackal

SPORTS.............................. 62

Unmarried woman, crazy for chocolates...

RAINBOW............................

Sajith Malliyoor

POLICY WATCH

How does number matter to the schools? Deepthi Mary Mathew

HEALTH MONITOR CREATIVITY AT WORK GUEST COLUMN

How to eat a healthy diet

Great entrepreneurs are creative thinkers

Mummy, please do my home work

SUBSCRIBE NOW TURN TO P AGE 23 PA

K. L. Mohana Varma

CURRENT AFFAIRS

“Go, first make the law” Adv. Tharakan PKG

EDU BIZ

REFLECTIONS

60 66

Ex-IITians come up with open-school learning startup Crystals of Eternity Jose Panthaplamthottiyil

For online subscription, log on to www.pallikkutam.com

NEWS

National uniform education policy for regional languages

he government has undertaken a collaborative, multistakeholder and multi-pronged consultation process for formulating the New Education Policy (NEP), which included online, grassroots and national level thematic deliberations. A press statement issued by human resources department stated that out of the 33 themes, one theme under School Education "Promotion of Languages" and one under Higher Education "Promote cultural integration through language" relates to languages. For facilitating grassroots consultations, relevant question templates were translated with the help of NCERT into 12 languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia,

Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. The NEP consultation process was discussed in the meeting of Central

Advisory Board on Education (CABE) in August. Views of all states and members of CABE were invited on the consultation process and the themes.

Gita made compulsory for Rajasthan school libraries

ajasthan education minister Vasudev Devnani said all upper primary schools will be required to keep the Gita in their libraries from the next academic session. The minister's statement, made at a function in Ajmer, coincides with Gita Divas. "Gita is a book of guidance for all. I think keeping it in libraries will be an opportunity for all students to read it and lead a balanced life," the minister later told . There are 13,000 government schools with libraries in the state. Devnani has been stoking controversies over saffronization of education since his appointment as education minister in 2014. Earlier this year, he made Surya Namaskar compulsory for students in schools.

The entire grassroots consultation from village, block, district to State is through the State government machineries. States have also been requested to submit their views and recommendations on the New Education Policy. Six zonal Meetings were held by the Minister of Human Resource Development in Eastern, Central, NorthEastern, Western, Southern and Northern Zones covering all States and UTs in September-October 2015 which was attended by Education Ministers and officials of the respective States/UTs. The issue regarding regional languages was discussed during zonal meetings.

200 IIT students opt out of placement for higher studies

s many as 200 students of IIT-Kanpur have opted out of the placement drive reducing the strength of the students registered with the placement cell to around 1200. The students who have opted out are those who have decided to pursue higher studies such as PhD. or else would try their luck at the civil services. While a big number of students move out of the placement drive every year to study further and they therefore, head towards the top universities in the US, the charm of serving as IAS, IPS and IRS officers also make them prepare for the civil service examination. A handful number of students bitten by the entrepreneurship bug will try their luck at opening a start-up. Such students

will be helped and mentored by SIDBI Innovation and Incubation centre. Interestingly, in the first fortnight of the ongoing placement drive which had started on December 1, more than 800 students have managed to secure a job for themselves. These 800 students have been hired by some 240 companies which have visited the IIT-Kanpur campus so far. This year a total of 350-360 companies had acknowledged to come to IIT campus for hiring the students. The placement cell is now focusing on placing the remaining 400 students. These students would be hired by about 120 companies that are yet to come.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

NEWS

All CBSE books to be made available online: Smriti Irani

nion HRD minister Smriti Irani announced that all CBSE books and learning material will be made available online for free. Irani, who was inaugurating a new Kendriya Vidyalaya building in East Delhi, said the Centre will launch initiatives to help parents analyse performance of their child in Kendriya Vidyalayas from the next academic year. The minister said, NCERT books have already been made available online for free through e-books and mobile applications a month-and-a-half ago. Irani also asked officials in her ministry to organize Child

Conventions, which would include interactions between children and professionals from various fields including defense. This will help students grow into good human beings, the minister said. Irani reiterated that the Centre will launch 'Shaala Darpan' and 'Saransh' services in Kendriya Vidyalayas in the next academic year. The 'Shaala Darpan' service is aimed at using SMS to keep parents informed about their wards' attendance, time table and marks in exams. While 'Saransh' will help parents compare the subject-wise learning outcomes of their children, with others at the district, state and national levels.

UP may have open book system

he Uttar Pradesh government is likely to introduce an "open book system" for students taking standard 10 and 12 examinations of the UP Board from the next academic session. At a meeting of the education department on December 18, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav asked minister for secondary education Balram Yadav and principal secretary Jitendra Kumar to submit a plan to roll out the "open book examination system" in the state, a system that is popular in Europe. "The chief minister has been concerned over the menace of copying in examinations in the state, especially during the Board

Upper-age limit fixed for nursery admissions

he directorate of education, Delhi, has now fixed an upperage limit for entry level classes. The minimum age was fixed in 2007 but upper-age has been debated for several years. Also, in a departure from usual practice, the DoE has imposed separate limits for differently-abled children and permitted even further relaxation for mentally challenged ones. This is likely to alter points distribution systems according to which nursery admissions are conducted. An order issued on December 18, says for nursery classes, the upper-age limit will be "less than four years as on 31st March of the year in which admission is sought." For KG (preprimary) classes, it is five years and for Class I, six years. "It is a very thoughtful move," says Ashok Pandey, principal, Ahlcon

Pallikkutam | January 2016

International School, Mayur Vihar and chairperson, National Progressive Schools Conference. "Age variances ranging from one month to two years in a class was creating issues with the cognitive and social development of students." Pandey approves of the different rules for differently abled children too. For physicallychallenged kids, the limit is a year more â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "less than five years" for preschool, six for pre-primary and seven for Class I. For the mentally challenged, it is "less than five years as on 31st March... which can be further relaxed." "Many schools were giving points on age to select mature and toilet-trained kids. Parents who couldn't secure seats last year may be disheartened. We need to have rules for admissions and announcing vacancies in KG as well," says Sumit Vohra of admissionsnursery. com.

exams. The education mafia has penetrated deep and is ruining the education system and careers of students. He has taken note of the open book system in various countries and came to the conclusion that the system will help check mass scale copying during exams," said a senior officer. The chief minister was reviewing the progress of the education department when he asked Balram Yadav and Jitendra Kumar to submit an action plan so that the system could be implemented from the academic year of 2016-17. While the UP secondary and higher secondary education boards have the highest number of students in the world taking exams every year, it is also infamous because of allegations of rampant copying.

NEWS

Education system needs to comply with present needs: President

resident Pranab Mukherjee said there is no dearth of talent in the country but the education system needs to comply with the present requirements.

Bahl, Hero MotoCorp Joint Managing Director Sunil Kant Munjal, Paytm

"I sincerely thank you, particularly Mr Pichai and many others who have come to participate. The subject on which you have spoken and various views which have emerged, I have no doubt will help the policy makers, administrators of the country...to reach at the core point of finding the solution," he said.

Speaking during a round-table discussion on technology, innovation and education, Mukherjee said the country has bright minds and world-class institutions, and some initiatives must be taken to comply with the requirements sought these days. "For God sake it is the time for you. If at the age of 80 I try to learn from my grandchildren, you ought to take little initiative to comply with the requirements...," Mukherjee said regarding the education system in India. The round-table discussion was attended by Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Snapdeal co-founder Kunal

institution figured in the top 200 rankings till recently.

The President said India has bright minds as recruitment at all IITs is over 100 per cent. There are worldclass institutions, so surely there is no lack of talent and capacities.

founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, DIPP Secretary Amitabh Kant and other industry honchos. The President said India has one of the largest education infrastructure but not a single Indian

"... I used to have meetings with the vice chancellors of universities, directors of IITs, and today I am having a totally new generations of the people, brilliant minds...this inspires confidence," Mukherjee said.

UGC to rank all universities, irks watchdogs

n a controversial overreach, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has said it will rank all institutions across the country. Private colleges and universities will come under the ratings ambit. Predictably, the move has annoyed other regulatory bodies like AICTE (for engineering), MCI (medical), NATA (architecture) and the UGC's own statutory authority. This is the first time the UGC has set out to rank educational institutions. Having come up with a National Institution Ranking Framework (NIRF) for universities and colleges, the UGC has directed all institutions to participate in the ranking exercise by registering themselves on NIRF's website. It will announce the

rankings in April 2016. The move has created confusion among educationists in Karnataka. Just a few months ago, they point out, the Karnataka State Higher Education Council had decided to rank and rate universities. In its directive to universities regarding NIRF, the UGC said, "The best learning experience in the ideal environment is the ultimate objective of every institution. This objective becomes more highlighted when institutions are constantly adjudged on the basis of excellence in teaching and learning, excellence in research and innovations and excellence in engagement. Institutions are also expected to provide inspiring learning and living environment on their campuses. These are some parameters

which are looked into by students and parents whilst making an informed choice of pursuing a program in any institution of higher learning." To rank institutions, the UGC has set different parameters under NIRF. R Chandrashekara, secretary of the Forum of Former Vice-chancellors of Karnataka State Universities, said that ranking institutions at the national level is difficult. Since NAAC grades universities, NIRF is not required. State-level committees are enough to rate universities and colleges. "Does NIRF have sufficient manpower to assess and rank all institutions in the country?" Chandrashekara asked.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

INSIGHTS

ADHD and peer relationships

hildren with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are restless, inattentive, and impulsive, and they have difficulty with social functioning, often having fewer friends and being rejected more than children without ADHD. In a new longitudinal study from Norway, researchers investigated the bidirectional relationship between the development of ADHD symptoms in young children and rejection by peers. The study

was conducted by scientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Social Research division, the Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare in Trondheim, Norway, and the University of California, Davis. It appears in the journal Child Development. "ADHD predicts poor relations with peers, but do poor relations with peers affect symptoms of ADHD, forming, in effect, a vicious cycle?" asks Frode Stenseng, associate professor of psychology at NTNU and the study's lead author. "We found that more ADHD symptoms at age 4 predicted more rejection by peers at age 6, and reciprocally, that

Pallikkutam | January 2016

greater peer rejection at age 4 predicted more symptoms of ADHD at age 6. But these effects were less evident from ages 6 to 8." "The bottom line is that peer rejection and ADHD symptoms are related, but they may also affect each other over time," adds Jay Belsky, Robert M. and Natalie Reid Dorn Professor of Human Development at the University of California, Davis, a coauthor of the study. "Supplementing previous research showing that ADHD leads to poor social functioning, our study shows that the symptoms of ADHD are affected

by children's experiences with their agemates." At age 8, the researchers found, symptoms of ADHD were still adversely affected by children's level of peer rejection at age 6, but the symptoms no longer had a negative effect on peer functioning. The findings, of interest to parents, teachers, and other practitioners, highlight the importance of keeping social aspects in mind when thinking about the origins of ADHD in children, the authors suggest. In particular, helping children with their peer relationships while working with them on their ADHD symptoms could augment the benefits to children.

Soft skill training can improve self control

new longitudinal study that examined an intervention for children at high risk of developing behavior problems has found that teaching so-called soft skills was key to preventing criminal and delinquent problems later in life. Soft skills, such as self-control and social skills, are personality traits, attitudes, and motivations not included in traditional measures of intelligence. The study was conducted at Duke University and appears in the journal Child Development. In elementary school, the intervention featured a teacher-led curriculum aimed at helping children develop emotional concepts, social understanding, and self-control; parent training groups designed to promote positive family-school relationships and teach parents behavior-management skills; and home visits to help parents solve problems and manage situations at home. The program also featured social skill training groups for children and reading tutoring for children, and it paired children with peers to enhance their friendships in the classroom. When the children were adolescents, the intervention included curriculum-based parent and youth group meetings as well as individualized services for youth and their families. Researchers measured children's academic, self-control, and social skills during elementary school (ages 6 to 11), as well as arrests, delinquency, and use of mental health services during adolescence and young adulthood (ages 12 to 20).

INSIGHTS

'Flipped' classrooms improve physics education

tudents can actually improve their thinking and learning by engaging in reflective writing and interactive activities. This is published in the journal Physical Review, Calvin Kalman, a professor in the Department of Physics, and his research team undertook a fiveyear study involving close to 1,000 students enrolled in four physics courses at two universities.

cognitive dissonance that feeling of discomfort when the new information you're confronted with conflicts with what you already believe," Kalman says. When students first grapple with a problem on their own, they may come to the wrong conclusion. Finding out the real solution in a collaborative setting helps improve their understanding, as well as their approach to learning.

"It has been shown that in typical physics classes, students' beliefs about their own learning deteriorate or at best stay the same. I want to reverse that result," says Kalman, who is also the principal of Concordia's Science College. "This study shows that if you combine a meta-cognitive activity with an interactive activity, students can better hone their thinking abilities for that course." "When students engage in Reflective Writing, which is a metacognitive activity, they express in their own words what the concepts found in the textbook mean, how they connect to concepts in other chapters and how they connect to personal life experience," Kalman says. "That's far more involved than a simple cognitive exercise like summary writing, where you just write a prĂŠcis of the ideas in the textbook, using the same vocabulary," Kalman's study shows that students really see rewards when they follow Reflective Writing with a collaborative activity like working with their peers and professors in the lab. "That combination of activities produces what is referred to as

Social networks can support academic success

ocial networks have been found to influence academic performance: students tend to perform better with high-performers among their friends, as some people are capable of inspiring others to try harder, according to Maria Yudkevich, Sofia Dokuka and Dilara Valeyeva of the HSE Centre for Institutional Studies. Most sociologists recognise four factors affecting student academic performance, namely: the family's socioeconomic status; the time spent on independent learning and preparation for classes; the time spent working on a job or practicing a hobby; and the university or school environment. However, recent empirical studies indicate that the role of the social environment may be underestimated, as classmates can greatly influence one another's behaviour and academic success. Yet the value of many such studies is limited due to serious

design flaws - such as viewing a random group of classmates as one's social network or assuming that a student's position in his or her social network is static. Rather than being random, one's social network is a product of conscious and dynamic choice. Social networks, particularly among college freshmen, can change considerably over time - e.g. a student can break up with an underachieving friend and seek the company of Agraders. According to the authors, in choosing friends, students do not usually consider academic performance, but over time - often in the middle of the academic year - all members in a peer group tend to perform at about the same level. Thus, most students who surrounded themselves with high-achievers improved their performance over time. The opposite was also true - those who befriended underachievers eventually experienced a drop in grades.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

Preparing future leaders through innovative education James Paul

Dr. G P C Nayar, Chairman, SCMS Group of Educational Institutions, is a well-known academician with years of experience in running professional institutions of excellence in management and technology. He started his journey as the promoter of education institutions in the year 1976 with the establishment of the Prathap Foundation for Education and Training at Kochi. Dr. Nayar who held top management positions with leading global corporate houses, wished to impart quality education at affordable costs to striving youngsters in India. The dream came true the same year with the establishment of the humble management institution â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the School of Communication and Management Studies (SCMS). SCMS Group under the visionary leadership of Dr. G.P.C. Nayar has established various institutions of excellence and national repute to offer professional education in technology and management streams. He explains his vision and future plans in this exclusive interview. Pallikkutam | January 2016

INTERVIEW How did you start SCMS? It is a very long story. I started this institution primarily to teach Public Relation, Journalism and Advertising. I was a PR professional and a member of the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI), the national body of PR professionals. In my interaction with the top people in public relations profession I understood that none of them had professional qualification in PR or Journalism or Advertising. I was probably the only person with a degree in Journalism and Public Relations. This revelation made me discuss with my collogues at the National Council in the PRSI about the need for conducting some academic program for the benefit of future entrants to the PR profession. I thought it would be helpful not only for those who are going to enter the profession but also for the profession itself. My suggestions were accepted by the national council of the PRSI. I was asked to prepare a proper syllabus and methodology for the proposed program. I presented a proposal in the next Council meeting itself for conducting a one year PG diploma program in Public Relations, Journalism and Advertising. All these together form Mass Communication and a PR man should have knowledge in all the three if he is to be successful. Though my proposal was approved and given to all nine chapters of the PR Society, only the Kerala Chapter of

Anyone who joined the program must study the subject very well and become a competent professional. We wanted to prepare future leaders through an innovative system of education.

the PRSI had started it. Certificates were to be issued by the PR Society of India to successful candidates. This was in the year 1976. We, members of the Kerala Chapter, were all working professionals at that time. So I proposed to start the program as an evening course. We had fantastic response initially. There had been around 1500 applications from all parts of the State though we took only 40. I was the Director of the program. As I was the initiator, the whole responsibility fell on me. I could not move out of Cochin even for one day, because every day I had to ensure that some faculty is there in the class. I suffered the agony with pleasure because it was the birth pang of an institution. By the end of the year I decided to offer the program by correspondence. This institution was

Pallikkutam | January 2016

INTERVIEW christened as School of Communication and Management Studies or SCMS which abbreviation is now better known all over India and in many other parts of the world. What were the objectives? Our primary objective was to provide quality professional education in Public Relations to new entrants to the profession. Fees was very minimum at that time. It was less than Rs 400 per annum. We were not interested in just collecting the fee. Anyone who joined the program must study the subject very well and become a competent professional. We wanted to prepare future leaders through an innovative system of education. So we devised a rigorous system of learning in the distance mode. How do you feel when looking back to the earlier years ? I am very happy though it was a great struggle in the initial years.

They came to make some quick money. If you check the background of the promoters of the newly started colleges, you will find very few are genuinely interested in education.

But I enjoyed it. It was not a work for me, but a pleasure doing it and I am totally satisfied. Me and my family were working hard on those days. Sometimes we had to post 4000 letters at a stretch. I used to prepare notes for the course and cyclostyle it. How many times my stenographers, nine in number, typed and retyped notes and course material! We spent sleepless nights on those days. There are innumerable institutions coming up in the private sector. Is this a healthy trend? It is a sign of prosperity and economic growth. That way I welcome it. But unfortunately very few are run by people who are committed to quality education. For many it is just another business. You can survive only if you are a role model on quality and performance. All fly by night operators will disappear in the course of time. Most of the people entered into this sector are not academically interested. They came to make some quick money. If you check the background of the promoters of the newly started colleges, you will find very few are genuinely interested in education. What about the quality of education in the private institutions? Most of them facing faculty crunch. Do you have such a situation? We don't have any faculty crunch. Because we pay. If you throw peanuts, you

Pallikkutam | January 2016

INTERVIEW

In spite of the criticism of poor quality of our education 35% of NASA engineers are from our institutions in India. India will definitely be an international education hub in the near future. attract only monkeys. We pay what they deserve, so we never had a faculty crunch. We want our faculty to remain with us for life because that will ensure quality to some extent. As our philosophy is providing quality professional education we never compromise on that issue. Money is not an issue. If you have quality, money will automatically come to you. Because people are quality conscious today. They will spend anything for quality. Are our students employable? Why doubt? Indian education sector produces thousands of employable graduates. There can be some drop outs. But such people are there in any society. At SCMS we provide special personality development programs to ensure our students are acceptable for global business. Many institutions are imitating us to build quality. That shows the effectiveness of our program. What is your view on affordable education? Affordable institutions should be there to provide quality education to the economically poor students. But these institutions should be started by the Government. Private sector, which runs on fee alone, cannot provide affordable education. Fee structure in India is not too high. We should realize that one needs money to offer quality education. We are not looking for huge profits, but we are hiring the best talents available, offering best of facilities. This needs money. When we give importance to quality, it has to be necessarily expensive. Take any sector. Quality has a price. Five star hotels and two star hotels are not priced the same. Fee at IIMs, in spite of Government funding, is so high from fee of other institutions. Because they claim a very high quality. Apart from best of education at SCMS we are

improving very fast in comparison with other countries. But we need more time to develop as centers of What are your future plans? excellence. In spite of the criticism of We are planning new initiatives in poor quality of our education 35% of education. No institution can survive NASA engineers are from our without growth with stability. Last year institutions in India. Yes, India will we added a School of Architecture. definitely be an international education Next year we are going to start a hub in the near future. Polytechnic. We are planning to be The process has already started. Many part of the Smart City with a higher institutions in India are already secondary school, an engineering attracting hundreds of foreign college and a management institution. students. The process is bound to We also plan to have a high tech grow in the coming decades. Because training centre to offer upgraded our country is soon to become the knowledge to IT professionals at the third largest economy. Education has a Smart City. We also have plans to major role in the economic expand our activities to other locations development of a country. including Bangalore and London. In Bangalore, SCMS is establishing SCMS School of Engineering and Technology and SCMS Bangalore School of Business. In London, a Business School affiliated to a leading University of UK is being established. Both these institutions will become operational in the near future. doing other charity works also as part of our social responsibility.

What is the future of Indian education? Do you think that India will be an education hub in the near future? The future of our education sector is very bright. Do not compare our institutions with Harvard or other international institutions. They have earned their reputation through centuries of hard work. Most of our intuitions were started only after independence. We are

Pallikkutam | January 2016

EXPERT COUNSEL

The Outliers Dr. K.N. Raghavan 1) Why do some people attain greatness while rest of their compatriots fail to do so? 2) Why is it that only a few of the children classified as having IQ levels bordering on genius do well in life? 3) What are the reasons behind some communities not having to fear the scourge of diseases like heart attack and peptic ulcer despite having identical food habits as their fellow countrymen? 4) Why do air crashes occur? 5) Why are Asian students considered to be better at Mathematics than their western counterparts? These are some of the questions that Malcolm Gladwell attempts to answer in his bestselling book “Outliers- The Story of Success”. Gladwell, who

Pallikkutam | November January 2016 2015

Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers- The Story of Success”. should be made mandatory reading for all students and trainers of human behaviour and management as well as by all those who wish to get ahead in life.

describes himself as an author, journalist, cultural commentator and intellectual adventurer had penned two more books and found place in the Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential persons in the world in 2005. In this book he attempts to wreck some of the well renowned and best articulated recipes for success with the help of published statistical data and forceful arguments founded on logic and reason. The answer to question no: 1) would be seen as obvious- hard work- as it goes without saying that no one has even achieved greatness without burning midnight oil. However what Gladwell has postulated in this book is the “10000 hour rule” according to which only those persons who have put in 10000 hours of practice have achieved greatness in their respective fields. He has brought out the

EXPERT COUNSEL

examples of Beatles, Bill Joy (who wrote the computer programme Unix and Java) and Bill Gates to prove his point. However what is unique to Gladwell’s postulation is that only those who are absolutely committed to their area of interest and are fortunate enough would get opportunities for putting in so many hours in their formative years. 10000 hours is not a small amount of time and would involve between six and seven hours of practice for at least 300 days a year continuously for at least five years. Gladwell found that not only were members of Beatles as well as Bill Joy and Bill Gates brilliant and focused in their line of work but they also got lucky breaks very early in their lives that provided them access to practice in their respective areas and hone their skills to perfection. Regarding question no: 2) Gladwell relies on the result of the study conducted by Lewes Terman in the post World War I phase wherein he had identified around 1400 primary students as possessing IQ in excess of 140, which would place in them in category of those having potential for evolving into genius. Terman followed the career of these boys, who were nicknamed as “termites” assiduously and found that while 20% (group A) rose to their potential becoming leaders or decision makers in their chosen fields and another 60% (group

B) performed reasonably well, the remaining 20% (group C) did not make their mark in life. When Terman studied the group C closely he found that the only factor that separated this cohort

Relationship between success and IQ works only up to a point beyond which all are equal and possessing higher IQ points does not translate into any advantage.

from the rest was their family background in that almost all of them came from broken or single parent families. These kids has intelligence levels, curiosity and mental agility at

par with those in group A but failed to do well in life as their potential was not provided the environment to blossom. Another finding that emerged from the studies was that none of the “termites” could win Nobel prize while two of those rejected entry to this select group on account of having IQ below 140 became Nobel laureates. This, along with couple of other examples, helped Gladwell to arrive at the conclusion that relationship between success and IQ works only up to a point beyond which all are equal and possessing higher IQ points does not translate into any advantage. The importance of family and community in promoting the health of individuals is highlighted by Gladwell when he analyses question no: 3). Here he brings out the example of the community of Italians located at Roseta in Pennsylvania. These were a group of immigrants from Italy who came in search of work in the quarries and settled down and built a small township, transplanting most of the social customs and traditions of their native country. The town had tree lined avenues, a small chapel, a kitchen garden behind all houses where families invariably had their meals together and grandparents were respected. While this was by no accounts a prosperous town, what set them apart was the fact that none of

Pallikkutam | January 2016

EXPERT COUNSEL the male population in the community suffered heart attacks before the age of 65 nor did anyone suffer from peptic ulcer. This baffled the medical community in USA as heart attack and peptic ulcer were the most common causes of mortality and morbidity in that country during the 1950-60â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Studies conducted found that what set this community apart from the rest of the country was the adherence to traditional family and community ethos that they had sustained through their stay in USA. The people in this community ate the same food, used the same cooking medium and did not do any additional exercise but the stress free environment provided by adherence to traditional family and community values vested them with protective armour against diseases that plagued the rest of the country. Gladwell postulates, with the support of examples and evidences, that air plane crashes are invariably due to result of accumulation of minor difficulties and trivial malfunctions than any serious technical failure. In a typical accident the weather is poor, not terrible, the flight is late and pilots are trying to make up for lost time, the pilots have been flying for more than 12 hours and hence tired and pilots have not flown together before. In this scenario, one of the pilots make a mistake, which, by itself, is not serious but gets compounded by remaining uncorrected, or worse, by more errors being committed. Gladwell has found that on an average it takes seven such mistakes to lead to a crash and in most cases the series of errors happen on account of communication gap amongst the crew in the cockpit and between them and the Air Traffic Control. Based on this hypothesis, Gladwell makes out a strong case for effective communication between pilot and the officers in the cockpit and with Air Traffic control, while taking into consideration the culture of the airline and its employees towards expressing a

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contrarian point of view towards superior authority. Gladwell attributes the proficiency of Asian students towards Mathematics to their doggedness and perseverance while tackling problems. He has found similarities between these traits and the vocation of paddy farming which

What makes the book interesting is the manner with which Gladwell elucidates his hypotheses, with the prose peppered by interesting examples to avoid the monotony plague works of this genre.

interesting is the manner with which Gladwell elucidates his hypotheses, with the prose peppered by interesting examples to avoid the monotony plague works of this genre. This book is fast paced and written in a style that is easy to comprehend, bringing it into the class of page turners, akin to works of fiction. This book should be made mandatory reading for all students and trainers of human behaviour and management as well as by all those who wish to get ahead in life.

The author is the Commissioner of Customs in Kochi, Kerala.

demands back breaking work round the year. He also found that the numerology adopted in Asian languages made basic learning of mathematics easier when compared to that used in English language. In all probability it is a combination of both factors that has helped Asian students to achieve this proficiency over their counterparts from western world. One may not always agree with the conclusions that Gladwell arrives at but no one would be able to ignore the rationale underlying his inferences. What makes the book

STORIES OF LIFE

Dr. Jose Cletus Plackal

On the dynamics of becoming a terrorist or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;martyrâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Why such pious men and women take up arms and ammunition and conduct brutal, warlike operations on people who are not directly connected with any violence or atrocities?

eople all over the world are watching with dread and dismay the horrific acts of violence and carnage perpetrated by self proclaimed prophets and protectors of divine justice and restitution. The violence and destruction, indiscriminate as it is, continues unabated. Recently, what happened in San Bernardino, California, caught the attention of the world. It was coldblooded murder of handicapped and hapless victims of a care home, and it gave us the rudest shock of all. The fact that this gruesome murder in broad daylight was

perpetrated by a young, god-fearing woman who had a nursing baby, raises quite a few questions. Why such pious men and women take up arms and ammunition and conduct brutal, warlike operations on people who are not directly connected with any violence or atrocities?

There are many theories that interpret human personality and development and functioning and dysfunctioning. Many psycho-social theories have attempted to interpret human behavior and malfunctioning on the basis of the theories proposed by many an eminent scholar. Notable among them are Sigmund Freud (Psycho-sexual Development Theory), Jean Piaget(Cognitive Development Theory), Lawrence Kohlberg(Moral Development Theory), Erik H Erikson(Psychosocial Stages of Development), James W. Fowler(Stages of Faith Development Theory),et al. All the above mentioned theories are called structural developmental theories. They all propose one thing in common: everyone has to go through structures and attending appropriate tasks or functions specific to each stage of development. Each stage has its agespecific structure and corresponding function/task. If one gets stuck in one earlier stage, then he/ she may not be able to function at the later, higher stage.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

STORIES OF LIFE

When we understand the dynamics of making, what we call a terrorist, is in fact a martyr of his faith, undeveloped as it may be. In our search for understanding the inner dynamics of a terrorist in the making, we are banking on the Faith Development Theory of James W. Fowler. According to this theory, faith is a developmental phenomenon, taking place at stages in life. There are six stages to faith development. They are 1) Pre-stage, Infantile faith or Undifferentiated faith which is based on the mutuality of basic trust given by primary care givers. This is the rock bottom on which the infant will build his/her life’s meaning world, including faith. 2) Mythic Literal faith which is typical of children, two to seven years of age. Imagination is dominant at this stage. 3) Synthetic Conventional faith is more appropriate for adolescent age group. At this stage faith is held together by the external authority, and conventional groupings are vital for survival. Many persons do not go beyond this stage of development. 4) Individuative Reflective faith, young adulthood onwards, becomes reflective and critical of community’s faith. 5) Conjunctive faith starts at about midlife onwards, able to hold together different perspectives, openness to mystery, post critical outlook, open to truths in other traditions etc. 6) Universalizing faith: No specific age; decentered from self, values faith of other people, transcends the interests of one community, etc., are traits of this stage.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

Keeping this general introductory remarks in mind we revisit stage three of faith development, namely, Synthetic Conventional faith. To my mind this stage of faith development has much to do with the kind of

distortion, uncritical thinking and blind obedience to higher authorities that are conspicuous in people who undertake mercenary missions. At this stage of faith development, one is not capable of choosing reflectively and critically. Most of the meaning world and code of living come from the authority of community. Moreover,

authority figures remain important and obeying their orders is vital to the individual’s sense of well-being. Faith also gives identity to the young person and hence questioning one’s beliefs is perceived as threat. There is an instinct to stay connected with one’s group and other groups may be seen as potential enemies. Keeping the above points in mind, think of what happens to a person who is caught up in the intense indoctrination of a particular group bend on retribution, revenge etc. The authority seeks and obtains absolute surrender to the common cause by entering into a serious contract, and along with this intense and continuous indoctrination and brainwashing take place. It’s “us versus them”, “their injustice has to be redressed by you”, “this is what god asks of you”, etc. Add to this the transcendent values such as eternal reward and happiness, the honor that one brings to family and community. As group needs are given absolute value and prominence, the individual is willing to obey the authority and gets ready to conform to community demands. When we understand the dynamics of making, what we call a terrorist, is in fact a martyr of his faith, undeveloped as it may be.

The author is licensed clinical psychologist (HRT), Jeevas Centre Aluva, Kerala.

PERSONAL

Unmarried woman,

crazy for chocolates...

Even though I would want to stop eating, all my control goes haywire on such occasions and I would continue with eating until I can’t eat anymore or that I have ran out of the stocks! Later on I feel bad about it and vow never to repeat it, but it does happen again! Sajith Malliyoor

am a twenty three years old unmarried woman, working with an educational institution in Kerala. I am a very health conscious person. I always try to eat healthy and balanced diets and exercise on a regular basis. But despite all my rigorous attempts, I always remain slightly on the obese side. One reason for my overweight could be that, at times I find it hard to control my food cravings. Food items like chocolates, nuts, ice creams etc. are the major culprits. Even though I would want to stop eating, all my control goes haywire on such occasions and I would continue with eating until I can’t eat anymore or that I have ran out of the stocks! Later on I feel bad about it and vow never to repeat it, but it does happen again! It happens,

probably once or twice a month, but I am afraid that is contributing to my overweight problem. The counselor in my institution says that I have an eating disorder and that I should consult a psychologist for the treatment. Do you think I need treatment for the issue or are there any ways I can help myself with the problem? I would begin by contradicting your sentence; “Food items like chocolates, nuts, ice creams etc. are the major culprits”. Eating problems are not just about foods! They can be more about difficult things in your life and painful feelings, which you may be finding hard to express, face or resolve. Focusing on food can be a way of disguising these problems, even from you. We don’t always eat simply to

satisfy hunger. We also turn to food for comfort, stress relief, or as a reward. This tendency to respond to stress by eating, even when not hungry, is called emotional eating. The foods that emotional eaters crave are referred to as comfort foods. They are often high- calorie or highcarbohydrate food items like ice creams, chips, chocolates, cookies, pizzas and other junk foods. Statistics says that about 40% of people tend to eat more when stressed, while about 40% eat less and 20% experience no change in the amount of food they eat when exposed to stress. You may be one, who belongs to first 40% of people; who is likely to eat more when under stress! Emotional eating is a fairly common behavioural problem which can

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PERSONAL significantly interfere with your attempts to maintain a healthy diet and can contribute to obesity. At times it can be a symptom of a clinical condition we call as atypical depression, but more often people who manifest this behaviour do not have any diagnosable mental health issues. Emotional eating is a great way to gain weight! We eat to distract ourselves from problems or for comfort when we feel rejected, lonely, sad or even angry. Unfortunately, emotional eating doesn’t fix emotional problems. It usually makes you feel worse. Afterward, not only does the original emotional issue remain, but you also feel guilty for overeating. We all over eat from time to time, like an extra ice cream even though you are already full, but here the difference is that you are using food to make yourself feel better-eating to fill emotional needs, rather than to fill your stomach. Again, using food from time to time as a pickme-up, a reward, or to celebrate isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But when eating is your primary emotional coping mechanism - when your first impulse is to open the refrigerator whenever you’re upset, angry, lonely, stressed, exhausted, or bored - you get stuck in an unhealthy cycle where the real feeling or problem is never addressed. Before you can break free from the cycle of emotional eating, you first need to learn how to distinguish between emotional and physical hunger. This can be trickier than it sounds, especially if you regularly use food to deal with your feelings. Emotional hunger can be powerful. As a result, it’s easy to mistake it for physical hunger. But there are clues you can look for that can help you tell physical and emotional hunger apart. Physical hunger builds up gradually. The urge to eat doesn’t feel as dire or demand instant satisfaction, whereas in emotional eating it hits you

Pallikkutam | September January 2016 2015

in an instant and feels overwhelming and urgent. Emotional hunger craves fatty foods or sugary snacks that

We don’t always eat simply to satisfy hunger. We also turn to food for comfort, stress relief, or as a reward. This tendency to respond to stress by eating, even when not hungry, is called emotional eating. provide an instant rush, but when you’re physically hungry, almost anything sounds good including healthy stuffs like vegetables. In emotional hunger you don’t feel satisfied even when you

are full; you keep wanting more and continue eating until you are uncomfortably stuffed. Physical hunger, on the other hand, doesn't need to be stuffed. You feel satisfied when your stomach is full. And the most salient feature of the emotional hunger is that afterwards you feel guilty and ashamed for losing your self-control. The first step in putting a stop to emotional eating is identifying your personal triggers that set off the behaviour. People indulge in emotional eating for many different reasons. Identify what situations, places, or feelings make you reach for the comfort of food. Keep in mind that while most emotional eating is linked to unpleasant feelings, it can also be triggered by positive emotions, such as rewarding yourself for achieving a goal or celebrating a holiday or happy event. But of course, stress is the most common culprit. When stress is chronic, as it so often is in our chaotic, fast-paced world, it leads to high levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol triggers cravings for salty, sweet, and high-fat foodsfoods that give you a burst of energy and pleasure. The more uncontrolled stress in your life,

PERSONAL

Once you identify your emotional eating triggers, the next step is identifying healthier ways to feed your feelings. the more likely you are to turn to food for emotional relief. In order to identify the specific triggers and patterns behind your emotional eating, it is a good idea to keep a food and mood diary. Every time you overeat or feel compelled to eat, take a moment to figure out what triggered the urge. If you backtrack, you’ll usually find an upsetting event that kicked of the emotional eating cycle. Write it all down in your food and mood diary: what you ate (or wanted to eat), what happened to upset you, how you felt before you ate, what you felt as you were eating, and how you felt afterward.

social support or exercise. Both provide mood benefits and are positive actions to take. You can also work on becoming more mindful and accepting of your emotions as they are. Practice basic mindfulness skills like scanning your body to notice any feelings. Observe and describe where and how you feel those emotions. Allow yourself to sit with

Over time, you will see a pattern emerge. The trigger could be any sort of emotional or stressful event; it may be a deadline to meet, an argument with your best friend or it may even be a joyous time, as kind of a way of making a fun time even more fun. Once you identify your emotional eating triggers, the next step is identifying healthier ways to feed your feelings. There are some practical steps you can take to prevent emotional eating. Eat consistently throughout the day so you never end up too hungry. Plan your meals at least the day before. Prepare your meals and snacks the night before (if you are going to work). Always have something healthy to eat within arm’s reach or a short walk to the fridge. Keep tempting foods out of the house/office. When you find yourself sad, anxious, stressed, or bored, seek

them without trying to change them or make them go away. See if you can imagine making room for them and allowing them to come and go naturally. Learn this skill well and you can step out of the emotionally eating carousel almost entirely. Finally, you can orient to the longterm cost of emotional eating. The

short-term comfort or relief you get from eating is replaced often by guilt or shame soon after. This can become a vicious cycle because if you feel guilty or shameful about what you ate, and you really want to feel better right now… food is there for you again. And the cycle continues. You may have been stressed from a difficult day at work, but now you added shame to that. That’s a big cost, and the cost is there because you said “no, you must change” to the stress. So there is a cost to being unwilling to feel what we feel, and that has long-term health implications if your primary coping strategy is eating. Practice bringing this cost to your awareness explicitly, “If I eat this cake now I will feel better for a short time and then worse later on and I will also have harmed my health a little.” The goal isn’t to make the healthy choice every time, but to simply make it a choice, as opposed to automatically eating, and then over time perhaps you start choosing health more.

Send queries to malliyoor@outlook.com (Sajith Malliyoor regrets he can not enter into personal correspondence)

Pallikkutam | January 2016

Role of

education

parents in

COVER STORY

KSR Menon

Parental pedagogy

Children whose parents tended them with love, had time to answer their queries, and hugged, kissed and praised them, enjoyed higher IQs. They had better memory and better language skills.

he role of parenting in a child’s education begins right from conception. Just as we know that alcohol and smoking hamper the baby’s development inside the womb, a healthy diet, exercises, prayers,

positive thinking, and avoidance of stress all contribute to a healthy baby. The first years after birth are most crucial for the child. A US study in the late 1980s found that children who were brought up in poor circumstances had low Intelligence Quotients (IQs). Happy homes contributed to more intelligent kids, researchers found. Children whose parents tended them with love, had time to answer their queries, and hugged, kissed and praised them, enjoyed higher IQs. They had better memory and better language skills. The researchers also found that better nurturing till the age of four resulted in a bigger hippocampus - a part of the brain associated with memory. Kids learn the fastest in their early years and their brain architecture is also set at the time. This is the time when kids spend maximum time with their parents and the parents’ value systems, knowledge and skills can be easily passed on to the child. At the same time, an unhappy home can traumatize the child,

emotionally cripple him, and sometimes can forever damage their ability to learn. It goes without saying that caring parents contribute considerably to the child’s education if they maintain an atmosphere at home conducive for the child’s emotional as well as learning skills development. As the child goes to school, the parents remain his role model. A home can be an unobtrusive and excellent school if the child has the opportunity to learn while exploring nature with parents, listening to stories, or just by watching the parents practicing their skill whether it be music or sports. After this, the school and teachers take over the task of educating the child more formally. And this is the time when the parents’ role has to be redefined or honed for the optimum development of the child. How can parents best engage in a child’s education? In a highly competitive world, where both the parents may be working, schooling is often an arduous and difficult task for the parents as well as the child. The parents are stressed by the need to find time to interact with the child as earlier, as their engagement now is to help the child complete the tasks assigned from the school. More research studies need to be done to

Pallikkutam | January 2016

COVER STORY STORY COVER ascertain the usefulness of many projects set for children. The impact of the weight of school bag on a child’s health is also an issue that has been much discussed over the years. It is difficult to lay down hard and fast rules for parents on how to engage with a child’s education. Whenever required, they may have to help the child with what is being taught at school, provided they are qualified for the job. The children whose parents are less educated will be at a disadvantage but they also can help the child by giving emotional support or by getting help from outside at times to help with difficult subjects. But it is debatable whether it is advisable to have a parallel tuition system in addition to regular schooling, which however seems to be the norm of the day. Many schools nowadays tend not to burden the child with homework and many schools have facilities for the child to keep the books in the class both of which could result in better adjusted children.

would enjoy mastering it. Very often in this competitive world, parents force gifted children to pursue run of the mill, ordinary professions which ultimately may conflict them, never letting them realize their potential. Good parenting should ideally not set

If a child is gifted in the fields of art, be it music, sports or drawing, it is for the parent to spot it and encourage it as a child would enjoy mastering it.

harsh standards for the child to meet and also not compare him with others. Parents should make the child feel that he is the best in his own way and that he need not be judged in comparison Again what the parent’s ideal to other students. A child who feels he engagement should be depends upon cannot meet the standards set by his the needs of the child. If a child is parents will believe that he is a failure. gifted in the fields of art, be it music, In today’s world, opportunities are sports or drawing, it is for the parent to umpteen and there are many vocations spot it and encourage it as a child any child can follow.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

It is for parents to play a supplementary and supportive role in education for their children. True education should prepare children to be leaders in the fields for which they have a talent. A great school would focus on that aspect and sometimes that great school can even be the child’s own home. What Kahlil Gibran, the great Lebanese American poet and writer wrote in his famous poem “On Children” holds good even today: You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

The author is a television commentator and former Foreign Correspondent (Middle East) of Press Trust of India. Desert Hunt is his latest book. Widely travelled, he has authored two other books: A Stylebook for Journalists and Authors and a travelogue in Malayalam MagyarukaluteNattil.

COVER STORY

Adv. Hariraj M R

Parenting the student

Parents have to be all what we want our children must be. What model are we providing a child who finds their grandparents and parents glued to the Television during the entire evening?

mmu was very cross at me. She was fully justified. Her note book had a red ‘x’ mark across her project. An endorsement demands her to re-do the work and I am responsible. At the relevant time, Ammu was in class I. Her project was to draw a boy’s picture and mark body parts, like hand, eye, forehead, elbow etc. I have some background in drawing and I am the acknowledged artist in the family. But when Ammu demanded that I should help her in the project, I refused to draw the picture and said she should do it herself. And she did. With the acumen of a six year old artist, her boy turned out to be surrealistic. But the teacher, probably overwhelmed by Raja Ravi Varma-like reproductions of the textbook-picture, was not impressed by the young Picasso. Ammu found me guilty of having not helped her with her school project. I completed the work myself and I scored a star the next day. I had been left wondering why a six year old who did her work on her own, be discouraged and later awarded a star for something which obviously is not her work. But then it appears to be common understanding that parents must ‘help’ the children with their curriculum. Is that the role of parents in education? A family legend says that my grandfather was very fond of studying. But his father was not that supportive. The patriarch thought that money spend on education was sheer waste. The boy could do better supervising the family properties. Appuppan had to steal small vessels from his own home to pay his school fees. Valyappuppan (Great Grandfather) is rumoured to have

Pallikkutam | January 2016

COVER STORY STORY COVER retained one person on his pay roll only to advise his son not to go to school. With those adversities, my grandfather managed to become a school teacher. As for him, he gave as much education to his children as they wanted. From what I hear, he neither compelled, nor discouraged his children in respect of education. By the time my father started parenting, the importance of education was well recognised. I have seen in my generation many who were brought up like broiler chickens with the sole intention of taking medical/ engineering examinations. I have also seen certain disastrous consequences of such upbringing. Fortunately I did not fall in that category. As for my parents, they did insist that I must do my work as a student with all my commitment, but there were no fixed targets to achieve. The choice of career, the decision as to what to do with my life, was always my freedom. Looking back, I am thankful to them for that. If I can, that is the same I want to give my children.

But a person is not educated only in class rooms. The subhashitam says that only a quarter of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knowledge is attained from teachers. Another one fourth is attained by the student himself, and yet another he attains from his peers. The final two bits come only by life

Pallikkutam | January 2016

experience, over time. I feel it is not in the institutionalised education attained from text books that the parents have a substantial role to play, but in the other three quarter that they have a responsibility.

fearfully realise that around us is a new generation that is over-protected and over-supported.

One cannot blame parents alone for this because we are in difficult times where physical security of children â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is only one way to learn. It's cannot be taken for granted even in through actionâ&#x20AC;?, says Paulo Coelho broad day-light. But that cannot justify us putting our children in golden cages. It is necessary that we expose is necessary that we expose our children to life in our children to all its severity. life in all its severity. What use is a generation which can programme space shuttles, but cannot cross the street to buy candy?

through the Alchemist. It is for the parents to inspire children to constant action through which they learn. It is the responsibility of the parents to keep the children alive to social realities and continuously give them opportunity to act on their own. I

If growing number of family disputes ending up in courts is any indication, the average emotional quotient of our society has reached alarmingly low levels. The culprits are many. Nuclear families, alienation from social life, increased reliance on technology etc. have rendered our children more and more self centred. Even the best lack necessary interpersonal skills. It is indeed the responsibility of parents to ensure that the children understand that there exist a world outside the four walls of their house

COVER STORY and the TV screen in the living room. One must agree with the great American Author Du Bois when he says “Children learn from what you are, than what you teach”. So parents have to be all what we want our children must be. Life’s values are not learned from printed words. Parents are children’s first and best role models. It is easier to inspire emulation, than to insist obedience. The role of parents in making children complete human beings therefore cannot be overemphasised. There are no bounds to the extent of exposure contemporary childhood receives. The explosion of information has lead to a situation where it is extremely difficult to sieve the kind of things the children are exposed to. We have blamed peer pressure for addiction to substance abuse. But today parents, inclusive of grant parents, are to be blamed for addiction of children to TV and internet. It is necessary to filter the exposure our young minds are subjected to because their imagination is influenced by what they receive from outside. What model are we providing a child who finds their grandparents and parents glued to the Television during the entire evening? Be it the soap

operas laden with cruelty, deceit and tears, or news channels which paint everything in harshest tones possible. The increased crime rates

It is not for us to walk their path. It is their battle and they have to fight it on their own. It is not for us to clear their path of every stone and thorn. But our responsibility is to make them aware that there exist hurdles on their path and to instill confidence in them to face the same with a smile. among children, which has lead us to see even instances of most gruesome crimes by children unheard of before, has to be

attributed to the increased media exposure children are having. The idea the modern media leaves about the world around us in the children is distorted and abusive. It is impossible to shut out the young minds from the influence of such aggressive intrusions. But then, it is for the parents to equip the children with enough moral courage and intellectual strength to overcome them. Having said that one should also understand that the world our children have to face is not going to be the same world we face. It is not for us to walk their path. It is their battle and they have to fight it on their own. It is not for us to clear their path of every stone and thorn. But our responsibility is to make them aware that there exist hurdles on their path and to instill confidence in them to face the same with a smile. Their thoughts and actions though inspired by those of ours will be different from ours. The final obligation of a parent in completing the education of a child is to step back and permit the child to brave the waves all by himself/herself. The author is an advocate, practicing mainly at the High Court of Kerala and active in many social organisations.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

COVER STORY

Geetha Jayaraman

The motivating factor W

hen children are born, parents are very keen to ensure that they receive the best nutrition, the best schooling, the best recreational facilities, the best amenities and so on. In order to actualise this wish list, they devote all their time and energy to cook for them, help them do their homework, take them around and assist them in the multitude of ventures they get into. Surprisingly, in the middle of this frenzy of activities to make their life better, many parents overlook the most important obligation towards their children, that, they are also accountable for preparing their kids for their adult life when they will be out of sight and reach.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you think it is our duty to spare our children the misery and unhappiness that we have undergone by sharing the lessons we have learnt from our own mistakes. Pallikkutam | January 2016

It is getting apparent day by day that all is not well with the parenting strategies that evolved by the end of the 1960s in the affluent countries, and now spreading fast over the rest of the world. This new-wave formula differed almost totally from all that the older generation preached and practiced till then. It spurred the parents to satisfy the needs and demands of the kids without interfering in their choices and habits, and not acquainting them with any of the old-world customs and values. Old school of thoughts was that allowing a child to do whatever he wants and letting him learn the ways of life solely through his own experiences would cause more harm than good. They also believed that a

COVER STORY child should get training from an early age to feel responsible for his own thoughts, words and deeds. But the new generation of parents generally believe that children however young should learn from their own mistakes and it is not the parent to pass on to their kids their age old wisdom by way of advice or rules. Kids lack the reasoning ability, the wider perspective and the adjustment skills that the older individuals gain through their experiences in life. So instead of forcing the fearful kid to be brave, by making mistakes and learning from those mistakes, the more humane way is to wait till he acquires the mental prowess as well as the proficiency to evaluate different situations on his own and then act accordingly. As a child he has to be assisted to learn to control and correct himself and then only he will be able to do so in his later life. When we look back on our own past, there may be some decisions that we regret, some actions we wish we could delete, and some words which we wish we could call back. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you think it is our duty to spare our children the misery and unhappiness that we have undergone by sharing the lessons we have learnt from our own mistakes. We may not be able to provide a thickly insulated readymade life for them, however much we try. But we can provide them the expertise to circumvent or climb over the hurdles instead of always allowing them to go head on at it to almost surely get hurt. It is true that the world is changing and the attitude of people all over the world is also undergoing changes. Nevertheless, the generic values like integrity, truthfulness, sincerity, love etc. will never lose its importance as long as human beings coexist. The

The future of our society depends on the way we provide value based education to our children now because the destiny of this

planet rests in their hands. That kind of education should start from home as that is the first school where the child learns to interact with a world outside his own self.

future of our society depends on the way we provide value based education to our children now because the destiny of this planet rests in their hands. That kind of education should start from home as that is the first school where the child learns to interact with a world outside his own self. In the present world it may be difficult for parents to keep our kids away from activities which call for minimum creativity and imagination. But at the same time, there is no doubt that when our kids have to go through unfortunate situations in later life, the blurred images of TV programmes, Barbie dolls and video games of their childhood days are insufficient to provide any kind of solutions or solace. But the memory of some creative or progressive activity that he had undertaken alone or in the company of others that had given him a sense of confidence or achievement could come as a helping hand in overcoming the hurdles in front of him. So parents neednâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesitate to educate a child on the merit and demerits of his chosen activities and keep a check on the number of hours he could spend on each of them. Our involvement in their lives could have far reaching and ever lasting effects. In the present time, when the chances of straying away from the right path are more and the unconventional attractions are too many, unless we train our child to listen to and follow our directions, they will find it difficult to observe the set of rules of any authority, both in the school as well as in the work place. Evidently, it could create harmful repercussions. The tragic vehicle accidents, expulsions

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COVER STORY from educational and professional institutions, impulsive violence cases etc. are examples that we come across almost every day in the society.

to ‘responsibilities’ that he owes to others. Over-emphasis on the rights of children, propagated by men and Children accept and react to parents’ media, ignoring their responsibilities guidance depending on the way they to themselves and the society, seems The most important role of a parent in communicate with them as well as the to be bringing out not so pleasant educating his child is of motivation. values they hold and the ideals they results in the final round. Seeking Setting a goal and trying to attain it follow in their own life. Respect cannot self-interest and pleasures at the cost could be very effective motivating be cultivated or demanded from of future disaster and inconvenience factors for kids. Make them anyone. Elders have to be honourable for others disrupts relationships and understand why they should study or first to expect regard from children. damage harmony in any society and behave in a certain manner. Find out brings alienation and loneliness A kid who considers himself as not what they want to become even among individuals. Family is the place very bright may try to keep away from though their interests would vary day to make the children aware of this and the smarter students of his class and is by day. In the absence of a definite schools should reinstate these values likely to move with the idlers thereby purpose to strive for, and definitive in them. hampering his progress in studies. So it principles they should adhere to, they is important for the parents to instil in will lose their sense of direction and If we teach our kids how to live in him the self-esteem that is essential for harmony with those who stay around they are likely to stagger away when success. That will help him become they reach adolescence. The them, as well as the others who dwell aimlessness we see in the behaviour of confident in his assets and abilities and in domains farther away, they will do many of the youths that we see around wouldn’t be wasting his time trying to well on their own and also make this impress others or catch their attention. world a wonderful place to thrive. We us is mainly due to this lack of At the same time, being certain about motivation. parents have the ability and the his boundaries, he would retain his know-how to retrieve and reintroduce Parents’ impulsive shrieks of NOOOOs specific standard of behaviour which the old-world charm to our homes and and DOOOOON’Ts give way to would prevent him from imitating neighbourhoods. Though difficult, it lectures and sermons on ethical codes others or getting influenced by peer is definitely possible, provided, we and conducts as long as they are in group. are earnest about our motives and our audible range. If we expect our eager in our pursuits. Another important point of education children to understand and abide by from the part of the parent is to make our rules and regulations and acquire The author is an English teacher with the child aware that fulfilling a moral Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan. Have done our values, our counseling must be backed up with an effective example to obligation or a responsibility provides Malayalam to English translation and published articles in various English immense satisfaction. ‘Rights’ which point out. Otherwise, it is difficult to are due to a child are closely connected publications.

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capture their attention to create any lasting impression on them.

COVER STORY

Give them space, they are unique Dr. Devi K Varma

ducation is a word with multifarious dimensions. For the time being let us confine it to the simple practical meaning pertaining to our daily life. I think we can classify the process of education that a child has to undergo into three wide areas. One is the formal academic process of acquiring knowledge and information through the teaching â&#x20AC;&#x201C; learning activity. Second is the wide range of formal and informal sources through which a child can acquire knowledge

Train the child to accept success without over pride and to face defeats without distress and disappointments. Recognize and encourage the talent potential of your child. Give him space. Observe and listen. Express to the child that he is unique in all possible ways.

and information. The third is the process of character formation and value enrichment of a child. When we think about the parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; role in education, all these areas are to be dealt with separately. A fast and wondering change has been occurred in our society for two-three decades. The process of Globalization through information technology, tourism and marketing has re-defined our needs. Our educational system, the mode of curriculum, the aim of education are

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COVER STORY changed according to the whole economic and cultural change. The absolute aim of education is to make a refined and confidant society. In such a society people must aware of their state and its position. But in a new academic system our children are not even getting a chance to look at their surroundings. What is our role in molding independent and sensible individuals? I think we can play different roles in academic and value based education of a child. Help the child to set goals: Goal setting is an important step in the process of education. Goals can be classified into short term goals and long term goals. Expected performance in the forthcoming tests, exams and co curricular activities can be included in the former, while the achievements on completion of the academic year or academic course can be included in the later. But the parents should be careful in one aspect. What we see today in this area is a very wrong practice. Now a days the parents would set the goals for the child and force the child to achieve them. It is un-scientific and unhealthy practice. Let the child think reasonably about his/her strong points, weak points, positive and negative factors around him at home and in the school. And let him arrive conclusions on how to utilize the positive factors to the maximum

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Now a days the parents would set the goals for the child and force the child to achieve them. It is un-scientific and unhealthy practice.

and overcome the negatives. The parents should provide practical suggestions and directions only. Never ever provide the conclusions. Let the child be practical and realistic. Encourage a problem solving approach as a parent. Answering or solving a problem for the child would not help him always. Train the child to accept success without over pride and to face defeats without distress and disappointments. Recognize and encourage the talent potential of your child. Let the child bloom in his talents. Give him space. Observe and listen. Express to the child that he is unique in all possible ways. Help the child to set a timetable of his own

COVER STORY

and to follow it as far as possible. While setting the timetable care should be taken to provide ample time for free time activities, play, exercise, prayer etc. The timetable should also be set by the child himself with proper assistance from the parents. The parents must not set a timetable and ask the child to follow it. Home work â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a villain(?): The modern scheme of education doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support the system of over burdening the child with homework and creating a sort of aversion for the child to studies as a whole. But still some schools are very particular in giving homework. If the child is over burdened with homework donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help him by doing the work by the parent. Homework should serve to accentuate the study habits of the child and increase his initiative and independent responsibility. Properly done homework will enhance

Homework should serve to accentuate the study habits of the child and increase his initiative and independent responsibility. Properly done homework will enhance organizing ability, problem solving capacity, attention span and memory and time management.

organizing ability, problem solving capacity, attention span and memory and time management. Provide maximum facilities for the child to complete the homework by himself. And if you really think that the child is being over loaded with homework approach the school authorities and try to share your vies with them so as to help the child. Effective and positive use of Information sources: As we all know children today are exposed to a very wide range of information sources. It is the duty and responsibility of a parent to have appositive control over this. But it is not as easy as we state or think. The most effective measure is to maintain a very good rapport with the child. Even from the kindergarten stage parents must spend a quality time with the child. That will provide an opportunity for the child to tell about all the small incidents and conversations and the

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COVER STORY every little bit of experience the child had every day. If this practice is started from the childhood the child would develop a sense of security to share all his day to day experiences. If the child tries to hide something or to tell some lie donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t burst out or punish the child indiscriminately. Create an atmosphere at home that encourages them to speak openly without being prejudiced or judged unnecessarily. In the present socio educational system, importance is only given to the scholastic achievements of a child. Character formation and value education are neglected to a large extent. Parents are caretakers of children provide them with most of

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam inspired our children to keep beautiful and aspiring dreams. For him dreams are not fascinations or fantasies but an outlook to be developed towards the society; towards their own career and life.

their resources. A childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first relationship sets the tone and style for his later development. Invariably that relationship is with the parents. It acts at emotional, psychological, social and spiritual levels. In a joint family system the pristine bond that a child forms with its grandparents is the warmest one. It is capped by a stream of stories, often with an underlying moral message that the grandpa and grandma tell their grandchild. The child will conceive a wisdom regarding the right and wrong , reward for fairness and punishment for wrong-doing etc. A joint family system will help the children to develop some values for life. So the parents and the total family atmosphere plays a key role in the development and formation of an individual. It is a process of shaping the clay into art. Each parent can creatively mold the character of the child to the desired shape and beauty. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam inspired our children to keep beautiful and aspiring dreams. For him dreams are not fascinations or fantasies but an outlook to be developed towards the society; towards their own career and life. In the present scenario do we give them a chance to make such a dream? This is not an objective question or a yes/no question. We, the elders/the parents, should seriously think about this. We have our own dreams about them and we spoon feed our perspectives and wishes to their lives. But we are not encouraging them to see their own dreams and to create their own wonders. Let the child dream and also live his own dream. Let us give the children the freedom of decision making. Just be a pillar of strength for the child. That is the important factor of parenting. The author is Assistant Professor of Malayalam, SD College, Alappuzha with doctorate in Koodiyattam. Published articles in academic journals and other publications.

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POLICY WATCH

How does number matter to the schools? Deepthi Mary Mathew

One of the findings made by the Kerala High Court with regard to the teacher-pupil ratio was that it was against the norms specified by the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

f late, the educational sector in Kerala is becoming infamous for wrong reasons. From controversies in the SSLC results to the textbook crisis, the 100 percent literate state is slowly losing its glory. Recently, the Kerala high court has struck down the provision in the Kerala Education Rule (KER) which lay down a teacher-pupil ratio of 1:45 to determine the staff strength of schools in the state. The high court judgment came on the backdrop of teacher’s package that was announced by the State Government on August 6, 2015. As per the package, for all the teachers’ posts fixed in 2010-11, the sanction will be given to those appointments after 2011-12 owing to retirement, death, resignation, promotion and transfer. This will be done according to the teacher-pupil ratio of 1:30 and 1:35 for lower primary

and upper primary schools respectively. But, from 2015-16, the teacher-pupil ratio of 1:45 as laid down in the Kerala Education Rules (KER) will be applicable. A petition was filed in the Kerala High Court against some of the provisions of the package by the management of some aided schools. The apprehensions in the package were with regard to the teacher- pupil ratio and the prior approval needed from the Government for the appointment of teachers in aided schools. Accordingly Kerala high court stayed the teacher’s package announced by the State Government for two months. And recently, Kerala High Court has struck down these contentious provisions in the package.

was cancelled by the Kerala High Court. The State Government has given an appeal against this verdict, which is under the deliberation of the court. The State Government came up again with teacher’s package in 2015 in consultation with the management of some aided schools. But the new package was also challenged in the high court by some managers of aided schools.

One of the findings made by the Kerala High Court with regard to the teacherpupil ratio was that it was against the norms specified by the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The court held that pupil teacher’s ratio should be calculated on the basis student’s strength in each class and not on the basis of student’s strength of the entire school. The RTE Act prescribes The Government of Kerala came up teacher-pupil ratio of 1:30 for lower with a teacher’s package in 2011, which primary schools and 1:35 for upper

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POLICY WATCH

The need for the hour is reforms in the educational sector, so that the state will be known for the quality of education, not for the controversies. primary schools as against KER with a ratio of 1:45. Since education comes under the concurrent list, the court held that the decision made by the Central Government will be final. So, the norms stipulated in the RTE should be followed. The court has also ruled out the need for government’s prior permission for the appointment of teacher’s in aided schools. The debate here is around the teacherpupil ratio and the teacher’s appointment is popped up in the context of aided educational institutions in the state. During 2012-13, there were 12627 schools in Kerala, of which 57 percent were under aided category. This throws a clear picture that the aided schools continue to be a big player in the educational sector in the state. The Government is liable to pay salaries and pensions for all the teaching and non teaching staff in these schools. The mounting salary and pension expenditure has been a burden for the ailing state exchequer. The Government with its new package tried to limit its future burden on salary and pension by restraining future appointments. But with the new High court order, new vacancies should be

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announced to fulfill the 1:30 and 1:35 teacher-pupil ratio criteria in lower and upper primary schools. This will only augment the financial burden of the state.

though, the enrolment of students to Government and aided schools are decreasing, there is an increase in the number of students seeking admissions in private schools. According to Annual Status of The question before us is whether this Education Report (ASER) 2014, Kerala number game really matters. At the end was one among the top five states of the day, what ks important is how having highest private school much a child has gained. The enrolment rates in the elementary Government should be able to come up stage. Kerala has attained 62.2% with a better mechanism to the defined private school enrolment rate in the elementary stage. Evidently, less than 40 percent of students in the state prefer either Government or aided schools. This clearly shows that regarding quality of education, students prefer private unaided schools over aided and government schools. The schools that succeed in imparting quality education to the students will find their place in the long run, others will cease support to aided schools and how can to exist. The need for the hour is it delineate its role in regulating these reforms in the educational sector, so educational institutions. The that the state will be known for the managements should have flexibility in quality of education, not for the their working. The schools should be controversies. independent both financially and operationally. The schools should be The author is Research Assistant at competitive enough, to impart quality Centre for Public Policy Research, education to the students. Even Kochi.

HEALTH MONITOR

How to eat a healthy diet In order to keep yourself in the best shape possible, it's essential to eat a healthy diet. Find out exactly what you should be eating on a regular basis.

f you are what you eat, it follows that you want to stick to a healthy diet that’s well balanced. “You want to eat a variety of foods,” says Stephen Bickston, MD, AGAF, professor of internal medicine and director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Center in Richmond. “You don’t want to be overly restrictive of any one food group or eat too much of another.” Healthy Diet: The Building Blocks The best source of meal planning for most Americans is the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food Pyramid. The pyramid, updated in 2005, suggests that for a healthy diet each day you should eat:

5 vegetarian dairy-free sources of calcium

alcium is an important, much needed mineral for the body, and for those who are lactose intolerant it is found naturally in a wide variety of foods and beverages. Almonds Full of nutrition, they have loads of nutrients per calorie. Apart from calcium, they also contain potassium, vitamin E, and iron. Sprinkle on a salad, or make an almond milkshake. Beans Light and healthy, legumes whether black beans are a great source of calcium and iron. Add them to pasta with veggies, or make hummus with beans for a varied taste.

Dried Figs Dried figs are great fruit packs that serve as a sweet snack. Rich in antioxidants, fibre, and calcium punch you can eat them as a mid-day snack, or make them into delicious dried fruits jam. Oranges Full of vitamin C and calcium, enjoy this fruit as a mid-morning snack. Its citrus flavor can also brighten up any dish so go ahead indulge. Sesame Seeds Sesame seeds can help lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and may even fight certain cancers. Use them as a nutty crunch in a salad, or add to vegetable preparations.

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HEALTH MONITOR

Active teenage girls and women can consume about 2,200 calories a day without gaining weight. Teenage boys and men who are very active should consume about 3,000 calories a day to maintain their weight. ♦ 6 to 8 servings of grains. These include bread, cereal, rice, and pasta, and at least 3 servings should be from whole grains. A serving of bread is one slice while a serving of cereal is 1/2 (cooked) to 1 cup (ready-to-eat). A serving of rice or pasta is 1/2 cup cooked (1 ounce dry). Save fat-laden baked goods such as croissants, muffins, and donuts for an occasional treat. ♦ 2 to 4 servings of fruits and 4 to 6 servings of vegetables. Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat, making them a great addition to your healthy diet. Fruits and vegetables also provide the fiber, vitamins, and minerals you need for your body’s systems to function at peak performance. Fruits and vegetables also will add flavor to a healthy diet. It's best to serve them fresh, steamed, or cut up in salads. Be sure to skip the calorie-laden toppings, butter, and mayonnaise, except on occasion. A serving of raw or cooked vegetables is equal to 1/2 cup (1 cup for leafy greens); a serving of a fruit is 1/2 cup or a fresh fruit the size of a tennis ball. ♦ 2 to 3 servings of milk, yogurt, and cheese. Choose dairy products wisely. Go for fat-free or reduced-fat milk or cheeses. Substitute yogurt or sour cream in many recipes and no one will notice the difference. A serving of dairy is equal to 1 cup of milk or yogurt or 1.5 to 2 ounces of cheese. ♦

2 to 3 servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts.For a healthy diet, the best ways to prepare beef, pork, veal, lamb, poultry, and fish is to bake or broil them. Look for the words “loin” or “round” in cuts of meats because they're the leanest. Remove all visible fat or skin before cooking, and season with herbs, spices, and fat-free marinades. A serving of meat, fish, or poultry is 2 to

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3 ounces. Some crossover foods such as dried beans, lentils, and peanut butter can provide protein without the animal fat and cholesterol you get from meats. A ¼ cup cooked beans or 1 tablespoon of peanut butter is equal to 1 ounce of lean meat.

♦

Use fats, oils, and sweets sparingly. No diet should totally eliminate any one food group, even fats, oils, and sweets. It’s fine to include them in your diet as long as it’s on occasion and in moderation, Bickston says.

Being 'lean and unfit' better than 'fat and fit'

hallenging the conventional wisdom, a team of researchers has busted the myth that you can be "fat but fit." In contrast, the results from the new study suggest that the protective effects of high fitness against early death are reduced in obese people.

those in the lowest fifth. Stronger associations were observed for deaths related to suicide and abuse of alcohol and narcotics. Unexpectedly, the authors noted a strong association between low aerobic fitness and also deaths related to trauma.

Co-author Peter Nordstrom has no explanation for This study by this finding: "We academics in could only Sweden speculate, but followed genetic factors 1,317,713 men could have for a median influenced these average of 29 associations years to examine given that aerobic the association fitness is under between aerobic strong genetic fitness and death later in life, as well as control." how obesity affected these results. With the limitation that the study The subjects' aerobic fitness was cohort included only men, and relative tested by asking them to cycle until early deaths, this data does not they had to stop due to fatigue. support the notion that 'fat but fit' is a Men in the highest fifth of aerobic benign condition. The study appears fitness had a 48 per cent lower risk of in the International Journal of death from any cause compared with Epidemiology.

HEALTH MONITOR

Eat these foods for healthy teeth

hile brushing teeth regularly is good enough, the secret to healthy teeth might also lie in certain foods that help prevent cavities and tooth decay. Include these food in your diet for fresh breath and healthy teeth. Green leafy vegetables Vegetarian-friendly sources for minerals like broccoli, bok choy, kale, okra, collards, and other dark, leafy veggies are excellent animal-free ways to get vitamins and minerals in your diet.

Healthy Diet: Eat Right and the Right Amount How many calories you need in a day depends on your sex, age, body type, and how active you are. Generally, active children ages 2 to 8 need between 1,400 and 2,000 calories a day. Active teenage girls and women can consume about 2,200 calories a day without gaining weight. Teenage boys and men who are very active should consume about 3,000 calories a day to maintain their weight. If you're not active, you calorie needs drop by 400 to 600 calories a day. The best way to know how much to eat is to listen to your body, says Donald Novey, MD, an integrative medicine physician with the

Advocate Medical Group in Park Ridge, Ill. “Pull away from the table when you’re comfortable but not yet full. Wait about 20 minutes,” he says. “Usually your body says, ‘That’s good.’ If you’re still hungry after that, you might want to eat a little more.” Healthy Diet: Exercise Is Part of the Plan At the bottom of the new USDA food pyramid is a space for exercise. Exercise is an important component of a well-balanced diet and good nutrition. You can reap "fabulous rewards," says Dr Novey, just by exercising and eating “a healthy diet of foods that nature provides.”

Non-vegetarian products Loaded with phosphorus, another important mineral that protects tooth enamel, meat, fish and tofu are particularly good sources of this essential mineral. Cheese and Yoghurt These can protect tooth enamel and even help replace minerals in teeth so have low-fat cheese and plain non-fat yoghurt as options. Cheese contains casein, a protein found in milk products that can shore up enamel. Milk and Eggs excellent sources of calcium and vitamin , dairy products like milk and egg yolks strengthen teeth. If you are not into milk you can try non-dairy alternatives. Crunchy vegetables and fruits Just like the rest of your body, teeth require a little work every now and then to stay sharp. Crunchy, firm foods like carrot, apple and celery contain lots of water and require lots of chewing which is good for oral health as they stimulate the flow of saliva and scrub tooth surfaces. This brightens the pearly whites, while saliva contains enzymes that buffers the acids present in food and cleans bits of food from all corners of the mouth.

Have fish oil to burn those kilos around your belly

ish oil may burn fat faster than those fat-burning pills leading to an efficient weight loss in overweight or obese people in their 30s and 40s, Kyoto University researchers report. Fish oil activates receptors in the digestive tract, fires the sympathetic nervous system and induces storage cells to metabolise fat. Fat tissues do not all store fat. So called "white" cells store fat in order to maintain energy supply while "brown" cells metabolise fat to maintain a stable body temperature. Brown cells are abundant in babies but decrease in number with maturity into adulthood. A third type of fat cell - "beige" cells have recently been found in humans and mice, and have shown to function much like brown cells. Beige cells also reduce in number as people approach middle age and without these metabolising cells, fat continues accumulating for decades without ever being used. "We knew from previous research that fish oil has tremendous health

benefits, including the prevention of fat accumulation. We tested whether fish oil and an increase in beige cells could be related," said senior author Teruo Kawada. The team fed a group of mice fatty food, and other groups fatty food with fish oil additives. The mice that ate food with fish oil, they found, gained five-10 percent less weight and 15-25 percent less fat compared to those that did not consume the oil. The team also found that beige cells formed from white fat cells when the sympathetic nervous system was activated, meaning that certain fat storage cells acquired the ability to metabolise. "People have long said that food from Japan and the Mediterranean contribute to longevity, but why these cuisines are beneficial was up for debate. Now we have better insight into why that may be," explained Kawada in a paper which appeared in the journal Scientific Reports.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

INFOTECH

Startup founders become new-age India Inc gurus

ijay Shekhar Sharma is in demand these days. The founder of Paytm, an electronic payments firm-cum-internet retailer and one of India's startup poster boys, besides fielding calls from investors and pesky journalists keen to find out his next deal or fund raising finds himself having to handle a different kind of request these days: Invitations from companies to speak at their senior management gatherings. Around the Diwali time, he was invited to the headquarters of an Internet giant in California to interact with its leadership team. He also recently visited a fast moving consumer goods giant in India to share insights on his business with their CXOs. "Companies want to understand the startups space and how it is changing the way

business is done," said Sharma, who, besides running his own company, also invests in other startups to gain insights into new disruptive technologies and along the way, with luck, also make money. And Sharma is not alone in being courted this way. Some two weeks ago Paavan Nanda and Tarun Tiwari, the 20 something cofounders of Zostel, a budget backpackers' hostel chain, were invited to speak at a training summit conducted for leaders at Indian Oil Corp. on innovation and entrepreneurship. Likewise, when Sarovar Hotels and Resorts was thinking of who to invite as a guest speaker for its annual general manager and sales meeting last September, it turned to Ritesh Agarwal, the 22-yearold founder of hotel rooms aggregator

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Oyo Rooms. Older, established companies, long used to inviting corporate grandees, management gurus and other assorted inspirational figures to speak at corporate gatherings or leadership meet-ups, are increasingly turning to these spunky entrepreneurs to learn about change, pace, disruption, scaling up and surviving in a fast changing business landscape. An environment in which internetpowered businesses are cutting a swathe of destruction through traditional so-called 'old economy' businesses, forcing them to sit up, take notice, adapt or risk being devoured.

Apple cuts prices of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus

pple cut prices of its latest iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus by up to 16% just two months after their launch in India to boost flagging sales in what is historically its most crucial quarter as demand for the flagship devices nosedived from a Diwali high. The price of the iPhone 6s 16 GB model, which was introduced at Rs 62,000 on October 16, has fallen by 11-16% and now ranges between Rs 52,000 and Rs 55,000, according to four large retailers. The price cuts are across all variants - 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB -

From a business sociology point, this trend is akin to men turning to boys to learn a trick or two from them, a

reversal of the earlier paradigm when young entrepreneurs often sought the counsel of industry veterans. At the ONGC meeting, Zostel's Nanda says he found himself being quizzed on tips to transform the workplace. "We spoke about how to the mindset can be made more entrepreneurial," said the 28-year-old, adding that he also shared tips on infusing more energy at the workplace and building a fast paced startup-like culture at another company. Nanda was also invited by HR consulting firms Hay Group and Mercer this year to talk about 'smooth organization building' and how startups have affected compensation and benefit practices in India. Companies inviting startup founders feel they bring fresh perspectives and ideas.

of both models. The average difference in prices of all iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices between launch time and now is about 15 per cent. The reduction also narrows the gap with prices of iPhone 6 devices launched in 2014, making an upgrade more attractive for customers. "The price difference between the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s was a lot, so many customers are not willing to upgrade to the new model," said a senior executive of a national retailer. This is the first time that the price of an Apple flagship has been brought down within two months of launch, underlining concerns around the initial pricing, said Tarun Pathak, senior analyst at Counterpoint Technology Market Research. Apple declined to comment on the matter. Apple had introduced the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus at Rs 62,000-Rs 92,000, about Rs 8,000-Rs 9,500 more than launch prices of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

INFOTECH

Boom of reselling websites Re-commerce sites, which sell pre-owned luxury and high-street apparel, footwear and accessories, are slowly catching on among fashionists who want the best brands without burning a hole in their pockets.

elhi-based designer Onika Oberoi had set her heart on a particular Gucci bag only to realize, after spending a few minutes on Google, that it had been discontinued - but to her joy, she discovered a way to lay her hands on it. A second hand luxury website was selling a used one at half the price. Selling old clothes to fund new purchases or buying little-used designer wear are no longer done furtively. Re-commerce sites, which sell pre-owned luxury and high-street apparel, footwear and accessories, are slowly catching on among fashionists who want the best brands without burning a hole in their pockets. As the desire to flaunt that Chanel or Burberry is curing Indians of their queasiness about wearing cast-offs, more than a dozen startups are tailoring businesses to suit a growing clientele. Indian reselling sites and apps such as Confidential Couture, Elanic, Spoyl, Envoged, Zapyle and Refashion have drawn inspiration from international luxury secondhand marketplaces like Rebagg, Poshmark and Tradesy, and are challenging regular e-tailers such as Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon and Jabong. "The market is as large as $2 billion a year and we have seen a surge in the user base as well as transaction rate," says Aditi Rohan, co-founder of Elanic, an app-based platform to re-sell "gently-worn" apparel, which was started this September. She says they have 30,000 users and get about 300 to 400 listings of items a day.

Elanic received seed funding from Rebright Partners, Traxcn Labs and angel investor Aneesh Reddy. "We are looking at extending our product line-up from just fashion to accessories for women and products for men," said Rohan, who is aiming to clock 2,000 listings a day by next month. It's a fairly simple system: A seller posts clothes or shoes that she no longer wants online, the reseller picks up the products, checks,

cleans, re-packs and prices the items - often at as little as 50% of the original cost (imagine a Burberry with a boutique price of Rs 85,000 going for under Rs 20,000) and puts it up for sale, where a buyer can negotiate further on the price. The site gets a commission of 15% to 20% on every transaction. The challenge, though, is ensuring authenticity, quality and cleanliness, and making sure the clothes look as good as new. "Ensuring authenticity and quality is a big driver to sustain growth in the long term for us. We have 1 lakh registered users with average transaction size of Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000, but logistics is a challenge as we have to pick up

products from sellers, make sure they are in good shape and ensure smooth delivery," says IIT Kharagpur alumnus Anandita Singh, co-founder of Envoged, which sells pre-owned luxury fashion. To the surprise of most founders, a significant number of sellers and buyers are from tier II and tier III towns, which is why many of them are planning to expand operations to cities like Ahmedabad, Ludhiana and Chandigarh. The entrepreneurs, however, agree that the current user base is inclined towards sellers. "There is more supply than demand at present but that will change over time," says Singh. Some sellers are creating a whole range of products online and waiting for buyers. Shubha V, 24, an IT professional in Bengaluru, for instance, has created a closet of 44 clothes on Elanic, and sold eight. She saw an ad on Facebook, downloaded the app and posted a photograph of a top she wanted to get rid of. Within 24 hours, it was approved by Elanic's fashion expert and her potential customers responded with questions. Shubha has since sold several other pieces of clothing at a 30-40% discount on the MRP. Though she's made money off clothes sitting unused in her closet, Shubha says she's not likely to buy pre-owned clothes. "So many ecommerce platforms are selling branded clothes at discounts, so I don't see why I should buy preowned products. I guess some people don't have apprehensions about buying used clothes but I do."

Pallikkutam | January 2016

INFOTECH

Attrition at top level hurting e-commerce companies in India

he latest big problem staring at India's top internet companies is attrition, especially in their senior ranks. Flipkart, Zomato and Ola, which have been aggressively recruiting top talent with the millions of dollars they have raised, are grappling with an exodus of management-level executives. Consumer internet companies in India "are growing so rapidly that they haven't built the fundamental concept of retaining people, especially at the top-level," said Sunit Mehra, managing partner at Hunt Partners India, an executive recruitment company.

Facebook's free basics

Trai submission runs into hot water arious Facebook users reported that they had been "signed up" as supporters of Facebook's Free Basics service against their will. Multiple users reported being automatically signed up when they scrolled down the page using which one can send a template email to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in support of Free Basics, a Facebook programme that provides certain internet services for free. Even as a strong verbal volley ensued,

support critics deliberately misleading the public, regulators and the media. For many months, some critics have mischaracterized the programme, our intentions, and perhaps most sadly, ignored the needs of the unconnected. Free Basics is open to all developers and operators. The data proves it serves as a bridge to the full internet in India and 29 other countries. And the programme is helping people find jobs, increase knowledge and improve lives." The letter to Trai in support of Free Basics

Facebook issued a formal statement saying no one was being signed up against their will.

says, "I support digital equality for India. Free Basics provides free access to essential Internet services, such as communication, education, healthcare, employment, farming information and more. It helps those who can't afford to pay for data, or who need a little help with getting started online. And it's open to all people, developers and mobile networks. With 1 billion Indian people not yet connected, shutting down Free Basics would hurt our country's most vulnerable people. I support Free Basics and digital equality for India. Thank you."

At Flipkart, Srivals Kumar recently resigned as general counsel and head legal, the latest in a series of top-level exits at India's largest e-commerce company this year. While Flipkart was quick to replace him with Rajinder Sharma, former director and general counsel -- South and West Asia, at Samsung, Kumar's decision to quit Flipkart comes amid an organisational restructuring. At least four other senior executives have quit Flipkart this year, including Mekin Maheshwari as chief people officer; Ravi Vora as chief executive of strategic brands group; Amod Malviya as chief technology officer; and Sameer Nigam as engineering head. But Flipkart, which is valued at over $15 billion, has also been hiring a number of high-profile senior executives, such as former Google executive Punit Soni whom it appointed as its chief product officer. At Zomato, which has raised $225 million from a slew of investors, Durga Raghunath recently resigned as senior vice president-growth after a six-month stint to found an online publishing company, joining a list of senior executives who have quit the venture this year.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

In an official statement reacting to these user reports, Facebook said: "Any claim that people are being auto-enrolled to support Free Basics only by scrolling, hovering over the send button or by only clicking the notification is 100% false. A user must proactively click the send button to send an email. This is proven in the source code of the product, which we will happily provide to Trai. We support the right of critics to disagree. We don't

INNO VATIONS INNOV

Patients with Metastatic Cancer can continue to work

new analysis indicates that many patients continue working after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer, but a heavy burden of symptoms may prevent them from doing so. Published early online in CANCER, a peerreviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study illustrates the need to treat difficult symptoms so that patients can maintain their employment.

Madison, analyzed the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group's "Symptom Outcomes and Practice

After comparing patients who were stably working with patients who were no longer working, the researchers found that one of the most significant factors associated with no longer working was a high burden of symptoms.

Improved treatments have helped to prolong the lives of patients with metastatic cancer. Because individuals diagnosed with metastatic cancer may wish to continue to work, understanding how their illness affects their employment may help patients make adjustments. A team led by Amye Tevaarwerk, MD, of the University of Wisconsin-

associated with employment changes among patients with metastatic cancer. Among the 668 patients in the analysis, 236 (35 percent) worked full- or part-time while 302 (45 percent) stopped working due to illness. Overall, 58 percent reported some change in employment due to illness.

Patterns (SOAPP)" study to investigate which factors are

Better performance status and non-Hispanic White ethnicity/race were associated with continuing to work despite a metastatic cancer diagnosis. Surprisingly, the type of cancer treatment, type of cancer, and time since diagnosis did not seem to affect employment.

Solution for overeating and depression

hronic overeating and stress are tied to an increased risk of depression and anxiety, and in a new study, Yale researchers explain why that happens and suggest a possible solution.

antidepressant agents. Subsequent research showed that ketamine activates the mTORC pathway, which regulates the synthesis of proteins

cellular responses to energy and metabolism, and people with metabolic disorders like Type 2 diabetes are also at higher risk of depression. A Yale team headed by lead author Sophie Dutheil in Duman's lab decided to explore whether diet might influence behavior of rats fed six times the normal amount of fat. They found that after four months of the diet, pathways involved with both synaptic plasticity and metabolism were disrupted, and the rats exhibited signs of depression and anxiety.

involved in creation of synaptic connections in the brain that are damaged by stress and depression. The pathway is also involved in

They also found that a single low dose of ketamine reversed those symptoms quickly, and reversed the disruption of mTORC signaling pathways.

The researchers report that the anesthetic ketamine reverses depression-like symptoms in rats fed a high-fat diet in a similar way it combats depression and synaptic damage of chronic stress in people. Scientists at Yale have shown that ketamine, also known as "Special K" and abused as a recreational drug, can quickly and dramatically reduce symptoms of chronic depression in patients who are resistant to typical

Pallikkutam | January 2016

INNO VATIONS INNOV

Compassion leads to more help, less punishment

new set of studies suggests that compassion - and intentionally cultivating it through training - may lead us to do more to help the wronged than to punish the wrongdoer. Researchers found compassion may also impact the extent to which people punish the transgressor. Understanding what motivates people to be altruistic can not only inform our own behaviors, it may also play a role in creating more just societal institutions, including the legal and penal systems. It can also help researchers develop better interventions to cultivate compassion. "Any action helping or punishing - can arise from compassion, which involves at least two components: a 'feeling' component of empathic concern and caring for the suffering of another; and a cognitive, motivational component of wanting to alleviate that suffering," says lead researcher Helen Weng. "It may seem counterintuitive that punishment behavior can arise from compassion,

but if the goal is to alleviate suffering of others, this may include providing negative feedback to the wrongdoer so that they change their behavior in the future." These findings build upon previous work by Weng and others, which demonstrates that as little as two weeks of compassion training can result in measurable changes in the brain. In one study examining 260 people who had no training in compassion, the team explored whether high self-reported empathic concern - the feeling component of compassion where one reports caring for those who are suffering - was associated with helping victims, punishing transgressors, or both. "People with higher empathic concern were more likely to help the victim than punish the transgressor," Weng says. "But, interestingly, within the group of people who decided to punish the transgressor, those with more empathic concern decided to punish less."

Individual interventions can boost students' grades

nterventions targeted at individual students can improve the classroom environment and trigger a second wave of benefits for all classmates, new research shows. The findings, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, indicate that sharing a classroom with greater numbers of students who participate in a brief intervention can boost all students' grades over and above the initial benefits of the intervention.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

"Our results suggest that the whole effect of an intervention is more than the sum of its individual effects," explains psychological scientist Joseph Powers of Stanford University, lead author on the study. "As a field, we've often focused on understanding and changing individual psychological processes, but these findings show that changing individual psychology can trigger important second-order effects with measurable benefits for everyone in the environment."

Brain differences in compulsive video game players

rain scans from nearly 200 adolescent boys provide evidence that the brains of compulsive video game players are wired differently. Chronic video game play is associated with hyper connectivity between several pairs of brain networks. Some of the changes are predicted to help game players respond to new information. Other changes are associated with distractibility and poor impulse control. The research, a collaboration between the University of Utah School of Medicine, and Chung-Ang University in South Korea, was published online in Addiction Biology. "Most of the differences we see could be considered

beneficial. However the good changes could be inseparable from problems that come with them," says senior author Jeffrey Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Neuroradiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Those with Internet gaming disorder are obsessed with video games, often to the extent that they give up eating and sleeping to play. This study reports that in adolescent boys with the disorder, certain brain networks that process vision or hearing are more likely to have enhanced coordination to the socalled salience network. The job of the salience network is to focus attention on important events, poising that person to take action.

CREA TIVITY AT WORK CREATIVITY

Great entrepreneurs are creative thinkers Creative business builders are constantly thinking of novel ways to propel their business forward

Highly creative entrepreneurs are rule breakers who don’t like to conform to norms and traditions of the industry. Highly successful entrepreneurs can creatively look beyond the present and imagine possible futures for their company. If you are a Creative Thinker, you are driven to steer your business in new directions. Whether introducing new products and services, entering untapped markets, or initiating innovative technologies or production processes, you are constantly thinking of novel ways to propel your business forward. Comfortable with the unknown and the unfamiliar, you always look for new ways to combine and recombine resources to create innovative solutions for your customers. Your creative action helps you renew your business’ value proposition and differentiate it from your competitors’. It also enables you to disrupt markets by introducing new and unexpected products or by developing novel methods of doing business.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

CREA TIVITY AT WORK CREATIVITY

reative Thinkers are alert to changes in the external business environment – new technologies, shifts in customer needs, industry trends, or competitor actions. You constantly evaluate new possibilities, revise your expectations of the imagined future, and formulate fresh action plans to achieve your goals. This endless cycle of new information, new opportunities, and new action plans helps you start ventures or grow existing ones.

Jeff Bezos Founder and CEO of Amazon.com “If you double the number of experiments you do per year, you’re going to double your inventiveness. The thing about inventing is you have to be both stubborn and flexible, more or less simultaneously. If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.”

As a creative thinker, you are quick to act. You seize opportunities and are usually the first mover in the market. Your unique ability to take an idea and quickly transform it into a business that generates revenue helps you stay ahead of the competition. And your proactivity garners your business high profits, allowing you to establish your brand and capture market share ahead of others in the industry. Highly creative entrepreneurs are rule breakers who don’t like to conform to norms and traditions of the industry. You refuse to be bogged down by established

Marissa Mayer President and CEO of Yahoo and former vice president of search products at Google “The ‘Googly’ thing is to launch it [a product] early on Google Labs and then iterate, learning what the market wants – and making it great. The beauty of experimenting in this way is that you never get too far from what the market wants. The market pulls you back.”

James Dyson Founder of Dyson “We are all looking for the magic formula. Well, here you go: Creativity + Iterative Development = Innovation.”

Pallikkutam | January 2016

CREA TIVITY AT WORK CREATIVITY

Make sure to communicate your ideas and strategies to your team. Sharing will increase the likelihood of launching a successful product or service. practices, bureaucratic structures, or arcane business processes. You like to work autonomously, outside the established organizational practices, where you can think and create freely. You constantly push the boundaries, always experimenting with new ideas to sort the good from the bad. It is this ability to experiment, usually in the face of acute uncertainty, that gives you the potential to generate innovative paths to profits. A word of caution: While highly creative entrepreneurs are independent spirits who like to work autonomously, implementing ideas

requires working with a team. Lack of communication with your team or too much separation from ongoing operations can hurt the development and integration of new products or services into an existing business. Make sure to communicate your ideas and strategies to your team. Sharing will increase the likelihood of launching a successful product or service. In addition, you may fall prey to “incumbent inertia” as you achieve success and grow. Don’t become complacent with growth. Maintain the organizational flexibility that allowed

you to explore your creative imagination in the first place. Continue to pay attention to changing customer needs, evolving technologies, and the shifting business environment. Remember, this endless stream of new information and knowledge will fuel your creativity. Be careful not to rush to launch new initiatives. Your creative tendency might cause you to experiment and launch multiple initiatives at the same time. This perceived lack of focus may hamper your chances of success. Don’t lose sight of your core business.

Maximizing your creative thinker talent 1. Balance current and future customer needs. It is easy to be tied down with day-to-day business management and focused on delivering what your customers expect from you. Set aside time to disconnect from the present, and feed your creativity to imagine your customers’ future needs. This will help you dream and plan for the future and maintain your competitive advantage.

ideas into products or services without growing company’s efficiency and much potential downside. productivity, are also likely to decrease your ability to innovate. 4. Maintain a simple organizational Don’t let efficiency-enhancing structure. Fewer layers of hierarchy practices act as barriers to exploring will enable easier information flow new ideas. Nurture your natural between you and your team. A simple creativity. Continue to invest in new organizational structure will also ideas as you increase operational increase employee involvement in efficiency. implementing ideas, encourage employees’ creativity, and lead to quicker execution and understanding of new ideas.

2. Use measurement to evaluate your ideas. When weighing which idea to implement, ask yourself, “How can we measure this?” Pick ideas apart to identify issues that could crop up during implementation. If the results show that a project isn’t viable, then modify or abandon the idea and move on to the next one. 3. Minimize potential pitfalls by releasing your new product or service incrementally. Implementing new ideas is risky. Iteration is key. Launch the prototype, gather feedback from customers, make necessary changes, and test again. Using this low-cost approach, you can turn your novel and creative

5. Balance efficiency with creativity. Process management techniques, such as total quality management or Six Sigma, which can increase your

6. Mobilize resources to fuel your innovation process. You need two things for successful innovation: diverse experiences that spark your creativity and resources to drive the innovation process. Tap in to your existing network or build new alliances internally and externally to stimulate your creativity and access shared resources. 7. Learn from your failures. When carefully planned new initiatives fail, the potential to learn from them is immense. Don’t let this learning opportunity go to waste. Conduct a post-mortem, make sense of what happened, and add what you have learned to your knowledge base. Fostering intelligent failures will help you learn what not to do as you dream about the future.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

CREA TIVITY AT WORK CREATIVITY

The 10 talents of successful entrepreneurs

very entrepreneur uses some 5. Determination: You persevere mix of these 10 talents to start through difficult, even seemingly or grow a business: insurmountable, obstacles.

1. Business Focus: You make decisions based on observed or anticipated effect on profit.

10. Risk-Taker: You instinctively know how to manage high-risk situations.

6. Independent: You are prepared to do whatever needs to be done to build a successful venture.

These 10 talents donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t address every factor that affects business success. Non-personality variables such as skills, knowledge, and experience 2. Confidence: You accurately know 7. Knowledge-Seeker: You constantly along with a host of external factors yourself and understand others. search for information that is relevant play a role in determining business to growing your business. 3. Creative Thinker: You exhibit success and must be taken into creativity in taking an existing idea 8. Promoter: You are the best consideration when theorizing on or product and turning it into spokesperson for the business. business creation and success. But something better. these 10 talents explain a large part of 9. Relationship-Builder: You have entrepreneurial success and cannot 4. Delegator: You recognize that you high social awareness and an ability to and should not be ignored. cannot do everything and are willing build relationships that are beneficial Understanding and acknowledging to contemplate a shift in style and for the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s survival and growth. your inherent talents gives you the control. best chance at success.

Source: Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder

Pallikkutam | January 2016

GUEST COLUMN

K. L. Mohana Varma

Mummy, please do my home work

n the widely acclaimed popular Malayalam film MONKEY PEN, the theme revolves around a group of innocent naughty ten year old school boys searching for a solution to their main problem in life, the mathematics home work. Funny situations are created and very innovative ideas come out. They call God for help and even think of the possibility of marriage with the most intelligent girl in their class who can do their homework. In the film, one boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s predicament was automatically solved. His mother was so afraid of hearing the almost regular complaint of the class teacher that she started doing all the homework of her son promptly and everyone was happy. In my childhood days, seventy years back, I well remember the three almirahs full of books in the main office-cum-sitting room of our house. Two had an array of thick and large brown leather covered impressive law books neatly arranged where I always tried to look at the years printed in golden letters. I was happy. I have not seen my father meddling much with these books except when there were his clients around. These

Most teachers do not know the goals that parents have for their children. Most parents do not know much about the educational programs in their childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s school or what teachers require of them.

almirahs were locked and keys were kept on top of them. He need not have worried. I would never care to open them even for curiosity. But the third almirah was different. It also had a key, but it was never locked. It had five shelves, all full of books in Malayalam and English on a variety of subjects, fiction, poetry, dramas, religion, essays and what not. My father never suggested any books to me to read. He read a lot and wrote in his spare time. I started on my own, selecting and reading in my own preference, from detective novels to poems to biographies and first from Malayalam then gradually to English. The books had very little connection to my curriculum in the school and we had very little, almost no homework in those days. My teacher away from the school was the almirah with its collection of books, the books selected,

Pallikkutam | January 2016

GUEST COLUMN

My father never suggested any books to me to read. He read a lot and wrote in his spare time. I started on my own, selecting and reading in my own preference, from detective novels to poems to biographies and first from Malayalam then gradually to English.

now I feel, by my father carefully as part of my development as an educated individual. The school gave basics on general and selected subjects and my home gave inputs for my personality development. They were complimentary and not interfering in each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sphere. The basic character building inputs, dos and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ts, dress, manners, food habits, behavior patterns, I learnt from my parents directly or from watching them. There was no compulsion or strict norms I had to follow and very rarely they advised. It was the real education. In school it was acquiring knowledge, most of them quite irrelevant and never used in life. Of course, it gave a wide choice for specialization in any field of activity I wanted to pursue as a vocation in life. A degree from the University gave a stature and comparatively safer future irrespective of whether I liked the

Pallikkutam | January 2016

subject or I got more happiness in doing it or I had talent for it. I got abundance of knowledge from the subjects I studied in the school and college. Science, mathematics, commerce, economics, management, law and what not. I was very good in performing well in examinations and got high marks. But I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like any of these subjects. I liked to play, dream and tell stories. But I could not engage myself in these during my formative school-college days. Much later, at the age of thirty, I found what I am, and then I realized that the school rather curbed my natural instinct for original research, deep thinking, and development of qualities of courage, perseverance, bravery and fearlessness.

and gave me strength to find what I am, and sieve all the knowledge I gathered from my school/college days to become useful in my life.

We, Indians had a natural disadvantage from earlier times in respect of education. Our society was a clearly segmented one based on caste system with Brahmins in total control of knowledge and wisdom inputs and the others were permitted to learn and master only the basics required for mastering the kulathozhil, pre-ordained caste job one is expected to do when he becomes a major. A Kshatriya of the warrior class or Vaishya of the traders class or the Shudra of the worker class and their sub-castes had no access to the sacred wisdom or philosophy or But the degrees gave me a good job, scientific thoughts which we now safer life and almost an animal proudly present as our cultural contentment. I was fortunate that the superiority when comparing with other education I got from my home surfaced civilizations.

GUEST COLUMN Even in our famous old universities, like Nalanda or Taxila, non- Brahmin students were an exception and most of such rare cases had converted themselves to Buddhism. Whatever education the vast majority of Indians got was, not from schools which were out of bound to them, but from their parents, who were well versed in the trade or job they were doing for generations and in which they were experts. The education through schooling where every child from all strata of society became common only after the educational system was revamped by the British and English took over from Sanskrit, the primary medium of elite education. The present system is hardly 150 years old, a very small period in the history of a nation.

outside the home territory, physically and mentally with experts in the respective areas controlling the flow of wisdom, knowledge and training in pre-determined general pattern. Very

Whatever education the vast majority of Indians got was, not from schools which were out of bound to them, but from their parents, who were well versed in the trade or job they were doing for generations and in which they were experts.

Education in English was easily accepted by Indians, not only because it was the language of the rulers, but also because of the very wide knowledge base and rich treasures of western thoughts and literature it provided. Of course it put a severe strain upon the Indian studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; nervous energy and has made them better imitators than innovators. Still the change was for the better. But the schooling now was rarely parents had any control or confined to the expertise in the areas of education their institution children were having. In the latter half of twentieth century, the sudden arrival of internet changed the entire thinking in the process of education

through the conventional schooling system that the teachers as well as parents had to face a reality they couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ignore and parents had to take up an active role in the education of their children. Unfortunately, the technological inventions appear so fast that even the best of teachers find it impossible to effectively utilize it. The policy decision makers are worse, always a few years behind and making the system still more unfriendly to the students. The educationists generally do not agree to this and put the blame on parents who have been made a part of the system in recent times. The present style of parental control and guidance has no parallel a successful example to follow. It is actually causing brains fag, putting undue strains upon the nerves of our children, making them more of crammers and imitators, unfitting many of them for original work and thought and disabling them for filtrating their learning to their family or masses. This is an evil that need a summary remedy. Now there is a general acceptance to the thought that parent involvement can make a difference to the childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education. Parent teachers associations, take home works, stay backs etc., are all very common and accepted part of the system. The parent involvement ranges from encouraging volunteering to fundraising to providing parents with home based learning activities. The

Pallikkutam | January 2016

GUEST COLUMN school wants the child to achieve show his best and the parents also want the same. At present, many schools help families with their parenting skills by providing information on children’s developmental stages and offering advice on learning-friendly home environments. They educate families about their child’s progress and school services and providing opportunities for parents to communicate with the school. They often ask parents to visit their child’s school or classroom. Home learning is promoted through high expectations and strategies so that parents can monitor and help with homework. Even in decision-making, many schools include families as partners in school organizations, advisory panels, and similar committees. The efforts are partially successful especially in parents attending school meetings or functions and also fund raising activities.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

Effective parent involvement comes when a true partnership exists between schools and families. Creating that partnership, especially around academics, is what works for student achievement.

It is difficult to arrive at a conclusive opinion on this subject as times and mode of instruments for acquiring skills in a revolutionary era. Only one fact remains. It is a quote from a recent study from U S which is applicable to present India also. Teachers, parents, and students have little understanding of each other’s interests in children and schools…. Most teachers do not know the goals that parents have for their children, how parents help them learn, or how parents would like to be involved. Most parents do not know much about the educational programs in their children’s school or what teachers require of them. Effective parent involvement comes when a true partnership exists between schools and families. Creating that partnership, especially around academics, is what works for student achievement.

The author is a Kochi-based novelist, short story writer and columnist.

CURRENT AFF AIRS AFFAIRS

“Go, first make the law” Adv. Tharakan PKG

SC bench lamented “go, first make the law” when pressed by counsels of Delhi Commission for Women that moved a petition not to release the convict in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case on social, ethical and psedo-legal grounds.

ractically, or better technically, the pronouncement of the Bench was correct – judiciary can go along written law upto its ends, not beyond. The court is just the guardian of published laws and is further bound, specified and limited within the statutes. Sound of the law is the voice of the judiciary. And so, if beyond the perimeter of verbatim law, justice lies uncared, judiciary is not to blame, it is not of any help beyond – the flaw is that of the Legislature, not of judiciary. Without sanction of law, what can judges do? That is what exactly the SC bench lamented “go, first make the

law” when pressed by counsels of Delhi Commission for Women that moved a petition not to release the convict in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case on social, ethical and psedolegal grounds. “There is no provision in law to detain him anymore and so wherefrom do I draw authority not to release him” was precisely what confronted the Hon Judge. In other words, the learned judge was asking DCW and the rest of fuming activists why or how do we live with outdated laws or rather, why we do not update our laws to suit changing, growing culture following knowledge

explosion that totally changed us in the recent past. A bit harsh and the Judge would have asked “you want me to bend the law or stretch it to satisfy demands of the public and thereby prompt me to act ultra vires? Give me the law before you ask its benefits”. Quite subtly, the Judge raised his soliloquy rightly “Go and make the law”. The question here is who has to keep updating our laws and regulations? Do we have a system in place to adapt? Didn’t the Judiciary comment the piece of law in hand is time out to be re-

Pallikkutam | January 2016

CURRENT AFF AIRS AFFAIRS formed? DCW together with whole lot of Indian conscience is right in demanding justice but they honestly had to address the concern with the Legislature, not the Judiciary. Media sensationalism arouses public fury and opportunist activists maneuver instant publicity for themselves thereupon. That in India no one

Judiciary would erode with a consequent collapse of our sacrosanct constitution. It is worth considering that Indian LawCom has to be elevated into a secondary authority to update our statutes, laws, rules, regulations and sorts. All NGOs, Public Institutions & Associations, Universities, Charity Organizations,

With the old pieces of legislation not adequately resonating with changing times, values, culture and economy, we happen to adjudicate to the past and not the present bothers to fine-tune our legal statutes to changing environment is intriguing. We have a Law Commission in place but that body has terms of references on specified issues dictated by Central Government. The LawCom is thus cocooned to those areas of references and is thus shrunk or dwarfed like a private home tutor. We have no system in orbit to overview timecritical amendments that need be there to service our legal frame work regularly.

Clubs, Religious and Charity Institutions should all support the LawCom for promptly improving our statutes to keep resonance with changing times and tides.

We are indeed a nation burdened with over regulations, excess regulations, control legislations and so on. We need to simplify our laws making it easy and fool proof for commoners. We cannot stake our claims of being a great nation ourselves that follows rule of law unless and until our law With the old pieces of legislation not structures are firm and intact and that adequately resonating with changing those are in place, time-tuned, just and times, values, culture and economy, we fair striving to meet the ends of our happen to adjudicate to the past and Constitution-set goals of justice, not the present. For instance monetary liberty, equality, fraternity, unity and penalties quantified in the past turns integrity. out to be paltry with crashing money Let us see an opportunity in this value each year which defeat the very adverse situation when public wrath intent of punishment. Why do we flows large against the element of need such parchment of laws? justice in our laws and of its succinct An exasperating situation was when interpretation. Changes are not the counsels of DCW in their quest to ordinarily welcome and any proposal win the case, come what may, of a change is rejected point blank attempted to read from a piece of until the unchanged system hurts. legislation that had no bearing on the Here, we are in a situation where even questions of fact or law in this case. suffering horrifying hurts, we are not able to change or adapt; worse still is As much as our judicial system is that we do not realize that we need to bound to serve justice, it is equally improve on systems for the desired concerned that there should be public changes to be on course. conviction of having served justice promptly. In this respect the Courts The author presently heads a need to consider public concern in the Corporate Consultancy firm in matter and clarify that the justice Kochi. He is also into social activism, public speaking, HR & meted out is at its best as the laws Corporate Training. provide. Otherwise faith in our

Pallikkutam | January 2016

CARS & BIKES

Volkswagen Beetle launched at Rs 28.73 lakh

olkswagen has launched the new Beetle in India today. The carmaker had already commenced the booking for the bug in mid last month Volkswagen has launched the longawaited new Beetle in India at a sticker price of Rs 28.73 lakh (exshowroom, Mumbai). The booking for the Beetle had already started in mid-November. Despite being a new generation model, the new Beetle retains its DNA from the original design. Speaking on the occasion, Michael Mayer, Director, Volkswagen

Passenger Cars said, “The Beetle is an iconic car that has scripted automotive history for over six decades, and we are delighted to announce the India launch of the 21st Century Beetle. Carrying forward its unmistakably timeless charm, blended with modern day technological sophistication, the 21st Century Beetle now comes with rounded yet masculine proportions and a host of refined, irresistible internal and exterior features. We are confident of continuing the Beetle’s legacy in India and we believe that

the biggest addition to the 21st Century Beetle is the element of unlimited ‘fun’.” Unlike the previous generation model, this new Beetle draws inspiration from the older Kafer. The new Beetle gets a long bonnet with new set of headlight units which also incorporates the LED Daytime Running Lights. Towards the rear, the bug gets beautiful curvy lines with a prominent spoiler on the tailgate. The new Beetle is wider and longer as compared the predecessor which indicates a much roomier interior.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

CARS & BIKES

BMW G 310 R Expected Launch : Feb 2016 Rs 1.8 lakhs - 2 lakhs The BMW G 310 R is a motorcycle which has been developed jointly by BMW and TVS to cater to the sub-500cc motorcycle segment. Where the technological and electrical aspects of the motorcycle have been taken care of by BMW, TVS has been given the duty of manufacturing it with as much precision as possible. The 313cc engine will have a lot of punch as it delivers 34bhp of maximum power at a very high 9,500rpm and a peak torque of 28Nm at 7,500rpm. The bike will come equipped with features like an upside-down front fork, an aluminium swingarm, rear monoshock and standard ABS. The BMW G 310 R is expected to be highly price-competitive as the production capacities of TVS can reduce the price of the BMW G 310 R drastically. Powered by BMW and made by TVS, this bike is expected to take the value-for-money quotient to a different level.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

EDU BIZ

Ex-IITians come up with open-school learning startup

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I always wanted to make quality education accessible even in places where only minimal infrastructure exists. That's how Eckovation came into beingâ&#x20AC;?

wo ex-IITians have come up with a unique open-school communication and social learning platform that allows teachers, parents and students to interact freely and effectively on mobile phones. Ritesh Singh and Akshat Goel wanted to provide innovative solutions for effective knowledge transfer in our

ecosystem. Hence, these chose the name Eckovation for their startup, a portmanteau of ecosystem, knowledge and innovation. Founded in March 2014, the app was finally launched this June after more than a yearlong market research and study.

issues from the beginning and these never left him.

"So, I was always thinking about solutions that could help people just like me, who do not get access to quality education early in their life. I always wanted to make quality CEO Singh, who hails from tier-III town education accessible even in places Chapra in Bihar, he had language where only minimal infrastructure

Pallikkutam | January 2016

EDU BIZ

"On the open school platform, most of the teachers are available throughout the day. Students from all sorts of educational and demographic backgrounds have joined the open school groups and they learn." exists. That's how Eckovation came into being" he said. From conceptualising to its practical usage, there were many challenges. "We first explored MOOCs (massive open online courses) but they were cumbersome and required a lot of selfdiscipline on the users' part. Next we thought about providing data analytics through an ERP system that monitors a child's performance and equips teachers and parents with sufficient data to improve a child's performance by finding gaps, weaknesses and strengths. "But looking at the size of a normal classroom, the actual implementation extremely difficult and would have required greater efforts from the teachers instead of simplifying their lives. We also did a market study with 30,000 students across 4 cities across tiers to understand the gaps. Therein, we observed that parents are not in the loop, when it comes to classroom teaching," says Singh. According to him, the turnout of parents for PTMs is a mere 15-20 per cent and this needed to be fixed. "So we decided to build a product that brings together all actors of education - parents, students, teachers and school administration. Eckovation not only helps connect parents with teachers and students while safeguarding everyone's privacy, it also connects students to teachers who are willing to transfer knowledge beyond their classrooms." Singh says the major challenge they faced was dependence of teachers on WhatsApp. "Although teachers

Pallikkutam | January 2016

wanted students to join their classroom-learning group, they were wary of their phone numbers falling in the hands of strangers. At the same time, teachers had to block students and parents because sometimes they did not want them to disturb them beyond office hours." Though the dependence on WhatsApp was a challenge but its limitations were also an opportunity for Singh and Goel. "For instance - size limit of 100 members in a group, privacy concerns, no control over conversation for teachers, so on and so forth. All of this has been taken care of in Eckovation app plus a lot more features are there to ensure education-focused communication. We are also introducing document transfer on the app. The app, by design, is very light and uses minimal Internet on your phone," says Singh. Eckovation allows teachers, parents and students to interact freely and effectively while safeguarding privacy. Except the teacher, it does not allow anyone to see anyone else's mobile number in the group. The 'Open School Programme' plans to bring 1 billion users on the platform by 2020. So how does a child gain from this facility? "A child has many questions. To make sure that he lives up to his or her potential, it is very important that all questions are responded to with appropriate answers. This is what Eckovation does. Students request their teachers to be available for 15-20 minutes after school on the app and teachers are happily doing it. "On the open school platform, most of the teachers are available throughout the day. Students from all sorts of educational and demographic backgrounds have joined the open school groups and they learn." The duo has raised money for their startup through a seed-funding round. The teachers on the open school platform have to register themselves before joining. Once they join, a small background check is conducted and after an interview with the experts on the subject, they are introduced to the students.

SPORTS

Legends who retired from international cricket in 2015 The year 2015 has seen a number of cricket greats announcing their retirement. It all began with the ICC World Cup that was held in February-March earlier this year. After the World Cup, Sri Lanka’s legendary duo of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara retired from ODIs. Others in the list to retire after World Cup were New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori and Australia’s World Cup winning captain Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson. A couple of Indian cricketers also announced their retirements including Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan.

Michael Clarke The Australia captain announced his retirement after the World Cup which his side won after beating New Zealand in the final in Melbourne. Clarke made his Australia debut in 2003 against England and went on to play 115 Tests, 245 ODIs and 34 T20Is for his country. Clarke later retired from Tests after The Ashes 2015.

Mahela Jayawardene One of the greatest players to have ever played the game, Jayawardene was the pillar of Sri Lanka cricket in the last decade. Having made his Test debut against India in 1997, the 38-year-old played 149 Tests, 448 ODIs and 44 T20Is and scored more than 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs. He also captained Sri Lanka for a brief period of time.

Daniel Vettori The youngest man to play Test cricket for New Zealand, Vettori retired after the World Cup final against Australia. A veteran of 113 Tests, 295 ODIs and 34 T20Is, the former New Zealand captain has 300 wickets and more than 3000 runs in Tests. He also has 305 wickets in ODIs.

Kumar Sangakkara Another Sri Lankan legend, Sangakkara held the triple responsibility of being a wicketkeeper-batsman and captain of his side. The 38-year-old left-handed batsman played 134 Tests, 404 ODIs and 56 T20Is. He is Sri Lanka’s highest runscorer in both ODIs and Tests with more than 1400 runs and 12000 runs in the two formats of the game respectively. His last Test was against India in August this year.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

SPORTS

Virender Sehwag A flamboyant opener from India, Sehwag changed the way opening was done in cricket. The 37-year-old is the Indian player with a triple century in Tests (He has two triple tons in Tests). His highest score in ODIs in 219. Sehwag made his Test debut in 2001 and ODI debut in 1999. The Delhi dasher went on to play 104 Tests, 251 ODIs and 19 T20Is for India.

Brendon McCullum The New Zealand captain who transformed the way the game was played in the country announced on Tuesday that he will retire from international cricketer in February next year. Having led his country to the 2015 World Cup final, McCullum is seen as one of the most inspiring figure back home. Since his New Zealand debut in 2001, he has been known for his attacking form of batting. He has also kept wickets and was an exceptional fielder in the outfield. He has played 99* Tests and 254* ODIs. He is the only New Zealand cricketer to score a triple century in Tests.

Zaheer Khan Renowned for his swing bowling, Zaheer was considered in the same league as the Pakistan greats like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. His career was hit by frequent injuries which limited his services for India but he still managed to play 200 ODIs and 92 Tests. With 311 wickets in Tests and 282 in ODIs, the Mumbai pacer is the best India has produced after Kapil Dev.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

RAINBOW

Idioms on Horses Tas Jawaharlal Nehru

The native speakers of English, it seems, had a strong predilection towards animals that a large number of Idioms are coined on animals. The "Horse" holds the distinction of the maximum Idioms on it.

dioms are an indispensable part of the English Language without which the splendour and mellifluousness of the language is done away with. The native speakers of English, it seems, had a strong predilection towards animals that a large number of Idioms are coined on animals. The "Horse" holds the distinction of the maximum Idioms on it. 1). to eat a horse: (ravenous hunger) (e.g.) I was very hungry that i could have eaten a horse. 2)to look a gift horse in the mouth: (the state of not being grateful to someone who gives you something). (e.g.) He rejected my offer of joining in my concern, citing some reasons. These graduates tend to look a gift horse in the mouth. 3).horses for courses: (right people for the right job).

(e.g.) My new Manager was not upto the mark. Then i decided to look for people as horses for courses. 4). a dark horse: (someone who does not reveal their hidden talents and exhibits suddenly) (e.g.) None of us expected that Richard would emerge a matchwinner. He turned out to be a dark horse. 5). closing the stable door after the horse has escaped: (to try to stop a consequence from happening when the worst has already happened). (e.g.) The C.E.O has been sacked after the company ran into losses. It is almost like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted (escaped). 6).to drive a coach and horses through something: (to expose the weak points in an argument) (e.g.) The Chairman drove a coach and horses through the company's plans for expansion. 7). Do not put the cart before the horse: (do not do things in the

wrong order (or) someone's impatience). (e.g.) Lack of planning will make even an experienced professional to put the cart before the horse. 8). to get off your high horse: (to stop acting as if you are better or more intelligent than other people). (e.g.) "Try to get off your high horse and listen to me, Mr. Sam?". 9). to get it straight from the horse's mouth: (to get information directly from the original source) (e.g.) The investigative team finally managed to get it straight from the horse's mouth. 10). to back the wrong horse: (to support a person or thing that cannot win or succeed). (e.g.) Jannet is pinning much hopes on the second contestant, it seems, she is backing the wrong horse.

The author is English and soft-skills trainer, Laagoon English Educational Academy, Coimbatore.

Pallikkutam | January 2016

RAINBOW

Sudoku 12

Sudoku 11 Answer

Difficulty Level:

Word Search 04

BENCH BLACKBOARD CHAIR CHALK CLOCK COMPUTER

Word Search 03 Answer

DESK ERASER MAP NOTEBOOK PAPER PEN

Pallikkutam | January 2016

PENCIL RULER STUDENT TABLE TEACHER TEXTBOOK 65

REFLECTIONS

Crystals of Eternity Jose Panthaplamthottiyil

We shall pass away either today or tomorrow. But time will still be there as crystals of eternity.

follow up on our resolutions? Probably not. We often procrastinated with an attitude, “I will begin tomorrow.” Should we then cry over spilled milk? Of course, it is nice to have a feeling of repentance because it will help us Who is this king? What was he looking reform our life. for in the ring? He is the unnamed king However, we need not dwell too much in Theodore Milton’s poem The Ring of the King. He was looking at the ring on the golden opportunities we to read the great verse inscribed on the missed. For, we are not to live in our yesterdays. We still have today. And ring: “This too shall pass.” there are many things there for us to Everything passes away from our life. do today itself! So let us focus on Nothing in this life waits for us forever. today. Then the possibilities of Joys, sorrows, problems, crises, friends tomorrow will give us much scope to and foes pass away quickly. The end of look forward to. a year and the beginning of a new one As we step into the New Year we have remind us that the time and the period we live in pass by like lightning. Will it to remember one thing. We must count every minute of our life by our very be exaggeration to say that the last heart-beats; so precious is the time of year passed away in the wink of an life allotted to us. eye? t dawn, at dusk the king would look at the ring. In problems and in crises he would look at the ring. In times of joy as well as sorrow he would look at it.

Didn’t we think at the beginning of last year that we would get a lot of time and that we would do a lot of good during the same period? Yet how quickly did the year pass by! Have we done even one tenth of what we intended to do? At the beginning of every year we always resolve to reform our lives and to do what is good. Last year also in all likelihood we made the same resolutions. However, did we seriously

doing so his axe was losing its sharpness. Hence somebody suggested to him to sharpen his axe for good results but he thought that would be a waste of his precious time. It is important that we use our time without wasting it at all. However, we must also make sure that we get rest and relaxation that sharpen the axe of life. A famous line by English poet Ralph Hodgson (1871-1962) goes like this, “Time, you old gipsy man, will you not stay?” We may also ask like this as time passes quickly. But remember it isn’t time that passes but we do. Time is eternal, but we are not.

If someone claims that time remains forever as crystals of eternity, can we dispute it? Time was there yesterday, We must not waste our time for it is there today and it will be there useless trifles. We shall be able to tomorrow also. But we are not sure transform our life into something noble whether we will have a tomorrow. We only by the right use of time. We often shall pass away either today or wish to use our time for good things. tomorrow. But time will still be there Along with this we must also wish to as crystals of eternity. use it successfully. If we make the proper use of the time There is the story of a woodcutter who we get today then our time will be was very committed to his work. He transformed into crystals of eternity. was cutting a tree giving it very hard Then we will be able to leave behind blows. But he was not aware that by a heritage rich with goodness.

Printed and Published by Fr.Varghese Panthalookaran CMI on behalf of Rajagiri Media, Rajagiri Valley P.O, Kakkanad, Kochi-39. Ph: 0484-2973979. Printed at St. Francis Press, Kochi. Editor: James Paul