March 2016 by james paul

FROM EDITOR’S DESK

Teach children to respect women "Where have we failed, as parents, teachers and leaders, that our children have forgotten all tenets of decent behaviour and respect for women?" President Pranab Mukherjee asks the nation on the eve of Republic Day. Only a nation that respects its women can become a global power, he said. The subject of empowerment of women has becoming a burning issue all over the world including India since last few decades. Many agencies of United Nations in their reports have emphasized that gender issue is to be given utmost priority. The condition of women in a society is an index of that society’s place in civilization. India is a multifaceted society where women’s status is heavily dependent on many different variables that include geographical location, educational status, social status and age. Empowerment of women is essentially the process of upliftment of economic, social and political status of women. It is the process of guarding them against all forms of violence. Women empowerment involves the building up of a society, a political environment, wherein women can breathe without the fear of oppression, exploitation, apprehension,

discrimination and the general feeling of persecution which goes with being a woman in a traditionally male dominated structure. As Jawaharlal Nehru said, “when women move forward the family moves, the village moves and the nation moves”. Women empowerment will be real and effective only when they are endowed income and property so that they may stand on their feet and build up their identity in the society. The empowerment of women has become one of the most important concerns of this century not only at national level but also at the international level. Government initiatives alone would not be sufficient to achieve this goal. Society must take initiative to create a climate in which there is no gender discrimination and women have full opportunities of self decision making and participating in social, political and economic life of the country with a sense of equality. Thus, the attainment in the field of income, employment and in educational front, the scenario of women empowerment seems to be comparatively poor. The need of the hour is to identify those loopholes or limitations which are observing the realization of empowerment of women.

MAGAZINE ON EDUCATION VOLUME 03 | ISSUE 10 | MARCH 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 Jose Panthaplamthottiyil Sajith Malliyoor Pooja Sundaresh

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 09

PERSONAL

COVER STORY

How to overcome exam anxiety ? Sajith Malliyoor

STORIES OF LIFE

Power of empowered women The empowerment of women has become one of the most important concerns. But practically women empowerment is still an illusion. We observe in our day to day life how women become victimized by various social evils. Women Empowerment is the vital instrument to expand womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to have resources and to make strategic life choices.

Family life cycle and St. Chavara

22 A pathway to autonomy Nisha Nair

Dr. Jose Cletus Plackal

EXPERT COUNSEL

26 Need of the hour Anupama Varma

from theory 29 Feminism: to practical Aswathy A R

Meeting his holiness the Dalai Lama Dr. K.N. Raghavan

of women in 36 Role ancient theatre Dr.Devi.K.Varma

MARCH 2016 40

GUEST COLUMN REGULARS NEWS.................................. 06 INSIGHTS........................... 12 INFOTECH.......................... 44 INNOVATIONS.................... 58

Men and women: Can they be equal?

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

K. L. Mohana Varma

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

REFLECTIONS.......................

HEALTH MONITOR Healing power of virgin coconut oil Dr. K. P. Davis

POLICY WATCH Ease of doing business in education

SUBSCRIBE NOW TURN TO PAGE 19

Pooja Sundaresh

CARS & BIKES

New Tata hatchback christened Tiago

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

NEWS

Missing girl children cases on rise

ncrease in the number of girl children missing from Kerala are alarming. Figures available with the state Home Department reveals that child missing cases are on the rise, and 6,026 children have been missing from 2011 to 2015 in the state. Among them, 3,311 are girl children.

were girls. Malappuram came second with 201 cases and 89 missing were girls. Thrissur was third on the chart with 147 missing cases and 70 of them were girls. Police officials said the number of complaints about missing girls have been rising, and added that the trace job has not been that successful. According to them, reasons are myriad for the mounting number of girl child missing - from addiction to social networking sites, love affair to family issues.

As per the figures, Thiruvananthapuram topped the list of missing girls. In 2015, 242 cases were registered and out of this 124

Clear your doubts at HashLearn Now

tudents can get free 24X7 tutoring with the help of a new mobile app. HashLearn Now, an Android app developed by a Bengaluru-based startup, allows students to connect instantly and have their subject-related doubts solved by tutors from institutions such as the IIT and BITS. The service, available 24X7, covers Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry for students of Classes VIII to XII, covering school examinations of all Boards and State or National Entrance tests. The learning method is simple-the student chooses a topic and uploads an image of the problem they want resolved to start the session, almost instantly they are connected to the

subject matter expert. After the problem is resolved and the session closes, they can rate their tutors. The app also contains thousands of free practice questions. The app can also be downloaded from Google Play Store, by giving a missed call to 76761-87100 or by an SMS â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;GETNOWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to 56263. Founded by education entrepreneur Jayadev Gopalakrishnan and technologist Gokul Janga, HashLearn specialises in building products around education, with current focus on the test preparation market. In light of the upcoming exam season, the service is being offered for free for one month to all students who sign up until March 31 to help them with their revisions.

GREAT Britain scholarships

nder this initiative, a total of 59 undergraduate and 232 postgraduate awards will be offered in partnership with 45 universities for a range of subjects ranging from engineering and law to art and design and information technology across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Rob Lynes, Country Director, British Council India, said, With a reputation for leading international research, innovation and creativity, UK universities attract some of the world's leading academics and industry professionals. It is home to world-class universities including four of the world's top ten universities and hosts 30 of the world's top 200 universities. It is most certainly a vibrant and stimulating place to live and study, offering great value for money. With over 490,000 foreign students from 200 countries studying there it offers students a truly international experience. I hope these scholarship awards help more Indian students study in the UK.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

NEWS

Death on Two wheels

ochi City Traffic Police conducted a week long special drive recently to curb the rush driving by two-wheelers. Around 400 offenders were picked up. Besides over speeding, the officers detected racing on the roads, modified silencers or bike parts and two-wheelers without number plates. The special drive by the traffic police department comes in wake of the rise in the number of accidents involving youths riding new generation bikes. Of the 2,561 accidents witnessed in the city last year, 931 were caused by twowheelers. In 2014, the city saw 2,257 accidents, of which 1,723 were caused by motorcycle riders. According to the officers, around 12 lakh two wheelers have been registered in Kochi alone. Besides, around eight lakh motorists are using high power new generation bikes. This is a dangerous trend with these new gen vehicles being the ones which are mostly involved in accidents, the officers pointed out. Approximately 50 two wheeler riders are booked daily by the City Traffic Police for rash and negligent driving and other offences. In a recent drive conducted by Motor Vehicle Department too, around 190 vehicles were seized and their fitness certificates were suspend citing road unworthiness. Altered silencers, long handle bars and high beam lights were the other major offenses detected. In 2015, the city witnessed 2,561 accidents which claimed the lives of 168 persons. In 2014, Kochi saw 2,257 mishaps which caused 136 deaths against 2,248 accidents and 151 deaths in 2013. TrafficPolice (East) alone booked 319 persons in the special drive.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

2013

2014

2015

151 136 168 deaths deaths deaths The death trap ♦ Around 400 offenders were picked up in a week-long special drive conducted by the City Traffic Police. ♦ Over speeding, racing on the roads, modified silencers or bike parts and two-wheelers without number plates were the detected.

♦

Around 190 vehicles were seized and their fitness certificates were suspend citing road unworthiness. What are the Alterations made?

♦

Handle: Bar handles, add clipon handle bars

♦ Around 12 lakh two wheelers have been registered in Kochi alone.

♦

♦ 50 two wheeler riders are booked daily by the City Traffic Police for rash and negligent driving and other offences.

♦ Remove filter ♦ Replace factory made silencers

The accidents

Lamps: Skull-faced head lamps, other trendy ones

with others

Year

Number

Involving Bikes

2015

2,561

931

2014

2,257

1,723

NEWS

Two Indian among top 20 universities in the world

wo Indian universities have made it into the list of top 20 small universities in the Times Higher Education Ranking 2016.

♦

Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU): Japan

♦

National Yang-Ming University: Taiwan

As per the Times Higher Education (THE) Ranking 'Top 20 best small universities in the world 2016', two Indian universities, namely, the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati and the Savitribai Phule Pune University are included in the list. Phil Baty, THE rankings editor said, "Indian institutions are well represented in the World's Best Small Universities Ranking 2016. Alongside Caltech, they demonstrate the worldclass offering available at smaller institutions, no matter their location".

California Institute of Technology (Caltech): US

♦ ♦ ♦

Ecole Normale Superieure: France Ecole Polytechnique: France

Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH): South Korea

♦

Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon: France

♦

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences: Sweden

♦

Oregon Health and Science University: US

♦ ♦

Koc University: Turkey University of Alaska Fairbanks:

♦ ♦

Sabanc University: Turkey

University of Neuchatel: Switzerland

Florida Institute of Technology:

♦ Savitribai Phule Pune University: India ♦ National University of Science and Technology (MISiS): Russia ♦ Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology: Japan

♦

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati: India

♦ ♦

University of Tulsa: US Yokohama City University: Japan

The universities included in the list are:

♦

♦ US

"Small universities can potentially offer students a more intimate environment, with more support and attention from lecturers, and more of a chance for students to spend time with the star professors, who in bigger universities may simply be too busy. The smaller university can also offer a greater sense of collegiality and community, where students are less likely to get lost in the crowd", Baty added.

Agricultural education must conform to global standards: President

peaking on the 54th Convocation of Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), President Pranab Mukherjee said that India has only 3 percent of the worlds land resources and 5 percent of water resources. Yet, Indian agriculture system supports 18 percent of the world population. The transformation from a state of ship-to-mouth to a leading exporter of food grains has been made possible largely due to the scientific developments in premier institutes like IARI. This Institute has made significant contributions in ushering the green revolution and building a vibrant agriculture sector in our country, Mukherjee said.

The President said that agricultural education in our country must conform to global standards. For that, we need to create a large pool of competent faculty empowered with state-of-the-art research infrastructure. A strong network of teachers, learners and practitioners will facilitate lab-to-field dissemination of good agricultural practices. It will also provide feedback about farmers problems to trigger research and technology development in our institutions. The President said that agricultural institutes are the foci on which the success of our farm sector and welfare of people depends. The barometer of performance is the quality of their products.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

PERSONAL

Sajith Malliyoor

How to overcome exam anxiety ?

am teaching in a secondary school in Kerala for the past 10 years. Our school excels in producing outstanding results in the public examinations conducted by the examination boards. In the process of delivering excellent results, we would naturally resort to exerting reasonable amount of pressure in children to give their best in the examinations. Having said that, we are also aware of the negative consequences of excessive curriculum challenges on children, and we do take extra care not to go overboard in our demands. I am writing this letter primarily to know about the tested and proven methods that could aid children in effectively facing the examinations without fear. Could you please suggest us a set of anxiety reducing techniques that the teachers can deliver to the children in their class rooms and monitor their progress in implementing them.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

We are approaching the end of another academic year for students at both the high school and college levels. Around this time every year, many of our newspapers, magazines and educational publications in India produce articles and special issues dealing with the topic of effective ways on preparing the students for the examinations.

here I would try to summarise the salient points often repeated in those articles. At the outset, I must acknowledge that the ideas are not my own and you may find them described in much better fashion elsewhere! My point in answering your question was only to provide a single reference point where you can review most of the effective techniques in a nutshell.

I wonder if I would have anything substantial to add on to those excellent articles dealt by teachers and professionals with years of experience in handling similar issues! However,

In order to effectively deal with the exam anxiety, first you need to identify and be aware the presence of anxiety. Watch out for the signs and symptoms of anxiety in children, like sleep

Normal levels of stress can help you work, think faster and more effectively, and generally improve your performance. However, if the anxiety you are experiencing feels overwhelming, your performance can be affected. 09

PERSONAL

If you have less than six weeks until the exams, be realistic about what you can revise. Perhaps ask for some guidance from your teachers who should be able to identify core material.

disturbances, irritability, headache, and loss of appetite; and in some extreme test anxiety cases, while being rare, children may even get cold sweats, dizziness, nauseous and fainting spells. Almost everyone feels nervous or experiences some anxiety when faced with a test or an exam. Normal levels of stress can help you work, think faster and more effectively, and generally improve your performance. However, if the anxiety you are experiencing feels overwhelming, your performance can be affected. The key to reducing exam anxiety is to make an early start on your revision. Six weeks before the exams is probably soon enough for end of year exams, depending on where you are in your studies and what year you are in. Take enough time to do yourself justice. Remember revision is just that – it is about seeing something again and refreshing your knowledge. It is not about new work. If you have worked at a steady pace throughout the year, revision will be relatively straightforward. If you have less than six weeks until the exams,

be realistic about what you can revise. Perhaps ask for some guidance from your teachers who should be able to identify core material. Before the exams You are naturally anxious before the exams get underway, and the stress only increases as the Big Day gets nearer. These feelings can be managed and planning can help. Plan your revision

♦ ♦

Set aside plenty of time for revision

Sort through your notes, essays and reports, and focus on the essential material

♦

Actively use your notes re-structure and condense them.

♦ ♦

Plan answer outlines.

♦

Divide your days in three periods of 150 minutes each and revise for two out of the three

♦

Plan to have one day a week completely free from revision

♦

Keep up with some of your other activities – try to get the balance right between study and leisure

♦

Take regular exercise. Find something you enjoy – swimming, jogging, football etc.

♦

Yoga, meditation or other alternatives for relaxing the mind and body are worth considering Eating and sleeping

♦

Your brain needs energy and it also needs rest. Eat little and often

♦

Eat quality food, e.g. wholegrain meals, nuts, fruit, lots of vegetables etc.

Don’t sit reading for long periods of time. It quickly becomes boring and your concentration can easily start to wane.

♦

Take proper breaks

♦

Studying 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, will make you exhausted – burnt out even – long before the actual exam

Go for quality drinks, e.g. plenty of water, milk, real fruit juice etc. Most teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep at night.

♦

Try not to go straight to bed without winding down. Watch TV or

Pallikkutam | March 2016

PERSONAL use computer for half an hr to wind down. Panic the night before You have been feeling quite calm during the revision period. But then panic sets in the night before.

♦ Learn in advance how to relax. In that way, you will feel confident that, if you start to panic or your mind goes blank, you will be able to regain control

♦

Pick out the questions that best relate to the revision you have done. Do not rush anything. Taking time at this point can really reap dividends later. If you can’t decide all the questions you want to answer, start with those you have picked and come back to the others later

♦

Plan your answers. This is a really important point. Five minutes spent on a plan and a rough guide will help your thoughts to flow

♦ Try to use humour to help you beat ♦ Do your best to ignore everyone negative thoughts. Read a book or else while you are at the planning comic, watch an amusing DVD or think stage – not easy, but it helps. of your favourite jokes ♦ Decide whether you want to do ♦ However anxious you may feel, try the “easy” or “difficult” questions to avoid working too close to the exam first. Doing an “easy” one first might like the night before or the morning of help to relax you. Or maybe doing a the exam. Try to do something relaxing “difficult” one first while you are very instead. alert might be best for you ♦ Eat something even if you feel sick. Bread, fruits and cereals are good for settling your stomach ♦ Make sure you know exactly when and where the exam is. Try not to arrive late at the exam as that would only increase your anxiety ♦

Have everything ready to take with you – pens, pencils, calculator, admit card etc.

♦

Manage your time. Keep an eye on your watch so that you allow enough time for your final answer. If you don’t have enough time for that final answer, make a skeleton answer in note form – at least you will have put something down

♦

Avoid perfectionism. It is good to check spelling and punctuation but no one is expecting perfection.

♦ If you feel the panic is getting Take some light reading in case you worse – stop, put down your pen and have to wait to get in to the exam room relax. Breathe slowly; close your eyes Panic attacks during the exam for a few minutes. If it helps, put your head on the desk. Shake your arms. You have been feeling nervous and Move your head slowly from side to have just sat down in the exam room. side to ease the tension. Say You feel the panic start to rise. something positive and encouraging ♦ Make yourself comfortable. Adjust to yourself. Imagine yourself your clothing. Take a few deep breaths somewhere else where you feel to try to ease the tension you are happy and relaxed feeling. Sit with your eyes closed for a ♦ If you feel unwell, ask the little while. Only then, turn over the invigilator if you may leave the room exam paper for a short while - taking a few ♦ Remember that most people feel breaths of fresh air and some sips of tense at this point - it is only natural. water may be all you need to calm However much you have prepared, you down. your task now is to just do your best ♦

♦ Take time to read through all the instructions and questions carefully. Do that at least twice to make sure you get a firm grasp of the questions. Pallikkutam | March 2016

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

INSIGHTS

Parenthood may alter immune system While most people know that parenting is a stressful, sleep-depriving undertaking, new research suggests it may also rewire the immune system.

he study found that parenting seems to have a more significant effect on the immune system than the flu vaccine or gastroenteritis, commonly called the stomach flu. "That's at least something for prospective parents to consider - the sleep deprivation, stress, chronic infections and all the other challenges of parenting does more to our body than just gives us grey hairs," study co-leader Dr. Adrian Liston said in a news release from the Babraham Institute in the UK. For the study, researchers compared the immune systems of 670 people, aged 2 to 86 years. The investigators also looked at participants' gender and weight to help see which factors influence the immune system from one

person to the next. The study volunteers' immune systems were monitored over the course of three years. People were generally able to

Those who lived with a partner and coparented a child had a 50 percent reduction in the variation between their immune systems, compared to the general population, the study found. The researchers also reported that age seems to take a toll on the immune system response, too. maintain a stable immune system, the findings showed. And that was true even after they'd been exposed to seasonal flu vaccine or the stomach flu. These findings suggest the immune system can bounce back after it is forced to kick into action, the

Poor sleep could lower teens' grades High school students who went to sleep by 11 p.m. Monday through Friday got better grades.

arents who struggle to get their teens to bed at a decent hour may get some help from a new study that found sleep was closely linked to school achievement. "Our findings suggest that going to bed earlier, and encouraging similar bed and sleeping times during the week, are important for academic performance," study first author Mari Hysing, a psychology specialist at Uni Research in Bergen, Norway, said. Although the study found a link between sleep and school

researchers explained. However, the study revealed that parenting had the strongest effect on people's immune system, more than any other contributing factor.

performance, it didn't prove a causeand-effect relationship. The researchers looked at data from almost 7,800 students aged 16 to 19 from a large population-based study conducted in Norway in 2012. The investigators used the students' overall grade point average (GPA) to assess their school performance. The study found that those who went to bed between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on weekdays earned the best grades, on average. Staying up much later was associated with lower GPAs, the study authors said.

Stubborn kid? They may do great things

ccording to a recent study published in Developmental Psychology, kids who don’t listen to their parents are destined to do pretty well for themselves in the job market when they grow up. They found “rule-breaking and defiance of parental authority” was linked to earning higher incomes in adult life. Researchers wrote: “We might assume that students who scored high on this scale might earn a higher income because they are more willing to be more demanding during critical junctures such as when negotiating salaries or raises.” They said troublemakers “also have higher levels of willingness to stand up for their own interests and aims, a characteristic that leads to more favourable individual outcomes - in our case, income.” A team from the University of Luxembourg, the University of Illinois and the Free University of Berlin studied a group of 745 people from the age of 12 into their adult life.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

INSIGHTS

Books without words will boost language Traditional vocabulary books may not be the only way to promote early learning.

ountless studies have shown that reading to kids can promote a rich vocabulary, enhanced attention span and concentration, creativity, imagination and even academic success. But did

book with pictures, and they were asked to read to their toddlers. The researchers found that parents were much more likely to utilize “complex talk” when reading picture-only books to their child. When a page in the picture book showed an animal, for example, a parent was much more likely to talk about that animal rather than simply label it. Researchers observed parents say things like, “Where do you think the squirrel is going to go?” Or “We saw a squirrel this morning in the backyard!” As children grow and make the transition from home to school, exposure to complex language is especially critical.

you know that reading books without words may actually offer more language benefits than reading traditional vocabulary books? In a recent study published in the journal First Language, researchers at the University of Waterloo found that when parents read picture books to their kids, they tend to use more complex language than when they read picture-vocabulary books. Traditional vocabulary books, which are marketed as educational for young children, tend to display pictures of objects along with descriptive words. When reading to their children, a parent might point to a picture of an apple and say, “This is an apple.” That is certainly one way to build language. However, when reading picture-only books, parents often communicate in a very different way. In this study, 25 mothers were given both a wordless picture storybook and a vocabulary

Pallikkutam | March 2016

Necessity, the mother of participation

he research was led jointly by Dr. Orit Bart and Dr. Michal Avrech Bar of the Department of Occupational Therapy at the Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and conducted by TAU master's student Limor Shelef. It was published in the journal Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. "The study has shown that when a mother feels competent and productive, she performs better as a mother," said Dr. Bart, who has been conducting ASD research for 10 years. "This satisfaction is as important for children as it is for mothers themselves. If a mother engages every day in a variety of personal and professional occupations and gains a sense of personal satisfaction from that engagement, this alone positively affects her child's participation in everyday activities.

Food insecurity can harm teens' mental health

One in 10 adolescents living in households with food insecurity have poorer parent-reported mental health than peers, according to a study.

dolescents who experienced household food insecurity - a limited or uncertain availability of nutritional food - were twice as likely, according to their caregivers, to have emotional problems, conduct problems (a range of destructive behaviors that could include bullying, stealing, destroying other people's property, truancy and initiating physical fights), have hyperactivity and struggle with peer relationships. "Food insecurity is not a risk factor for mental health that pediatricians typically address, but given our findings it is a topic we should consider discussing during our interactions with families," said Ruth E. K. Stein, M.D., co-author, attending physician, CHAM and professor of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "We recommend keeping

food insecurity in mind so we can better connect patients with the resources required to improve their home lives and overall health." The researchers suggest exploring public health interventions aimed at reducing household food insecurity, for example government-assisted supplemental nutrition programs, and assessing their implications for adolescent mental health. "Our study adds to the growing understanding of the adverse health risks experienced by children and adolescents living with food insecurity," said co-author Elizabeth Poole-Di Salvo, M.D., M.P.H., assistant attending pediatrician, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and assistant professor of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College.

STORIES OF LIFE

Family life cycle and St. Chavara Just as individuals go through varying stages of psychoscio-moral stages, so also a family undergoes changes and achieves development. This is described as Family Life Cycle – a series of developmental stages that a family moves through over a period of time. Dr. Jose Cletus Plackal

s has been mentioned earlier in this column, individual developmental milestones are many. Physical, intellectual, sexual, social moral etc. There are many such developmental theorists and schools of thought. An infant passes through many phases of life to achieve what is expected at every stage in life, until he

arrives at ‘mature’ old age. Just as individuals go through varying stages of psycho-scio-moral stages, so also a family undergoes changes and achieves development. This is described as Family Life Cycle – a series of developmental stages that a family moves through over a period of time. The following is an attempt to

Life Cycle Stages 1. The unattached adult – Adult who has achieved sufficient emotional separation from the family of origin and has entered a career and is able to connect with peers. 2. Newly Married The main issue at this stage is commitment to marriage and investing energy for fostering relationship and partnership, apart from maintaining the career. 3. Childbearing adults need to adapt to new member in the family system, reschedule their time, finances, duties etc.

describe the life cycle stages vis – a – vis the input from St. Chavara, as given in his “Testament of a Loving Father” (1868). The keen interest St. Chavara shows towards family at every stage is quite remarkable. These excerpts are quoted from the Testament from the section that deals with parenting.

St. Chavara’s Response General Remarks: Parents are role models, so parents show respect for each other. Otherwise, the children will not respect them. Do not pick up a fight on account of your children…Do not be too strict or too lenient towards your children. Dear children, you are bound before God, to respect your parents and never to cause them any grief. 3. “God will listen to mother’s petition as that of the child.” Children are sacred treasures entrusted by God to parents. They are to be purified, trained up and are to be returned to God…

Pallikkutam | March 2016

STORIES OF LIFE

Modern families are going through great turmoil and parenting is the first causality. About a century and half ago St. Chavara showed keen interest in family wellbeing. 4. Pre-school children are demanding. They are vivacious, always on the go etc. Accepting and adapting to the new personality of the baby is quite absorbing a job. 5. School age child demands more attention and involvement. Academic, co curricular activities and social relations all demand parental attention. 6. A Teenager will raise a lot of challenges. Negotiating about increasing level of freedom, social life, boundaries, scheduling time etc are not so easy a job. 7. Launching (center) – is a time for exits and entries. First separation time for college and then for a job and gradually for marriage etc. 8. Middle age adults Learn to live alone and let children come and go. Ageing and illness of own parents etc. 9. Retired adults retirement and old age accepted as reality, Sickness in family etc.

4. Pre-school age “Nourish the souls of your children as you bring them up in the physical plane”. Parents should remember that it is your primary duty to bring up your children. 5. At School age send them to school. Enquire after their progress from time to time. Every Sunday monitor/review what they have studied. Before inflicting corporal punishment, advise them prudently… Do not use bad words while correcting them. For it will only encourage them to deal likewise with their children. 6. Teenagers: When they are about 12 years of age, take particular care of them as it is a critical period. Develop in them a regard for truth and justice. Give the children due freedom to choose their vocation when they come of age. For it is God who inspires them and it is their responsibility to choose… 7. Launching Center: During marriage proposals look for more qualities of character rather than wealth or status. Parents should take steps to establish their children to homesteads of their own.

Modern families are going through great turmoil and parenting is the first causality. About a century and half ago St. Chavara showed keen interest in family wellbeing. A quick glance through his, “Testament of a Loving Father” shows evidence of his creative and articulate interventions. His guidelines for parenting are rooted in Christian values and yet reaches out to holistic developmental needs of Family Life Cycle.

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

Pallikkutam | March 2016

EXPERT COUNSEL

Meeting his holiness the Dalai Lama Any book on Tibet would be considered incomplete without an interview with His Holiness. He has been the international face of both Buddhism and the Tibetan nationalist movement. Dr. K.N. Raghavan

he cool winter air that marks Delhi in the month of November was so thick with tension one could have sliced it with a knife. Waiting in the lobby of Taj Mansingh Hotel in New Delhi, dressed in near formal attire, we were victims of attacks of tension brought about by diffidence and self doubt. Have we tried for something that we should not have? Will we be rebuffed as a group of upstarts attempting to do something that was way beyond us? What credentials did we have for seeking time from the leader of a religion that had followers in all continents? Even the attempts at feeble humour to ease the tension did not have any effect as we sat waiting for the call that would take us to the meeting room. The four of us waiting in the lobby of Taj Mansingh Hotel were Dr Muneer, Dr Venu, my wife Dr Ranjini and myself. We were all class mates at Calicut Medical College and had, with the exception of my wife, decided to bid adieu to a career in medicine after completing MBBS. While Muneer entered politics and is presently a Minister in Kerala, Venu and yours truly opted for a career in the civil service. I was encouraged by Muneer to start writing in my free time, an advice that I took seriously.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

EXPERT COUNSEL Over the years I had slowly graduated from writing about cricket to more difficult topics involving history and international relations. The purpose of the visit to Delhi was to interview His Holiness, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, for the book that I was writing, again at Muneerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prodding, on the history of Tibet in the twentieth century. Any book on Tibet would be considered incomplete without an interview with His Holiness. He has been the international face of both Buddhism and the Tibetan nationalist movement. He was also reputed to be a person who was friendly, willing to meet people, give lectures/talks and to be interviewed. It was this reputation that gave me the confidence of putting in a request for meeting His Holiness. Venu, who was at that period of time working as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture in Delhi, helped in chasing the officials at Tibet House in this regard and finally, about three months after making the request, I received the communication informing me the date and time slot allotted for the interview. Since meeting His Holiness was a once in a life time opportunity Muneer, Venu and Ranjini announced, without any hesitation, that they would be part of the team meeting him. I prepared for the interview putting in as much effort as I had made while appearing for the civil service personality test 25 years ago, where I was on the opposite side of the table. My attempt to forward a questionnaire in advance did not meet with success as I received the terse message that whatever I wished to, I

Pallikkutam | March 2016

He was also reputed to be a person who was friendly, willing to meet people, give lectures/talks and to be interviewed. It was this reputation that gave me the confidence of putting in a request for meeting His Holiness.

made me and the other members of the team understandably anxious. So all of us sat in the lobby sweating profusely despite the low temperatures brought by air conditioning and Delhi winter, looking like school boys about to take a test for which they were not prepared at all. Suddenly a lama in maroon robes appeared and indicated that we should follow him. He took us to the floor where His Holiness was staying and ushered us to a waiting room. Before we could settle down we heard a booming voice with friendly intonation greeting us â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good morning gentlemen; what can I do for all the doctors from Kerala?â&#x20AC;? We turned and found His Holiness standing by the door with extended hands and a beaming smile! He shook our hands as we introduced ourselves and escorted us to our respective seats in the meeting room.

This warm welcome set the tone for the meeting. Suddenly I found that all the self doubts that plagued me had vanished. His Holiness put us at ease by asking about the structure of the proposed book and my earlier books, from where it was a smooth transition to asking questions. Though he had an English translator with him, His Holiness could understand the language easily and also reply in English. There were only a couple of occasions when could ask His Holiness directly, within he had to ask members of his team for the timeframe specified. And since the support with factual details as he replied to the questions with crisp time allotted was short I knew that I responses. He was not averse to faced the tough task of making His Holiness feel confident enough to criticising some of the actions of his open up with me and then proceeding fellow countrymen during the pre 1950 period when the Regents had tried to to ask the maximum number of keep Tibet aloof from events taking questions without annoying him in place in other parts of world, in order any manner. My experience as an interviewer was next to nil, a fact which to serve their selfish ends. He thanked

EXPERT COUNSEL American public and their government for the support extended to Tibetans, while at the same time voicing the hopes that the present regime in China would work towards bringing a solution that would meet the aspirations and requirements of both sides. Time just flew when His Holiness was talking. Though we had been allotted 30 minutes for the interview we spent almost an hour and half with His Holiness that and it was only the desperate signals sent by his assistant that made us aware that we were guilty of delaying and even curtailing the next meeting that was fixed for him. As we got to exchange the customary gifts I had the audacity to request His Holiness whether he would consider writing a foreword to the book that I was writing. To my great delight he said, “ I feel happy that all of you from Kerala have taken an interest in our matters; so I will do all I can to help; please send the draft book to my office when it is completed and I shall see what I can do”. His Holiness was true to his word. I sent a copy of the draft book to his office and they got back after going through it with the information that it had been approved for writing of foreword. The actual foreword took some more time to come as His Holiness was busy with his travel schedule and also had to visit a hospital in USA. But he ensured that it was delivered to me well within the time limit kept by my publisher. The meeting with His Holiness is the closest that I have to interacting with a

great personality. His Holiness is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest human beings alive, the leader of a religion with followers that cut across continents, a philosopher whose words were listened to with respect and awe by world leaders and a teacher par excellence who elucidated the principles of Kalachakra in simple words to vast audiences.

It was a fascinating experience to meet greatness at close quarters; mere words would not be able to convey the gratitude of the members of our small team to His Holiness.

There would not be many human beings alive who have won more awards and recognitions than His Holiness; books published in his name top best seller lists and Hollywood celebrities vie for his attention. But despite all his accomplishments and

achievements one found that all the awards, prizes, accolades etc that have been showered on him sat lightly on his shoulders; the most endearing part of his personality is the humility and innocence with which he responds to persons irrespective of their wealth or status. We all learnt that day that humility is one of the prime virtues that great men possess; it is this quality that helps them to relate to people across all the divides created by money, fame, power, religion, caste and colour. It was a fascinating experience to meet greatness at close quarters; mere words would not be able to convey the gratitude of the members of our small team to His Holiness. Writing a book involves effort of a different kind from what one is normally used. It is more like a long distance run requiring stamina, patience, perseverance and doggedness with very few shortcuts on offer. There would be many days of despair when one finds it difficult to write even one full sentence. However one refuses to give up clinging on to the hope that things would soon start getting better. Meeting His Holiness was such a remarkable experience that I could plunge into my writing with renewed vigour and finish the work well within the time frame that my publisher had kept for me. N.B: The book “Vanishing Shangri La: History of Tibet and Dalai Lamas in 20th Century” was released on 4 March at a function at Kochi.

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

Pallikkutam | March 2016

Pallikkutam | September 2015

Power of empowered women

The empowerment of women has become one of the most important concerns. But practically women empowerment is still an illusion. We observe in our day to day life how women become victimized by various social evils. Women Empowerment is the vital instrument to expand womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to have resources and to make strategic life choices.

COVER STORY

Nisha Nair

“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more selfsacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her, man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with woman. Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart than woman?" [To the Women of India (Young India, Oct. 4, 1930)]” - Mahatma Gandhi

A pathway to autonomy

When is a woman called “Empowered”? Seems to be the question of the decade as this decade saw the rise of many women and the fight for equality. Yet the face of the new empowered female citizens of our nation, state, family, seem to ponder over the meaning of “Empowerment”. Women’s groups, non-governmental organisations, activists, politicians, governments and international agencies refer to empowerment as one

of their goals. Yet it is one of the least understood in terms of how it is to be measured or observed. It is precisely because this word has now been one of the fashionable concepts to include in policies / programmes /projects that there is a need to clarify and come up with tentative definitions. We are currently experiencing a global gender revolution. Women are not only finding their voices - they are using

Isn’t it an irony that India became the first nation to reach Mars orbit in its maiden attempt, but the women here are still struggling for equal status in society. Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY STORY COVER them. But we still need to see how far we understand this revolution. For India, the struggle of empowering women began from the time of the preindependence period and continues till today. Many social reformers such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Jyotirao Phule made efforts to abolish ‘Sati’ system and formulated widow remarriage. From that time till now numerous acts and laws made their way into our constitution to strengthen women in our society. Isn’t it an irony that India became the first nation to reach Mars orbit in its maiden attempt, but the women here are still struggling for equal status in society.

Empowerment ultimately involves a political process to produce consciousness among policy makers about women and to create pressure to bring about societal change.

Time and again, women have proved their excellence in almost every field such as education, sports, politics, media, art and culture, science, and technology. So the question is, are we really talking about empowerment? We need to look beyond reservations, quota’s and equal pay talks, what we want is respect. It is not about legal rights and political voice; we are talking about basic human right, which is still denied to millions of women. Why do we need to talk about women empowerment and women's rights even in a country like India where people worship Goddesses? We worship stone sculptures and place them in sanctified rooms ornamented with incense sticks and fresh flowers singing in her glory and praying for her blessings, only to forget all this when we walk out on streets ogling at women. We as a nation are not yet ready to talk about

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY empowering women, as we are still not prepared to respect them. Empowerment comes right after respect. If we find our ways to respect women and encourage her dreams, we can empower her along with the entire generation. Another most important aspect of women empowerment that needs to be addressed immediately is education. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you educate a man you educate an individual, however, if you educate a woman you educate a whole family. Women empowered means mother India empoweredâ&#x20AC;?. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Although in the Vedic period women had access to

education in India, they had gradually lost this right. However, in the British period there was revival of interest in

Women education plays a very important role in the overall development of the country. It not

Women education plays a very important role in the overall development of the country. It not only helps in the development of half of the human resources, but in improving the quality of life at home and outside. women's education. Even though the current government has taken various measures to provide education to all women, there is a lot yet to be done

only helps in the development of half of the human resources, but in improving the quality of life at home and outside. Women directly or

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY STORY COVER indirectly have consistently played the role of educators, while being a mother. Educating her further can only enrich the future generation better. Moreover educated women can also help in the reduction of infant mortality rate and growth of the population. In order to promote empowerment, it is necessary to create an environment that will allow women to participate in educational programmes and share the benefits. The typical and enduring consideration that women have received from the society has been in their capacity of mothers and wives. Women therefore need to become their own advocates to address problems

and situations affecting them that were previously ignored. Empowerment ultimately involves a political process to produce consciousness among policy makers about women and to create pressure to bring about societal change. Self-confidence and selfesteem cannot be taught; one must provide the conditions in which these can develop. Empowerment cannot be developed among "beneficiaries" of programs but only by "participants". We need to promote self-empowerment most importantly and urgently to lower income/marginalized/excluded women, who have a lot to offer to our society. Moreover, it's time that we move

beyond the stage of empowering women and think where women can and should empower the society. It is our responsibility as women to unlock our potentials because in no time, women will be our country savior’s. “I raise up my voice, not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard… we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.” Malala Yousafzai.

The author is Youth Programmes Officer at Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Ahmedabad, and published a novella “The Myth of Silence” and collection of short stories

It's time that we move beyond the stage of empowering women and think where women can and should empower the society. It is our responsibility as women to unlock our potentials because in no time, women will be our country savior’s.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY

Need of the hour Anupama Varma

s a millennial of eighteen, my views on women empowerment, the term and the concept are independent of each other and have been categorized as imposing and uncalled for. Starting with the term itself, it sounds like women have to be handed power and upliftment (of sorts). Who hands this power over? What I believe instead, is that women have the magic inside them, since their creation, magic that encompasses power, drive, courage and many good things. The magic was lost somewhere along the way, down the long hard road of suppression, oppression and abuse. It lies under mounds of fear, low selfesteem and lack of motivation. Where is the hope? I have seen many a female friend shy away from conversations involving gender equality, women's rights and the most dreaded term of them all, feminism. Initially, this felt like a

betrayal to me but eventually I realized this was about acceptance, from the opposite sex or the fear of moving away from general consensus. Somehow the layers of women empowerment are peeled off and distorted, like in the case of feminism, a

these phrases that I now call triggers, because it starts a chain reaction almost certainly ending the conversation with what sounds like “I believe in equality for all, I cannot pick sides” or on bad days "the world has other important issues to deal with,

Women of the world must stand together in this quest because it affected their grandmothers, mothers and will continue to loom in their daughters' lives. group that became a bunch of “feminazis”. Would we really commit genocide if our rights aren’t respected? I hope not, for the world’s sake. I have observed how important semantics are to influence a crowd, swaying with every sentence and hanging by every (catch) phrase. Most people are afraid to be associated with

besides there are many men who suffer, what about them?" On these particular days, I will not deny sitting for hours trying to come up with a convincing enough explanation to this broad spectrum of problems that will be easier to digest, relate to or most importantly, acknowledge.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY After looking far and wide for a suitable narrative, the conclusion is that everyone's interpretation of the matter of concern is very different. And it's justifiable because you relate to the concept while mapping your struggles with it initially. That is how the cause becomes important to you since you see yourself coloured somewhere on the spectrum. Maybe it is because you dream of a powerful position in your career that so far no woman has held, or it could be because you intend to support your family but you'll never be paid as much as man would be, irrespective of your performance, otherwise, unfortunately, you have seen many women in your life be abused when they shouldn't have been. One must not wait to be convinced in matters like these, only if you believe the struggle is real and dreadful for many of our sisters can you make a change. It is not as Madeleine Albright put it, "there's a special space in hell for women who do not help other women" (from Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign run for 2016). All the politicized and rather unintelligent attempts to gather in solidarity must only be taken at face value because politics is about lying convincingly at the moment. If hope must be looked for in these hollow words, then it's a tad too late. Women of the world must stand together in this quest because it affected their grandmothers, mothers and will continue to loom in their daughters' lives. The terms must be handled with a new fluid approach so that young girls don't think they're

Pallikkutam | March 2016

going to displease someone and other women don't feel like it doesn't impinge on their lives. We have to be liberal, accepting, patient and sensible in our disposition to the indifferent. That being said about the uprising of women for the start of a revolution, where do men stand in this? I decided to write about this separately for a couple of reasons, the first being that I haven't had the chance to gauge many stances on women empowerment. The second reason would be the

must stand and see eye to eye in all matters and be respected for the same. Giving the opposition the benefit of the doubt, why is it that equality never seems like equality to them? Consider this, maybe because they’re born privileged as a gender, the freedom and rights granted to them so easily, seem like it should be so for women too. I think somewhere the value gets undermined, so what are women fighting for? What’s all the

As a woman, I cannot expect an in-depth understanding of our troubles but as a human, I can expect empathy and support. complexity of the role men play in bringing equality when they have not much to fight for. Where does the need come from then? Or is there a need even? I would try and be unbiased as I can be in my opinions and reasons. Currently, I've seen three stances from this crowd, the first would be apathy or indifference ranking the highest, closely followed by rebellion or outright opposition and lastly support. The justification for the same would be "how does this concern me, the women need to fight for themselves?" and "what about men's rights, no one cares about that because we don't complain?" respectively. For the third, I hope it is because as humans, we

fuss about? Oftentimes, one does not realise that they stand above and that in order to grow together, first women must be pulled up to be equals and then be bothered with issues concerning both the genders. Making this first step shouldn’t be mistaken for being granted something woman don’t deserve or something men don’t have. This is a common misconception. As a woman, I cannot expect an in-depth understanding of our troubles but as a human, I can expect empathy and support. If you’re a human who stands for equality, you must stand truly, for all the people. With all the scandalous religious and socio-political talk on

COVER STORY this subject. As far as changing the current state of affairs is concerned, it has to start with the children, we have to teach them to be tolerant and good humans first rather than getting lost in the gender spiral. When their generation comes of age, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be the economically and socially responsible first and men and women later. In 2016, when we are constantly bombarded with statistics on domestic abuse, acid attacks, dowry abuse, female genital mutilation, sexual harassment, unpaid maternity leaves, unequal corporate ladders and a long list of other serious issues at hand, we must rise up to the situation. If statistics is needed for the awakening of people, the UN Women data pool shows that one in three women in the world is still physically or sexually abused and 43% of women in the 28 European Union member states have experienced psychological violence by an intimate

As far as changing the current state of affairs is concerned, it has to start with the children, we have to teach them to be tolerant and good humans first rather than getting lost in the gender spiral.

partner in their lifetime. These numbers alone should suffice for a reason. On a final not we must not assume it is just women who have been victims of these horrific crimes against humankind, instead as women we must help men too. As humans, we must help each other, fight for each other. Woman empowerment started off as something that may affect only women but now it is truly a matter of parity. No matter how hard I tried to separate the roles that all the three genders play in bringing about this equal opportunity, in the end, it is the beautiful amalgamation and unity that will bring success. I only present my ideas as I can best put them and not to offend or look down upon anyone. With matters close to the heart, there may be strong opinions as often is the case, but I do believe I am entitled to it.

The author is doing her first year of BSc. Economics (honours) at Symbiosis School of Economics, Pune.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY

Feminism: Aswathy A R

from theory to practical

any figures come to our mind when we think of women’s liberation and feminism. Activists, critics, thinkers, writers from Mary Wollstonecraft and Elaine Showalter to Kamala Das, Arundhati Roy and Taslima Nasrin strike first. They sowed the seeds of Feminism for many controversies and made nations fit to live for women. History locates the roots of Feminism with Sappho of ancient Greece or with Saint Hildegard of the medieval world or Christine de Pisan. Olympe De Gouges, Mary Wollstonecraft and Jane Austen are more popular figures and are considered foremothers of the modern women’s movement. As we know, the seed of feminism is nothing but the thirst for dignity,

Pallikkutam | March 2016

space, rights and opportunity for the female sex. Feminism has a number of branches namely Liberal feminism, Radical feminism, Marxist and Socialist

poor, for the black and the white, the educated and the under educated, are different from one another. Women’s liberation movement came to the scene as a loose agreement

By the time women of developed countries enjoyed the freedom and space they deserved, women of under developed countries were compromised to the suppressed, depressed and oppressed life they happened to be in. feminism, Cultural feminism and Eco feminism. Every branch is designed to uplift women from the inequality they face from the society. In addition to this, Feminism for the rich and the

with feminist ideology. It began in the United States during 1960’s under the leadership of Jo Freeman and Shulamith Firestone. After making its waves in the areas of politics, art,

COVER STORY literature and lifestyle of many developed countries, Women’s liberation spread fast to under developed and developing countries like India. By the time women of developed countries enjoyed the freedom and space they deserved, women of under developed countries were compromised to the suppressed, depressed and oppressed life they happened to be in. Issues like Sati, child marriage, polygamy, dowry, restrictions on remarriage of widows and female education etc. were practiced widely and dangerously in India. The first objective of feminism in India was to abolish these evil customs. The concept of feminism in India was started by men. Interestingly, leaders of Indian independence struggle were supposed to be the major light bearers of feminism in India. Leaders like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar

Chandra Vidyasagar and Maharishi Karve stood against Sati and pleaded for remarriage of widows while Gandhiji took interest in collective mobilization of women to fight for

fought for freedom, space, civil rights, education, opportunity etc. and made the common Women think about themselves. Women, who

When activists stood for the needs of women, they made a remarkable change in the life of common folk. Schools and colleges began admitting girl children. Women from middle class too participated in the wave. political freedom as well as for their social and political rights.

considered themselves as mere tools for doing household tasks.

Though the role of women in freedom movement was that of ‘helpers’ rather than comrades, many women turned leaders of womanhood. And this marked the real beginning of women’s liberation movement in India. They

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY wave. They went to schools and colleges, they worked and earned money, they took care of children’s education and spent money and time for themselves. And this phenomenon is the most significant character of the most modern feminist phase, the Female phase Writers like Kamini Roy, Ismat Chugtai, Kamala Das, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Taslima Nasrin expressed their ideas of feminism in their works. Many of them wrote in English and got accomplished themselves as Indian English writers. They wrote about the feminine fantasies, female sexuality and done bold experiments in their literary space.

Feminism is understood differently by woman depending upon their class, caste, colour, region, economic status, age, experience etc., they are quite aware of their rights and responsibilities and are ready to ask till they get it.

As feminism in literature has three stages of development like feminine (women writers write exactly like men do), feminist (began to write opposite to what men did) and female phase (struggle for individuality and say “we don’t need feminism anymore”) every woman of present age experiences these levels in their own life in one way or the other. Women of modern India do not consider men as their protectors. They consider men equal to them and share demands fearlessly. Though feminism is understood differently by woman depending upon their class, caste, colour, region, economic status, age, experience etc., they are quite aware of their rights and responsibilities and are ready to ask till they get it. Without knowing the technicalities of feminism and women’s liberation, they want to leave their signature in the society they belong to. They apply feminism in different degrees whenever and wherever it is required. Even high school students claim to be feminists themselves when they began to think about their rights. Yes, feminism and women’s liberation will ever be a topic of controversy and seed of many promising thoughts.

The author is English faculty at St. Albert's college, Kochi

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY

Follow your passion Anitha Mohan, a woman entrepreneur from Kochi, explains her experience in business.

hen I look back, I feel great satisfaction and prid.

designing that made me design my own dresses and develop a good colour sense. It was the appreciation When I started my boutique, I never and inspiration from my husband and thought of it as a business. It was just my friends that made me start a small something to keep me engaged. During stitching unit at home as a hobby. I the time of my marriage, I was working roped in a few people from known as a Post Graduate Teacher at sources to help me. My husband Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. As per the Mohan always stood by me and never interest of my husband and due to my ceased to appreciate my work. I pre occupation as a home maker, I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have succeeded without him. resigned my job. When my elder son My friends who used to appreciate my started his schooling, I got an designs and dresses later turned out to opportunity to learn stitching and be my customers. My greatest asset designing as I had a lot of free time. I was my staff. Even after 23 years I guess it was my passion towards

have the same team with me who have always been supportive. Even though I started it as just a hobby, it became a big boon for us when my husband left his job and started his own business. When my husbandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business fell, I was able to support him. When I felt the need, I expanded my unit by adding more staff and began to focus on designing sarees. I started dance dresses, saariwork, cutwork, hand embroidery, machine embroidery, bridal sarees and blouses. I found competent people to take up the work. I made sure the

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY

sarees were unique by giving my own designs and colour schemes. The designer wear attracted people who were interested in ethnic wear and even celebrities. I am happy in saying that 95% of my staff are women who became professionals at their work through the training that I gave them and immense hard work. It was easy to manage my household chores, the unit and my family since the unit was in my house itself. When my younger son left for higher studies, I decided to take my business to the next level. I started a boutique named â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Auraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Kochi. We brought in a collection of exclusive salwar suits. Our designer sarees and customized stitching quickly caught the eye of women. My client base has now expanded internationally, not through large hoardings and big

Pallikkutam | March 2016

Everybody has a passion. I would like to request them to pursue their passion without giving up and become successful entrepreneurs.

advertisements, but by word of mouth. I am very particular about making my customers feel comfortable when they come to Aura. I believe our attitude, approach and the ambience plays a huge role in this. I make sure that my staff also follow these. External factors may have an impact on our motivation levels at work, but I strongly believe that self determination and attitude is the key to being happy and successful in what you do. My husband and my two sons have always been a huge support and have helped me in building my customer relations using social media. I would like to send out a message to all the women out there. Everybody has a passion. I would like to request them to pursue their passion without giving up and become successful entrepreneurs.

COVER STORY

Success story of a women entrepreneur Lekha Balachandran, managing partner of ResiTech Electricals narrartes her sucess story.

t brings me immense pleasure to reminisce about my journey in becoming a women entrepreneur. I am in a place in my life where I can confidently say that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a successful business woman. Not because my business is always profitable, but because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m giving livelihood for 35 people directly and to a few more indirectly. And that should be the aim of each and every aspiring entrepreneur. After the completion of my bachelors in technology, when all my friends were running for a Government job, I wanted to do something of my own. When I shared this idea with my family, in spite of my dad being a business man himself, my parents opposed it, not even listening to what I had in mind. This was because of the mindset people had at that time, an unmarried girl wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t supposed to do something like that. She was supposed to get married and raise a family. After I got married in 1988, I got talking with my brother in law one day and shared my interests with him. He offered to give me a position in the company in which my husband was a silent partner. At that time it was a small manufacturing plant for Current Transformers. After 5 years, in 1993, we decided to expand it by manufacturing distribution

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY transformers and HT panels. Like all startup companies, we faced a lot of difficulties and initially we didn’t have a steady income. We had taken the risk and invested a lot in this company and worked equally hard to make sure that our company would make profits soon. My husband was still working for another firm at that point to get a regular income since we were parents of two kids. Even though I used to work for long hours, I made sure that whenever I wasn’t working, I would spend time with my kids. The political scenario and government policies in Kerala weren’t conducive at that period. We struggled a lot even if it was just to get a loan as convincing the authorities itself was tiresome. Finally we managed a loan from KSIDC. We built a factory in an Industrial estate in Aluva and started production. Initially, our graphs showed an upward growth. Everything was going smooth until the economy hit a recession. We had to avail for personal loans, sell some our properties and put back all the money we had saved to repay our existing loans. Some financial institutions supported us by rescheduling the loans and somehow we managed to survive through it. My husband joined the company as the marketing head in 1999 because we felt that the marketing department was lacking and could be given a boost. It was the year 2007 and we had repaid all our loans and we had enough savings to buy one more plot in the same industrial area. But after 19 years of smooth sailing, it started itching. Though our company was professionally managed, at some point unprofessional things came up. (Personal interests and opinions came up that could not be settled) Due to difference of opinion we were forced to step out from the parent company. That was yet another blow to us. I was really disturbed because I was in my early 40s and we had to

Pallikkutam | March 2016

start from scratch, back to square one. The only thing we got from the settlement after splitting up was an industrial plot with a small shed. And all I could think of was how impossible all this seemed. Few of my family members supported us a lot. Some were even ready to support us financially. I was totally broken inside and confused. At a certain point when I was reduced to tears, one of my friends told me “Hey I don’t want to see you sad, realize your potential. And be yourself. This is not suiting you”. These above lines really touched me. I got unstinted support from my husband and children too.

husband’s expertise in marketing helped the company regain the brand name. Now we are enjoying a good market share. We are now the system house for Siemens in Kerala and are the channel partner for Ring main units of Siemens make. All our products are type Tested at CPRI and we believe in Quality and Customer satisfaction. We trained a good sales and Service team too. Never think that things will always be smooth and beautiful. There will be set backs in life, but we need to try to learn from that. My father always told me that “If you want to be something in life, you have to work hard,” so enjoy what you do. Unless you enjoy it, you can’t make it successful.

My motto in life is “if they can, why can’t I?” Hence I would like to tell everyone to follow your dreams and never let anything pull you down and upset you. My husband took a job as a marketing consultant in another switchgear company. He had faith in me. I ventured a new company. I knew the subject, the product but had zero working capital. This time we didn’t approach any financial institution as we raised our own funds to procure testing equipments. The support from my suppliers was remarkable. I contacted all my suppliers and explained the situation. They supplied raw materials with the condition that I could pay whenever I was able to. That was unbelievable. I realized that these people were the main assets I had in my professional life for the last 18 years. Establishing the brand name was the major challenge I faced after the launch of the new venture. However with the support of well wishers, contractors and consultants we slowly captured the market. My

Whenever I’m in a dilemma or crisis, I talk to someone about it. With their help, I make a decision. Crisis management is an art which has to be acquired. In my professional life I never felt that I‘m a woman. I was never afraid to face situations. Necessity makes us strong, a problem solver and a decision maker. I can honestly say that we never approached any authorities for any unethical favours. By proper time management we Balance home and work. As women we have to undergo different roles in life as a wife, Daughter in law, Daughter, mother and much more. We never can ignore these essential roles which are part and parcel of life. My motto in life is “if they can, why can’t I?” Hence I would like to tell everyone to follow your dreams and never let anything pull you down and upset you.

COVER STORY

Dr.Devi.K.Varma

Role of women in ancient theatre

'Gender discrimination in theatre' is an interesting topic, not only in our country, but across the world. There are healthy discussions on all forms of performing arts. Cast, race and gender differences are always reflected in our art forms. Colour of the skin symbolizes race and sect. Be it men or women, black represents the underprivileged in our stages. It can be identified from gazes of spectators on performers at stages. Theater studies in the West analyzes these social trends more deeply. Irish actress and theatre and opera director Fiona Shaw recognized the gravity and complexity of the gender issue on stage, only when

she came to act the Shakesperian charecotr Richard 2nd. " I never knew that I am subverting such a big taboo.

But when a woman acting as man raise many eyebrows. A man in woman's robe is universally accepted. But vice-

Women of the world must stand together in this quest because it affected their grandmothers, mothers and will continue to loom in their daughters' lives. I thought there were no rules in the world of imagination. But there are rules; rules of history, rules of time...rules of hope." The woman performing on stage is not the issue.

versa is controversial. "Gender in performance" is always a hot topic in the world theater. This is an analysis of the same in the background of Kutiyattam, the classical performing art

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY form of Kerala. In Kutiyattam, male characters are permitted to perform as female and female as male. They can do this without changing their dresses. ( ie, a female can act the male part in the female dress itself.this acting technique is termed as ‘pakarnnaattam”). Body language of the performers and the rules of performances are the only signs to differentiate the performers. Why Kutiyattam? The word meaning of Kutiyattam is ‘dancing together’ where men and women can perform without restrictions inside the temple theater( Koothambalam). As per tradition, the dance was performed by the people belonging to the Chakyar caste. While

Pallikkutam | March 2016

Kutiyattam was assumed to have a long history of about 1000 years which makes it the oldest surviving theatre art.

Chakyar played as male charector, Nangyaramma acted the female character on stage. Socio, political, economical and cast systems of Kerala were represented in Kutiyattam in different ways, through centuries. It is believed to have existed before 10th century AD and is the oldest one to be still performed. Some measures were taken by Kulashekhara Varman to reform Kutiyattam. As a result of such reforms, Kutiyattam was assumed to have a long history of about 1000 years which makes it the oldest surviving theatre art. In May 2001, Koodiyattam earned a rare honour when UNESCO declared it a masterpiece of human heritage to be protected and preserved.

COVER STORY

In other theatre art forms of Kerala, men enact the part of women too. But in Kutiyattam, women play the role of women characters. Kutiyattam is the living tradition of ancient theatre. Earlier chakyar, nampyar and nagyar communities were performed and involved in this art form. They developed a secondary literature called aattaprakara for the performance. The performance on the stage is based on the attaprakara- the acting manual. It is widely believed that women had no role in Keralaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acting sequences. They found no place in Kathakali â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Krishnanattam or Ottan Thullal. But in Kutiyattam female characters were presented by women artists themselves. Besides performing, they sang the slokas and maintained taala. These women were the nangyars who belonged to the nambiar community. The nambiars were the traditional Mizhavu players. Recently, a Nangiar called Margi Sathi created history by penning an attaprakaram (guide for actors) for the play Sriramacharitham. Compared to other classical dance forms, presence of women performers in Kutiyattam were always evident. In other theatre art forms of Kerala, men enact the part of women too. But in Kutiyattam, women play the role of women characters. 15, 16 centuries can be considered as the medieval period of Kutiyattam. Usha Nangiar has observed that many women characters were avoided in this period. Shunning the characters means detachment from a stream of thoughts too. Nangiarkoothu, an offshoot of Kutiyattam, is a solo performance with an antiquity of 1500 years. It is the sole domain of female artistes. The stories

Pallikkutam | March 2016

COVER STORY for the performance are taken from the text Sree Krishna Charitam, depicting the life of Lord Krishna. During the performance the actress presents the longwinded stories of Lord Krishna through hand gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to the accompaniment of the resonant pot drum mizhavu. This art form is also atypical example of the importance of women artists in the history of Kerala performing arts from ancient period. Theatre in India has a rich history, heritage and culture. Indian women played a prominent role, on and off the stage to develop Indian classical theatre. Their contribution should not be ignored when we talk about theatre. Usha nangyar, a faculty in the department of theatre, sree sankaracharya university of Sanskrit, kalady is a renoubed kutiyattam performer. She composed the role of droupadi from mahabharatha in a new perspective. She tried to express a contemporary woman through Droupadi. Also she composed Mandodari,Subhadra and Lalitha in her own way by retaining the acting methodology of kutiyattam. Kalamandalam Girija, Smt.Kalamandalam Shylaja, Dr. Indu Idappally, Smt.Kapila Venu and Dr.Aparna Nangyar are the other famous kutiyattam - nangyarkooth performers. The attitude of society towards women has changed in the modern world. According to the new artists, it is important to reflect the changing identity of women in women expressions also. Theatre is an excellent space to express such new streams of thought through body, performance and identity. The structure of Kutiyattam is highly stylized and it is very difficult to render new ideologies in to it. Some female performers are excellently trying to express themselves on the stage without compromising the grammar of the form.

The author is Assistant Professor of Malayalam, SD College, Alappuzha with doctorate in Kutiyattam. Published articles in academic journals and other publications.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

GUEST COLUMN

Men and women: Can they be equal?

K. L. Mohana Varma

argaret Thatcher, the iron lady of the latter half of Twentieth century, cunningly said: If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.

But Malala Yousafzai, the noble winner Pakistani girl was more realistic. She said: I raise up my voice-not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard... we cannot succeed when half of us are held back. Eleanor Roosevelt had a simpler explanation. She said: A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. Whatever all these celebrities opine, I had a real problematic experience in this area as a writer. It was 1992. I was in the mental preparations for starting my novel OHARI. I had decided to bring the present rapid changes happening in Kerala society through fiction simultaneously giving an intricate knowledge in the various new activities responsible for such changes. Films, sports, share market and many such areas. I selected Share market for the first of these gene of novels and named it Ohari meaning share. Ohari was identifiable to all malayalees as share of properties, movable and immovable and very few knew it as connected to share market and stock exchange. In Kerala, a stock exchange, Cochin Stock Exchange started functioning a few years back and a share market culture

Pallikkutam | March 2016

GUEST COLUMN

Gender equality is still a dream in India and women achieving leadership on their own merit is a rare exception here. It is the same in almost all nations even though a superb camouflaging gives us a wrong impression.

was slowly and steadily intruding into the middle class minds creating an entirely new type of tensions, equilibriums, greed, frustrations, manipulations and wealth. The background was ideal for a semi-high brow popular novel and I was sure it would give a fresh experience to malayalee readers. Incidentally I may add that the novel became very famous, well translated to many languages, selected by the Indian Express as the top novel in Indian languages of that year and obtained many literary awards. In the planning stage, there was a problem. The subject of share market was boring. So I decided to focus on a plausible major battleground, a take-over bid by some unknown people on a Kerala company through share market operations. I wanted the company to have a pure Kerala cultural identity and I selected Ayurveda and created a background. The storyline was loosely forming in my mind. Then came the problem of main characters. I had almost created a pivot broker, a 50 year old ex-footballer, ex-communist, shrewd honest man. But he could only be the number two, the support character to the owner of the company under siege. Who should be the main character? Suddenly

Pallikkutam | March 2016

GUEST COLUMN

Are we nearing in achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls? It is doubtful. a spark ignited my path. Just a few months before, I, as a judge, was going through short-listed 20 short stories written by women in a competition organized by a womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weekly. All the writers were well educated and the themes varied and had originality in most of the cases. In almost all the cases, the main characters were women, but to my surprise, I found that that not even in a single case the ultimate decision-making and taking up the full responsibility for their actions or behavior were done by them. Everywhere, a male, husband, father, son, brother, friend was shown as helping them or they as a normal behavior went to one of them. In most of the cases the woman was only an attractive front. I decided that I will create a Kochi based educated housewife without any business

experience as the managing director of the company and see that she faces the battlefield as the real leader. It was the best inspiration I had, and it clicked. The novel was serialized in Mathrubhumi weekly and completed in 62 weeks and I remember daily calls from readers from around 40 weeks when the story was gaining deep impression requesting me to see to ensure that Mini Balachandran, my 26 year old woman entrepreneur succeeds.

considered as ornamental in many cases with a driving force of male in the background. Gender equality is still a dream in India and women achieving leadership on their own merit is a rare exception here. It is the same in almost all nations even though a superb camouflaging gives us a wrong impression.

Are we nearing in achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls? It is doubtful. Although recently, the convention on the Elimination of All Forms of It was fiction, but it was part of us, Discrimination against Women has unidentified. Even now, after 24 years been ratified by more countries than of my creating Mini, I am not sure as to any other UN convention, the world is what extent we have come to accept far from gender equal. In fact, we even Mini as equal to men in the wild world see a roll-back of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s human of business and industry where rights in many countries, with leadership of women are still governments trying to reverse

Pallikkutam | March 2016

GUEST COLUMN womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sexual rights or making childcare so expensive that women are practically forced to give up their jobs. We also see a rise in the number of girls dropping out of secondary school in many developing countries because of the cost and forced marriage. Social divisions among urban women have a major impact on empowerment indicators. Upper class and educated women have better access to health, education, and economic opportunities, whereas lower class, less educated women in urban settings enjoy these rights significantly less. Due to rapid urbanization and lack of economic opportunities in other parts of the country, cities also house sprawling slum areas. Slums are informal sprawls, and most times lack basic services such as clean water, sanitation, and health facilities. Additionally, slum dwellers mostly work in unorganized and informal sectors, making them vulnerable to raids by the state, abuse by employers, and other forms of

Pallikkutam | March 2016

Upper class and educated women have better access to health, education, and economic opportunities, whereas lower class, less educated women in urban settings enjoy these rights significantly less.

insecurity. Women and children in slums are among the most vulnerable to violence and abuse, and are deprived of their basic human rights. Discrimination against women in most parts of India (particularly the north) emerges from the social and religious construct of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role and their status. As such, in many parts of India, women are considered to be less than men, occupying a lower status in the family and community, which consequentially restricts equal opportunity in women and girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; access to education, economic possibilities, and mobility. Can we come up? As a writer I am optimistic, but in actual practice, tradition, religion and philosophy interfere generally in a subtle manner and I am afraid it would be decades before technology and social empowerment create Mini Balachandrans common enough as not to be noticed as an exception.

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

EDU BIZ

Forbes 2015 Richest women in India Savitri Jindal ♦ Savitri Jindal is the chairperson of the OP Jindal Group, which is a 18 billion dollar conglomerate

♦

As per the Forbes ranking, she is positioned at the 12th rank among India's 100 Richest People

♦ She is 65 years old who has a net worth of 5.3 billion dollars. Savitri Jindal, Asia’s richest woman, grew up in Tinsukia, a small town near Guwahati. Married to the founder and chairperson of Jindal Group, O.P. Jindal, Savitri was happy being a homemaker devoted to bringing up her nine children. Following her husband’s death in 2005, she took over as the chairperson of the steel and power conglomerate. Jindal Group turnover has risen steadily under her leadership. Savitri dons several hats and served a stint as Cabinet Minister in the Haryana State Government. Her net worth is $ 3.9 billion.

Indu Jain ♦ Indu Jain is the chairperson of Bennett, Coleman and Co. ♦ She has teamed up with Huffington Post to launch the

United Nations on the occasion of the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders in 2000 was appreciated as she spoke about the need for togetherness among faiths.

Indian edition of the website in December

♦ The 78-year-old holds the 38th rank as India's richest person, who has an estimate worth of 2.7 billion dollars. Indu Jain of Bennett, Coleman & Co. has a net worth of $ 1.9 billion. She is the chairperson of one of India’s leading media house – The Times Group. She founded the Times Foundation, which initiates pioneering activities in the field of development. It is her dedication that has helped mobilise funds for the Times Relief Fund, which works towards disaster relief during natural calamities. Indu is also a strong advocate of women’s rights and encourages women entrepreneurs. She also heads the Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust, which gives out the prestigious literary award, the Jnanpith and through it supports literary endeavours in various Indian languages. Her address at the

Pallikkutam | March 2016

EDU BIZ

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw ♦ Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the founder of Biocon, which is India's largest publicly traded biopharma firm

♦ Shaw is 61 years old, who has an estimate worth of 1.2 billion dollars and is positioned at 81st rank among India's richest people ♦ She is also the board member of technology giant Infosys and chairs the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (born 23 March 1953, Bangalore, India) is the chairman and managing director of Biocon Limited, a biotechnology company based in Bangalore (Bengaluru), India[5] and the current chairperson of IIM-Bangalore. In 2014, she was awarded the Othmer Gold Medal, for outstanding contributions to the progress of science and chemistry She is on the Financial Times’ top 50 women in business list.

Anu Aga ♦ Anu Aga is a former chairperson of Thermax Ltd., an energy and environment engineering company

♦

Aga, who is 72 years old, has a net worth of 1.1 billion dollars and holds 94th rank among richest people in India

♦

She had resigned as the chairman of the company in 2004, ceding the position to her daughter, Mehar, who is a UK trained chemical engineer

♦ Aga also runs a non-profit company 'Teach for India' that recruits young people to teach in schools for kids from low-income families. Anu Aga (born 1942) led Thermax Ltd., the 32.46 billion (US$480 million) energy and environment engineering business, as its chairperson 1996–2004 She had figured among the eight richest Indian women, and in 2007 was part of 40 Richest Indians by net worth according toForbes magazine She was awarded with the Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Award by ALL Ladies League, the all ladies wing of Assocham. After retiring from Thermax, she took to social work, and In 2010 she was awarded the Padma Shri for Social Work by the Government of India She is currently Chairperson of Teach For India. She was nominated to Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Indian Parliament on 26 April 2012, by President Pratibha Pattil.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

HEALTH MONITOR

Healing power of Dr. K. P. Davis

virgin coconut oil

or countless generations virgin coconut oil has been used throughout the world as a nourishing food and a healing medicine. Its therapeutic use is described in ancient medical texts from India, Egypt and china. Among the Pacific islanders coconut is regaled as a sacred food. The oil is highly revered for its healing properties and forms the basis for nearly all of their traditional cures and therapies. Modern medical science is now unlocking the secrets to virgin coconut oils miraculous healing powers. Coconut oil in one form or another is currently being used in medicines, baby formulas, sports and fitness products, hospital feeding formulas, and even as a weight loss aid. Many doctors and nutritionist consider it to be the healthiest of all oils. What is Virgin Coconut Oil? Coconut oil is certainly not an unfamiliar name with most of us, but virgin coconut oil might be. Unlike what many of you might assume, it is not simply another name given to the ordinary coconut oil by some company just to increase sales numbers by claiming that it is the purest available form. There is really a

substance called virgin coconut oil and, if not entirely, it has some important differences from ordinary

coconut oil. These differences mainly lie with the source (more specifically, the physical form of the source), the method of extraction, and its subsequent benefits. Virgin coconut oil is rapidly gaining in popularity throughout the world in comparison to ordinary coconut oil, and it is not without good reason.

Differences between Virgin Coconut Oil and Ordinary Coconut Oil

Coconut oil in one form or another is currently being used in medicines, baby formulas, sports and fitness products, hospital feeding formulas, and even as a weight loss aid.

Let us explore a bit more about what made these two sisters, born of the same mother, so different from each other, yet in other ways remain so similar. Extraction The main difference between ordinary coconut oil and virgin coconut oil lies in their processes of extraction. While the former is extracted by cold compression or cold milling of Copra with a moisture content of around six percent, the latter is extracted from the coconut milk obtained from fresh coconuts. Thereafter, using processes such as fermentation, churning (centrifugal separation), refrigeration, and the action of enzymes, the oil is separated from the water or moisture.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

HEALTH MONITOR In some cases, this fresh coconut oil is boiled to obtain the oil by evaporating the water or moisture. However, in the case of virgin coconut oil, the raw materials and the process of extraction should not allow any involvement of heat. Therefore, in good and reputable firms that manufacture virgin coconut oil, throughout the whole process, the utmost care is taken to ensure that the kernels and the raw material, i.e. the coconut milk, are not subjected to heat or sunlight. In some cases, virgin coconut oil is also extracted directly by cold compression of fresh dried coconut meat. This is also called Micro-expelling. Ideally, virgin coconut oil should be as clear as water. However, its color may vary slightly depending upon its processing. Virtues Virgin coconut oil has a very good taste and smell, like that of fresh

coconuts, since it is derived from fresh coconuts and is subjected to very low, if not totally nil, heat and sunlight. It is also not refined. This preserves all the natural goodness of this oil, including a high content of vitamin-E and minerals, which are otherwise almost completely robbed from ordinary coconut oil during processes like heating, filtration, refining, and bleaching, which are done to make it colorless and odorless. Furthermore, virgin coconut oil is very effective as a moisturizing agent. Its antioxidant properties are far better than those of normal coconut oil.

Virgin coconut oil should be as clear as water. However, its color may vary slightly depending upon its processing.

Composition The two varieties do not differ much in composition, except for the fact that a few good things, such as some polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals that contribute to the taste, fragrance, and goodness of coconut oil are found more in virgin coconut oil than the its ordinary counterpart. Furthermore, it is richer is medium chain fatty acids, good cholesterol, and has almost no trans fatty acids. From Villain to Victor: Emerging Research Supporting the Use of Coconut Oil One could devote pages upon pages to emerging research about potential benefits. Instead, I will try to highlight the main points by presenting a simple list. Lipid Maintenance and Fat Burning Researchers at the University of Kerala recently published a study in the British Journal of Nutrition. In this study the group points out that VCO 1) helped improve lipid panel results and 2) directly reduced fat formation. The group further concluded that these two findings suggest that a diet in coconut oil could reduce oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). Anti-Inflammatory/Antioxidant Properties Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant rich foods are important for a healthy diet. Both are essential in maintaining

Pallikkutam | March 2016

HEALTH MONITOR a body free of cellular damage. New research shows VCO may be such a potent anti-inflammatory agent, that it could help treat various forms of arthritis (remember, a lot of arthritic conditions are due to a pro or high inflammatory state). The biggest selling point of VCO is its antioxidant property. The problem with cooking with other media such as olive oil concerns high heat and oxidative damage. Simply put, when we fry things in olive oil, the olive oil is so hot that various chemicals become oxidized or rather damaged. So even though olive oil may be good for us, at high temperatures the chemical changes are actually damaging at a cellular level. Conversely, VCO does not oxidize or get damaged at high temperatures. In fact, current research shows that this lack of damage has heart healthy benefits. Antimicrobial activity One of the severe of hospital infections is Clostridium Dificile (a really nasty bacteria). It is a major cause of severe diarrhea and a very hard pathogen to

A brief review of history shows that coconut oil was unfairly cast as evil oil due to misinformation and poor science. Dogmatic adherence to outdated studies still casts fear about its usage with doctors, patients, and wellness experts.

treat. That said, a study shows that laboratory testing (called in vitro) of this super nasty bug with VCO is effective. In other words, VCO is so potent as an antimicrobial agent it has promising abilities to treat tough bacterial infections. Quality of Life among Breast Cancer Patients Another study found consuming VCO during chemotherapy improved functioning and quality of life among 60 patients who received VCO as part of the diet. A brief review of history shows that coconut oil was unfairly cast as evil oil due to misinformation and poor science. Dogmatic adherence to outdated studies still casts fear about its usage with doctors, patients, and wellness experts. The growing body of literature surrounding VCO is promising. However, more laboratory and human trial research needs to be done.

The author is a consultant pediatrician with an experience close to 30 years in general pediatrics.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

POLICY WATCH

Ease of doing business in education Pooja Sundaresh

ver since the World Bank came out with its ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Index, several low ranked countries were left red faced. The index positioned countries based on several parameters such as the ease in setting up a business, time taken to obtain permits and licenses, and the procedures followed for closure of a business, to name a few. Businesses here widely covered commercial activities across all the sectors such as Manufacturing and Engineering, Retail, Information Technology, Infrastructure and Education. The Education sector is one of the fastest developing sectors worldwide and the second largest industry in India. According to the India Ratings report, India boasts of an education sector market size of nearly $110 billion in 2015 inclusive of 1.4 million schools and over 36,000 higher education institutes. These numbers however don’t take into account India’s constantly growing demographic advantage. This advantage referring to

Pallikkutam | March 2016

The restrictive regulatory environment that exists in the Indian education sector has been forcing out the potential speculation of private players exploring and entering this sector.

the dividends arising from having a large population of youth who can become a highly productive future workforce.. In order to accommodate the growing student class, there is clearly a need for opportune investments in this sector. However, rather than capitalizing on this advantage, the restrictive regulatory environment that exists in the Indian education sector has been forcing out the potential speculation of private players exploring and entering this sector. As Benjamin Franklin once said “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” In this respect, the government has to do away with several policy maladies that this sector embodies while simultaneously opening up a freer market to make room for private investments. The foremost cause that has restrained private entrepreneurs from investing in this sector is the not-for-profit policy. Furthermore, the policy mandates that 85 per cent of the profits earned are to

POLICY WATCH

Educationalists across India have suggested that the government should work towards coming up with uniform and simple policies that can be comprehended by all. be routed back into the sector. While, the very concept of entrepreneurship is to make money; questioning this philosophy will only likely keep investments away. Ironically, the notfor-profit rule has also been promoting immoral activities; as education institutes enjoy tax benefits that makes it easier to hoard money. In fact developed countries such as the U.S and UK have commercialized their education sector; thereby enabling multiple educational institutes to sprout up and cater to the needs of a growing demand. As per data provided by National Conference of State Legislatures in the US, the numbers of student enrollment among forprofit institutions has increased to 225 per cent in the past two decades. Currently, about 2.2 million students attend for-profit colleges. Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education policy also has several other impediments. There are layers of regulatory bodies mandating overlapping rules and regulations. As education is a subject on the concurrent list, policies at both the national and state level also donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t correspond with each other. For example, to set up a private state university, it first needs to be legislated by the state government. Educationalists across India have suggested that the government should work towards coming up with uniform and simple policies that can be comprehended by all. It is in this context that a suggestion was made that a national higher education regulatory board be set up. The process of setting up an institution is severely unbalanced. An institution cannot come into

Pallikkutam | March 2016

POLICY WATCH

existence unless affiliated to an existing government university. This approval procedure requires over 30 different documents to be submitted to multiple departments at the state level. This sector also demands large land and capital requirements, which cannot be afforded by all. Land requirements vary between3-5 acres from urban to rural areas. Additionally, the not-for-profit policy adds to the burden of all these financial outflows in the initial stages of setting up. It is imperative that the state governments adopt a single window system to provide approvals and licenses to set up colleges in our country. Countries such as New Zealand and Singapore have topped the index in this context, as the entire approval process takes only 0.5 days in these countries and all the documents are all submitted to a single government department. Alleviating barriers in this sector

Pallikkutam | March 2016

Encouraging private players in this sector would also ultimately lead to stimulating employment and foster economic development of India.

would help recover the sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth rate and contribute to skilling India's youth. Opening up the sector for pro-profit institutions would attract more domestic and foreign players to set up institutes in India. Reputed universities such as Yale University and Georgia Tech University are in talks to set up universities in our country. Clearly freeing up certain barriers would promote sectoral growth while further attracting other top colleges from around the globe. In addition, India, which has the world's largest student population can directly benefit from such a move from a restrictive to a more business friendly environment. Encouraging private players in this sector would also ultimately lead to stimulating employment and foster economic development of India.

The author is Managing Associate to CPPR- Centre for Comparative Studies.

INFOTECH

Duolingo app helps you to learn English

nline language education platform Duolingo has launched in India its app in Hindi so that the natives can learn English and other languages easily. "In developing markets like India, learning English is crucial to people's professional development and can double or triple their income potential. Our goal is to give everyone in India the best possible language education money can buy, but for free," Duolingo's co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. The new app is has been completely customized for Hindi speakers. Customizations include reducing the size of the app to reduce the amount of memory required to install it, removing the need to type in Hindi, improving the placement test experience to help people quickly

determine their proficiency level and customizing the content to make it more appealing to Hindi speakers. Hindi speakers can learn English with Duolingo, while Indian natives who already speak English can choose from 16 other languages. "Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the country, hence we are focused on Hindi speakers first, but we plan on launching the app in other languages as well,as Awaneesh Verma, product head at Duolingo, said. According to the Duolingo, it is the most downloaded education app worldwide for Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices.

Apple to rework its pricing in India

eep discounts on Apple products may soon disappear from e-commerce portals, as the maker of iPhones and iPads reworks its pricing strategy in the fast-growing Indian market ahead of launching its digital and brickand-mortar stores. The company, awaiting clearance for its investment proposal to open Apple Stores in India, decided to clamp down on online discounting to bring pricing parity across offline and online trade, two senior industry executives with knowledge of the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "As Apple expects its FDI (foreign direct investment) application will receive approval shortly, it wants to bring back pricing hygiene across online and offline so that it can draw customers to its own stores and make them a viable revenue generator," one of the executives said.

The app has organically attracted over 110 million users worldwide learning languages for free, as well as earned prestigious awards from Google and Apple.

Oppoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new tech will fully charge a battery in 15 minutes

hinese smartphone maker Oppo at its press event at MWC in Barcelona showcased its new Super VOOC technology which will be used in future Oppo phones. The company claims that with Super VOOC, a 2,500mAh battery can be fully charged within 15 minutes. Also, it is capable of charging a smartphone to 45% within just five minutes. Oppo's smartphones are already popular in China primarily due to its known

VOOC technology. The Super VOOC charging technology is offered via a

new charging adapter and cable. It supports both microUSB and USB

Type-C ports. Oppo's Super VOOC charges at 5V and delivers power directly to the battery without converting the voltage and claims to get up to 97% efficiency. Notably, the new charging technology works only with Oppo's charging adapter and cable. It other fast charging adapter is used to charge an Oppo phone with Super VOOC then it will not work and will charge slowly instead.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

INFOTECH

Microsoft Surface Pro 5 to be launched in October

icrosoft Surface Pro 5 will reportedly be launched in October this year as an update to last year's Surface Pro 4. The hybrid tablet is said to be priced at $899 for the entry-level model, with models featuring beefier specs expected to cost $999 and $1,599. According to a report by online publication MNR Daily, Microsoft plans to address one of the big

concerns of Surface Pro 4 users with the next edition in the series: battery life. Users have reportedly said that the battery of Surface Pro 4 lasts just 3 hours, instead of the 9 hours claimed by Microsoft. Battery is also drained when the device is in Sleep Mode. Microsoft later resolved the issues with updates. It is said that the company aims to ensure that the problem does not crop up with the Surface Pro 5.

Dell launches Venue 8 Pro tablet with Windows 10

ell has expanded its product portfolio with the launch of Venue 8 Pro Windows 10 tablet. This is an improved version of the Dell Venue 8 Pro Windows 8.1 tablet introduced on 2014. The device has been improved in terms on both hardware and specifications. The Dell Venue 8 Pro Window 10 features an 8-inch FHD display with 1920x1200 pixels resolution.

Skype to introduce group video calling for Android, iOS ecently, Skype introducedapps its active speaker. Earlier, Skype allowed

new group video calling feature for Android, iOS and Windows phone users. The company is now officially rolling out its functionality on iOS and Android devices. The group calling feature from Skype supports full HD broadcast. Moreover, Microsoft has also partnered with Intel in order to optimize SILK Audio so, that it can offer a clear audio experience even with increased number of participants. The group calling feature from Skype enables users to have a free group video call with up to 25 participants. The video call takes a grid view to see all the callers and also focus on the

Pallikkutam | March 2016

only 5 participants in a group chat. Users are also allowed to swipe through that lineup and find the individual caller and 'pin' that to the screen. Along with this, Skype also allows the users to flip between the rear and front camera without any problem. It is also not necessary that one has to be a Skype user to join the call. The user just needs to click on a link that can be sent out of any the apps. The Skype free video calling feature will be rolled out for iPhone, iPad and Android devices in Western Europe and North America. The company also said that in coming months it will roll out the feature globally.

Powering the device is a 2.24GHz Intel Atom Z8500 processor clubbed with 4GB of RAM. The onboard storage of the tablet accounts to 64GB which can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card. It flaunts a 5MP rear camera and a 2MP front facing camera to facilitate video calling. The tablet also incorporates USB Type C, microSD and micro sim card slot. It houses a 19.5WHr Lithium Ion battery and offers Bluetooth and WiFi as connectivity options. The Dell Venue 8 Pro Windows 10 Home version is priced for $399 and the Windows 10 Pro costs $449.

ASPECTS

Antaryamin: Dr. Augustine Thottakara

the inner spirit - 1

The word “Atman” is derived from the root ‘an’, (aniti), meaning to breathe, to live, to vivify. Therefore, Atman is breath, life, lifeprinciple, spirit, the vivifier, etc.

panisadic literature [800- 300 BCE] is very often characterized as a powerful expression of revolt against and a refusal of Brahmanic ritualism. It, in no uncertain terms, condemned the stereotyped, and very often meaningless, rituals and sacrifices, and loudly proclaimed that the ultimate liberation from embodied existence cannot be realized though these external expressions religiosity and spirituality. Instead, it championed the intuitive, experiential and mystical knowledge of Brahman, which is the ultimate cause of everything, the unifying force of the universe and the supreme goal of all lives, as the only and sure means to break the inexorable cycle of births, deaths and rebirths. The Upanishads thus introduced a

new world-view and a new vision of reality in the philosophical-religious milieu of India. The greatest contribution of the Upanishads thus is the discovery and introduction of the concept of Brahman-Atman. This new trend of thought marked a shift from the external sacrificial ritualism of Brahmanas to a search for the internal knowledge of one supreme reality of the Upanishads, from karma-kanda to jnana-kanda, from Brahmanism to kind of Sramanism, from a polytheistic idea of Godhead to a monotheistic or monistic concept of the absolute ultimate Being. Man who was the sacrifice (yajamana) in the Brahmanic period, becomes the seeker of knowledge of Brahman (brahmajijnasu) in the Upanishads.

The Upanishads designated this supreme, ultimate reality as Brahman, the big one, the large being. These texts, however, use other names for the supreme being, namely, Atman, (Self or the Life-spirit), Sat (Existence), Cit (consciousness), Ananda (Bliss), Akasa (Space/ether), Om, Antaryaamin (the inner Spirit or the inner-controller), etc. All these appellations point to the different essential characteristics and nature of Brahman. Atman Since our concern here is the spirit, a word about Atman, which is the parallel concept in Indian philosophy, is in place here. The word “Atman” is derived from the root ‘an’, (aniti), meaning to breathe, to live, to vivify. Therefore, Atman is breath, life, life-

Pallikkutam | March 2016

ASPECTS principle, spirit, the vivifier, etc. There is also the opinion among grammarians that this word is derived from the verbal root ‘at’ (atati), meaning to go, to walk, to wander. In this case, Atman may mean that which moves, the wind, the moving-spirit. In any case, the word “Atman” is normally translated as self, soul, spirit, individual self, etc. In the Upanishads, sometimes this word is used to designate also the supreme Brahman. In the Brahman-Atman identity relation, mainly advocated by the older Upanishads and the Advaita of Sankara, Brahman means the supreme Reality, the ultimate being the absolute Godhead, the cosmic Self. Atman is the same supreme Reality confined and circumscribed in the mind-stuff (antahkarana) of the individuals. The same Brahman is individualized and personalized in particular bodily structures. This apparent and unreal bondage of the self in body is due to karma and ignorance. In reality, the self

Pallikkutam | March 2016

The word “Atman” is normally translated as self, soul, spirit, individual self, etc. In the Upanishads, sometimes this word is used to designate also the supreme Brahman.

is never bound. It is like taking the same Ganges water in different containers, and claiming ‘it is my water’, ‘it is your water’, etc. The adjuncts make this differentiation. In the same way, the one Brahman is falsely understood to be many due to ignorance. But the theistic Vedantins would say that Brahman and Atman are different. Individual selves (Atman) are also real and independent beings, and not creations of illusion or ignorance. Brahman and individual selves are not identical. What is the essential nature of Atman? Here again the Advaita, who champions the Brahman-Atman identity, would say Atman is pure consciousness, without any attributes or qualities. Samkhya-Yoga also teaches that Purusa (conscious self) is pure consciousness. The philosophical systems of Nyaya and Vaisesika go to other extreme and say that consciousness is only an adventitious quality or attribute of the

ASPECTS individual selves. In the case of God this quality of consciousness is permanent and unchanging, and therefore, we may say that God is omniscient. Philosophers like Ramanuja stand between these two extremes, and say that consciousness is both the essence and an attribute of Atman and also of Brahman. Atman is consciousness and has consciousness as its attribute or quality. In relation to Brahman, this spiritual reality is called Atman. It is called soul or self in contrast to body, and it is designated as spirit in opposition to matter. Antaryamin My intention here is to explain the concept of Antaryamin. The word “antar-yamin” means one who checks or controls (the root yam means to restrain, to check to hold back, etc) from within (antar). In the Chandogya Up. there is beautiful description of God’s indwelling presence. It depicts the body of a human person as the city of God (brahma-pura); the palace of this capital city is the heart; within the heart there is a lotus flower, which might be considered as the inner chamber of the supreme Brahman; and within this lotus flower, there is a small space (dahara-akasa). This small space is God himself. The text is as follows: “Now here in this city of Brahman, there is a small abode in the form of a small lotus flower; within it is a small space, what is within it, that should be sought, because that verily is what one should desire to know” (Chandogya Up. VIII.I.I). It is clear here that the small space in the heart is identified with Brahman itself. That is the Reality to be known. Besides this, what exist within it, should also be known. And what exist within it are the auspicious qualities of God. The auspicious qualities of God are explained later in the Upanishad. “This supreme Atman is devoid of sin, without old age, is immortal, is free from sorrow, hunger and thirst, and It has the power to realize its desires and thoughts instantly” (VIII.I.5). The philosopher-saint Ramanuja explains this passage in his Sribhasya in detail:

One thing that may strike our mind is the fact that the supreme Atman is identified with the space within the heart. Brahman is in fact, very often identified with the immense outer akasa in the Upanishads.

After having pointed out the body of the devotee as the city of Brahman, and that which is present in the body as an object of meditation; and after having designated the heart as an organ of it, and which is in the shape of a lotus flower and is mall in size; and after having pointed out that with the word ‘small space’ the omniscient, omnipotent Brahman, whose tender love towards his devotees is like an ocean, and who is to be meditated upon as the one very minutely present in that abode for the benefit of the devotee, the text, ‘that is to be sought’ exhorts that, the connatural, boundless and auspicious qualities like the power to realize the wishes, etc., exist in It (Brahman), and are to be mediated upon. Here by the word “tat” of the text ‘tad anvestavyam’, the small space and the many qualities in it are indicated. The Brahma-sutra of Badarayana too deals with this issue in the sutra 1.2.13 which states: “The small space (is Brahman), because the following passages (demonstrate it thus)”. One thing that may strike our mind is the fact that the supreme Atman is identified with the space within the heart. Brahman is in fact, very often identified with the immense outer akasa in the Upanishads. Chandogya Up. VII.12.1-2 says: “Akasa is verily greater than fire. In akasa, indeed, exist both the sun and moon, lightening, stars and fire. Through akasa one calls (speaks), through akasa one hears, through akasa one hears the response…In akasa beings are born, and towards akasa they grow. Worship this akasa He who worships akasa as Brahman he indeed, attains vast worlds, full of light, unconfined and spacious…” The characteristics of subtlety, immensity, all-pervasiveness, incorporeality, oneness (uniqueness), eternality, etc., are common to akasa and Brahman. All objects of this universe exist in the akasa, it provides the matrix for all beings to take birth, grow and perish. In the same way all beings originate from, exist and move in and ultimately enter into the

Pallikkutam | March 2016

ASPECTS supreme Spirit, Brahman. akasa is one of the five elements, the other four being the earth, water, fire and air. But unlike the other elements, akasa is always subtle, unchangeable, allpervasive, one and eternal. The other four elements have a subtle form, which is eternal, and gross forms, which are impermanent. The subtle form is the cause of the gross forms. There is always a cause-effect nexus in the transformations of the four material elements. The evolution of the subtle form into gross forms is called creation and the involution of the gross forms back into the subtle form is called annihilation (pralaya). But akasa, as has already been mentioned earlier, is different. It does not cause anything, nor is it caused by something else. It, in fact, provides the locus for the other elements for their processes of evolutions and involutions. It is these particular and unusual characteristics of the akasa that prompted the Upanisadic seers to propose it to the seekers of the supreme Spirit as a powerful symbol of Brahman. It is in this light that we should read and

understand the first verse of the first Upanishad, namely, Isavasya Up. It says: “Whatever exists in this entire universe, all that is pervaded by the governing Spirit”, isavsyam idam sarvam yat kinca jagatyam jagat…(Isa Up.1). The text, which we are now analyzing, actually identifies the supreme Atman not with the external akasa, but with the akasa in the hear (dahara akasa). The lotus of the heart, namely, the inner space, is the place where God manifests himself as the inner self and inner controller. Residing in this small space, or to be precise, being identified with this small space, which the Upanishad elsewhere says, is of the size of the thumb, God may seem to be small and limited; but in reality this inner space contains the immense outer space. The Upanishad continues to quote the disciple’s question concerning this, and the teacher’s answer to it: If the disciples should say to him (the teacher): “In this city of Brahman, there is the small mansion in the shape of a lotus and within that there is the small inner akasa. What is it that lies there which

should be sought, and which one should desire to know?” To them (the teacher) should say: “As large indeed as is this akasa (outside), so large is that akasa in the heart. Within it, indeed, are contained, both heaven and earth, both fire and air, both sun and moon, lightening and stars. Whatever there is of him in this world and whatever is not, all that is contained within it (Ch Up. VIII.1.2-3). Therefore, the inner Spirit in no way is limited or rendered finite. It is for the sake of the seeker that God assumes the form of the inner Spirit and dwells within him as his/her innermost Self. The disciplines may ask further: Heart is a part of the body, and body is the result of the past karma, and it will perish and vanish when the force of the karmic law is loosened and destroyed. Will not the imperfections, mutability, finiteness and limitations of the body affect also the inner Spirit?

(to be continued......)

The inner Spirit in no way is limited or rendered finite. It is for the sake of the seeker that God assumes the form of the inner Spirit and dwells within him as his/her innermost Self.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

INNO VATIONS INNOV

Half the world to be short-sighted by 2050

he number with vision loss from high myopia is expected to increase seven-fold from 2000 to 2050, with myopia to become a leading cause of permanent blindness worldwide. The rapid increase in the prevalence of myopia globally is attributed to, "environmental factors (nurture), principally lifestyle changes resulting from a combination of decreased time outdoors and increased near work activities, among other factors," say the authors from Brien Holden Vision Institute, University of New South Wales Australia and Singapore Eye Research Institute. The findings point to a major public health problem, with the authors suggesting that planning for comprehensive eye care services are needed to manage the rapid increase in high myopes (a five-fold increase from 2000), along with the development of treatments to control the progression of myopia and prevent people from becoming highly myopic. "We also need to ensure our children receive a regular eye examination from an optometrist or ophthalmologist, preferably each year, so that preventative strategies can be employed if they are at risk," said co-author Professor Kovin Naidoo, CEO of Brien Holden Vision Institute. "These strategies may include increased time outdoors and reduced time spent on near based activities including electronic devices that require constant focusing up close. "Furthermore there are other options such as specially designed spectacle lenses and contact lenses or drug interventions but increased investment in research is needed to improve the efficacy and access of such interventions."

Lectures aren't just boring, they're ineffective, too: Study Students in classes with traditional stand-and-deliver lectures are 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in classes that use more active learning methods.

re your lectures droning on? Change it up every 10 minutes with more active teaching techniques and more students will succeed, researchers say. A new study finds that undergraduate students in classes with traditional stand-and-deliver lectures are 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in classes that use more stimulating, so-called active learning methods. “Universities were founded in Western Europe in 1050 and lecturing has been the predominant form of teaching ever since,” says biologist Scott Freeman of the University of Washington. But many scholars have challenged the “sage on a stage” approach to

teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses, arguing that engaging students with questions or group activities is more effective. Freeman and a group of colleagues analyzed 225 studies of undergraduate STEM teaching methods. The metaanalysis concluded that teaching approaches that turned students into active participants rather than passive listeners reduced failure rates and boosted scores on exams by almost one-half a standard deviation. “The change in the failure rates is whopping,” Freeman says. And the exam improvement - about 6% - could, for example, “bump (a student’s) grades from a B- to a B.”

Learning the struggles of scientists will help science studies Textbooks should describe scientists' failures, not just their accomplishments, study finds.

igh school students may improve their science grades by learning about the personal struggles and failed experiments of great scientists such as Albert Einstein and Marie Curie, according to new research. In the study, 402 9th- and 10th-grade students from four New York City high schools in low-income areas of the Bronx and Harlem were divided into three groups. The control group read an 800-word typical science textbook description about the great accomplishments of Einstein, Curie and Michael Faraday, an English scientist who made important discoveries about electromagnetism. Another group read about those scientists' personal struggles,

including Einstein's flight from Nazi Germany to avoid persecution as a Jew. The third group of students read about the scientists' intellectual struggles, such as Curie's persistence despite a string of failed experiments. The struggle stories included actions the scientists took to overcome these hurdles. At the end of a six-week grading period, students who learned about the scientists' intellectual or personal struggles had significantly improved their science grades, with low-achievers benefiting the most. The students in the control group who only learned about the scientists' achievements not only didn't see a grade increase, they had lower grades than the previous grading period before the study began.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

INNO VATIONS INNOV

High-tech toys could stagnate babies' communication skills When buying toys for children, choosing the flashiest toy with all of the bells and whistles might seem like the best option. But in fact, these high-tech toys could actually slow a baby's development of verbal skills.

he reason behind this could be traced to less verbal interaction between parents and children. In a study by Northern Arizona University, researchers found that although these noisy toys captured the child's attention, they didn't produce quality interactions between the parent and child. "Even as toddlers, you don't want to isolate children from each other," said Kansas State University assistant professor Bradford Wiles. "What you want are things that can be shared that involve a dialogue back and forth with

peers and especially with adults." When children play with a tablet or

other noisy device, they often play alone, and these effects can be

Ho w do childr en ar ound the children around world feel about their lives? Most children aged eight in 16 countries were happy with their lives as a whole but a minority had low well-being.

he Children's Worlds study, coordinated in England by the Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at York, asked children about all key aspects of their lives including their family and home life, friendships, money and possessions, school life, local area, time use, personal wellbeing, views on children's rights, and their overall happiness. Most children aged eight in all 16 countries were happy with their lives as a whole but a minority (around 6 per cent of children) had low wellbeing. The percentage with low wellbeing varied from below 3 per cent in Colombia and Romania to over 9 per cent in Ethiopia, South Korea and England. England ranks no higher than eighth out of 16 countries for any of the survey's happiness measures. However, the report that identifies, in relative terms, the most positive and negative aspects of life within each country. The three

Pallikkutam | March 2016

aspects with the most positive relative scores in England were happiness with people lived with (i.e. usually family), health and safety. Simon Sommer, Head of Research at the Jacobs Foundation which funded the work, said: "This project is groundbreaking. This report presents, for the first time, 8-year-old children's own perspectives on their lives and well-being." Over a third of the children surveyed said that they 'often' or 'always' worried about how much money their family has. Most children in the survey said that they felt totally safe at home, at school and in their neighborhood. However 4 per cent of children did not agree at all that they felt safe at home, 4 per cent did not agree that they felt safe at school, and 9 per cent did not agree at all that they felt safe when out and about in their neighbourhood.

detrimental to their development, Wiles, a K-State Research and Extension early child development specialist, said. Children need meaningful interaction with adults to reach their full social potential. "Research results are starting to indicate that when children isolate themselves through the use of these tablets, they are not able to regulate their emotions as well, and they're not able to get along as well with their peers," Wiles said. In addition, what tends to happen when children are given a fancy new tablet, or other form of flashy toy, is they don't soak in the information presented to them. This can render these tablets as an expensive way to waste development time. Opportunities to enhance verbal development Wiles said research has shown that children who read books with their parents had far better dialogue skills than children who are constantly presented with noisy toys. "Learning to read is a necessarily engaged activity, so you have to have somebody mentoring you through that process," he explained. Puzzles offer another great opportunity to interact with children. "You can give a 12-piece puzzle to a 2year-old and help that child learn how it works," Wiles said. "It's going to be difficult at first, but it can help children and adults learn about each other." He advises parents to consider that any activities involving positive interaction seem to help a child's verbal development the most. Therefore, it's the basic interaction between parents and children that allow children to blossom.

CARS & BIKES

New Tata hatchback christened Tiago

ata has renamed the Zica as Tiago. The carmaker had earlier announced that it will rename the Zica hatchback owing to the unfortunate coincidence whereby the car's name sounded the same as a deadly virus that has recently affected millions in South America. Following the announcement, the company had launched an online contest where the public could submit their choice of name for the small hatchback. The contest resulted in narrowing down onto three names – Civet, Adore and

Tiago, of which, the Tiago name has been finally given the green light.

and diesel, a bold new design and a strong suit of features.

The Tiago continues Tata’s brand reinvention in the passenger car segment, following heavily reengineered models such as the Bolt and Zest. The model will slot in between the Bolt and Nano, effectively replacing the Indica eV2, in a segment dominated by Maruti and Hyundai with the Celerio and i10, respectively. Highlights of the upcoming Tata include a pair of allnew three-cylinder engines – petrol

Tata showcased the Tiago alongside its upcoming compact sedan sibling, codenamed Kite 5, at the 2016 Auto Expo. The Kite 5 will slot in below the Zest as a smaller model and will feature a segment-defining feature – its 420-litre boot space. The sedan will share its mechanicals and feature list with the Tiago. This hatchback is expected to launch in the coming months with its compact sedan sibling expected in the second half of 2016.

Pallikkutam | March 2016

CARS & BIKES

Bajaj V bookings open

he new V is more cafĂŠ-racer albeit with a hint of cruiser. This is down to the stance because of the 18-inch front and 16inch rear tyres. The V15â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wheelbase is also 10mm longer than the discover, giving it the solid stance. The 780mm seat height also highlights the low stance of the motorcycle, making the saddle some 15mm lower than that of the Discover! Its contemporary design mixes sporty and

Pallikkutam | March 2016

muscular bringing a new flavour to the commuter space. Bajaj has taken many cracks at the commuter space and this family of motorcycles looks set to live alongside their successful and more simple-looking Discover range. From the wind deflector on the headlamp to the boat-tail rear, and the swoopy design in between, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot to like on the V. The chrome dual shock absorbers at the rear, the white contrast stitching on the seat,

the removable cowl for the rear seat and the smart instrument cluster, all make it very appealing. The instrument cluster features a fuel gauge that switches from green to red as the fuel level dips really low. Chunky tyres give it a stronger stance and the smart, slim ten-spoke alloy wheels are hung off telescopic forks with blacked-out siders. When it comes to the chassis the V has a fairly conventional setup that is aimed to provide durability and reliability. The chassis is a dual-cradle setup and uses stouter than usual 33mm diameter telescopic forks at the front and twin shock absorbers at the rear. The engine is an air-cooled DTS-i 150cc two-valve, four-stroke motor. This engine makes 11.8bhp of power. That puts the V about 2bhp down on power compared to its 150cc siblings in the Discover family.

SPORTS

Sachin is the greatest batsman after Bradman

ormer Australia captain Ricky Ponting has rated Sachin Tendulkar as the all-time best batsman after Sir Donald Bradman, saying the maestro truly deserves to be called "great" at a time when the word is "bandied" about often. "For me, he's the greatest batsman after Don Bradman.

While I hold Brian Lara in high regard because of his match-winning ability, I don't think any batsman can achieve more out of the game than Sachin has," Ponting wrote in his forward for a book titled Tendulkar in Wisden: An anthology.

Twenty20 International), scored 34,357 runs and 100 international hundreds that is great.

"Younger players may reach No.1 over a period of 12 or 18 months - that's not great. That's having a good year. If you can do it as long as Sachin did, "The word great is often bandied only then you be considered great," he about, but great is something that's further stated. achieved over a long Ricky Ponting of Australia receives his period of time. Sachin ICC Player of the Year Award from played 200 Tests and Sachin Tendulkar 463 ODIs (and one Ponting chose five words to describe the iconic cricketer - "competitive, passionate, driven, composed, complete". "Sachin is the greatest batsman I ever played with or against, because he made batting look so simple. His technique was always rock solid, but he still managed to take the game away from you really quickly. He was the most rounded batsman I have known," he wrote. Tendulkar's hunger to achieve his dreams is what has impressed Ponting the most. "His abiding love for the game and pursuit of goals were astonishing - just to keep motivating yourself every day for 24 years to stay hungry and fit is what I admire so much. He had dreams of winning a World Cup, and he finally got to do it in his sixth tournament, in 2011." Ponting felt it was impossible "anyone will ever play 200 Tests again, or score 100 hundreds" like Tendulkar did. According to the Aussie legend, Tendulkar's contemporaries were

Pallikkutam | March 2016

SPORTS constantly chasing the benchmarks he set.

Tendulkar, even if it did not last too long, "thanks to my poor form". "It was good to talk to him about his "We were always trying to play catchbatting philosophy, to get an insight up, and he always managed to stay into his mindset and fundamentals. I ahead. It was an indication of his class. was also fortunate to get a real sense Even though he is a couple of years of his approach to batting - the older than I am, it seemed he would intricate attention paid to every detail outlast me - and he did." about equipment, preparation, One of Ponting's most cherished technique - and it was unlike anything moments was to open the batting with I had ever seen," said Ponting.

Graeme Smith rules out international comeback

raeme Smith ruled out a return to international cricket despite admitting last December that he would consider it based on his performance in the inaugural Masters Champions League.

made it clear that Smith will have to score runs at the domestic level to be considered again.

But the 35-year-old took up commentating duties during the recently concluded Test series between South Africa and England. "No, I'm not," Smith told Cricbuzz After the hosts lost the Boxing Day during the MCL when asked if he Test, he was named the batting was serious about making a consultant for the rest of the series comeback to international cricket. "I but his media commitments restricted think there was a lot of chat because his involvement to just one net I came to play here (at the MCL), session. Smith also made it clear that and I also just turned 35 so people he is not in the running to become still think that I can do it, but as I've South Africa's long-term batting always said, it'll have to go extremely coach after Russell Domingo, their well for me. I'd have to love playing head coach, revealed, after the series again, body would have to feel loss to England, that they were good, everything will have to go looking for one. "I obviously have amazingly well for me to say, 'okay, challenges on the personal front. I've I'm going to dive back in and put all got two young kids and for me it's the effort to getting to where I need two-fold. "Firstly, time away from to be." The former South Africa home. At the moment, a batting captain retired in March 2014 at the consultant is something that I can't age of 33 and felt that he could really commit to," Smith said. "If I'm contribute to the side following their going to coach then I'm really going humiliating 3-0 loss in the Test series to commit fully and try and go for in India. Linda Zondi, South Africa's something more substantial, maybe a convener of selectors, however head coach role."

Pallikkutam | March 2016

Mary Kom targets Rio berth

ive-time boxing world champion and Olympic bronze medallist MC Mary Kom is all set for the Rio Olympics qualifiers, to be hosted by China this month. Mary Kom will fly to Qian'an, China for the Asia/Oceania Olympic qualification tournament. The flyweight boxer, who has already announced that she will hang her gloves after the Rio Games, is training hard to iron out the flaws and hopes to make the cut for the quadrennial event with an aim to better her performance from the last time at London Olympics in 2012 when she returned home with a bronze medal.

RAINBOW

Tas Jawaharlal Nehru

Impress your listeners

very Tom, Dick and Harry speak English, but what distinguishes you from the rest is the language you employ. That alone makes all the difference. In this column, we will see how to replace commonly used "words" with "Idioms and Phrases" in your day to day conversations to strike a chord with your audience. 1. The apple of somebody's eye: (favourite thing, person to someone)

6. Thrilled to bits: (extremely pleased, excited about something) (e.g) Aju sent flowers to Anne and she was excited. Re-model it as Aju sent flowers to Anne and thrilled her to bits. 7. Hunky-dory: (satisfactory, fine)

(e.g) "My Mom likes me very much" Rather, you can say, "I am the apple of my mom's eye".

(e.g) Everything is alright Instead, say, Everything is hunky-dory.

2. A good hand: (a person with a legible script (or) handwriting)

8. At close quarters: (in close proximity)

(e.g) "My Manager congratulated that my handwriting is good" Instead, say," My Manager congratulated that i have a good hand". 3. Dressed to kill: (dressed in fancy, stylish clothes) (e.g) "Wow! look at Dan! He is dressed stylish" Instead, use "Wow! look at Dan! He is really dressed to kill. 4. To rain cats and dogs: (heavy downpour) (e.g) On December 2nd this year, it rained heavily in Chennai. This can be fine-tuned into It rained cats and dogs on December 2nd in Chennai. 5. Spic and span: (immaculately clean, spotless)

(e.g) The uniforms of these officers are neat and clean. It can be said as These officers are clad in spic and span uniforms.

(e.g) "I saw my favourite actor very closely in the award function" Rather, say "I saw my favourite actor at close quarters in the award function". 9. Kith and kin: (acquaintances and relatives) (e.g) Kripa's friends and relatives called upon her at the hospital Instead, use Kripa's kith and kin called upon her at the hospital. 10. To take a call: (to decide) (e.g) The P.M will decide the candidature of leaders tomorrow. This can be jazzed up as The P.M will take a call on the candidature of leaders tomorrow.

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

Pallikkutam | March 2016

RAINBOW

Sudoku 14

Sudoku 13 Answer

Difficulty Level:

Word Search 06 Word Search 05 Answer

CHANDAKOCHHAR CHHAVIRAJAWAT CHITRARAMKRISHNA INDRANOOYI KIRANMAZUMDAR KUNJARANIDEVI

MALLIKASARABHAI MALLIKASRINIVASAN NAINALALKIDWAI NISHIVASUDEVA SUSHAMASWARAJ

REFLECTIONS

On sand or granite? Jose Panthaplamthottiyil

“If someone does something good for you, it is not to be written on sand. On the contrary it has to be etched on granite. Only then it will survive our memory lapses.”

hey were bosom friends and were always together as Siamese twins. Once they decided to go for a long walk in the morning in a desert. They were ecstatic when the cool breeze from the desert enveloped them as they started out their adventure. However, when the sun began to climb up the horizon they began to perspire heavily. Immediately they felt very thirsty. But they had no drinking water with them. They looked around for shade to protect them from the scorching sun. But there was none. For a moment they looked at each other in silence. Then they began to accuse each other of taking the trip without adequate preparations. One said it was the other’s fault to propose the trip. Then the other asked why he had agreed to come with him if he didn’t like it. All of a sudden it developed into a heated argument and it ended up by one of them slapping the other in the face. The one who received the blow was shocked. He could not believe his close friend would ever raise his hand against him. As his eyes began to well up he sat on the sand paralyzed. Slowly he regained his composure. Wiping away his tears he wrote on the sand, “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.” When his friend saw this his heart began to break with remorse. He apologized to his friend. The apology was accepted and they embraced each other tightly. Within seconds they saw a sand storm approaching. Pretty soon it erased what was written on the ground as it passed them by. They saw it with delight and smiled at each other. Then they returned home.

A few months later they went for an excursion. On the way they had to walk through a marshy place. They were careful in tracing their steps to avoid pitfalls. However, pretty soon one of them fell into a pit and began to sink. Immediately the other acted fast. He threw a rope and dragged him to safety. The man was relieved as well as ecstatic as he embraced his friend who saved him. It was the same friend who had slapped him in the face during their previous adventure. Nearby they found a place to rest. As they were resting the one who was saved etched on the granite they were sitting, “Today my closest friend saved my life.” When his friend saw what was written he was pleasantly surprised. “When I slapped you in the face you wrote about it in the sand,” his friend said. “However, when I saved you from danger you engraved a message about it on the granite. Why is it so?” “If someone hurts you in some way, write about it only on sand,” he replied. “In no time the winds of forgiveness will erase what is written on the sand. However, if someone does something good for you, it is not to be written on sand. On the contrary it has to be etched on granite. Only then it will survive our memory lapses.” We have experiences of people hurting us in different ways. When that happens where do we write about them? On sand or on granite? It will be great if we can forgive the person who causes us pain and forget about it at once.

However, if we cannot forgive that person immediately, write about it only on sand. That is, try to keep it only in your short term memory. The winds of forgiveness will slowly erase what is written on sand. However, if we engrave our pain on granite it will never go away. It will always come back to hurt us. When somebody hurts us the temptation will be there to engrave it on granite. If we do so let us not forget that our own trespasses will be engraved on granite by God. However, if we write the offences against us by others on sand, then it is guaranteed that God will not write our trespasses even on sand! When somebody does something good for us, it should not be written on sand. On the contrary it should be written on granite. What that means is, we should not forget the good things others do for us. Instead, we should always keep them in our memory and remain grateful to them. When we do good things for others, God also will not forget them. He will engrave them on granite and will not forget them.

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