Pallikkutam: February by james paul

FROM EDITOR’S DESK

Prepare yourself for success MAGAZINE ON EDUCATION VOLUME 1 ISSUE 9 FEBRUARY 2014

Managing Editor Dr. Varghese Panthalookaran CMI Editor James Paul Associate Editor Dr. Prasanth Palackappilly CMI

Columns K L Mohanavarma Dr. K.N. Raghavan A.G. Menon Sajit Malliyoor Marketing Manager Varghese Kachappilly CMI Art Sajo Joseph

The exam season is in full swing and most of the discussions are centred around students who are asked to prepare well and score good marks. It is quite natural that students get nervous before or during exams. Experiencing fear can be a positive thing as it can motivate you to hard work. An exam is not a death sentence. It is just an assessment to see how well you have understood a certain subject. The term ‘examination’ is used in schools to find out the growth of students in terms of their scholastic achievement. But this overdomination of examination is developing a kind of fear in the innocent minds and hearts of the children. This unknown fear is called examphobia. It is a fear of being evaluated, a feeling of apprehension about consequences. We should always remember that, exams are not set with the aim of making students fail, rather exams are designed to test what students know, not what they do not know. Scoring a little less or even failing does not mean the end of the world. Think positive, be optimistic while preparing for and taking exams The role of teachers and parents is very important in coping with the stress of students caused by this exam-phobia. Unwanted tension and stress will make students panicky. They may not be able to memorise things that are learned. The fruit of hard work will not be seen in the examination hall. As a result students may become depressed. So it is important to get rid of the exam fear. We should be relaxed, calm and active while preparing for our exams and follow a routine which would make our approach more effective and efficient. Our approach towards our exams decides everything. Exams are not the parameters of success. There are people who have miserably failed in exams but have been successful in life. Bill Gates famously dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft. Before teaming up with Steve Wozniak to start Apple, Steve Jobs left Reed College during his second semester and travelled through India and dropped acid. And we all know that Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook at Harvard before leaving early to follow his entrepreneurial dream in California. So, don’t worry. Write your exams with confidence and reap your success.

Contact: Rajagiri Media, Rajagiri Valley P.O, Kakkanad, Kochi-39. Phone : 0484 2428249, 39 Extn : 232 Mob: +91 9497711010 Mail : editor@rajagirimedia.com www.pallikkutam.com

Happy harvest!

CONTENTS 30 COVER STORY

Happy Harvest Exams can energise us, providing motivation to learn things we would otherwise keep putting off. They provide the incentive to make us look back over what we have already covered in order to check that we really understand it.

How to face examination When you hold an Inner Smile, the brain system will always be relaxed.

Fr. Varghese Kottoor

12 golden steps to write your exam sans fear Every student has talents in different areas.

Gracy Babu Jacob

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18 STORIES OF LIFE The nightmare of a family Sunitha’s life’s ambition was to become a medical doctor.

Dr. Jos Cletus Plackal

20 EXPERT COUNSEL Full Marathons should replace Half Marathons

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Dr. K.N. Raghavan Pallikkutam | February 2014

CONTENTS 23

NOTES ON CREATIVITY

FOCUS

Have some clay in the head Dr. Varghese Panthalookaran CMI

There is general awareness today of the need to keep one’s mental fitness.

PERSONAL

Stop worrying and start living Sajit Malliyoor

I am proud of being a Rajagiri alumnus: Dr. Junaid

ASPECTS

Speak the Truth; Walk in the Path of Righteousness Dr. Augustine Thottakara

62 Worrying is a reaction to threat. It also has an adaptive function of equipping you to face the adversities.

GUEST COLUMN

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BOOK SHELF

Crime and Punishment Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov,

Pallikkutam | February 2014

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NEWS

Kerala rejects proposal to set up private varsities The government has rejected the Kerala State Higher Education Council’s (KSHEC) proposal for establishing private universities in the state.

aking the government stand clear about the sensitive proposal put forward by the council as part of the transnational education conference held

exams and revise syllabus. The government has directed 13 colleges, including two in government sector, to submit applications for academic autonomy to the UGC, the minister said. State higher education council was asked to conduct a comprehensive study on the functioning of universities in the state. Once the report is received, corrective steps would be initiated. Appointment of vice-chancellors in Kerala and Cochin universities would be done soon. “The state government has authorized additional chief secretary K M Abraham to conduct an inquiry into the allegations that Calicut University pro vice-chancellor had

here early this month, education minister P K Abdu Rabb told the assembly here on Monday that the state was not in favour of giving sanction to establishing private universities. In the press meet held after the valedictory function of the summit, KSHEC vice-chairman T P Sreenivasan had said the council would set up a committee to study the pros and cons of private varsities, adding that there must be a regulatory body to check the functioning of private universities. “According to the recommendations of the Narayana Murthy committee appointed by the planning commission, 50% of investments in higher education must come from the private sector, as the government has limited funds to invest in the sector. A policy decision to welcome private universities would enhance the foreign direct investment in education sector,” he had said. The minister told the assembly that the proposed academic autonomy to select colleges would no way minimize the control of the state government and University Grants Commission over such colleges. However, the fee structure for students belonging to above poverty line (APL) category would go up and the colleges that get autonomy would have the freedom to start new courses, conduct

carried out foreign visits by obtaining Visa through improper ways,” the minister said. Thiruvananthapuram: State government has rejected the Kerala State Higher Education Council’s (KSHEC) proposal for establishing private universities in the state. Making the government stand clear about the sensitive proposal put forward by the council as part of the transnational education conference held here early this month, Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb told the Assembly here on Monday that the government was not in favour of giving sanction for establishing private universities.

Varsity nod for combined scoring in distance education

he academic council of Shivaji Univer sity, Kolhapur, has approved the combined scoring system for students pursuing post-graduation in arts, commerce and science in the distance education mode. The new system will help students score the combined minimum pass marks in theory and internal (oral) examinations and move on to the next semester in a particular subject. Earlier, the students had to score the minimum pass marks separately in the theory and oral examinations. Arun Bhosale, director, centre for distance

education (CDE), SUK, said, "Many CDE students are either working professionals, women from rural areas and housewives. They are from various places and sometimes the failure to submit assignments on time lead to their failure in the internal examination. Their results used to get affected because of the earlier nature of separate pass marks in the internal and theory examinations. We had received a couple of complaints as well. Keeping all this in mind, the CDE proposed introduction of the combined scoring system for these students."

Pallikkutam | February 2014

NEWS

Kerala allocates Rs 500 crore for student entrepreneurship programme A

s a step to encourage young entrepreneurs of the state, the Kerala government has decided to set aside 1% of its annual budget allocation for the Student Entrepreneurship Programme. 1% of what has been allotted to each department will be set aside, which would amount to Rs 500 crore approximately, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said. The decision has been taken following the interaction with five students who were sent to Silicon Valley from Kerala, he told reporters. The students had the chance to visit many

companies and meet CEOs. Government gives priority not just for the IT sector but also for traditional sectors. Six students who are ready to start new ventures in the traditional handloom sector were also invited for the interaction, which took place as part of today’s Cabinet meeting, he said. Chandy said that total support and encouragement would be given by the government for the Student Entrepreneurship Programme. Already 1000 business ideas have been received, the Chief Minister said.

CBSE plans open book board exams

he Central Board of Secondary Education is planning to hold open book tests for students sitting for the Class 10 and 12 boards. The board introduced open text-based assessment in select subjects for students of Classes 9 and 11 this academic year. For the first time in the country, school students will take such a test this March.

exams. But Joshi said that he does not foresee issues when it comes to acceptance . “Every board has a different evaluation system, and designs different question papers, so I don’t see a problem there ,” he

CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi said the board was “actively considering” inclusion of the open book component in the boards. “It will change the way teaching and learning happens in the classroom ,” he said. The board will discuss the feasibility of extending the reform to board exam students in February. “After the Class 9 and Class 11 students take the test, we will get feedback from students and consider their views as well,” Joshi said.

Academics split on CBSE’s open book test plan

said . Some academics expressed concern that the He added that though there has been reform could tilt the scales either in favour apprehension over the subjectivity of of CBSE students or against them, when teachers when it comes to evaluation , the compared to students taking other board board has tried to address it by providing a

Pallikkutam | February 2014

detailed marking guide that will balance it out .Principal of Kola Perumal Chetty Vaishnav Senior Secondary School , L Neelakanta Pillai , said all CBSE schools will accept the test. While many have lauded CBSE’s latest reform , others have criticized it as being impractical , particularly because teachers may not be equipped to evaluate such a test. In response, Joshi said the board would focus on strengthening teacher training and empowering teachersin 2014. “We are going to focus a lot on teacher training . For a programme to succeed, teachers have to be confident . We are going to focus on changing the teaching methodology in the classroom ,” Josh said . The board also plans to allow 75 more schools to adopt the CBSE-i syllabus . So far , the international syllabus brought out by the CBSE has been introduced in 80 schools across the country . “There is a demand from schools for the syllabus , but we are not increasing the number much . This year 300 applied, but only 75 schools have been given approval ,” Joshi said .

NEWS

Manav Rachna students develop eco-friendly Formula 1 car S

tudents from the Faculty of Engineer ing & Technology (FET) of Manav Rachna International University (MRIU) have invented a Formula 1 Racing CarMRV3, a first of its kind eco-friendly vehicle with a mileage of 123km/litre. The urban diesel car will compete at the Shell Eco Marathon to be held in Manila, Philippines on February 6, 2014. The marathon is a unique initiative to challenge students from around the world to design, build and drive the most energyefficient car. At three events held around the world, hundreds of teams compete to travel the farthest distance on the least amount of energy.

excited Aman Agha, leader of Team Synchromesh, the team that designed the car.

The MRV3 formula 1 racing car has five point seat belt for safety, four hydraulic disc brakes using BOSCH TMC and Taylor steering system. The chassis can bear a load of 500 kg and front impact of 2000 km. This light weight vehicle is equipped with driver fitness tester, which does not allow a person to drive the car under the influence of alcohol. Weighing only 180 kgs, the engineers have customized the reduction box to achieve high efficiency and a mileage of 123 km/ litre. “Today, India spends only 1 per cent “It is a moment of great pride for us to represent our nation at such an event. Not energy on research and innovation. We many students get a chance to apply and want our educational institution to share this responsibility and develop incubation test their theoretical knowledge at the centres, encourage research and work hand practical level. We are really obliged to Manav Rachna for giving us the opportu- in hand with industries,” says Prashant Bhalla, chancellor, MRIU. nity to work on this project,” said an

Reliance announces scholarships

nder its Dhirubhai Ambani Scholar ship Programme, Reliance Foundation has announced scholarships to 393 students in order to help them pursue their undergraduate studies. Of the 393 students, 111 are differently-abled. The scholarship programme has so far given away study scholarships to 10,000 students, which include 2,000 differentlyabled students, to help them establish a footing in mainstream careers.

Initially introduced in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1996, the Dhirubhai Ambani Scholarship Programme was extended to the entire country in 2009. Out of the 393 students awarded scholarships, about 50 per cent are girls, founder and chairperson of the foundation Nita M. Ambani said. Every year, the scholarship programme provides opportunities to meritorious students to pursue their higher studies in diverse disciplines including medicine, engineering, law, science and other social sciences,Nita Ambani said, adding the scholarship supports tuition fees and other allowances for the entire duration of the academic coursework.

GATE now a one-shot game for entry into PSUs

he recent trend of Indian Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) hiring candidates at entry-level positions on the basis of their GATE scores has led to an increased the number of students appearing for the exam.

Though, after PSUs started recruiting candidates on the basis of their performance in the exam in 2012, job seekers too have joined the line along side those who aspire to continue with their further studies.

Initially, GATE was a gateway for students who sought admission to various post-graduate programmes in Indian higher education institutes, with financial assistance provided by MHRD and other government agencies.

The entry of various PSUs in the scenario, however, has a down as well as an upside to it.

The main advantage of this is that GATE becomes a common access card for students to land a job in various PSUs and

saves them from having to sit for a separate exam for each company. This also implies that now aspirants have to prepare for only one test module instead of juggling between different test modules. It also cuts them a little slack when it comes to the amount of syllabus they need to ram into their brain as GATE provides a standarised level of question. Usually these companies release their recruitment notifications right after GATE notification.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

NEWS

SC directs UGC to examine 44 institutions T

he University Grants Commission UGC and still another by the committee of (UGC) has been asked by the Supreme officers, the court said the UGC “had no Court to examine the academic standard of occasion to examine” the Tandon report 44 institutions said to have poor academic standard. If the respective institutes are found to have academic standards and infrastructure far below the expected level, the institutes are in risk of losing their deemed university status. A bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Vikramajit Sen said it was only concerned with the legality of the continuance of deemed university status with respect to the 44 institutions. It said in its order passed on Tuesday that there was “some conflict” between the report prepared by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and that of the Prof. P.N. Tandon committee. Noting that there were three reports - one by the Tandon committee, another by the

Supertech launches university in Uttarakhand

iversifying into education real estate developers Supertech Limited announced the to launch of Supertech University, an initiative of Supertech Foundation, in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand on Thursday.

and the other report has not been placed before the UGC. The court said the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2010, enables both the central government and the UGC to inspect the institutions which are deficient in terms of academic standards and infrastructure.It directed the

The court said institutions were “free to raise their objections against the reports” and the UGC has to consider the same and take a decision in accordance with the law. After examining the reports and hearing the 44 institutions, the court said the “UGC has then to tender its advice to the central government with its report”. It, however, noted the UGC’s advice was not binding on the government “but has to be given due weight since the UGC is an expert statutory authority”. The court also made it clear that it has not given its “stamp of approval to any of the reports and it is for the UGC to consider all the reports, with notice to the 44 institutions, in accordance with law”.

New Zealand to expand education presence in India

ew Zealand is planning to set up an office in Mumbai to expand its education footprint in India. The country plans the establishment of an education promotion and market development role within the New Zealand Consulate General in Mumbai.

Student visas issued to Indian nationals seeking to study in New Zealand Located at the foothills of Himalayas in increased more than Uttarakhand, on a land of 47 acre campus, 10 per cent last year, this will be the first foray for the company making India one of into the higher education sector. The the fastest growing student markets for university will offer programmes in New Zealand. architecture and planning, earth, environment and space studies, education, “Our student numbers from India have continued to grow. And while currently we engineering and technology, fashion and design, hospitality and tourism, languages get a majority of our students from northern states, having a presence in and communication, law and governance, liberal arts, humanities and social sciences, Mumbai will enable us to focus more on the west and south of the country, where management studies, medical and health interest in New Zealand is also high” said sciences, natural and applied sciences and New Zealand’s (ENZ) Regional Director public policy. This will be a fully South Asia Ziena Jalil. residential university built at an investment of Rs 750 crore in the first The Mumbai expansion comes on the back phase. of increased activity in India in the last six

Pallikkutam | February 2014

UGC to examine both Tandon’s and the other report.

months, including a new brand launch, acknowledging India’s position as New Zealand’s second largest source of international students. “We know that Indian students are looking for high quality, affordable education with good career pathways. New Zealand is perhaps one of the few countries in the world, if not the only one, which has all of its universities in the Top 500 globally,” said Jalil. More than 11,000 students from India study in New Zealand, and Ms Jalil says New Zealand has put in place policies to make the country a top choice for international students. Immigration New Zealand Area Manager, based in Mumbai, Nathanael Mackay said, “The New Zealand Government has announced changes to our work rights programme which will allow more international students to work while they study, enabling them to gain valuable first world business experience”

INSIGHTS

Sense of numbers: innate and learned

Personalized revision to boost performance R

evision study in view of exams is a source of concern for students the world over. A research study by Robert Lindsey of the University of Colorado, Boulder suggests that computer-based individualized study schedule could be the solution. Such personalized review is found to help students remember more material on attest given at the end of the semester. According to Lindsey the personalized, systematic and comprehensive review can be integrated in to the classroom in a practical and efficient way. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The researchers adopted different methods for review. In the first method they developed a “massed” set, with questions drawn from just that week’s chapter. In the second, they developed a “generically spaced” set drawn from just the previous week’s chapter. It was found that massed practice is preferred by students, though

spaced review has been recommended by past research. As a third method they developed the review material, drawn from any of the chapters that had already been covered. It was delivered to students based on an algorithm that predicted which material would be most beneficial to them to review. Here, they followed the same approach used by online retailers to recommend products. The algorithm incorporated data from all of the students to determine which material any particular student might need to practice. Teachers typically don’t have the time to setup a personal question set for each student. But enabled by technology such personalized review yields promising results. A relatively modest interventionroughly 30 minutes per week of strategically selected review can yield significant benefits in long-term educational outcome.

Who is responsible for rising obesity?

he cause for rising obesity is often ascribed to the fast food restaurants. However, people believe individuals are to blame for their own obesity, not restaurants, grocery stores, farmers, or government policies. This is the conclusion of a research survey conducted by two US food economists from University of Illinois. Past research has shown that many of the food policies designed to improve food choices, such as requiring calorie information on restaurant menus and taxing sugar-sweetened beverages, do not

always produce the intended results. The natural question is: Why aren’t these policies working? Why aren’t consumers responding to increased product prices or calorie information on menus? Results of the study showed that 94 percent of people believed individuals are primarily or somewhat to blame for the rise in obesity, with parents coming in second at 91 percent primarily or somewhat to blame. Survey respondents felt farmers and grocery stores were relatively blameless for the rise in obesity.

ror Dotan, a doctoral student at Tel Aviv University’s School of Education and Prof. Stanislas Dehaene of the Collège de France, a leader in the field of numerical cognition, have found new evidence that educated adults retain traces of their innate number sense. This finding is a significant step forward in understanding how people process numbers, which could contribute to the development of methods of education or to treat children with learning disabilities and people with brain injuries. An educated adult consider numbers “linearly” in the order from 0 to infinity. On the other hand children or uneducated adults like tribal peoples, understand numbers “logarithmically” or percent wise. For example, linear thinkers place the number 20 in the middle of a number line marked from 0 to 40. But logarithmic thinkers like children may place the number 6 in the middle of the number line. In an experiment using iPad, the participants of the study were given the task of putting different numbers popping up in the screen on a number line ranging from 0 to 40. The participants were asked to drag the numbers from the middle of the screen down to a place on the number line. Using software, the path the finger took was tracked. Statistical analysis of the results showed that the participants placed the numbers on the number line in a linear way. But surprisingly, they appeared to be influenced by their innate number sense for a fraction of time to start with. Eventually they corrected the course of their fingers. The results suggest that the innate number sense remains active but dormant even in the educated adults. It is as if there exist two systems in the brain competing with each other.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

INSIGHTS

Link between reading and arithmetic skills

new study by Professor Bert de Smedt of Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven published in the journal of NeuroImage suggests a close link between the reading and arithmetic skills.

In the test brain scans of the children engaged with different arithmetic operations was considered. The researchers compared the quality of the children’s white mater and their arithmetic test performance to come to the inference.

White matter The arcuate bundle is generally fasciculus found involved in anterior is a rote memorization, neural which we amply pathway use during addition connecting and multiplication; brain regions whereas during often used for subtraction and arithmetic. A division processes, positive memorization correlation plays a subservient was found between the quality of the white matter role. This is a probable explanation for sheathing the pathway and proficiency in different correlations for additionadding and multiplying. Such a correlation, multiplication processes and subtractionhowever, does not exist for subtraction or division processes. division processes. The researchers also found that the Neural pathways compare with a bundle reading proficiency and arithmetic proficiency go hand-in-hand. The white of cables, surrounded by an isolating sheath called Myelin or “white matter”. matter tract also plays a crucial role in reading also. This is probably because we The thicker the sheath, the faster the have to memorize the correspondence signals transferred between the cables.

Online disinhibition effect

n a recent study University of Houston assistant professor Arthur D. Santana has found a significant correlation between anonymity and civility. Comparing the tone of thousands of online comments posted by anonymous and non-anonymous users following online newspaper stories, Santana found that 53.3 percent of anonymous comments included language that was vulgar, racist, profane or hateful; only 28.7 percent of nonanonymous comments were found to be uncivil.

Online, under the cloak of anonymity, people are more likely to behave in ways that they ordinarily would not if their identity was intact. When anonymity was removed, civility prevailed. Vexed with an overwhelming number of uncivil comments that threaten to undermine the value of their commenting forums, newspapers are increasingly disallowing anonymity by making readers sign in, for example, with user’s Facebook account.

As commenting descends into hateful language, threats or racism, the This behaviour is attributed to so called, conversation breaks down diluting benefits of constructive dialogue. It is hoped that “Online disinhibition effect”, which abandoning anonymous commenting will suggests that when people’s identity is raise the level of the dialogue and allow hidden, their actions and words have no consequences, thus their inhibitions drop. more people to join the conversation.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

between particular letters and the sound they represent. It is in this respect comparable to the addition and multiplication processes. The times-table drills in arithmetic is similar to the nursery rhymes, both requires memorization and hence the involvement of the white matter. We may be able to auto-recall both of them after many years.

Peer-led team learning

eer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) in undergraduate education is growing in popularity in universities of USA. These are especially observed for the courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – known collectively as the STEM disciplines. Peer-Led Team Learning is an innovative model of undergraduate instruction that augments the traditional lecture. It consists of a weekly two-hour workshop in which six to eight students work together to solve challenging problems in a peer group. The peer leader is a fellow undergraduate who has mastered the material and is a good communicator. In addition to course content instruction, he or she receives training in teaching methods such as how to work with students who attempt to dominate sessions and how to provide a boost to students who have difficulty participating. It is obvious that faculty and students should work as partners in constructing learning environments. PLTL is an example of such a partnership where peer leaders partner with faculty to facilitate the learning of students that are slightly less advanced than themselves and they also advice faculty on what is working or not working in the course. Researchers from Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis study the effects of such peer-led team learning.

INSIGHTS

Do not tease kids during physical exercise

recent study reveals that children who were bullied during a physical drill class or during some physical exercises are less likely to participate in physical activity one year later.

The questions explored experiences such as:

Overweight or obese children who experienced teasing during physical activity were found to have a lower perceived healthrelated quality of life one year later. Health-related quality of life considers physical, social, academic and emotional wellbeing.

•Not being chosen to be on a sports team or other children looking or acting upset when the child was placed on the team.

Even children with a healthy weight who were bullied during physical activity tended to exercise less often one year later. The result is published in the Journal of Paediatric Psychology. Earlier studies have also correlated obesity with bullying with over-weight. However, the prolonged effect of it over years has not yet been proven.

•Being made fun of when playing sports or exercising.

•Being called insulting names when playing sports or exercising. Decrease in physical activity of healthy-weight students who were bullied, and a decrease in the healthrelated quality of life for students who were overweight or obese who reported teasing in the survey.

Video game to prepare students

ivic learning and community service is slowly being accepted as essential components of education. Educators and researchers at Tufts University have developed Civic Seed, an interactive video game, which may better prepare college students to engage with the community. It is found that students participate in community service with little or no knowledge of the history, assets and challenges of the community. Students may even carry presumptions that are destructive to the desired outcomes of working in the community. The online tool helps to solve this important problem. The online interactive game includes video clips from community partners, faculty and student interviews, whiteboard animations and info graphics. The online video game includes multiple game levels that explore community collaboration, professional standards, sustainability, connecting academic interest to career aspirations, and leadership development.

The researchers warn schools to develop better anti-bullying programs that discourage peer victimization based on physical abilities.

Educational institutions fare well on grading

The quality of life ranking was based on categories like, Happy Students; Least Happy Students; Most Beautiful Campus; Unsightly, Tiny Campus; Party Schools; Stone-Cold Sober Schools; and Jock Schools, etc. The positive characteristics like happy students, most beautiful campus, etc attracted more number of applications to the graded schools. Whereas, the negative characteristics like “Least Happy Students”, “Unsightly or Tiny Campus” detracted student applications. However, inclusion on “Party Schools”, “Stone-Cold Sober The study raises important questions Schools”, or “Joke Schools” did not have a about the large role some arbitrary rankings statistically significant effect on the overall can play in the college selection process. number of applicants. study by Randall Reback, associate professor at Barnard College of Columbia University and Molly Alter, a research analyst for the Research Alliance for New York City Schools at New York University suggests that academic ranking of educational institutions have a measurable effect on their future prospects. Unfavourable quality-of-life ratings for peer colleges are followed by decreases in student applications and the academic competitiveness of its student community.

The Tufts University is also developing a self-paced non-gaming online module with content similar to what they have incorporated into the video game. Students are randomly assigned to either the interactive video game or the self-paced non-game training. Both groups will then complete a pre- and post-test questionnaire that will measure things like critical thinking, communication with diverse populations, individual motivations and values, etc.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

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AXn-Po-h\w

ac-W-Øns‚ \oscm-gp-°p≈ apdn-I-fm-bn-cp∂p Fs‚ hoń-ep-≠m-bn-cp-∂-Xv. Rm\-Xn¬ \o¥n \S-∂p. Nne-t∏mƒ ]c-°w-]m™v HmSm≥t]mepw Ign-bmsX XI¿∂pw Xf¿∂pw c£n-°tW ssZhta! F∂ \ne-hn-fn-t]mepw C√msX.... AXm-bn-cp∂p tPm¿Pv tPmk^v sI. A\m-Y-Xz-Øns‚ Ccp≠ CS-\m-gn-Ifn¬ hnßepw ho¿∏p-ap-épw iq\yXbpw h∂v sIń-∏n-Sn-°p-tºmƒ, Pohn-XsØ i]n®v ]gn-°p-tºmƒ Hcp ]nSn-h-≈n-bv°mbn Rc-ßnb F{X-sb{X aplq¿Ø-ßƒ.... iq\y-X-bpsS ]mXm-f-K¿Ø-ß-fn¬ InS∂p Dd-ßmsX \ne-hn-fn® F{Xsb{X cm{Xn-Iƒ....

AXm-bn-cp∂p Fs‚ Pohn-X-Øns‚ ssIIm-en-´-Sn®v ]X®p \o¥n BsI-Øp-I. ]Tn®p Pohn-X-sØ. F∂n´pw PohnXw ]pdw-Xn-cn-™p-\n∂v ac-W-Øns‚ ssIøp-]n-Sn®p F\n°pw \n\°pw XΩn-se¥v sImØm-¶√p Ifn-®p. F∂v tNmZn-®p. {]mb-am-b-t∏mƒ {]W-b-Øn-\mbn Ctøm-_ns‚ ico-c-Øn¬ hrWXpWsb tXSn. ßƒ h∂p ]gp-Øp-s]m-´n-b-t]mse \n-μbp-sSbpw A]-lm-ky-X-bptaem-k-Iew ]cp-°ƒ h∂p \ndsSbpw hrW-ßƒ apJØpw a\™p Fs‚ ico-c-Øn¬ (I-©mhp nepw s]m´n-hn-cn-™p. hcp-Øn-b-hn-\)....

As∂ms° {]Xym-i-bpsS Hcp ssIØn-cn-\m-fwt]mepw Pohn-XØn-en-√.

Hcp-\mƒ D®n-apX¬ Im¬s]cphn-c¬hsc hrWØns‚ ]q°ƒ \nd-™p-]qØ Hcp Xmgvhc-bmbn amdn-F-s‚- icocw.

ac-W-Øns‚ tNmW-\p-dp-ºpIƒ ico-c-ØneqsS F√m Ahb-h-ß-fn-eq-sSbpw HmSn-\-S-°p∂ Akz-ÿ-]q¿Æamb Zn\-ßƒ.... AtΩ F∂p \nehn-fn-°m≥ AΩbn-√. ape-∏m-ens‚ aWhpw cpNnbpw Np≠n¬\n∂p amdpw-aptº Ftßmt´m, Hcp-]-s£, amem-Jam¿°p \Sp-hn-tet°m t]mbvad™ AΩ. Xmcm-´n-√. kvt\l-Øn¬ s]mXn™ DΩ-I-fn√. Ipdp-ºp-Im-´p-tºmƒ Ip™p-in£-I-fn-√. hnØp- a-c-am-Ipw-t]mse Rm≥ hf¿∂p Pohn® Pohn-Xw. B¿t°m th≠n.... GXp ]£n-°pw, GXp Nn√-bnepw Ccn-°m-sa-∂-t]mse...

A∏\pw s]ßfpw ho´n-ep≠m-bn-cp-∂n´pw A°m-eØv Rm≥ XnI®pw H‰-s∏-´-h\pw GIm-In-bp-am-bncp-∂p. Xnc-kvIm-c-Øns‚ H‰-s∏-S-ep-I-fn¬ PohnXw aSpØp Imep sh¥ ]´nsb-t∏mse e£y-an-√msX HmSn-s°mt≠-bn-cp-∂p. NnIn’ e`n-°m-Ø, at\m-tcm-KØns‚ IS-∂¬°qSp Npa-°p∂ A∏-s‚bpw ˛ kmtlm-Z-cy-_‘w IqS-∏n-d-∏m-°mØ ktlm-Z-c-ßfpsSbpw \Sp-hn¬, AsX, Hcp th´-arK-sØ-t∏mse Hfn-®p-Po-hn-®p. Nnet∏mƒ ]c-°w-]m™v HmSm≥t]mepw Ign-bmsX XI¿∂pw Xf¿∂pw c£n-°tW ssZhta! F∂ \ne-hn-fn-t]mepw C√msX....

ac-W-c-Y-bm-{X-Iƒ CSn-an-∂¬∏n-Wcp-Iƒt]mse Fs‚ ico-c-Øn-eqsS ]m™p-s]m-bvs°m-≠n-cp-∂p. Afn-™p-t]mb ico-c-hp-ambn kz¥w ico-c-Øns‚ Zp¿K-‘-Øn¬ ]pX∏p ]pX-®n-cp∂p Rm≥ GXpt\-c-hpw. ]I-ens\ F\n°p `b-am-bn. Bsc-¶nepw ho´n-te°p Ib-dn-h∂v Fs∂ I≠m¬ Bﬂ-\n-μ-sIm≠v Fs‚ icocw Aen-™-en™v C√msX-bm-Ip-am-bn-cp-∂p.

A∏\pw s]ßfpw Fs‚ tcmKsØ I≠p-t]m-ep-an-√. Fs‚ Pohn-X-Øn¬ h∂pw I≠m¬Ø-s∂bpw GtXm IpjvTAXmb nc p∂p tPm¿Pv tPmk^v Ccp∂pw InS∂pw t]mb-h-sc{X? tcmKn A\p-hm-Z-an-√msX Rß-fpsS sI. aXn. Cu Pohn-X-sa∂v a\ v izmkho´n¬ h∂v Hcp apdn Iog-S°n \n-izm-kw-t]mse Dcp-hn´ Znh-k-ß- ac-W-Øns‚ \oscm-gp-°p≈ apdn-I- AXn¬ Xma-kn-°p-I-bm-sW∂p fp-sS, amk-ß-fpsS Zn\m-¥y-ßƒ.... fm-bn-cp∂p Fs‚ ho´n-ep-≠m-bn-cp∂-Xv. Rm\-Xn¬ \o¥n \S-∂p. Pallikkutam | February 2014 14

AXn-Po-h\w

Zp:Jhym-gmgvN I¿Øm-hns‚ ]mSp-]o-UI-sf-tbm¿Øv hnizm-kn-Iƒ Ic-™p hne-]n-°m≥ ]≈n-bn¬ t]mIp∂ kabw Fs‚ ac-W-Øns‚ hn\m-gnI h∂p F∂v Rm≥ a\- n¬ IW-°p-Iq-ń. am{Xw Ah¿ Icp-Xn. aq°p-s]m-Øn- Fs‚ Ahÿ I≠v hoń-ep-≈∏n-Sn®v s]ßƒ `£Ww Hcp ]m{X- hcpw NnIn-’-bv°mbn Fs∂ Øn¬ sIm≠p-h∂p sh®v thKw Fßpw sIm≠p-t]m-b-Xp-an-√. apdn-hn´v HmSn-t∏m-Ipw. Bfl-lXy sNøm-\p≈ G‰hpw PohnXw Fs∂-t∏mse Atß-b‰w \√ hgn GsX∂ Nn¥ am{X-ambn shdpØ Hcp kv{Xobm-bn-cp∂p ]ns∂ Fs‚ a\- n¬. Fs‚ s]ßƒ. ap∏-Øn-c≠p Xqßn-a-cWw hø. hb p Ign-™n´pw kv{Xo[-\-N-¥-bn¬ hn¬°m-sX-t]mb Hcp Nc°p am{Xambn Ah¿ PohnXsØ i]n®p \nesIm-≠p. Fgp-]Xmw hb- phsc PohnXw BSnØn-a¿Ø A∏≥ enh¿Iym≥k¿ tcmKØns‚ ]®-∏p-I-fn¬ thZ-\-bpsS \rØw-Nhnń, Cu temIØv Xm\n√ F∂ ań¬ Pohn®p, F\n°pw s]ßƒ°pw \Sphn¬. a\p-jy¿ KmV-\n-{Zbn-em-Ip-tºmƒ ]pX∏pw hmcn-∏p-X®v Rm≥ tdmUn-te-°n-d-ßpw. ]I¬°m-esØ ho´p-X-S-¶ens‚ hnc-k-X-b-I-‰p-∂-X-ß-s\-bm-Wv. ]I¬sh-´-Øn¬ Xs‚ Ad-bv°p∂ icocw a\p-jy¿ ImWm-Xn-cn-°m≥ ]pe-cm-dm-Ip-∂-Xn\p apºv Xncn-®ph∂v {Um°p-f-{]`p ih-s∏-ń-bn¬ InS-°pw-t]mse Rm≥ Iń-en¬ InS°pw. Ccp-ńs‚ temI-Øm-bn-cp∂p Fs‚ Pohn-Xw.

Xpfkn Xma-kn-°p-∂-Xv t\m¿Øv sdbn¬∏m-f-Øn-\-cn-Inse Hcp hmSI-ho-ń-em-Wv. Fs∂-t∏mse \s√mcp hmb-\-°mc-\mWv Xpf-knbpw. ]pd-Øp-t]m-Iptºmƒ hoSp-]qń Xmt°m¬ Hfn-∏n-®ph-®n-cn-°p-∂-bnSw Fs∂ ImWn-®p-X∂n-´p-≠v. Zp:Jhym-gm-gvN. A∂-h\v tPmen-bp≠v. cm{Xn Rm\-hs‚ hoń¬ t]mbn Bcpw ImWmsX hoSp-Xp-d∂v Ahs‚ acp∂v ^nt\m_m¿_n-t‰m¨ FSpØp-sIm≠p t]m∂p.

sh≈-Øn¬ apßn-®m-Imw. ]s£, apºsØ Hcp ]cm-P-b-Im-c-WwsIm≠v AXp ths≠∂p h®p. A∂v Bﬂ-l-Xy-bv°mbn s]cn-bm‰n¬ NmSn-sb¶nepw Hcp t]mÃvam≥ Icbv°p hen-®p-I-b‰n c£n-®p-I-f™p. Ah-km\w Hcp hgn apºn¬ Xpd∂p.

Xpfkn! tcmKw _m[n-°pw-apºv Rm≥ I©mhn\v ASn-a-bm-bn-cp-∂p. H∏w temI- AsX, Ah-s\s‚ Bﬂ-kp-lrØv. Øp≈ Zp¿Ωm¿§n-I-fpsS ]pWy-hm- Ah≥ NpgenZo\-°m-c-\m-Wv. f\pw. Ahs‚ acp-∂v..... cm{Xn Dd-ßm-Xn-cn-°p∂ Hcp aqß^nt\m-_m¿_n-t‰m¨(-D-d-°-a-cp-∂v) sb-t∏mse I©m-hns‚ ab-°Øn¬ IÆp-an-gn®v ]I-en-cp-∂p. Hcp Kh¨sa‚ v {] n¬ F∂pw cm{Xn tUmIvS-sdbpw ImWm≥ t]mbn-√. Poh-\-°m-c≥. Pallikkutam | February 2014

Cu ]gp-Ø-fn™ Pohn-X-tØmSv bm{X ]d-bm≥ G‰hpw \√ acp∂pw hgnbpw AXp-X-s∂-bmsW∂v Dd-∏n-®p.

F√m sh≈n-bmgvNbpw tIme-t©-cn-bn¬ tPmen sNøp∂ tN´≥ AK-Ãn≥ ho´n¬ hcpw. Fs‚ c≠m-asØ tN´-\mWv. hnhm-ln-X-\mbn tIme-t©-cn-bnemWv Xma-kw. an°-t∏mgpw Rßƒ ]´n-Wn-bpsS IpS-NqSn Pohn-°p∂ Ime-am-W-Xv. tN´-\mWv tdj≥ hmßm\pw a‰pw Imip Xcp-∂-Xv. IpSpw-_-tØmSv Aev]-sa-¶nepw Icp-W-bp≈ Hcm-fmbn AΩ {]khn-®Xv tN´s\ am{X-am-Wv. _m°n a°-sfms° Akpc P∑-ßƒ. ac-W-Øns‚ cm°n-fn-Iƒ Fs‚ hoSn\p Np‰p-an-cp∂v Nne-®p. Zp:Jhym-gmgvN I¿Øm-hns‚ ]mSp]o-UI-sf-tbm¿Øv hnizm-kn-Iƒ Ic-™p hne-]n-°m≥ ]≈n-bn¬ t]mIp∂ kabw Fs‚ ac-WØns‚ hn\m-gnI h∂p F∂v

AXn-Po-h\w

tN´≥ HmSn-h∂v Fs‚ ]pX∏p hen-®p-am-‰n. Fs‚ Afn™ tZlsØ ad∂v sIń-∏n-Sn-®p. Xe-bnepw apJØpw kvt\lw-sIm≠v DΩ-h-®p. Fs‚ hrW-ß-fnse Nehpw tNmcbpw tN´s‚ j¿ń¬ ]c-∂-Xp-t]m-ep-a-dn-™n-√. Rm\-t∂cw Ikm≥km-°n-kns‚ t\mh-ense sk≥{^m≥kn-kns\ Hm¿°p-I-bm-bn-cp-∂p. Rm≥ a\- n¬ IW-°p-Iq-ń.

°m-\mbn Dd-°-Kp-fn-IIƒ Ign-°- t]mIpw.'' Ww. \nXy-amb Dd-°w- X-cp∂ ^nt\m""Fßs\?'' _m¿_n-t‰m-Wns\ Rm\-∂p-hsc hmb-\bv°v Hcn-S-th-f. ""AsX-\n-°-dn-™p-Iq-Sm..'' I≠ Iq´p-Im-cn¬ G‰hpw henb ************* tN´≥ j¿´pw ap≠pw amdn. tImeIq´p-Im-c-\mbn I≠p. Zp:JhymgmgvN cm{Xn. t©cn PwKvj-\n¬ h∂p. _kpIpsd-\mƒ apºv Fs‚-sbmcp Iq´p-ImImØv HØncn \n∂p. Ah-kmc≥ \n mc Imcy-Øn\v Ft∂mSp hg- tIme-t©-cn. kabw cm{Xn ]Ø\sØ {Sm≥kvt]m¿´p-_ pw °n-ń-cp-∂p. AXp ]ns∂-∏ns∂ henb c. AK-Ãn≥tN´s‚ s\©n\v t]mbn-°-gn-™n-cp-∂p. ]e temdni{Xp-X-bmbn s]cpØp Iƒ°pw ssIIm-ń. AhRß-fn¬. Fs‚ km\w Hcp ]m≠n temdn Ahÿ Ah≥ Fßt{_°p Nhn-ń. s\tbm aW-Ø-dn-™p. ************* Ah≥ \mń¬ F\n-s°Xnsc Hcp s]cp-º-d^nt\m-_m¿_n-t‰m¨ bmbn apg-ßn. Kpfn-I-Iƒ Fs‚ apºn-encp∂v ac-W-Øns‚ Hcp tKmjvTn Imń Nncn-®p.

""tPm¿Pn\p IpjvT-am-Wv. Ah≥ NnIn-’-bv°pt]mepw t]mImsX AXp-sIm≠v ho´n¬ AS®p]q´n Ccp-∏m-Wv.''

]mhw Xpf-kn. Hcp amksØ Ahs‚ Kpfn-I-Iƒ.....

Np‰p-ap-≈ Ab¬h°w AXp apgp-h≥ hniz-kn®p. icn-bm-Wv. Fs∂ Bcpw ]pdØp ImWm-dn√. Dul-ß-fpsS Nm‰-a-gIƒ Ah¿ s]cp-a-g-bm°n am‰n. CXn-\n-Sbv°v ]≠p ho´nep-≠m-bn-cp∂ Nne Bbp¿th-Z -te-ly-ßƒ Rms\-SpØv tcmKw amd-s´-sb-∂p-IcpXn kzbw tkhn-®p. At∏mƒ tcmKw apº-tØ-Xnepw hj-fm-bn. ico-cØn¬ apgp-h≥ I©mhp ]qØp-e-™n-cp-∂-Xn-\m¬ Fs‚ icocw Fs∂ h√msX ]oUn-∏n-®p. Fs‚ ico-cØns‚ Zp¿K‘w arKßƒ NØp-No-™- a-W-Øn\p Xpeyambn ho´n¬ \ne-sIm-≠p. ASpØ Zp:Jsh≈n Fs‚ Nc-a- sh≈n-bmgvNbmbn Rm≥ kzbw {]Jym]n-®p. s]kl Bcm-[-\-bv°mbn s]ßƒ cm{Xn ]≈n-bn¬ t]mIp∂ t\cw acn-

AXn-√msX Ah≥ Npgen Im´n-°m´n Hcp tImam-fnbmIpw Bfp-I-fpsS apºn¬. Rmt\m ]c-a-kpJ-a-\p-`-hn®v \nXy-ambn Ddßpw.

Hcm-[n. h√mØ hnΩn-jvSw. Ft¥m Zpc¥w kw`-hn-°m≥ t]mIp-∂p. `mcy-tbmSp tN´≥ ]d™p: ""F\n-°n-t∏mƒØs∂ Ieqcv t]mWw.'' ""\nßfv sh≈n-bm-gvN-bt√ t]mIm-dv.''

ho´p-Im¿ ImWmsX Hfn∏n-®p-h-®n-cp∂ I©m-hps]mXn Xpd∂v Rms\mcp _oUn-sbm-cp-°n-sb-SpØv B™m™p hen-®p. kz¿K-Øn¬ sN∂v amem-J-am-tcmsSm-∏hpw \c-I-Øn¬ sN∂v s]¨]n-im-Np-°-tfm-sSm-∏hpw \rØ-am-Sn.

""\msfhsc ImØn-cn-°m-\m-In-√. F\n-°p-≈o°n-S∂v h√mØ sh{]m-tfmw ]c-th-timw.''

\rØ-Øns‚ emky-e-l-cn-bn¬ Rm≥ aXn-a-d-∂-t∏mƒ AK-Ãn≥ tN´≥ Fs‚ apdn-bpsS Ip‰n-bnSmØ hmXn¬ Xpd∂v AI-Øp-h∂p.

""Cu ]mXn-cm{Xn C\n _ p Int´zm?''

apdn-bn¬ IS-∂Xpw tN´-\-dn-bmsX aq°p-s]m-Øn-t∏m-bn.

""In´n-bmepw In´n-bn-t√epw Rm≥

Agn-™p-\m-dnb ih-ßƒ Iq´n-bn-´nPallikkutam | February 2014

AXn-Po-h\w

Ct∏mƒ \memƒ Adn-bp∂ Fgp-Øp-Im-c-\m-bn. Zp»o-e-ßƒ hns´m-gn™ a\pjy-\m-bn. \√ `¿Øm-hm-bn. a°-fpsS \√ A∏-\m-bn. ssZh-Øns‚ ssI]n-Sn®v Ct∏mƒ Rm≥ \S-°m≥ {ian-°p-∂p. cn-°p∂ Hcp apdn-bn¬ Adn-bmsX Ib-dn-t∏mb {]Xo-Xn-bmbn tN´-\v.

tN´s‚ tNmZy-Øn\v bmsXmcp DØ-c-hp-an-√msX \n w-K-X-tbmsS s]ßƒ \n∂p.

tN´≥ O¿±n-°m-\mbn Hm°m-\n-®Xv Rm≥ tI´p.

tN´≥ Ae-am-cn-bn¬ kq£n-®n-cp∂ ap√-∏q-hns‚ aW-ap≈ sk‚ v apdn-bnse NnΩn-\n-hnf-°ns‚ XncnFs‚ tZlØv Xfn-®p. Fs‚ Ipń\mfw Rm≥ XmgvØn h®n-cp-∂Xv °m-ew-ap-Xte AK-Ãn≥ tN´≥ {]Im-iw- Iq-´m-\mbn tN´≥ sXfn-®hoń-te°p hcp-∂Xv ap√-∏q-hns‚ t∏mƒ \nd™ shfn-®-Øn¬ K‘-tam-sS-bm-Wv. Fhn-sS-t∏mFs∂ I≠p. bmepw hnb¿∏p-\m‰w tXm∂m-Xn-cnHs∂m-∂c amk-ambn tN´≥ tPmen- °m≥ tN´-\Xp ssIbn¬ Icp-Xpw. Øn-c-°p-aqew hoń-te-°p-h-∂n-´v. Ft∏mgpw ]qipw. tIme-t©-cntai-∏p-d-Øn-cp∂ Dd-°-Kp-fn-I-Ibnepw Ieq-cnepw F∂pw AXns‚ fpsS t_mń¬ I≠v tN´≥ \Sp-ßp- tÃm°p-≠v Ae-am-cn-I-fn¬. ∂Xpw `b-°p-∂Xpw Rm≥ I≠p. ]{¥-≠p-aWn Ign-™p. I©m-hns‚ el-cn-bn¬ Rm≥ ]dshfp-∏m≥Im-e-am-bn. ™Xv At±-l-Øns‚ s\©n¬ Hcn°epw sISp-Øm-\m-ImØ Xobmbn Fs∂ tN´≥ Hcp j¿ń-\p-ta¬ ]S¿∂p. BZyw Ipsd sk‚p ]qin as‰m-∂W-bn-®p. ]ns∂ AXn-\p-ta-sebpw ""CØncn sshIn hcm-cp-∂nt√? sk‚p ]qin. AXn-\p-ap-I-fn¬ \msf.... F¶n I¿Øm-hn-t\w ho≠pw Hcp ]pX-∏v. AXn\p apIFt∂w Hcp-an®v AS-°mcp-∂nt√?'' fnepw sk‚p ]qin. ]ns∂ tN´≥ HmSn-h∂v Fs‚ ]pX∏p Fs∂bpw Iqń {Sm≥kvt]m¿´v hen-®p-am-‰n. Fs‚ Afn™ _kvÃm‚n¬ h∂p. Hcp aqe-a‰w tZlsØ ad∂v sIń-∏n-Sn-®p. Xe^m-Ãn¬ Rßƒ Ib-dn. tN´≥ bnepw apJØpw kvt\lw-sIm≠v tIme-t©-cn°p c≠p Sn°-s‰-SpDΩ-h-®p. Fs‚ hrW-ß-fnse Øp. Nehpw tNmcbpw tN´s‚ j¿ń¬ I≠-IvSdpw _ n-ep-≈-hcpw sk‚ v ]c-∂-Xp-t]m-ep-a-dn-™n-√. Rm\Xe-bv°-Sn®v aØp-]n-Sn-®p. Cfw-Imt∂cw Ikm≥km-°n-kns‚ t\mh‰n¬ _ v tIme-t©-cn-bn-te°p ense sk≥{^m≥kn-kns\ Hm¿°p\oßn. I-bm-bn-cp-∂p. XΩm-\n-a-‰sØ Hcp \m´p-ssh-Zys‚ IpjvT-tcm-Knsb sIń-∏n-Sn®p H‰-aq-en-bnepw Ijm-b-Ønepw aq∂pNpw_n-°p∂ sk‚ v {^m≥kn-kv.... am-k-Øn-\p-tijw Rm≥ ]q¿Æmsk‚ v {^m≥knkv {InkvXp-hm-Ip- tcm-Ky-hm-\mbn Xncn-®p-h-∂p. Fs‚ I-bm-bn-cp-∂p. cq]ta amdn-t∏m-bn-cp-∂p. ]≈n-bnse s]k-lm-cm-[\ Ign™v s]ßƒ h∂p. tN´≥ s]ß-tfmSv tNmZn®p: ""Ch\o KXn-bn-em-bn´pw Hcp Im¿Up-t]m-ep-an´v Cu hnhcw Adnbn-®n-√-t√mSn Fc-Ww-sI-´-h-sf.''

Pallikkutam | February 2014

ho´n¬ Xncn-s®-Øn-bn´pw B tai∏p-dsØ Kpfn-I-Iƒ Bcpw am‰msX Ahn-S-Øs∂ Ccn-∏p-≠mbn-cp-∂p. As√-¶n¬ B apdn-bn¬ Bcp Ibdm≥?

Fs‚ s]ßƒ B apdn ASn-®p-XqØp-hm-cm≥t]mepw AXn¬ Ib-dn√m-bn-cp-∂t√m? sNdp-∏-ambn Pohn-®n-cp∂ ImeØv Zp¿\-S-∏p-Im-c-\mb arK-Xp-ey-\mb a\p-jy-t\mSv I\n-hp-Im-´m≥ am{Xw ssZhtam amem-Jtbm H∂p-am-bn-cp∂n-√t√m Fs‚ s]ßƒ? tIme-t©-cn-bn¬\n-∂p≈ B Xncn®p-h-chv AsXs‚ c≠mw-P-∑-am-bncp-∂p. ssZhw Ctøm-_ns\ A\p-{K-ln-®Xp-t]mse Rm≥ Ccń A\p-{K-lßƒ°v DS-b-h-\mbn. ]gb a\pjys\ Rm≥ Dcn-™p-I-f-™p. {InkvXp-hn¬ Rm≥ ]pXnb krjvSn-bm-bn.... ]ns∂ ssZho-I-ktμ-i-Øm¬ Bfl-l-Xy-bn¬\n∂v Rm≥ c£-s∏-Sp-Ønb F{X PohnX-ßƒ?.... Ct∏mƒ \memƒ Adn-bp∂ FgpØp-Im-c-\m-bn. Zp»o-e-ßƒ hns´m-gn™ a\pjy-\mbn. \√ `¿Øm-hm-bn. a°-fpsS \√ A∏-\m-bn. ssZh-Øns‚ ssI]n-Sn®v Ct∏mƒ Rm≥ \S-°m≥ {ian-°p-∂p. kvt\lw-sIm≠v Fs‚ PohnXw AXn-cp-I-fn-√mØ {]]-©hpw hnkvXr-Xn-bp-ambn amdp-∂p. Zp»o-eßƒ°v ASn-a-bmbn Zp¿am¿§n-bmbn \S∂ Fs∂ c≠v Bfl-l-Xym-{i-aØn¬\n∂pw ssZh-Øns‚ Icßƒ s]m°n-sb-Sp-°m≥ am{Xw Rms\-¥p≈q? shdpw s]mSnbpw shÆodpw am{Xamb a\p-jy≥. AXn-e-∏pdw Rm≥ H∂p-a-√t√m? GXp-a-√t√m?

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STORIES OF LIFE

Brightest in school, the nightmare of family! Dr. Jos Cletus Plackal

Sunitha’s life’s ambition was to become a medical doctor. She knew that she had the real potential for it. However, due to a series of unforeseen and unfortunate events, both from within and without, her emotional world was on the brink of shutdown.

unitha (not real name) is a 16-year-old plus-one student, class-topper in SSLC, quite amiable, helpful, smart and \pleasant. Some time ago she developed health-related problems such as migraine, and more recently, breathing difficulties, causing hospitalization and disruption to studies. The violent nature of migraine attacks and the more serious pulmonary spasms which created frequent medical emergencies resulting in hospitalizations caused the girl, her parents and extended family great anguish. She was treated at superspeciality hospitals and all relevant clinical investigations had been completed, but the specialist doctors couldn’t find the cause of these life- threatening pathological conditions. The family was in great agony and experienced the helplessness and despair of their dear daughter who had, until recently, bagged the top honours in studies and in extracurricular activities.

Tremors underneath Sunitha’s psunami

through an oversight. For two weeks Sunitha had to sit at home anxious and desperate blaming her bad luck. When parents decided to take her to a private school, she was reluctant and undecided. She had no friends, she didn’t catch up with what was taught and the talk of class tests by the teachers petrified her as she knew for sure she won’t score even minimum marks. (And she was a fiercely self-respecting person). Sunitha eventually got admitted to a Government HSS, and that only added to her woes. This school was very successoriented, pressurizing students by intimidation, taunts etc. Each time a teacher applied pressure on students, Sunitha got intimidated and frightened and her anxiety level shot up skyhigh. This demoralized her and affected her concentration and studies. She felt neglected by teachers, lonely and lost.

About this time Sunitha, for the first time in her life, did a FaceBook adventure. She The family brought the girl for counselling. chatted with a man who happened to be Her parents accompanied her; all of them from her own neighbourhood, and the looking visibly shaken, greatly worried and entire family rose up in arms. They were sad. The girl looked depressed, very sad terrified that Sunitha might run away with and tired and was in tears. An in-depth a man whom they knew was a real loser. clinical interview conducted individually She felt the pain of being emotionally cut and with the family brought to light the off from the extended family. As she complexity and depth of the problems that recalled, ‘this was like death’. this teenager was going through. Neither Sunitha nor her loving family was aware of Sunitha is a very affectionate girl, but she the enormity and viciousness of these life- doesn’t want anyone to touch her, including her mother and sister. But she threatening syndromes. relished the affectionate strokes and Although she was a topper in her school, pampering from her maternal grandpa. Her she didn’t get admission in the first round

Pallikkutam | January 2014 18

father though affectionate didn’t get time to pamper the little one when she needed it most. (Touch has enormous potential for affirmation, especially during the formative years). Sunitha’s life’s ambition was to become a medical doctor. She knew that she had the real potential for it. However, due to a series of unforeseen and unfortunate events, both from within and without, her emotional world was on the brink of shutdown. Gradually it dawned on her that at the current rate she would not make it to the top grade and that she would never be able to fulfil her life’s ambition of becoming a medic. This sense of impending failure nagged her inner self, froze her vital energy. Hence she felt everything had come to a standstill, life was not worth living, dying was much easier than living! Therapeutic strategy : A) The immediate goal was to arrest the recurring body shutdowns leading to deeper despair and (death). Sunitha needed help to get out of the deep despair and depression—from emotionality to reality. For this, memoryhealing therapies were administered. Traumatic memories were recalled, reconstructed and reworked and the intensity of emotional events was accepted and allowed to be defused through BWTs (brain wave therapies). Realistic appraisal, setting up of goals and means to achieve them etc were worked out. As the exams were fast approaching, the simple and straight goal selected was “to write the exams, come what may, regardless of the outcome”! This was necessary since

Pallikkutam | February 2014 15

STORIES OF LIFE Sunitha had an obstinate fixation on acquiring higher-grade marks which was causing her a great amount of tension.

Sunitha eventually got admitted to a Government HSS, and that only added to her woes. This school was very success-oriented, pressurizing students by intimidation, taunts etc. Each time a teacher applied pressure on students, Sunitha got intimidated and frightened and her anxiety level shot up skyhigh. This demoralized her and affected her concentration and studies. She felt neglected by teachers, lonely and lost.

B) The long-term strategy was to harden her resolve to become a medical doctor, and so get back to her regimen of studies. Knowing well that Sunitha was a resolute fighter to the core, the same strength was put to good use. She was also made to realize that she was facing tremendous odds vis-Ă -vis her resolve to reach the top of the class and, eventually, to become a doctor. The final option was very simple and straightâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;either fight with all might, or flee! She was told that she was doing the latter. The entire extended family was brought into the therapeutic process by getting them involved in supporting Sunitha, instead of isolating her. They showed more trust in her, and on her part, Sunitha closed down her FB account. Sunithaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teachers were also brought on board. Her oversensitivity to scolding, punishment etc and her overanxiety were brought to their attention. The teachers were willing partners and were very cooperative and understanding. After all, she was one of their best students! The therapeutic outcome was quite positive. Sunitha did write her exams and fared rather well. For the first time in life she focused on learning rather than on getting top marks. Her physical symptoms eased and mood changed to be more positive and active. Two weeks after therapy, she maintains her momentum in studies and seems less tense, and more focused. After six weeks, Sunitha has made strides in studies as well as in relations, especially with teachers. She is back to her normal self, symptom-free and interested in studies.

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

Pallikkutam | February 2014 16

Pallikkutam | January 2014 19

EXPERT COUNSEL

Full Marathons should replace Half Marathons Dr. K.N. Raghavan

By successfully conducting the Mini-Marathon, Kochi Corporation has taken the first step in its efforts to improve the quality of lives of people living in the city.

he first-ever Half Marathon conducted at Kochi recently was a resounding success. It was well organized, the level of participation was good, the support from the media and the public was exceptional and the participants went back with a glow of satisfaction on their faces. While the organizers deserve to be congratulated on its successful conduct, one should also point out that it is the originators of the very idea of hosting the Half Marathon who merit a louder round of applause. They correctly identified this longsuppressed need of the public that had not

yet been voiced and acted in a proactive manner. It is noticed after the event that there has been an increase in the number of people going for jogs and walks in the morning. The conduct of an event of this nature and magnitude would by itself have served as an inspiration to people to start exercising their body in a modest manner. The beauty of the human body is that it welcomes such exercises warmly and soon a person would start feeling that his/her day is incomplete without the morning walk/jog. Further

small groups congregate during such activities involving like-minded people having similar interests and gradually the morning constitutional would evolve into an enjoyable experience that one looks forward to eagerly. However one problem that most of the people living in tier II and tier III cities in our country is that there are not enough areas where one can go for a walk or a jog peacefully in the mornings. Most of the hitherto-open areas have been filled in with new constructions, and parks have

Pallikkutam | February 2014

EXPERT COUNSEL

In Kochi, the walkway in Marine Drive and the circular road around J N Stadium are the only places where one can enjoy a morning walk in peace without worrying about being run over or hit by fumes emanating from the exhaust pipes of vehicles. either become too small in size or vanished altogether. The practice of walking/jogging along the roads is neither safe nor healthy but indulged in by many on account of lack of alternative options. In Kochi, the walkway in Marine Drive and the circular road around J N Stadium are the only places where one can enjoy a morning walk in peace without worrying about being run over or hit by fumes emanating from the exhaust pipes of vehicles. The crowds that throng these areas in the mornings are proof of the growing realization amongst the population about the importance of light exercise in one’s day-to-day life. Every important city in the world boasts good parks and greenery that serve to absorb all the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the vehicular traffic. In India also, one can find such parks and green belts in metros such as Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. But when it comes to the fast-growing smaller cities, one finds that the authorities have completely ignored this aspect while planning their growth. And worse, there have been no qualms about cutting down trees and converting existing grounds and parks into high-rise structures or even parking areas for vehicles. Unless this trend is reversed, one will soon find that a substantial number of people living in such cities will fall victims to the so-called lifestyle diseases, which are

Pallikkutam | February 2014

nothing but protests emanating from the human body about bad eating habits and lack of exercise. One would look up to the authorities to plant more trees and build walkways for the general public in the new cities and towns that are witnessing a faster pace of growth.

By successfully conducting the MiniMarathon, Kochi Corporation has taken the first step in its efforts to improve the quality of lives of people living in the city. However sustained efforts at various levels by different organizations are required to make substantive progress in this regard.

People of my generation were taught the adage “The Battle of Waterloo was won in the playgrounds of Eton”. The emphasis on physical exercise and all-round development with focus on camaraderie and team spirit, which was followed in the public schools of Britain, was considered to be the ideal grooming for young minds. So we were encouraged to spend as much time in the playground as we did inside the classroom and the achievements outside the academic terrain were given equal importance.

While the corporations and the town planning authorities should take steps to increase the area under the green belt and provide more space where people can enjoy a morning constitutional in peace, schools should not only possess large grounds but also encourage the students to use them liberally. Healthy living is a basic human right and it can be achieved only if people take it upon themselves to practice habits aimed at promoting good health and they are encouraged, guided and supported in this endeavour right from childhood.

Thus there was an early introduction to the world of exercises, sports and games. However these days the focus has shifted almost exclusively to academic excellence and the time outside the classroom constitutes only a small portion of a child’s day. This stress on studies, to the exclusion of all other activities, along with unhealthy eating habits and a tendency for spending long hours in front of the computer and televisions, places the new generation at considerably high risks of falling prey to lifestyle diseases.

The evolution of Half Marathon into a well-contested full Marathon would take place in course of time; however the success of this venture should be measured not in the number of participants from other countries that the event attracts each year but in the number of people who receive and accept the message of physical fitness for all that it seeks to convey.

The author is the Commissioner of Customs in Kochi.

NOTES ON CREATIVITY

Have some clay in the head Dr. Varghese Panthalookaran CMI

lexibility is an important measure of creative thinking, according to J P Guilford, the famous creativity expert. To think creatively implies to think flexibly. Creative thinkers are seldom adamant, rigid or frozen in their concepts. They are open to new realities and allow them to modify their world-views. They are not convicted to their convictions. Their convictions are regularly updated. They are tried and tested against the realities of life; those which stand the test of time are upheld and others are forsaken. They continuously calibrate their world-views against the emerging facts and evidences. They enrich the tenets of their faith through creative dialogue with those of other faith systems. They do not just compromise; rather they relinquish half-truths in the quest for absolute truth. They do not just adapt to the times; rather they acknowledge the limitations of their minds and keep them open to full revelation of the truth.

Creative people have “clay in their heads”! That one has “full of clay in the head” is considered to be an abusive expression. It generally connotes the dullness of mind one possesses. However, it need not be the case. Creative people are those who have lots of “clay in their heads”, which allows them to think flexibly! Their minds are not elastic; rather they are plastic. Plastic materials are sensitive to the external forces acting on them.

There is general awareness today of the need to keep one’s mental fitness. At all times and at all ages, people want to be mentally fit and agile. There mushroom training techniques for brain fitness. Such techniques generally focus on the training of cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility is one of the important prerequisites for creative thinking. Pallikkutam | February 2014

They are shaped by the forces acting on them. Plastic minds are open to the winds and waves. They respond to the zeitgeist, the spirit of the time. They sense the signs of time. They read the writings on the walls. They do not consider adaptation as a crime and they do adapt accordingly. They adapt and survive! Plastic minds allow newness to touch their core. They are prepared to be transformed by the new realities. They allow their substance to be touched by the circumstances they are in.

NOTES ON CREATIVITY They are ready to rewrite their texts according to the context. Plastic minds are like reeds. They bend and adapt to the tornado and survive it. Elastic materials rebel against any deformation to it. It is difficult to shape elastic materials. They develop restoring force which acts against any deformation. Elastic minds are rebellious. They resist change. They are not capable of learning or unlearning. They hold on to what they have learned. They easily turn fanatic. They are already “matured” and fully developed. They are fully scripted and nothing new could be added to those scripts. Elastic minds are insensitive. They close their eyes towards newness. They are adamant. They do not turn around. They naturally develop resistance against any change. On this account, they will be a thorn in the eyes for the prophets, who want society to change. Elastic minds are like oak trees. They do not oblige the tornado. They do not care to bend or adapt. Tornadoes will tear them apart. Stephen Hawking is an awesome example of creative but plastic thinkers of modern times. Confined to his wheel-chair he started making history with his brave efforts to unify macro-physics with micro-physics. The physics of very large scales (cosmic levels) is governed by the General Theory of Relativity of Albert Einstein; whereas the physics of the subatomic scales is governed by the Quantum Mechanics of Niels Bohr. Hawking radiation, which allows a black hole to leak energy and gradually fades away to nothing, is Hawking’s path-breaking contribution, which emerged from his efforts in this direction. In a recent paper called “Information preservation and weather forecasting for Black Holes” Stephen Hawking, however, denies the existence of Back Holes, which is the corner-stone of Einstein’s Cosmology. He writes: “...There are no black holes—in the sense of regimes from which light can’t escape to infinity”. He substitutes “Black Holes” for so-called “Gray Holes” in a manoeuvre to accommodate the current theories better into the framework of a phenomenon, which many believes to be a “persistent mystery” of modern physics. Plasticity of mind is required in the quest for truth. It applies equally to the physical and metaphysical truths.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

NOTES ON CREATIVITY

Rigid thinking is seldom effective People who think radical and rigid often trigger revolutions. However, an honest evaluation of revolutions would identify rigidity of thoughts at the root of their failure. Rigorous implementation of rigid concepts is fatal to human freedom. They suppress human freedom, which gives birth to the very revolution. Thus it triggers a process of gradual selfdestruction. This part of history is found to be self-repeating. The champions of such revolutions resort to brute force in the course of time to implement rigid rules of frozen thoughts. They attempt to nip the emerging opposition in the bud and unknowingly set a fresh revolution into motion. A thinking style which accommodates diversity of ideas could prove to be more effective. A democratic fabric of mind has to be cultivated to suit this purpose. For a democratic mind, a multitude of different ideas is not a threat, rather they posit new possibilities. A democratic mind functions as the loci of synergy of differing ideas. Leaders who have a natural sense of synergy of ideas are the need of the hour for democracies of the world. Such leaders would churn out a host of ideas, creative concepts for the future. Such leaders would successfully change the course of history. They would steer the destiny of nations. True revolutionaries are the prophets, who consider themselves as the “voice of the voiceless”. They represent the voice of the Divine, on whose behalf they are supposed to speak. The revolutionary vision of prophets regarding the future of a land represents the dreams of the “poor” of the land. That dream is born out of suppressed wishes of the multitudes of people who internally cry for liberation. Flexible thinking always leaves room for synergy. It lends itself to be crossfertilized with other similar and dissimilar ideas developing into formidable concepts with great power and effectiveness. Flexibility of thinking generates synergy and the synergy renders it with effectiveness. Thus flexible thinking acts as the key to effectiveness. Take for example the case of water: Water droplets are extremely weak and

Pallikkutam | February 2014

NOTES ON CREATIVITY

The power of water bodies is the power of synergy. They are effective to dismantle old structures paving ways for new ones. Similarly can flexible thinking synergize ideas and bring about critical changes. Flexible thinking is much more effective and sustainable than rigid thinking. powerless. They are rarely effective to bring about a change. They resemble flexible thoughts. When billions of water droplets coalesce to form a water body, it preserves tremendous force in its chest. It is powerful to draw and redraw the boundaries of cities and of world civilizations. A water wave in the form of a tsunami possesses devastating powers that rewrite the destiny of a land. The power of water bodies is the power of synergy. They are effective to dismantle old structures paving ways for new ones. Similarly can flexible thinking synergize ideas and bring about critical changes. Flexible thinking is much more effective and sustainable than rigid thinking.

Rigid thinking exposes unripe minds. A mature mind prefers flexible, democratic and synergetic thinking to rigid thinking. It is much more open and receptive. Children areobserved to be strikingly inflexible in their thinking as shown by the tests of cognitive flexibility. Up to mid-twenties development of cognitive flexibility is observed. This development is associated with maturing synaptic connections, formation of a myelin sheath around a

nerve fibre (which protect and insulate neurons) and enhancement of regional gray matter volume. Diminished cognitive flexibility has been observed in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders such as anorexia nervosa, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and autism, and in a subset of people with ADHD. Similarly, people with addictions are also found to be limited in cognitive flexibility. Further, aging brains often experience deficits in cognitive flexibility. They undergo physical and functional changes including a decline in processing speed, central sensory functioning, white matter integrity and brain volume.

Education aims at enabling students to acquire the necessary skills to suitably apply them to changing environments. They should learn the art of adapting what they learn to fit into new life situations. They should be able to think fluently and flexibly to arrive at novel solutions to the fresh tasks and challenges on hand.

An appropriate educational policy should take flexible thinking skills seriously. Teaching styles should be attuned to the requirements of flexible thinking. It should avoid over-simplification which prevents students from applying the attained knowledge to new domains and contexts. Teaching styles should incorporate group problem-solving activities, and demand higher-level thoughts. Students should Taking these factors into consideration, learn to solve the same problem in a one needs to keep the brain regularly fit for flexible manner in different ways. Such flexible thinking. educational policies are already under development in many countries.

Implications for educational policy

A plastic mind is but a prerequisite for effective educational processes. Children with better receptivity are counted as successful students. Those students who are prepared to form their minds could be equipped to face the challenges of life in a creative manner.

There is general awareness today of the need to keep oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mental fitness. At all times and at all ages, people want to be mentally fit and agile. There mushroom training techniques for brain fitness. Such techniques generally focus on the training of cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility is one of the important prerequisites for creative thinking.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

PERSONAL

Stop worrying and start living Sajit Malliyoor

Worrying is a reaction to threat. It also has an adaptive function of equipping you to face the adversities. It can be useful in situations like preparing for an examination or planning for a trip. However, it becomes pathological when it turns uncontrollable; when it interferes with your activities, work, or social life.

am a 19-year-old girl, studying in my second year degree course. I am the youngest of three girls. We were a happy family until the day four years ago when we lost our father to an accident. I think my problems started after that. I am deeply worried about the health of my mother. She is an asthmatic patient and frequently falls ill. Each time she is ill, I am almost paralysed with dread that she is going to get seriously ill and die. Then I’ll start preparing myself for the activities to follow if the situation worsens and she needs hospitalisation. At times, I realize that I am worrying unnecessarily but I can’t seem to control it. Lately, the dread never leaves me. Even at times she is healthy, I find myself worrying about the same topic. I ask myself a hundred questions related to her health, and when I can’t satisfy myself with the answers, the dread builds up. Another topic which has found an entry to my problems is my future. Studies, job,

Pallikkutam | February 2014

marriage, everything is a topic of worry these days. Kindly help me get out of my problem. Your letter reads like a textbook description of a clinical condition called generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). You identify that your problem is excessive worrying and you also realize it is unwarranted. Probably you would have tried to stop worrying yourself, but nothing works. These are some of the main features of GAD. Much has been discussed about the condition; there are hundreds of web pages giving you tips on how to tackle the situation, and there are scores of self-help books advocating different forms of therapies to GAD and yet, general awareness of the condition remains lacking. Despite the extensive availability of literature, sufferers would still find it difficult to identify that their condition is qualitatively different and distinguished from the ‘normal’ worry that all of us face

some time in our lives. Worrying is a reaction to threat. It also has an adaptive function of equipping you to face the adversities. It can be useful in situations like preparing for an examination or planning for a trip. However, it becomes pathological when it turns uncontrollable; when it interferes with your activities, work, or social life. In GAD, you will find yourself worrying almost on an everyday basis for months on end, about all sorts of things, expecting the worst outcome. It is not caused by stress, whereas stress can worsen your symptoms. When you have GAD, you may be worrying about the same things that most of the people do— financial problems, relationship issues, health etc, and you may realize that the anxiety is more intense than the situation demands. The difficulty here is that you can’t turn off your anxious thoughts. They keep running through your head, on endless repeat.

PERSONAL What you fear the most rarely happens. Recognize that a certain amount of anxiety is normal. By expecting future anxiety you’re putting yourself in a good position to accept it when it comes again. Now we will discuss a few techniques that people find useful in dealing with the condition. One of the most important steps towards overcoming worry is getting a better understanding of what worry is and how it sticks around as a problem. To understand your worries better, you can start keeping a worry diary by noting down the time, duration and the intensity of your worry on a 10-point scale. Once you have had a closer look at the worries, you can assign yourself a ‘worry period’. You will decide that every day, in a pre-defined time slot, you will worry about all that you want to worry about. At other times of the day, when you find yourself worrying, you will postpone the worry to this stipulated time. Experiencing the worries is more than just thoughts. The physical component of it results in faster breathing, pounding heart, tensed muscles; the general symptoms associated with the anxiety. Learning to relax would counter these consequences effectively. If you struggle with GAD, relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing and meditation can teach you how to relax. Equally important is your ability to calm down quickly when the anxiety shoots up. Here you can use distraction techniques to sooth yourself down. You can use any of the physical senses to distract yourself from the train of thoughts. Taking in a beautiful view, walking around a pretty neighbourhood, listening to soothing music, enjoying the sounds of nature like birds singing, winds rustling through the woods are all examples. Employing other senses, you can light a scented candle, cook and eat a delicious meal or pet your dog or cat. While doing it, be mindful of the sensations acutely. Gary Emery suggests being AWARE to cope better with the anxiety. The key to switching out of an anxiety state is to accept it fully. Remaining in the present and accepting your anxiety cause it to disappear.A: Accept the anxiety. Welcome it. Don’t fight it. Replace your rejection, anger, and hatred of it with acceptance. By resisting, you’re prolonging the unpleasantness of it. Instead, flow with it. Don’t make it responsible for how you think, feel, and act. W: Watch your anxiety. Look at it without judgment—not good, not bad. Rate it on a 0-to-10 scale and watch it go up and down. Be detached. Remember, you’re not your anxiety. The more you can separate yourself from the experience, the more you can just watch it. A: Act with the anxiety. Act as if you aren’t anxious. Function with it. Slow down if you have to, but keep going. Breathe slowly and normally. If you run from the situation your anxiety will go down, but your fear will go up. If you stay, both your anxiety and your fear will go down. R: Repeat the steps. Continue to accept your anxiety, watch it, and act with it until it goes down to a comfortable level. And it will. Just keep repeating these three steps: accept, watch and act with it. E: Expect the best. What you fear the most rarely happens. Recognize that a certain amount of anxiety is normal. By expecting future anxiety you’re putting yourself in a good position to accept it when it comes again.

Please send your queries to malliyoor@outlook.com

Pallikkutam | February 2014

COVER STORY

How to face examination Fr. Varghese Kottoor

When you hold an Inner Smile, the brain system will always be relaxed. You will take delight in everything you do, and you will be surprised to see your own achievements

xamination is a very hard nut for most of the students. There are many reasons for this problem. 1. High ambition of the students. High expectations of the student. Expecting too much from oneself. Social pressure from relatives and parents. All there are causing great stress on the students. Every student is different in talents, temperament heredity. Phyical, psychological and intellectual potential. Everybody cannot be a doctor, everybody cannot be a scientist. Everybody cannot be a musician. There are different levels of intelligence. The following are different levels of intelligence according to the psychology department of Harvard University U.S.A. 1. Body intelligence: a set neurons in the brain system is controlling this level of intelligence. Sportsmen and Women have very high level body intelligence. The muscular System, the nervous system, the bone system and blood circulation are well cultivated and prompt in this people who take the physical discipline to develop the body intelligence. The stimuli and response are very prompt in these people. Their sensitivity and ability to respond is very prompt and accurate. This is the brilliance of the sports men and sports women. In our country P T Usha and Sachin are examples. They had a very high level of body intelligence. Regular and systematic discipline helps to reach the highest level of body intelligence.

Music is the melodious sounds, language is meaningful sounds. Both are different applications of sound. Children before they are born they are respond to sound positively.

precision, accuracy, clarity in thought and expression is the signal of Mathematical Intelligence. By engaging in mathematical calculations this level of intelligence can be activated.

3. Language Intelligence: - a set of neurons in the human brain is controlling this Intelligence. By the repeated of act of speaking reading and writing students develop language Intelligence. Language is intimately related to the personality of students. Correct thinking, correct language, correct person this is the impact of language Intelligence. By learning highly cultivated language by heart is a way of activating language Intelligence. The person

5. Spatial Intelligence:- this is controlled by another set of neurons. Sensitivity to colours and shapes is an expression of spacial intelligence. Artists are having a very high level of Spatial Intelligence.

7. Inter-personal Intelligence:- the noble aspect of human nature are cultivated and clarified by the inter-actions of the students in the context of class rooms and school. Ability to socialize is achieved by interaction with others in the class room. 8. Spiritual Intelligence:This expressed in the level of faith. Whatever is the religious tradition of person is at the back of the person of the student? Here also the family background and traditions count a lot. will go through a verbal therapy, achieves, language, maturity; and the net result is personality development. That is to say language is intimately related to the person.

2. Musical Intelligence:- a set of neurons in the human brain is controlling this level of intelligence. Music is the 4. Mathematical Intelligence:- A set symphony of sounds. Sensitivity to of neurons in the human brain is sounds is the preliminary form of language. controlling Mathematical Intelligence:

6. Intra-personal Intelligence:- the Noble aspects of human nature, just as love, joy,peace,service,forgiveness, kindness and compassion are inborn in some persons. The family back ground and family climate has a great deal to do to activate Intra-personal Intelligence.

The whole program of education is to develop their levels of intelligence. In the examinations these levels of intelligence are assessed. In the process of cultivating these levels of intelligence students develop lot of stress and tension. Examination is the time they develop a lot of stress.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

COVER STORY

How to help students to come out of stress and face the examination? A simple method is “Inner Smile Meditation” When we hold an inner smile the blood circulation to the brain improves as a result the negative programming in the brain is rectified, and the person becomes totally relaxed. “Smile is love energy. Outer smile is a social virtue. Inner Smile is mysticism”. Smile has tremendous power to keep the person relaxed. When we smile we are radiating love energy. Everything up on this earth will respond love energy positively. Outer Smile is a social virtue. People meet and greet each other with a smile, showing their beautiful and shining teeth. A very fine and graceful situation we create by Outer Smile. Inner Smile is cheerful disposition. Every fibre of our personality is charged with love energy. This is the power of Inner Smile. When we hold an Inner Smile the centre of our brain is relaxed. When we hold on smiling, that relaxation is carried to the whole body through the nervous system and the result is total relaxation, total freedom from stress. We energy enjoy deeper level of concentration and relaxation. Relaxation means blissfully happy. This is the experience of Inner Smile Meditation. It is very interesting to note that a little child will smile 500 times in a day. At every smile the child is growing. Even when the child is asleep the child will smile. At every smile the child is growing and enjoying relaxation. A grown up person will smile only 18 times in a day. Because of the anxieties and worries the grown up persons are not able to smile. There are one hundred billion neurons in the human brain. When we hold and Inner Smile the blood circulation to the brain system improves as a result the whole brain system is clear and clean and totally relaxed. There is no fungus and virus in the brain system. That is to say the whole system

Pallikkutam | February 2014

is totally relaxed. There is no stress and strain as a result we enjoy intellectual work. Delight becomes the key words in the learning process. Then the person becomes brilliant person. If a person is able to take delight in the things he does he or she becomes a great person a genius. Mind is always thinking, body is always

enlightenment, the full-flowering of human being. “Meditation is the oldest, fullest, richest and the most valuable education of all’’. Now let me share with you some practical tips to improve the quality of persons. The following Caption will carry the whole message. “When my body is at rest My mind is at rest. When my mind is at rest, My soul is at rest with in me. When my body, mind and soul Are at rest, I am at my best, I am a mystic’

acting. The thinking mind and the acting body will merge into your soul when you hold an inner smile. At that point you are in meditation, you are a mystic. Everything we do has a meditative dimension or Contemplative dimension. When people do reach up to that point, they are mystics. They discover Correlations and Connections. The result is enlightenment, a new discovery. Einstein, the great scientist says, “There happens in human consciousness a leap’’ this is what he calls “intuition”. People are habitually tensed. So their productivity is negatively affected. When we became meditating persons we became habitually relaxed. As a result our productivity improves as well as emotional balance intellectual power, creativity, inner harmony psychological integrity and physical well being. And on the top of all these “expansion of consciousness.’’ That is what we call

1. The first thing we have to do is to tune the body. This is done by doing same stretching exercise from head to foot. By these physical exercises, we are discharging all physical toxin, negative energy from the body. Negative energy, physical toxin causes. Stress in the body that is transferred to the mind and mind becomes disturbed and makes the intellectual work, very difficult and heavy. This is called stress and tension. Tension is a negative programming in the human computer. When the person is under stress, human brain becomes dysfunctional. This leads the person to depression and all other psychological problems. Now this negative programming in the human brain is to be rectified. Here comes the marvelous role of inner smile. When we hold an inner smile the blood circulation to the brain improves as a result the negative programming in the brain is rectified, and the person becomes totally relaxed. Mind becomes fresh, body becomes light, the whole heaviness vanishes that is to say the person is relaxed, free from tension, creative, and at his/her best.

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How to do the inner smile meditation? When you hold an Inner Smile the brain system is totally activated and the programming is accurate, clear, clean and deep. That is what we call memory. Smile is love energy. Stand up straight and take deep breathing; there are 6000 small cabins in the human lungs. All these cabins should function, when we breathe that is the first step of relaxation of the body. When our body is relaxed, mind gets settled side by side the soul also gets settled. Sit straight on a chair, head parallel to the roof, ears and shoulders in the same line, the tip of the nose and naval in the same line. Then you can be sure that your body is straight. When your body is straight your lungs are free and chest is open and you can take deep breathing easily. Keep your hand on your knees gently close your eyes and take deep breathing. Gently and mindfully. Hold an inner smile, a cheerful disposition, as you concentrate your mind at the centre of the brain. Continue to hold an inner smile, with an attitude of forgiveness. Forgive yourself, your limitations, your weaknesses, your imperfections. Do not get entangled with these negativities, go beyond them; that is what we call forgiveness. Forgiveness leads to inner freedom and relaxation. The antidote to tension, remain like this for five minutes, holding an inner smile. Then open your eyes with a bright outer smile. Then listen to yourself, your body, mind and soul. This is inner smile meditation. The moment you miss the inner smile your mind will start jumping from place to place. That is what we call distraction. The benefits of inner smile meditation are, 1. Deeper level of concentration 2. Deeper level of relaxation 3. Emotional balance 4. Improves level of energy. 5. Increase creativity 6.Improves learning ability and memory 7. Develops will power 8. Emotional maturity 9. Improves intellectual productivity 10. Enhancement of self confidence 11. Enhanced feeling of happiness. 12. Develop positive thinking. 2. Do everything cheerfully:This is the simplest way of improving the quality of person and personality. eg: Reading Writing, Speaking, Walking,

Eating, Thinking all with an Inner Smile. This is a marvelous experience. That is to say, when you hold an Inner Smile, the brain system will always be relaxed. You will take delight in everything you do, and you will be surprised to see your own achievements. The brain system

and the eight levels of Intelligence will be activated to the Optimum. This is how people become genius. 3. Reading with an Inner Smile:It is a meditative way of study. This is a relaxed way of study. Take a book and read silently with an Inner Smile for five minutes and then assess your experience. The following will be the result of your reading. 1. You enjoy reading. 2. You enjoy deeper level of concentration 3. You enjoy deeper level of relaxation. 4. You enjoy deeper level of claritycomprehension 5. You enjoy deeper level of memory. 6. You take delight in reading, an intellectual delight. When you hold an Inner Smile the brain system is totally activated and the programming is accurate, clear, clean and deep. That is what we call memory. Smile is love energy. When you read with an inner smile you are activating love energy to the book- to the subject and also to the teacher sand you enjoy the learning process. And creatively enjoy the reading, you are not tired or tensed or stressed. When a student says a particular subject is

difficult, there comes psychological block to the learning process. This psychological block is causing stress to the student. This psychological block is removed from the mind of the student by love energy,that is Inner Smile. If the students are given training to read with an Inner Smile and make their learning and reading process a meditative one, they will never be stressed when they take examinations or handle the subject they learn. People students are intelligent and brilliant. But they do not know how to use their brain .All human being who are normal have one hundred billion neurons in their brain system. If they have less than this number of neurons they have to join special school. The normal student with psychological block go through great stress in the learning process and in examinations even causing physical ailments. Therefore the simple way of helping the students to face the examination is to train them to do everything cheerfully. I am trying this method of learning in our schools in Bijnor mission. First of all the teachers are given training for couple of days. They practice the inner smile meditation and guide the students in the class room contexts. During the first period after taking the attendance students are given two minutes meditation. The efforts of students to learn and the effort of the teacher to teach become easier and happier. The students listen to the teacher cheerfully and the teacher teaches the subjects cheerfully. Thus teaching learning process becomes a delightful experience. Examination becomes a delightful experience. And the life becomes stress free. Fr. Varghese Kottoor CMI is the general formation co-ordinator of the CMI congregation. He had his special studies in spirituality and guidance in Manila. He was introduced to Indian spiritual experience at Rishikesh. He is teaching spirituality and psycho-somatic and spiritual integration in Dharmaram Vidya Ksheetram,Banglore.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

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12 golden steps to write your exam sans fear Gracy Babu Jacob

Every student has talents in different areas. Some may excel in studies, some others in arts and some may have leadership qualities. But they themselves have to find out in which area or subject they can shine.

here the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

what’s your name?” He answered in a trembling voice, “Vishnu, Ma’am” . I asked him why he was not writing the examination. He replied with tears rolling down his cheeks that he had forgotten

By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth

Then I went out. After 10 minutes when I came back I saw him answering the questions one by one. At the end of the exam I saw him leave the hall with a smile on his face and told me that he had answered quite well.

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. —Rabindranath Tagore. A nation with heroes like Tagore are our students to live a life with fear in their minds? Once when I was on duty during an SSLC examination, I observed a boy in his teens lying with his head down on the desk in the hall while others reading the question papers. Curiously I asked him, “Son,

Pallikkutam | February 2014

they are able to overcome their fears and are writing the examination with a strong mind. Like that I want you to be in your seat with a peaceful mind and keep telling yourself, “I can do it too”. Then read the questions carefully with full concentration for three times and see. If you think you can answer any question you just answer that.”

everything that he had studied, his mind had become blank and he was even scared to read the questions and write the exam properly. He pleaded with me to allow him to leave the exam hall. I kept my hand over his head and gave him a glass of water and told him to listen to me. “Vishnu, anyway you have decided that you are not writing the exam. Please do me a favour. Look at other students, they also have the same feeling and fear of the examination but still

Later during that semester I received a call from him informing me that he had passed that exam with good grades. What if I had not been able to understand him? He would have been another student who would have failed the examination because of lack of confidence and excess of stress. Later when I became the Principal of SRV, Ernakulam, I was determined to give strong tips to guide my students to overcome their stress and fear of exams. I visited every class and ensured that they prepared their own timetables listing the time they should wake up, drawing their daily routine like prayer and study time (for each subject) etc. And I made sure that

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Night-time study only helps to create disharmony within the sleep cycle. This leads to increased body fatigue, body pains and mental weakness. they followed it. The parents and class teachers were asked to sign them to make sure that their children strictly followed them up. Today I am proud to share with you readers that my students did not let me down. By the hard work of my students and teachers at SRV, the school that was considered as a cartel of dropouts achieved 100% results in last year’s SSLC exam and won for it and me (as the person responsible for it) the Pourasamithy’s Best School Award 2013 for the first time after it was started. Every student has talents in different areas. Some may excel in studies, some others in arts and some may have leadership qualities. But they themselves have to find out in which area or subject they can shine. Students, you should compete with yourselves today to become what you want to be tomorrow so that you can improve the results and be better personalities tomorrow. Setting a timetable will certainly help even the weakest of students to achieve good results in their exams.

that when the exams are actually near, you will be doing the study for the first paper. 3. Night study: Night time study is in vogue these days. Every student who promotes and practises it abides by the explanation “When the world sleeps, I can concentrate better as nobody can disturb me.” Many parents who contact me to help improve their child’s memory power feel proud of proclaiming how their children spend an entire night studying. I hate to break hearts, but this is illogical!!! I would just like to remind you. All schools in India start at 8am-9am. Hence

Remember: it will increase your cramming capacity, never your learning capacity. 2. Make a time table: Make a timetable of which subject is to be done and when, and follow it religiously. This way the work will remain systematic. Or just follow a priority timetable. You can also start studying for the last paper first, so

4. Writing speed: If you are concerned about your writing speed, practise solving a question paper of a previous year, which would give you more confidence. It will also help you in knowing what you should take care of while answering your exam paper. 5. Sleep: Most children sacrifice a lot of their sleep during exams. This leads to increased stress levels. For those who can battle the stress level, the brain uses this as positive. But for those who cannot handle it, it decreases the brain output and performance. Make sure you get a minimum of 6 hours’ continuous sleep every day. 6. The important first: Most students seem to be in some sort of race to finish the syllabus. The myth that “the more you attempt the better your result” plagues them to doom. If you go through old question papers, you will find that 70% of questions are asked from specific topics and 30% from diverse topics. It’s logical to concentrate on that 70% first as it will give you the chance to get the best marks.

Exams are around the corner. Tensions are high. Here are some simple tips that can help you perform much, much better in exams: 1. Positive stress: Stress is not always negative. In some cases it’s a great motivating force for improving performance. In a majority of students, small amounts of positive stress increase the mind’s cramming capabilities by a few hundred times. Parents and students should identify and use positive stress.

Remember: the exams are normally timed to happen in the morning. Your brain should be accustomed to such a way that during exam timings you are at the day’s peak performance levels.

Remember: When studying, always focus on the important topics first. Don’t leave them for the end.

for their entire school life, a child has woken up around 7am, and reached school by 8. And his brain has been conditioned to start functioning to process information by 9am-10am. When such a life cycle is disrupted, nighttime study only helps to create disharmony within the sleep cycle. This leads to increased body fatigue, body pains and mental weakness.

Study them properly as they will give you maximum chance to score good marks. 7. Know how to answer: While researching for this article, I asked a lot of teachers how much time they spend on an answer sheet, what they look for in a good answer and what is their mindset while checking. Most teachers said that they first look at the way an answer is written and fix their mind on how much they want to score it. They look for specific points, and

Pallikkutam | February 2014

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During the exam, if you get tensed or blank after seeing difficult questions, skip them for the time being and attempt questions which you find easier. Once you have completed them, go back to the difficult ones. In this way, you will surely be able to answer them confidently. simplicity in finding those points helps them judge an answer better. They also complain that most students feel that by filling pages and pages for a single answer, they will get better scores. It’s important that a student understands how to write a good answer for a particular subject. Ask your teachers. Tell them to show you sample answers. Remember: make it a practice to take a minute after getting the question paper. See those questions which you can answer best. Formulate a game plan, keep it simple and enact on the planned. 8. Shorthand notes: It’s a small note of paper in which only the important points are mentioned. It works as a great refresher for the mind. It’s a great help to create short notes for yourself while studying. These will help you revise a great portion of the syllabus later within minutes just before your exam. Remember: utilize them to revise, not to cheat! 9. Eat: Glucose is the fuel that drives the brain and body. Proteins are the building blocks of the brain and body. Water helps to maintain a positive circulation around the body.

In order to overcome your fears to take an exam you can adopt the following steps:

When in high stress situations, the brain and body tend to utilize glucose and proteins a hundred times more than during normal times. Drink a glass of water every hour and eat small portions of balanced diet (high on energy and protein) every 2-hourly to keep your body at peak performance. 10. Unwanted discussions: It is also important to avoid having unwanted conversations with your friends about what they have studied, how much they have studied. This will make you more tense and nervous.

running away from the exams or drastic steps like self-harm and/or suicide attempt. Note to parents: If stress is causing an emotional roller-coaster within the student, it’s important to consult your local psychiatrist and get a short-term course of non-sedative, non-addictive medications which will boost the brain and memory power along with decreasing the negative stress. It can help to avoid a lot of mishap which can be easily solved. I leave this message from Sanskrit to you: Na Raja Haryam Na Chora Haryam

11. On the exam day: If you feel very tense and anxious just before entering the examination venue, take a few deep breaths which will help you to relax. During the exam, if you get tensed or blank after seeing difficult questions, skip them for the time being and attempt questions which you find easier. Once you have completed them, go back to the difficult ones. In this way, you will surely be able to answer them confidently.

Prayana Kale Na Karothi Bharam

12. Negative stress: Just as positive stress is beneficial in increasing the cramming capacity of the brain, negative stress is detrimental in decreasing the ability to learn, decreasing the ability to write the learnt in an exam and increasing the subconscious anxiety which can lead to

May the good God bless you to achieve this wealth.

this can be done subject wise, topic wise, by grouping the easy ones with the hard

1. Eat well, small, frequent meals. 2. Sleep well and at fixed times. 3. Make an organized study schedule- list out subject-wise what you need to revise - divide that by the number of days you have left before the exam date. 4. Make a timetable for revision-which you can manage to achieve -

Veye Kritha Vardhatha Aevam Nithyam Vidya Dhanam Sarva Dhanal Pradhanam. The meaning of this message is: No king can take it forcefully from you; No thief can steal it; It weighs nothing while you travel; It expands the more you share it; Education and knowledge are the biggest wealth, my children, earn it, share it, enjoy it.

The author is former Principal of SRV Govt. Model High School,Ernakulam

5. Make sure you reach the target each day according to your schedule and reward yourself when you achieve the target set by yourself. This will boost your confidence. Solve papers over the weekend within the stipulated period as indicated on the head of the exam papers to gain confidence. Deep breathing exercises at the start and end of each session will also rejuvenate your energy levels. You should also involve yourself in outdoor activity of half an hour or an hour as it always helps.

ones, it depends on your choice.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

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AhnsS XpSßpIbmbncp∂p ]pXnb A≤ymbw. kulrZßfpsS as‰mcp s]cpag°mew. i\n, Rmb¿ Znhkßfn¬ Xncph\¥]pcw am¿Chm\ntbmkv tImtfPnemWv ¢mkpIƒ. ho≠pw ¢mkv apdn, A≤ym]I¿, A‰‚≥kv, kl]mTnIƒ ˛ D®bv°v Hcpan®ncp∂v DuWv, A≤ym]ItcmSv kwibw tNmZn°¬, AhtcmSv X¿°n°¬, ¢m v I´v sNø¬, ¢m vta‰vkpambn Idß¬, _lfw hbv°¬ ˛ F\n°nsXms° c≠maXv kz¥ambt∏mƒ kl]mTnIƒ aIs‚ {]mb°mcmbncp∂p F∂p am{Xw. Rm≥ B c≠mw hnZym¿∞n P∑w ]camh[n BkzZn°pIbmbncp∂p. (Cw•ojv) sNøpI.'' GXp Nn¥bpw ]¶phbv°p∂ kplrØp°fpsS t^mWpIfnte°v hnhcw ]m™p. ""ho≠pw hnZym¿∞nbmIpI'' F√mh¿°pw {Xn¬ Bbn. Imcyh´sØ C≥Ãn‰yq´v Hm^v UnÃ‚ v FUypt°j\nse Fw.F ¢mkn¬ tNcmsa∂ _nμp ]∏s‚ (sImSpß√qcnse Fw.C.Fkv kvIqƒ {]n≥kn∏emWv _nμp.) \n¿t±iw kzoIcn®p. _nμp Imcyh´Øv \n∂v Fw.FbpsS t^mapIƒ hmßns°m≠v h∂p. At]£bvs°m∏w sImSp°m\p≈Xv Un{Kn k¿ń^n°‰pw Snknbpw. Im¬ \q‰m≠n\nSbn¬ \S∂ FÆan√mØ hoSv am‰ßƒ°nSbn¬ Ahsbms° \„s∏´p Ign™ncp∂p. Un{Kn k¿ń^n°‰v ]pXpXmbn In´m≥ ]gb tImtfPn¬ t]mbn ^bepIƒ X∏nsbSpØv Nne t]∏dpIƒ t\m´dnsbsIm≠v A‰Ãv sNøn°Ww. CØcw \qemameIfneqsS IS∂pt]mIm≥ aSnbp≈ Fs‚ kz`mhw Adnbp∂ Iq´pImcn kpan hna≥kv tImtfPnepw t\m´dnbpsS Hmôknepw bqWnthgvkn‰n Hmôknepsams° Ibdnbndßn, Un{Kn k¿ń^n°‰v sdUnbm°n. ASpØ ISº Imcyh´sØ tP¿Wenkw Un∏m¿´psa‚n¬ Pallikkutam | February 2014

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COVER STORY

a°ƒ Zqsc t]mIptºmƒ ASpsØØp∂ HmtcmcpØcnepw \n∂v kvt\lw kzoIcn°m\pw, sImSp°m\pw Ignbpsa¶n¬ PohnXw \ncmibnepw hnckXbnepsam∂pw hoWv \c®v t]mIns√∂pw tXm∂n. kl]mTnIƒ aIs‚ {]mb°mcmbncp∂p F∂p am{Xw. Rm≥ B c≠mw hnZym¿∞n P∑w ]camh[n BkzZn°pIbmbncp∂p. PohnXw buΔ\`wKnItfmsS aSßn FØpIbmbncp∂p, ]pXnb Nn¥IfpsS, ]pXnb at\m`mhßfpsS, \ne]mSpIfpsS F√mØnepap]cn ]pXnb Du¿÷Øns‚ km∂n≤yw F∂n¬ \n∂v \o≠v \o≠ h¿jßfpsS I´n]nSn®p InS∂ncp∂ hnckXsb FSpØp am‰pIbmbncp∂p. ho≠pw Rms\s‚ buΔ\Ønte°v aSßn. Fs‚ kl]mTnIƒ Fs∂ Ah¿s°m∏tam AXnepw Ipdt®m am{Xw {]mbap≈ Hcmfmbn am{Xw IcpXn XamiIƒ ]d™v A[nImc`mhtØmsS am{Xw s]cpamdn. Ah¿°v Rms\mcn°epw ZqcZ¿i≥ \yqkv FUn‰¿ Bbncp∂n√, H∏w ]Tn°p∂, Hcp]mSv ASn®p s]mfn°m\pw B\μn°m\pw Ignbp∂ Hcp kl]mTn

am{Xambncp∂p, G‰hpw B\μtØmsS, Dt∑jtØmsS Rm\hcpsS Iq´pImcnbmbn. Fs‚ samss_¬ C≥t_mIvkn¬ tImtfPv ]nt≈¿ At\ym\yw Ab°p∂ t^m¿thUv satkPpIƒ h∂p \ndbptºmƒ BZysams° Rm≥ h√msXbmbn. Sn‚ptam\pw, ]rYzncmP∏\pw a‰v XamiIfpw ]Xps° ]Xps° Rm\pw BkzZn®p XpSßn. Fs‚ PohnXw s]s´∂v \ndßƒ sIm≠v \nd™p. Rm≥ Xs∂ AdnbmsX Rms\mcp tImtfPv Ip´nbmbn. kl]mTnIƒ Fs‚ Xnc°pIfdn™v F\n°v th≠sXms° sNbvXp X∂p. ]co£m ^okSbv°m≥, Assk≥sa‚pIƒ sImSp°m≥, ]Tn°m\p≈ ]pkvXIßƒ sse{_dnbn¬ \ns∂Sp°m≥, t\m´pIƒ t^mt´mÃms‰Sp°m≥ F¥n\pw GXn\pw ]≠v tImtfPn¬ ]Tn®s∏msg∂t]mse XpWbmbn kl]mTnIƒ. Ah¿ hnfn®v At\zjn°pw. ""]Tn°p∂pt≠m?''

{`m¥p]nSn°p∂ HutZymKnIØnc°pIƒ Ign™v cmthsd sN√pthmfw Ccp∂v ]Tn®p sImt≠bncp∂p, Ahsc t]Sn®v. ]co£bSpØp. Rm≥ Imcyambn ]Tn®nńs√∂v Ah¿°v a\ nembn°mWWw ˛ Iºbn≥Uv ÃUn°mbn Ah¿ Fs‚ hoń¬ hcm≥ XpSßn. hoń¬ a‰p≈h¿ D≈t∏mƒ sSd nepw, A√mØt∏mƒ hoSn\p≈nepambn ]T\w. ASp°fbn¬ Rm≥ ]mNIØnc°pIfn¬ s]Sptºmƒ Znhybpw \nXp-\bpw Fs‚m∏w h∂v \n∂v tNmtZymØcßƒ hmbn®p X∂psImt≠bncp∂p. ho´ptPmenIƒ ]¶n´v ]et∏mgpw Ahsc\n°v ]Tn°m≥ kabsamcp°n. ]ecpw `£Ww F\n°v IqSn sIm≠phcm≥ XpSßn. \m´pºpdØv \n∂v hcp∂h¿ Cet®mdp s]mXnIƒ sIm≠p hcptºmƒ KrlmXpcXztØmsS hánńcp∂v Rßƒ Ign®p. tImtfPv PohnXØns‚ ssNX\ysams°

Pallikkutam | February 2014

COVER STORY

Rm≥ Hm¿°pIbmbncp∂p, F\n°v Ch¿ Iq´pIm¿ am{Xa√, kz¥w a°fpw IqSnbmWt√m F∂v. kvt\lw IpSpw_ _‘ßfn¬ am{XsamXpt°≠X√ F∂ kXyw ]t≠ a\ nembn´p≈XmWv. sImSpØmepw sImSpØmepw Ddh h‰mØ A£bL\nbmWv Hmtcm a\pjys‚ D≈nepap≈ kvt\lsa∂pw. ho≠pw A\p`hn® Znhkßƒ. A∏phn√mØ iq\yXbnte°v Ahs‚ {]mb°m¿ \nd® kPohX. AhntS°v IrjvWbpw h∂p tN¿∂p. A∏phns\m∏w {]mbap≈ IrjvW Imcyh´Øv ]{X{]h¿Ø\ hnZym¿∞nbmWv. Ahsf\n°v `£Wap≠m°nØ∂pw, Fs‚ Imcyßƒ At\zjn®pw ]et∏mgpw AΩbmbn. ]Tn°mØt∏mƒ NoØ ]d™v apXn¿∂ tN®nbmbn. A¿≤cm{Xn hsc Fs‚m∏w Ccp∂v ]Tn® Imcyßƒ Bh¿Øn∏n®v Fs‚ A≤ym]nIbmbn. ]ns∂ kvt\lw sIm≠v Fs∂ \nd®v Fs‚ aIfpambn.

kl]mTnIƒ IÆpcp´n. ""an≠nt∏mIcpXv. Bcp ]d™p hb msb∂v. Rßsf°mƒ sNdp∏amsW∂v Rßƒ°dnbmw. acymZbv°v apgph≥ kabhpw Ccp∂v ]co£ FgpXnt°mfq'' Ah¿ X∂ ss[cyØn¬ Rms\gpXn. F´p t]∏dpIƒ FgpXn°gn™v ]co£ Xo¿∂ Znhkw Rßƒ

]co£bv°v c≠v Znhkw apºv ZqcZ¿i\n¬ \n∂v eohv A\phZn®p. ]n∂oSp≈ aq∂mgvN°mew ]co£m°mew, ]T\Imew, D’hImew. Imcyh´tØ°p≈ _kv {ioImcyØv {Sm^nIv tªm°n¬ Ipcpßptºmƒ \nXp\ ]co£m lmfn¬ \n∂v {`m¥v ]nSn®Xpt]mse hnfn®psImt≠bncp∂p. Rm\hsf Bizkn∏n®p. ""Rm\o ]co£ FgpXnbnt√epw Ipg∏sam∂pan√t√m. Aev]w sshInbm¬ Xs∂ F¥m?'' \nXp\bv°v AsXm∂pw kzoImcya√mbncp∂p. ""F{Xbpw s]s´∂v hcq, ]co£ Ct∏mƒ XpSßpw.'' BZy ]co£ Znhkw Rms\m∂ºc∂p. ""Cu {]mbØn¬ 3 aWn°q¿ IpØnbncp∂v Rms\gpXptam?, ]Tn®Xv h√Xpw Hm¿°ptam?'' Pallikkutam | February 2014

ASn®vs]mfn®v BÀmZn®p. \nXp\bpsS Imdn¬ D’htafw. CXn\nsS Fs¥ms° kw`hßƒ. ]co£bv°v c≠v amkw apºmbncp∂p Pkv\bpsS IeymWw. IeymWw Ign™m¬ "]Tn°m≥ hnSn√' F∂v t]Sn®v Ahƒ Ic™psImt≠bncp∂p. F√mhcpw Ahsf Bizkn∏n®p, {]m¿∞n®p. F∂n´v IeymWw Ign™hƒ h∂t∏mƒ Bizkn®p˛ AhfpsS ]pømπ ]¿± Ducn∏n®v `wKnbp≈ NpcoZmsdms° CSo®v ]Tn°m≥ ]pkvXIßsfms° hmßns°mSpØv Hmtcm Znhkhpw "Iºbn≥Uv ÃUn'°v Ahsf sIm≠m°n. Pkv\bpsS A∂sØ Nncn ˛ kz¥w hy‡nXzw Xncns®SpØ BizmkØns‚ Nncnbmbncp∂p AXv.

]©mbØv {]kn-U‚mbncp∂ KoXbpsS IeymWhpw, APnXbpsS {]khhpw ]TnØØnc°n\nSbn¬ Xs∂bmbncp∂p. ZnhybpsS {]Wb kwL¿jßƒ ]TnØØn\v hnLmXamhp∂p F∂v I≠t∏mƒ Rm\hfpsS samss_¬ ]nSn®p hmßn Hfn∏n®v h®p. Aßs\sbms° FgpXnb ]co£bpsS ^eamWv h∂ncn°p∂Xv. C∂se Fs‚ t^mWn\v hn{iaap≠mbn√, HmtcmcpØcmbn hnfn®v ]co£^e hnhcßƒ ]¶p hbv°pIbmbncp∂p, c≠mw h¿j ]co£bv°v ]Tn°m\p≈Xns\°pdn®v Hm¿Ωn∏n°pIbmbncp∂p. Rm≥ Hm¿°pIbmbncp∂p, F\n°v Ch¿ Iq´pIm¿ am{Xa√, kz¥w a°fpw IqSnbmWt√m F∂v. kvt\lw IpSpw_ _‘ßfn¬ am{XsamXpt°≠X√ F∂ kXyw ]t≠ a\ nembn´p≈XmWv. sImSpØmepw sImSpØmepw Ddh h‰mØ A£bL\nbmWv Hmtcm a\pjys‚ D≈nepap≈ kvt\lsa∂pw. a°ƒ Zqsc t]mIptºmƒ ASpsØØp∂ HmtcmcpØcnepw \n∂v kvt\lw kzoIcn°m\pw, sImSp°m\pw Ignbpsa¶n¬ PohnXw \ncmibnepw hnckXbnepsam∂pw hoWv \c®v t]mIns√∂pw tXm∂n.

]{X-{]-h¿Ø-Ibpw Fgp-Øp-Im-cn-bp-amWv sI.F _o\.

BOOK SHELF

Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a story of redemption and liberation through suffering – an extreme form of suffering generated by the protagonist’s destructive thoughts. Through an at-times comical, at other times heart-wrenching novel Dostoyevsky explores the human soul’s susceptibility to sin and regret (not to be confused with repentance) and the unfortunate, if extreme, consequences that result from accepting prideful thoughts.

rime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished exstudent in St. Petersburg who formulates and executes a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her cash Crime and Punishment is the most appreciated classiacal novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume. It is the second of Dostoyevsky’s full-length novels following his return from ten years of exile in Siberia. Crime and Punishment is the first great novel of his “mature” period of writing.

to stumble upon the scene of the crime. Shaken by his actions, Raskolnikov manages to steal only a handful of items and a small purse, leaving much of the pawn-broker’s wealth untouched. Raskolnikov then flees and, due to a series of coincidences, manages to leave unseen and undetected.

Summery: Raskolnikov, a conflicted former student, lives in a tiny, rented room in Saint Petersburg. He refuses all help, even from his friend Razumikhin, and devises a plan to murder and to rob an unpleasant elderly pawn-broker and money-lender, Alyona Ivanovna. His motivation comes from the overwhelming sense that he is predetermined to kill the old woman by some power outside of himself. While still considering the plan, Raskolnikov makes the acquaintance of Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov, a drunkard who recently squandered his family’s little wealth. He also receives a letter from his sister and mother, speaking of their coming visit to Saint Petersburg, and his sister’s sudden marriage plans which they plan to discuss upon their arrival. After much deliberation, Raskolnikov sneaks into Alyona Ivanovna’s apartment, where he murders her with an axe. He also kills her half-sister, Lizaveta, who happens

After the bungled murder, Raskolnikov falls into a feverish state and begins to worry obsessively over the murder. He hides the stolen items and purse under a rock, and tries desperately to clean his clothing of any blood or evidence. He falls into a fever later that day, though not before calling briefly on his old friend Razumikhin. As the fever comes and goes in the following days, Raskolnikov

behaves as though he wishes to betray himself. He shows strange reactions to whoever mentions the murder of the pawn-broker, which is now known about and talked of in the city. In his delirium, Raskolnikov wanders Saint Petersburg, drawing more and more attention to himself and his relation to the crime. In one of his walks through the city, he sees Marmeladov, who has been struck mortally by a carriage in the streets. Rushing to help him, Raskolnikov gives the remainder of his money to the man’s family, which includes his teenage daughter, Sonya, who has been forced to become a prostitute to support her family. In the meantime, Raskolnikov’s mother, Pulkheria Alexandrovna, and his sister, Avdotya Romanovna (or Dounia) have arrived in the city. Avdotya had been working as a governess for the Svidrigaïlov family until this point, but was forced out of the position by the head of the family, Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigaïlov. Svidrigaïlov, a married man, was attracted to Avdotya’s physical beauty and her feminine qualities, and offered her riches and elopement. Avdotya, having none of this, fled the family and lost her source of income, only to meet Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin, a man of modest income and rank. Luzhin proposes to marry Avdotya, thereby securing her and her mother’s financial safety, provided she accept him quickly and without question. It is for these very reasons that the two of them come to Saint Petersburg, both to meet Luzhin there and to obtain Raskolnikov’s approval. Luzhin, however, calls on Raskolnikov while he is in a delirious state and presents himself as a foolish, selfrighteous and presuming man. Raskolnikov dismisses him immediately as a potential

Pallikkutam | February 2014

BOOK SHELF

As the novel progresses, Raskolnikov is introduced to the detective Porfiry, who begins to suspect him for the murder purely on psychological grounds. husband for his sister, and realizes that she only accepted him to help her family. As the novel progresses, Raskolnikov is introduced to the detective Porfiry, who begins to suspect him for the murder purely on psychological grounds. At the same time, a chaste relationship develops between Raskolnikov and Sonya. Sonya, though a prostitute, is full of Christian virtue and is only driven into the profession by her family’s poverty. Meanwhile, Razumikhin and Raskolnikov manage to keep Avdotya from continuing her relationship with Luzhin, whose true character is exposed to be conniving and base. At this point, Svidrigaïlov appears on the scene, having come from the province to Petersburg, almost solely to seek out Avdotya. He reveals that his wife is dead, and that he is willing to pay Avdotya a vast sum of money in exchange for nothing. She, upon hearing the news, refuses flat out, suspecting him of treachery. As Raskolnikov and Porfiry continue to meet, Raskolnikov’s motives for the crime become exposed. Porfiry becomes increasingly certain of the man’s guilt, but has no concrete evidence or witnesses with which to back up this suspicion. Furthermore, another man admits to committing the crime under questioning and arrest. However, Raskolnikov’s nerves continue to wear thin, and he is constantly struggling with the idea of confessing, though he knows that he can never be truly convicted. He turns to Sonya for support and confesses his crime to her. By coincidence, Svidrigaïlov has taken up residence in a room next to Sonya’s and overhears the entire confession. When the two men meet face to face, Svidrigaïlov acknowledges this fact, and suggests that he may use it against him, should he need to. Svidrigaïlov also speaks of his own past, and Raskolnikov grows to suspect that the rumors about his having committed several murders are true. In a later conversation with Dounia, Svidrigaïlov denies that he had a hand in the death of his wife. Raskolnikov is at this point completely torn; he is urged by Sonya to confess, and

Pallikkutam | February 2014

Svidrigaïlov’s testimony could potentially convict him. Furthermore, Porfiry confronts Raskolnikov with his suspicions and assures him confession would substantially lighten his sentence. Meantime, Svidrigaïlov attempts to seduce Avdotya, but when he realizes that she will never love him, he lets her go. He then spends a night in confusion and in the

and Punishment in the summer of 1865, having gambled away much of his fortune, unable to pay his bills or afford proper meals. At the time the author owed large sums of money to creditors, and was trying to help the family of his brother Mikhail, who had died in early 1864. Projected under the title The Drunkards, it was to deal “with the present question of drunkness ... all its ramifications, especially the picture of a family and the bringing up of children in these circumstance, etc., etc.” Once Dostoyevsky conceived Raskolnikov and his crime, now inspired by the case of Pierre François Lacenaire, this theme became ancillary, centering on the story of the Marmeladov family. Dostoyevsky had to race against time, in order to finish on time both The Gambler and Crime and Punishment. Anna Snitkina, a stenographer who would soon become his second wife, was a great help for Dostoyevsky during this difficult task. The first part of Crime and Punishment appeared in the January 1866 issue of The Russian Messenger, and the last one was published in December 1866.

In the complete edition of Dostoyevsky’s writings published in the Soviet Union, the morning shoots himself. This same editors reassembled and printed the morning, Raskolnikov goes again to Sonya, notebooks that the writer kept while who again urges him to confess and to clear working on Crime and Punishment, in a his conscience. He makes his way to the sequence roughly corresponding to the police station, where he is met by the various stages of composition. Because of news of Svidrigaïlov’s suicide. He hesitates these labors, there is now a fragmentary a moment, thinking again that he might get working draft of the story, or novella, as away with a perfect crime, but is initially conceived, as well as two other persuaded by Sonya to confess. versions of the text. These have been distinguished as the Wiesbaden edition, the The epilogue tells of how Raskolnikov is Petersburg edition, and the final plan, sentenced to eight years of penal servitude involving the shift from a first-person in Siberia, where Sonya follows him. narrator to the indigenous variety of thirdAvdotya and Razumikhin marry and are person form invented by Dostoyevsky. left in a happy position by the end of the The Wiesbaden edition concentrates novel, while Pulkheria, Raskolnikov’s entirely on the moral/physic reactions of mother, falls ill and dies, unable to cope the narrator after the murder. It coincides with her son’s situation. Raskolnikov roughly with the story that Dostoyevsky himself struggles in Siberia. It is only after described in his letter to Katkov, and some time in prison that his redemption written in a form of a diary or journal, and moral regeneration begin under Sonya’s corresponds to what eventually became loving influence. part II. Dostoyevsky conceived the idea of Crime

STUDENTS’ CLUB CURRENT AFFAIRS

No Indian institutions among the world top 10 list: QS Ranking India and South Africa are the only two countries from which none of the varstiess have been able to get among the top 10.

here is sharp contrast between Indian and Chinese achievement in higher education. Despite being marginally smaller in population, India has only 16 institutions listed here, less than half Chinas haul, says Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) in its recent rankings, “QS University Rankings: BRICS”of universities in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS). While India has world-class institutions in science and technology, its comprehensive universities are not as strong in an international context. Five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)

Allahabad 92, University of Pune at 94th. have been ranked among the top 20 universities in the QS University Rankings For the first time, Manipal University has broken into the international rankings of, ranking of universities in BRICS. taking the 100th spot. India has 16 universities among the top Top 10 universities are Tsinghua 100 varsities in the BRICS nations, IITUniversity China (1st), followed by Delhi has been ranked 13th followed by Peking University China (2nd) followed IIT-Mumbai (15), IIT-Madras (16), IITKanpur (17) and IIT-Kharagpur (18), IIT- by Lomonosov Moscow State University Russia, fourth and fifth position has been Rourkee (34) and IIT-Guwahati (51). bagged by Fudan University from China Among universities, University of Calcutta Nanjing University China and Shanghai has been ranked 52nd followed by Jiao Tong University China is at sixth. University of Delhi at 53, University of University of Science and Technology of Mumbai is ranked 62, University of China is at seventh position and Hyderabad 64, University of Madras 70, Universidade de So Paulo (USP) Brazil is Benaras Hindu University 85, IIT-

IIT-Delhi has been ranked 13th of the best universities. 44

Pallikkutam | February 2014

STUDENTSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; CLUB CURRENT AFFAIRS

India has world-class institutions in science and technology, its comprehensive universities are not as strong in an international context. at eighth followed by Zhejiang University China and Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) (10th). India and South Africa are the only two countries from which none of the varstiess have been able to get among the top 10, the University of Cape Town and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi are ranked 11th and 13th respectively. Chinese universities have dominated the table with 40 universities figuring among top 100, Russia has 19 of its universities in the top 100, Brazil 17, India 16 and South Africa 8 in the list. The QS World University Rankings is made up of six indicators: academic

reputation (40%), employer reputation (10%), faculty student ratio (20%), citations per faculty (20%), international students (5%) and international faculty (5%). As per QS, this year, 62,094 academic and 27,957 employer responses contributed towards the results, making both surveys the largest of their kind in the world. Zoya Zaitseva, project director for QS University Rankings says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;BRICS countries are focussing on developing world-class universities as a strategic priority to sustain the growth of their economies by producing innovation, cutting- edge research and highly qualified and employable graduates. This first

ranking reflects the relative strengths of each of these ambitious nations while also highlighting the potential for growth.â&#x20AC;? As per QS, it has developed the new ranking in collaboration with Russian news agency Interfax, and is based on a methodology developed in consultation with a range of key stakeholders and higher education experts across the BRICS countries. The new rankings is to highlight the strengths and achievements of higher education systems in these five major emerging economies, and to facilitate direct comparison of universities in these nations.

Tsinghua University China is in No.1 spot in Top 10 universities. Pallikkutam | February 2014

INNOVATION

Foldable mobile Neanderthal lineage identified in modern human genome phones to be a purely computational analysis of in the absence of fossilized remains. Such reality Awhole-genome sequencing data from ancient sequence could be equivalently

niversity of Houston researchers have developed a new stretchable and transparent electrical conductor, bringing fully foldable cell phone or a portable flat-screen closer to reality. Portable electronic devices have been researched for long years. But a material that is both transparent and has both sufficient flexibility and conductivity was elusive. The combination of transparency, flexibility and conductivity were never achieved. In the current study, reported in Nature Communications, suggest gold nano-mesh electrodes that provide good electrical conductivity as well as transparency and

665 people from Europe and East Asia reveals that 20% of the Neanderthal genome survives in their DNA. The finding is expected to trigger a search for Neanderthal lineage surviving in presentday human populations, it is believed. The research to this effect was carried out by the scientists of University of Washington and is reported in the Science Express.

Scientists compared the suspected Neanderthal sequences with the recently mapped Neanderthal genome obtained from DNA received from bone preserved in the Max Plank Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. The results suggest that DNA sequences might be obtained from extinct groups even

flexibility as a solution. The study reports of gold nano-mesh electrodes, produced by the novel grain boundary lithography, increase resistance only slightly, even at a strain of 160 percent, or after 1,000 cycles at a strain of 50 percent. And unlike silver or copper, gold nano-mesh does not easily oxidize, which causes a sharp drop in electrical conductivity in silver and copper nanowires. There is already a boom in the portable electronics. Korean electronics maker Samsung demonstrated a cell phone with a bendable screen in October; LG Electronics has introduced a curved cell phone. The discovery of gold nano-mesh technology is all set to boost this advancement.

collected from those individuals, who might have inherited it and characterize previously unknown archaic humans.

Neanderthals became extinct about 30,000 years ago. It is believed that Neanderthal DNA was passed along generations through mixing of DNAs. In a proposed model, this mixing of DNA could have occurred both before and after the evolutionary divergence of non-African modern humans from a common ancestral population. This “fossil free” method of sequencing archaic genomes holds promise in revealing aspects of the evolution of now-extinct archaic humans and their characteristic population genetics. It also might provide insights into how interbreeding influenced current patterns of human diversity.

Glass made non-fragile by bio-mimicking

niversity of McGill reports invention of a glass which is far less brittle than the normal glass. Instead of breaking it will just bend and get slightly deformed on falling upon a rigid surface. The inspiration for this innovation derives from the mechanics of natural structures like seashells. Mollusk shells are made up of about 95% chalk, which is extremely brittle in its pure form. Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, which coats the inner shells, is made of microscopic tablets that are a bit like miniature building blocks, which is known to be extremely strong and tough.

Prof. François Barthelat and team of McGill studied internal “weak” boundaries or edges found in materials like nacre. Then they used laser to engrave similar networks of 3D micro-cracks in glass. It worked. The toughness of the new glass was 200 times more compared to the nongraved slides. By engraving networks of micro-cracks, they could stop the cracks from propagating and becoming larger. Mimicking the natural world has always proven to be a sure method of improving man-made designs.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

INNOVATION

Building designs influence their bacteria content

he recent issue of PLOS ONE reports that the bacterial content of the living space depends on their architectural design. A team of biologists and architects noted that proteobacteria, fermicutes and deinococci dominate the living spaces. However, the biogeography of microbial communities indoors depends on architectural choices. The study is a part of the efforts due to the Biology and the Built Environment (BioBE) Center of University of Oregon to explore the microbiome of the indoor world, where people spend the majority of their time. Microbiome refers to the total makeup of microorganisms and their collective genetic material found in or on human body or in another environment. The team made their studies on the Lillis Business Complex at University of Oregon with LEED silver certification for its sustainable features. The microbes were collected from 155 of its rooms using specially filtered vacuum cleaners which collected dust from offices,

classrooms, hallways, bathrooms and storage closets to develop a microbial snapshot of the building. The team analyzed DNA from more than 30,000 different types of bacteria throughout the Complex. They observe that what people do in the room, how many people there are in a room and how many different people are in the room all make big difference in the microbiome of the room. The researchers found that soil- and plantassociated bacteria were most common in unoccupied spaces, such as mechanical rooms and storage closets. Different human-gut-associated bacteria, including lactobacillus, staphylococcus and clostridium, were common in bathroom dust. Deinococcus, whose members are known for their resilience when exposed to radiation and dry conditions and hanging out in harsh conditions, were odds in the group. They were found in all rooms, but more abundant in mechanically ventilated — versus naturally ventilated — rooms.

Microwires: the GPS for mobile phones

he journal Physica B: Condensed Matter reports a study which reveals the surface magnetic behaviour of glasscoated microwires, which could be used for use as high sensitivity sensors, in mobile phones, for example. Microwires were formerly used by the Soviet Union for military purposes. They essentially have a metal core and a crystal skin, in other words, they have a glass coating. The core of the microwire consists of a ferromagnetic alloy, which varies according to the metals used in the alloy and the final geometry of the wire. Their magnetic properties and small size make them important materials in electronics. Microwires can be used as sensors in the electronic compasses of mobile phones. It allows the position of the mobile phone owner to be determined in space just as if the device were a GPS. Devises are been developed by the Japanese company Aichi and are currently used in automotive industry and in traffic surveillance vehicles. The research in this regard has been underway for last 25 years.

Fighting flood in natural way

loods are one of the biggest problems faced by places lying near sea level, countries like UK. A cost effective and natural way to slow river flow and reduce flooding has been suggested by a study conducted by Newcastle University in partnership with the Environment Agency and published in the academic journal Science of the Total Environment. They suggest methods of capturing flow upstream to prevent floods downstream where they are likely to have a greater impact on infrastructure and homes. The research team suggests that by changing and hindering the natural flow pathways within a small catchment system, it is possible to manage the amount of run-off from the land. This

Pallikkutam | February 2014

reduces the risk of flooding in low-lying areas and also cuts down on pollution by preventing phosphorous and nitrates from being washed off the land. The method

suggested involves disconnecting fast-flow pathways and adding storage to arrest flooding into the towns.

Natural Flood Management aims to reduce the downstream maximum water height of a flood – the peak – or delay the arrival of the flood peak downstream, increasing the time available to prepare. This target is achieved through four means: 1) Storing water such as ponds, ditches and field attenuation bunds, 2) Increasing soil infiltration through the creation of ‘infiltration zones’ to help water get into the soil at certain locations, for example tree belts, 3) Slowing water by increasing resistance to its flow, for example planting in the floodplain or riverside woodland and 4) Redirecting the water by channelling it away from the main flow into temporary water storage areas or buffer zones to hold the water back until the flood peak drops .

INNOVATION

What does a fast eye movement betray?

esearchers from Johns Hopkins University report evidence that people who are less patient tend to move their eyes with greater speed. According to them, the natural expression of passage of time like eye movements may be a trait consistently used in their brains, which could influence speed with which they make movements, as well as the way they make certain decisions. The results are published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The study also notes that a better understanding of how the human brain evaluates time when making decisions might also shed light on why malfunctions in certain areas of the brain make decisionmaking harder. This is especially the case with those with neurological disorders like schizophrenia, or for those who have experienced brain injuries.

very simple eye movements, known as saccades. Saccades are the motions that our eyes make as we focus on one thing and then other. They are probably the fastest movements of human body. Usually human saccades are at their fastest during teenage and slows down as we age. In principle, the speed at which people move could be reflection of the way the brain calculates the passage of time to reduce the value of a reward. Based on a computerbased evaluation of saccades, the team concludes that saccades are rather a personal trait, which varies from person to person. The researchers also identified a strong correlation between saccade speed and impulsivity in decision-making. This suggested that people who make quick movements, especially quick eye movement, tend to be less willing to wait.

This indicates that there may be a fundamental link between the way the nervous system evaluates time and reward The basic question the research team in controlling movements and in making confronted is why some people are willing decisions. to wait and others aren’t. They studied

Better rechargeable batteries

urpreet Singh of Kansas State University and his team have demonstrated that a composite paper made of interleaved molybdenum disulfide and graphene nanosheets can efficiently store sodium atoms. It functions as a flexible current collector and can be used as a negative electrode in sodium-ion batteries. As different from usual negative electrodes of sodium-ion batteries, molybdenum disulfide paper does not undergo an “alloying reaction with sodium”, which results in swelling of batteries to about 500% resulting in mechanical damage and loss of electrical contact with the current collector. The paper electrode offers a new kind of chemistry with sodium ions without the above-mentioned swelling effect. It offers a stable charge capacity of 230 mAh/g with respect to total electrode weight. The interleaved and porous structure of the paper electrode also offers smooth channels for sodium to diffuse in and out as the cell is charged and discharged quickly. This effect allows one to eliminate the polymeric binders and copper current collector foil used in traditional battery electrode.

Computer-aided control of molecular factories of cells

iotechnologists take advantage of the cell metabolism to produce pharmaceuticals and bio-fuels by “overexpressing” certain genes in the cell. Due to “over-expression” greater-than-normal amounts of proteins are produced boosting specific metabolic pathways in the cell, thus increasing production of desired compound. However, this metabolic engineering could be radically affected by the genes that become toxic to the cell due to such over-expression. Tel Aviv University’s Blavatnik School of Computer Science and Department of Molecular Microbiology and

Biotechnology, along with researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, have developed a computer algorithm that predicts which metabolic genes are lethal to cells when over-expressed. The results of their research are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. This finding is supposed to aid metabolic engineering to produce new chemicals in more cost-effective ways. The newly developed algorithm is named Expression Dependent Gene Effects (EDGE). It predicts what happens if scientists manipulate cells to over-express certain genes.

The research appears in the latest issue of the journal ACS-NANO. The researchers are working to commercialize the technology, with assistance from the university’s Institute of Commercialization. They also are exploring lithium and sodium storage in other nano-materials.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

INNOVATION

Inspired by the “Chameleon of the sea”

uttlefish, which is also known as the “Chameleon of the sea” is all set to offer clues for bio-inspired human camouflage and color-changing products.

entire visible spectrum; the iridophore, a reflector comprising a stack of thin films; and the chromatophore. This layering enables the skin of the animal to selectively

Role of Big Data in improving decision making

hat helps better decision making: overwhelming flood of information or small amount of selected information? Most of us are happy with a few number of relevant information to optimize decision making process. However, according to a study published in the journal, Big Data, for certain types of predictive models to guide decision making, there is no such a thing as too much data. The New York University researchers have proven that certain telling behaviours may not be observed in sufficient numbers without massive data.

Scientists at Harvard University and the Marine Biology Laboratory (MBL) have derived a better understanding of nanoscale photonic device that equips cuttlefish to dynamically change its colour. The research could for example, do good to soldiers in the battlefield with improved protective camouflage. The results are published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. The cuttlefish is a cephalopod, like squids and octopus. They can rapidly alter both the colour and the pattern of its skin, helping it blend in with its surroundings in an attempt to avoid predators. The challenge is to reverseengineer this system in a cost-efficient, synthetic system that in amenable to mass production. The technology could also find applications in the materials for paints, cosmetics, and consumer electronics. It is discovered that neurally –controlled, pigmented organs called chromatophores allow cuttlefish to change its appearance in response to the visual clues. To regulate its colour, the cuttlefish relies on a on a vertically arranged assembly of three optical components: the leucophore, a near-perfect light scatterer that reflects light uniformly over the

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absorb or reflect light of different colours. This is, in fact a much more complex system than earlier thought. Quest for invisible suit exists throughout history. Nature has solved that problem. Now it is up to us to replicate this genius, so that we could also avoid predators.

However, sweeping assumptions like “bigger is better” can be also dangerous. On using certain type of data called finegrained data, such as observing an individual’s behaviour in a certain setting, big data is invariably useful. The power of any analytic tool is in using it appropriately.

To reward is the better policy when it comes to enhance cooperation

research study by University of Vienna throws light into the promotion of cooperation among humans, in the light of the Darwinian principle of natural selection. Rewards and punishments are ones of the most commonly used tools to shape human behaviours. Earlier studies in evolutionary game theory focused very much on punishment as a means to shape behaviours. However, according to the new result, punishing is more costly for its initiator than rewarding. Thus the evolution of cooperation by punishment often needs support from other mechanisms.

Can we achieve cooperation without heavily relying on punishment, which can potentially lead to decreasing openness and escalating conflicts among groups? It is not only possible, but is the right policy, asserts the new research study. One may resort to an evolutionary perspective towards rewards. Thus, it may be ideal for an official subsidy, to include its own expiration conditions. Similarly, the new study recommends abolishing of the reward system in a systematic manner, with achievement of a sufficient fraction of co-operators.

HEALTH WATCH

What to eat before an exam ? Nutrition tips to support your brain during tests Avoid foods high in sugar, such as chocolates, desserts, and candies. They will send you off on sugar highs and lows — the opposite of stabilizing you during your long exam.

id you know that what you eat and drink can affect your exam performance? What is the best diet to follow on exam day? A long exam is like a mental marathon in which endurance is critical. Nutritionists emphasize the importance of healthy eating habits at this stressful time. They say the right food and drink can energize your system, improve your alertness and sustain you through the long exam hours. The wrong dietary choices can make you feel sluggish, jittery, or burned out. The following nutrition tips will help you perform at your best on exam day. 1. Make sure to eat Even if you normally skip breakfast or avoid eating when you are nervous, you should still make the time to eat something. Very simply, your brain needs the energy from food to work efficiently. You need to keep your mental focus on your exam and not on your hunger. It would be a shame to study intensively before your exam and then be too fatigued physically to do your best on exam day. If

you really cannot stomach food, then try having a protein shake or smoothie. 2. Eat brain-boosting food. This includes protein-rich foods which can lead to greater mental alertness. Healthy food choices on exam day include eggs, nuts, yogurt, and cottage cheese. Good breakfast combinations might be whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk, eggs and toast with jam, porridge, oatmeal, or sugar-free muesli.

flour, such as cookies, cakes, and muffins, which require added time and energy to digest. Also avoid foods that are high in refined sugar, such as chocolates, desserts, and candies. When eaten alone, carbohydrates make you feel more relaxed than alert. So carbs are a good option for the day before the exam, but not on the actual exam day. In addition, carbs such as rice or potatoes, eaten in large quantities, can make you feel heavy and sleepy.

Other dietary choices considered to be brain foods are fish, walnuts, blueberries, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, dried fruits, figs, Avoid foods high in sugar, such as chocolates, desserts, and candies. They and prunes. will send you off on sugar highs and lows Although unproven, many consider fruit to — the opposite of stabilizing you during provide excellent brain fuel, which can help your long exam. you think faster and remember more easily. 4. Drink brain boosting beverages. You could eat cantaloupes, oranges, Make sure you drink enough water before strawberries, blueberries, or bananas, and during your exam. Tea also works, which are especially popular. though without a lot of sugar. Dehydration In terms of vegetables, raw carrots, bell can make you lose your concentration, feel peppers, Brussels sprouts, spinach, faint, and sap your energy. Don’t wait till broccoli, and asparagus are good choices. you’re thirsty to drink a glass of water. If you wait till you’re thirsty, it means your 3. Avoid brain blocking foods. On exam day, stay away from foods made of white body is already a little dehydrated.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

HEALTH WATCH

Your brain needs the energy from food to work efficiently. You need to keep your mental focus on your exam and not on your hunger. 5. Avoid brain blocking beverages. Avoid sugary sodas and colas. Avoid caffeine, as it can increase your nervousness. However, if you are accustomed to drinking coffee regularly, then have a small cup or two. Try to eat something healthy along with your coffee. If you cut out the coffee suddenly and completely, you could end up with a caffeine-withdrawal headache. 6. Eat light meals. Eat enough to feel satisfied but not so much as to feel full. If you eat a big breakfast or lunch before an exam, you will feel drowsy and heavy. Your body’s energy will be focused on the digestive process rather than on providing your brain with the energy it needs to function efficiently. Instead, try a light lunch such as a salad with chicken or salmon. 7. Don’t try any new foods, drinks, or supplements just before the exam, even if they come highly recommended by friends or family. You don’t know how your body responds to them and you don’t want any

surprises on exam day. Stick with food and drink your body is accustomed to. 8. Consider taking multivitamins. Most students do not eat a healthy balanced diet. When you survive on

pizza, junk food, Red Bull, and coffee, your body ends up with a lack of essential vitamins and minerals. A multivitamin can help. The B vitamins especially strengthen brain functioning. Iron, calcium, and zinc can boost your body’s ability to handle stress.

9. Snack intelligently. In some countries, you are given a five- to tenminute break in the middle of a long exam. Carry healthy snacks, such as protein bars, trail mix, energy bars, granola bars, almonds, walnuts, or fruit for such times, to keep your energy high. Avoid chocolates or sweet treats as the energy high could be followed by an energy crash during your exam! 10. Get enough sleep. Many students get into the habit of studying late into the night, hoping to cram in a little more information into their already exhausted brains. Instead, on the night before the exam, stop studying in the early evening. After that, take it easy, eat your dinner, lay out your clothes for the next day, pack your bag, take a shower, set a couple of alarms and head to bed early. You’ve done all you can. To function at your best on exam day, you need not only the energy that comes from healthy nutrition, but also the energy that comes from adequate, restful sleep.

Fairness creams, lipsticks contain toxic heavy metals: CSE F

airness creams may contain toxic heavy metals like mercury while lipsticks may be tainted with carcinogenic chromium, finds a new study released today. Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE’s) laboratory in Delhi, which did the study, found mercury in 44 per cent of the 32 fairness creams it tested.

depression, psychosis and peripheral neuropathy. Chromium was found in 15 out of 30 lipsticks tested in the range of 0.45 ppm to 17.83 ppm while nickel was found in 13 out of 30 products tested in

A neurotoxin, mercury can damage kidneys and may cause rashes, skin discolouration and scarring besides resulting in anxiety,

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The researchers however, did not find any heavy metals in anti-ageing creams and lip balms. The study did not detect lead and cadmium in lipsticks. “What is coming out very clearly is that this sector has extremely weak regulations and almost no enforcement of whatever laws that exist,” said Chandra Bhushan, CSE deputy director general and head of its lab.

It also found chromium in 50 per cent and nickel in 43 per cent of the 30 lipstick samples. The report from CSE said they found mercury in 14 fairness creams in the range of 0.10 parts per million (ppm) to 1.97 ppm. Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Acts and Rules of India, mercury is banned for use in cosmetics.

“Mercury is not supposed to be present in cosmetic products. Their mere presence in these products is completely illegal and unlawful”.

the range of 0.57 to 9.18 ppm. Hexavalent chromium, one of the forms in which chromium is present, is known to cause cancer in humans. Eminent environmentalist and CSE director general Sunita Narain said,

He said that manufacturers often get away on the pretext that toxic metals are present in trace levels as limits for final products are not set. One of the fastest growing industries in India, it is estimated that the cosmetic industry sold products worth Rs 26,410 crore in 2011.

FOCUS

I am proud of being a Rajagiri alumnus: Dr. Junaid James Paul

“Money is important but it is not everything in life. I learnt this most important lesson from Rajagiri. This has helped me a lot while taking important decisions in life. I developed an outlook on life from Rajagiri.” “Rajagiri is something very special to me. It is still close to my heart”, was the first expression of Dr Junaid Rehman, when asked to comment on his schooldays.

The priests and teachers at Rajagiri were very strict, but they allowed us a lot of freedom also. Mandatory study time was very little. We were allowed to play leisurely. I was active in all kinds of sports Dr Junaid is the man who changed the face and games,” he says. of Ernakulam General Hospital and made the medical profession more accessible to Dr Junaid was a school student at a time common people. when there were no computers and mobiles. “Our teachers were very He acquired his positive qualities and knowledgeable. They were staying in the mental makeup during his schooldays.”It nearby staff quarters. We could approach was my days at Rajagiri School, them at any time for any kind of Kalamassery, that moulded me. I studied clarifications or doubts. Such was their there and passed out in 1972. I was in the dedication to their profession. I still hostel throughout. I really enjoyed my remember the warmth of the teachers of schooldays,” he says. Rajagiri. I could feel the difference between teachers there and elsewhere because I had During those days students were not studied in some other schools before allowed to keep money in the hostel as everything would be provided there. “So joining Rajagiri. why should they keep money with All the good qualities that I claim to have them?” was the logic. It was true. Students now were acquired from my days at were allowed to go out on Sundays. “We Rajagiri,” he proudly says. used to go to the movies or roam around.

Dr Junaid was a Government doctor and was never enamoured with private practice. “Money is important but it is not everything in life. I learnt this most important lesson from Rajagiri. This has helped me a lot while taking important decisions in life. I developed an outlook on life from Rajagiri.” Dr Junaid’s father was an advocate. It was his wish to make his son a medical professional. The doctor now feels that it was a wise decision. The General Hospital owes its present stature to Dr Junaid who with his untiring efforts brought a host of facilities there from the day he joined it in 2002 as Resident Medical Officer. He completed his 10-year-old mission of giving a modern face to the hospital that is sought by the middle-class and poor people in and around the city to whom he has been providing yeoman services for more than a decade.

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FOCUS

Dr. Junaid is the man who changed the face of Ernakulam General Hospital and made the medical profession more accessible to common people. “Former District Collector Gyanesh Kumar had a project up his sleeve and the necessary funds and we started work and now the hospital has received NABH accreditation,” Dr Junaid says. “Thanks to Gyanesh Kumar, Muhammad Haneef, Dr. M Beena and the present collector P I Sheik Pareeth, who mopped up funds through various sources, the casualty, operation theatre, different ICUs, sophisticated labs and the CT scan unit could be housed in the new casualty block costing Rs 7 crore by 2004. Using the Rs 1-crore buffer fund, we bought modern equipment,” says Dr Junaid about his first initiative. With Rs 10 lakh given by the Rotary Club a burns unit was set up. The ortho ward was renovated at a cost of Rs 16 lakh, again collected as donations. Using Rs 1 crore given by K.V.Thomas and Louid Louis, then MLAs, a new OP block was set up. The OP block was extended, again with another Rs 1 crore given by K V Thomas from both his MLA and MP funds. “As RMO I was given a free hand by the four superintendents under whom I

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worked till 2010 before graduating into a superintendent. An office complex could be set up with Rs 25 lakh given by NRHM and a mortuary complex using Rs 4 lakh given by Nawab Rajendran and Rs 21 lakh from Sebastian Paul MP’s fund,” says Junaid. Dr Junaid considers the NABH accreditation the hospital received as the jewel in the crown. He egged on BPCL to give Rs 10 lakh for the blood bank, secured Rs 10 lakh from CSL for the palliative care unit and Rs‘8 lakh for the solid waste disposal unit. P Rajiv, MP, along with BPCL provided Rs 25 lakh to set up the famed Oottupura at the hospital. The Chief Minister’s hunger-free Kerala programme is running at the hospital without interruption with CSL support. Dr Junaid is now now working as Medical Director of the Cooperative Medical College (CMC), Kalamassery. The Government had also appointed him as Special Officer for the Government takeover of the college.He has plans to take some corrective measures immediately

to improve the functioning of the college. “Now that the takeover has been announced, we will focus on short-term goals. Resuming some of the defunct services will be our priority.’’ Facilities for taking more accident cases also will be arranged soon, he says. “We have started efforts to entrust Kerala Medical Service Corporation Limited (KMSCL) with the supply of entire medicines to the medical college,’’ he says. The Health and Family Welfare Department that will bring the college within its purview like the other medical colleges in the state has formed a panel of high-level officials to decide how to integrate the staff, equipment and facilities in the college under the Department of Medical Education. The Director of Medical Education has also formed another panel of college faculty to inspect the college. Dr Junaid took over as Medical Director of CMC in April this year after he retired from the Health Services department as the District Medical Officer in Ernakulam.

ASPECTS

Satyam vada; Dharmam cara Speak the Truth; Walk in the Path of Righteousness Dr. Augustine Thottakara

“Om. After having taught the Vedas, the preceptor gives the last instructions to his disciple: Say always the truth; Walk always in the path of righteousness; Never fail to study the Vedas; Bring a gift pleasing to the preceptor (get his blessing), and do not cut off the family lineage (beget children); Do not swerve from the truth. Do not swerve from dharma;

The word “dharma” is perhaps the richest, most comprehensive, and most noted term in the entire gamut of the Sanskritic traditions, which include literature, philosophies, religions and scriptures. Dharma is religion; it is duty and law; dharma is religious observance, ethically legitimate way of living and conformity to traditions and customs; it is righteousness, virtue and justice; dharma is harmony, harmony in nature, in society and in the life of an individual; harmony between thought, word and action of humans.

Do not neglect personal welfare. Do not neglect your prosperity. Do not neglect the study and the teaching of the Vedas; Do not neglect your duties to the gods and to the manes; Treat your mother as God. Treat your father as God. Treat your teacher as God; Treat your guest as God; Whatever deeds are faultless, they are to be performed; not others. Whatever good works have been performed by me, those should be performed by you too; not others; If you meet a person more learned than I, respect him by offering him a seat. Whatever is to be given should be given with faith, not without faith; give with gracefulness, with modesty, with fear, and with sympathy. Now, if there arises in your mind any doubt concerning any act, or any doubt concerning duty, you should conduct yourself in such matters as learned persons would conduct themselves. ... This is my final commandment. This is the teaching. This is the instruction. This is the content of the Vedas and Upanisads. This you should observe. This alone is to be observed. Om Peace, Peace, Peace!” (Taittiriya Upanisad I.11).

Pallikkutam | February 2014

ASPECTS

Truth can be viewed from different angles: There is the absolute Truth or, the metaphysical Truth: that is the Supreme Being, God. Then there are the relative truths: we are all, this cosmos and everything in it—all these are relative truths.

In the last issue I explained the shortest speech/lecture ever delivered—to be precise, the shortest convocation address. It consisted of only one letter: “da”. Here I am dealing with yet another convocation address. This rather long speech is found in Taittiriya Upanisad. In some universities, for example in Bangalore University, this text is solemnly read out/ chanted before the annual convocation ceremony. Normally the teaching process at the teacher’s home (gurukula) lasts for 12 years. At the end of this long and arduous period of education, the disciple, with the permission of the preceptor, takes the ritual bath (mention has already been made about this bath in the last issue) and comes before the teacher for his last instruction before he goes home to enter into the householder’s state. Very important, relevant and valid moral instructions, or rather commandments, are given here by the preceptor to the disciples. Altogether 20 commands are put forward by the guru for the faithful observance of his disciple. I would like to elucidate some of them. Satyam vada: ‘Say always the truth’. Truth can be viewed from different angles: There is the absolute Truth or, the metaphysical Truth: that is the Supreme Being, God. Then there are the relative truths: we are all, this cosmos and everything in it—all these are relative truths. Then there is truth as a virtue, as a value, as a good quality of a person. That is honesty. Always speaking the truth is the expression of this virtue. Truth and ahimsa were the two pillars of Gandhiji’s philosophy and spirituality. He tried to apply truth in all spheres of life. For example, he said, ‘If you think that as a human being you are inferior to anybody, that is untrue, that is a lie. If you think that as a human being you are superior to

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anybody, that is untrue, that is a lie. Truth is that as human beings we are all equal.’

knowledge and insight of the sacred books with others. Preaching the Word of God should become part of household-ministry.

Dharmam cara: ‘Walk always in the path of righteousness’. The word “dharma” is perhaps the richest, most comprehensive, and most noted term in the entire gamut of the Sanskritic traditions, which include literature, philosophies, religions and scriptures. Derived from the Sanskrit verbal root dhr[1], which means to support, to sustain, to maintain, to hold etc, the word “dharma” has a variety of meanings. Dharma is religion; it is duty and law; dharma is religious observance, ethically legitimate way of living and conformity to traditions and customs; it is righteousness, virtue and justice; dharma is harmony, harmony in nature, in society and in the life of an individual; harmony between thought, word and action of humans; dharma is also used to denote the essential characteristic of an object, the basic inner principle which makes a thing what it is. Some systems like NyayaVaisesika see dharma and adharma as two qualities of individual selves. Dharma would basically mean that law or principle, which sustains, maintains and protects moral and physical order in the life of individuals, in society and in the cosmos as a whole, and finally leads the seekers to the ultimate liberation. “That principle by which the universe is supported is called dharma” [2].

Matrdevo bhava ... Respect, revere and honour mother, father, teachers and ancestors. These are the categories of persons who are the cause of our existence as we are today.

Svadhyaya-pravacanabhyam na pramaditavym: ‘Do not neglect the study and the teaching of the Vedas’. The teacher is telling the departing student that the end of the period of studentship is not the end of study of the Vedas. As householder he should continue to read, study and assimilate the sacred texts. He should also preach and teach (pravacana) the Vedas to others. The householder has the responsibility of sharing his

A householder, according the Codes of Law (Dharma-sastra), has to perform five great sacrifices (panca-mahayajnas). Sacrifice (yajna) in this context means great effort, wholehearted endeavour. The five great sacrifices are: (i) Brahma-yajna, that is, study of the Vedas (the word “Brahma” in this context means Vedic word); (ii) Devayajna, that is, worship of God; (iii) Pitryajna, that is, rituals and obsequies for the ancestors; (iv) Nara-yajna, that is, respect for all human beings, especially for to guests; and for (v) Bhuta-yajna, that is, protection of all living beings. These are daily obligatory duties (nitya-karma) of a householder (Cf. Manu-smrti III.70 ff.; III.81 ff.). A human being, especially a male member of society, is born to this world with three debts or obligations (rna-traya), namely (i) debt to God (ii) debt to the sages and (iii) debt to one’s own ancestors. Debt to God is paid back by offering worship and sacrifices (yajña), debt to the sages is paid back by studying the sacred scriptures (svadhyaya) and debt to the ancestors is paid back by begetting children (praja) and thus safeguarding the continuation of the family lineage (Cf. Manu-smrti VI.35-36). The final instructions of the guru to his disciple, who has completed his education, contain all the essential elements for an ethically and spiritually successful life. [1]dharati (parasmaipada), dharate (atmanepada) and dharayati (causitive). [2]dhriyate anena lokah iti dharmah.

INFO TECH

Nokia’s future without handset business M

icrosoft’s push into the smartphone market may not get off to the best

start.

Nokia, which is selling its handset division to the US technology giant for $7.4 billion, said that the unit’s sales fell 29%, to 2.6 billion euros, or $3.5 billion, in the fourth quarter. The operating loss for the division was 201 million euros.

said it wanted to combine its own marketing and development teams with those from the Nokia unit to increase its presence in the global smartphone market. Analysts said that Microsoft could still compete with rival phone makers but should focus on emerging markets like

“Breaking into the high-end market was always going to be a challenge for Microsoft and Nokia,” said Nick Dillon, a senior telecommunications analyst at the research firm Ovum in London. “Windows phones still don’t offer the same level of applications that are available on Android and Apple’s iOS. The software is still lagging behind.” After announcing the deal to buy Nokia’s handset division in September, Microsoft

The company, which will retain its mobile infrastructure, mapping and intellectual property units after the deal with Microsoft is completed this quarter, said sales across the three divisions fell in the fourth quarter. That reflected in part reduced investments by some of the world’s largest carriers in the infrastructure equipment used in high-speed mobile networks.

Sales of its smartphones declined 7% in the quarter to about 8.2 million units, despite an increase in consumer spending during the holiday season. Nokia’s interim president, Timo Ihamuotila, said the company’s midrange phone, the Lumia 520, had performed better than its high-end phones in the fourth quarter. The company said increased competition from other device manufacturers like Apple, Samsung and Sony was the primary cause for the drop in sales.

2012, and a drop in revenue of 21%, to about 3.5 billion euros.

Nokia’s stock closed down 8.7%.

India and China, where the growing number of middle-class consumers are seeking to upgrade to smartphones. Nokia’s quarterly earnings also gave investors their first look of what the Finnish technology giant would look like without the phone business. Most were not impressed. Excluding the sales from the handset unit, Nokia had a net loss of 25 million euros, about $34 million, in contrast to a profit of 193 million euros in the fourth quarter of

As part of its overhaul, Nokia is expected to announce soon the results of a strategic review of its operations, including a potential dividend to shareholders from the proceeds of the phone sale. Ihamuotila, the interim president, declined to say when the results of the review would be released. The company’s board also must decide on a new chief executive to succeed Stephen Elop, who will join Microsoft after the phone sale is completed. Analysts expect the company to focus on its mobile infrastructure business, which makes networking equipment for cellphone carriers. The unit, called NSN, represents about 90 percent of the revenue from the company’s remaining operations.

New technology that can ‘replace’ internet

new project has been launched that could replace the internet.

The ambitious project, Bitcloud, aims to provide services currently controlled by internet service providers ( ISPs) and corporations. The project is based on the same methods used to mine bitcoins. According to the BBC, individuals would perform tasks such as storing, routing and providing bandwidth, in return for payment.

The founders are searching for developers for the project, adding that they will start by decentralising the current internet, and then create a new internet to replace it. According to the report, like bitcoin miners provide computing power and are rewarded for solving complex mathematical equations with the virtual currency, so individual net users would be rewarded based on how much bandwidth they contribute to the Bitcloud network.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

INFO TECH

‘123456’ tops list of worst passwords P

erhaps you chuckled at the irony of making your password “password.” Or you thought it was the right place to express affection for your favorite primate by choosing “monkey.”

common “iloveyou” is beloved by hackers, as is “letmein,” “trustno1” and “password1.” A string of high-profile breaches in the past year may serve as a wake-up call to

More likely, you were lazy and wanted something easy to remember, like “123456.” If you’re using any of these passwords, change them. Those are some of the most common passwords, according to a new list released by security company Splash Data. The group comes up with the top 25 list based on lists of passwords that were stolen and posted publicly in the previous year. This year, the most common password is “123456,” which unseated last year’s No. 1, “password.”

the consumers who use these passwords. Many perhaps assume they would never be the target of hackers, so there’s no reason to enact strict, or even commonsense, security measures.

This year’s list was clearly skewed by the In addition to strings of digits in numerical large number of Adobe passwords order and simple words and letters like included in the round-up, as indicated by “qwerty” and “admin,” there are a few the presence of “adobe123” and phrases on the list. The sweet and

“photoshop” on the list at number 10 and 15 respectively. Adobe experienced a sizable security breach in 2013 that affected 38 million users. We can deduce that choosing a password named after the product for which it’s used is a bad idea. Also avoid using your own name or other obvious words someone who knows you could guess (the name of your husband, child, cat). To beef up your defenses, immediately change any of your own passwords that show up on the list. Combine random words instead of using common phrases, and if you include numbers or symbols, don’t just substitute 3s for your Es. If you’re ready to take your security to the next level, don’t use the same password for all sites. Also, when possible, turn on two-factor identification, in which access is granted based on a password and something else, such as a specific image.

Samsung quarterly profit dips due to slowing smartphone sales S

amsung’s operating profit tumbled almost a fifth in the fourth quarter, due to a one-off bonus and slowing sales of the electronic giant’s high-end smartphones.

than what the market expected,” Robert Yi, head of Samsung’s investor relations, said in a statementday.

Operating profit stood at 8.3 trillion won ($7.8 billion), down 18 percent from the July-September period, marking the company’s first quarterly profit decline in two years.

The latest earnings result ended the company’s long run of record quarterly profits on the back of surging sales of its Galaxy products.

The fourth quarter figure was also down 6.0 percent from a year ago. Net profit rose 3.7 percent year on year but slowed significantly from the third quarter’s 25.6 percent gain, as healthy margins from the company’s chip unit failed to offset flagging profit momentum in the flagship Galaxy series of smartphones. “Amid macroeconomic uncertainties such as a strong Korean won and increased concerns over possible quantitative easing tapering in the US, our earnings were lower

Pallikkutam | February 2014

“For the first quarter it will be challenging for Samsung to improve its earnings as the weak seasonality of the IT industry will put pressure on demand for components and TV products,” the statement said.

The mobile division posted a quarterly operating profit of 5.47 trillion won, down 2.8 percent from the third quarter. He pointed specifically to a “negative currency impact” of 700 billion won and a one-off 800 billion won employee bonus to mark the 20th anniversary of a marketing strategy by Chairman Lee KunHee that laid the groundwork for the company’s recent success. And the company earnings statement made it clear that it expected no immediate rebound in 2014.

Samsung’s statement said the division’s earnings were down due to seasonally increased marketing costs, as well as the one-off bonus. The strength of the Korean won against other currencies also weighed on performance, inflicting foreign-exchange losses and making Samsung less pricecompetitive in the global market.

INFO TECH

‘Facebook could fade out like a disease’ F

acebook is like an infectious disease, experiencing a spike before its decline, according to US researchers who claim the social network will lose 80 percent of users by 2017. Two doctoral candidates in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University made their astonishing claims in a paper published online at a scientific research archive, but not yet peerreviewed.

But at least for now, Facebook’s fortunes are in good health. Rising share prices have made chief operating

Based on the rise and fall of MySpace, John Cannarella and Joshua Spechler say that Facebook, the largest online social network in history, is set for a massive fall. “Ideas, like diseases, have been shown to spread infectiously between people before eventually dying out, and have been successfully described with epidemiological models,” they wrote. They applied a modified epidemiological model to describe the dynamics of user activity of online social networks, using Google data that is publicly available. It will make uncomfortable reading for the social media giant co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg, which has more than 1.1 billion users around the globe and turns 10 years old next month. Their study said Facebook, whose shares climbed to a new high of $58.51 this week, has been in decline in terms of data usage since 2012. “Facebook is expected to undergo rapid decline in the upcoming years, shrinking to 20 percent of its maximum size by December 2014,” said the report posted online to peers at ArXiv.org. “Extrapolating the best model into the future suggests that Facebook will undergo a rapid decline in the coming years, losing 80 percent of its peak user base between 2015 and 2017.”

Facebook’s Sandberg is now a billionaire

record high close for Facebook shares has made Sheryl Sandberg one of the youngest female billionaires ever, according to a ranking from Bloomberg.

Sandberg joined Facebook in 2008 after working at Google (GOOG, Fortune 500). Before that she was the chief of staff to Lawrence Summers when he served as Treasury secretary in the Clinton Sandberg, who is the company’s chief administration. Fortune magazine ranked operating officer, owns 12.3 million shares. her as the fifth most powerful woman in That makes her stake worth about $720 business, and with 2012 earnings of $26.2 million. million, the third highest paid In addition, woman. she owns 4.7 million She also wrote a options, best-selling book which would last year, “Lean net her $220.6 In.” She serves million at her on the board of exercise price. Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune She has also 500) and was received stock previously a awards which director of have not yet Starbucks vested, the (SBUX, Fortune 500). estimated value of which takes her over the $1 billion mark. But despite her accomplishments, the 44year old Sandberg is not as wealthy as Female billionaires are still relatively rare. Bloomberg’s list of the 200 richest people company founder and CEO Mark worldwide shows only 17 who are women. Zuckerberg.

The new research comes amid surveys suggesting that younger users started gravitating away from Facebook in 2013.

Forbes reported last year that there were 138 female billionaires worldwide, but that’s out of a total 1,426 billionaires worldwide.

Cannarella and Spechler told AFP they did not wish to comment publicly in person until their manuscript had completed its peer review process ahead of formal publication.

And only 24 of the women billionaires on the Forbes list earned their wealth themselves; most inherited a significant portion of their fortune.

officer Sheryl Sandberg the latest tech billionaire and Zuckerberg, 29, has a personal fortune estimated at about $19 billion.

The 29-year old Zuckerberg owns 426.3 million Facebook shares, worth nearly $25 billion. Two of Zuckerberg’s former college classmates, Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin, are also both billionaires due to their Facebook stake, according to the company’s most recent filings.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

INFO TECH

Logitech raises forecast over sales jump C

omputer accessories maker Logitech International raised its forecast for the year after reporting better-thanexpected quarterly results, helped by sales of covers for keyboards it makes for Apple’s iPads.

included a keyboard for iPads and a wireless portable music player.

Logitech also increased its non-GAAP operating income expectations to a range of $120 million to $125 million from the $100 million it had previously estimated.

Logitech’s shares rose as much as 15% on the Swiss Exchange on Thursday as the results and raised outlook forced short-sellers to unwind negative bets on the stock.

Analysts were expecting full-year sales of $2.1 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Logitech reported a net income of $48 million, or 30 cents per share, for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of $195 million, or $1.24 per share, a year earlier.

“It’s mostly a squeeze from shortcovering,” a Paris-based trader said. Logitech’s US-listed shares rose 15% to $15.20 in premarket trading. Retail sales, which bring in almost all of the company’s revenue, rose 4% to $563 million in the third quarter. Logitech, best known as a computer mouse maker, has been focusing on accessories for tablets and smartphones. In 2013, the company’s product launches

forecast to $2.1 billion, from $2.0 billion, for the year ending March 2014.

Revenue rose 2% to $628 million. “We still have more work ahead, but our turnaround is on track...,” said CEO Bracken Darrell. The company, which was slow to adapt to the shift to mobile devices, raised its sales

Analysts had expected earnings of 17 cents per share on revenue of $599.6 million. Logitech’s shares were up 12% at 13.70 Swiss francs in afternoon trading. The stock was the top percentage gainer on the Swiss Exchange.

Qualcomm buys Palm patents from HP

ell-phone chip maker Qualcomm Inc. said Thursday it has acquired patents once owned by smartphone maker Palm Inc. from Hewlett-Packard for an undisclosed amount.

along with technology consulting service

on the Autonomy acquisition, saying it was the victim of a multibillion-dollar fraud at the hands of the British company. Autonomy’s former CEO said HP’s allegations were false.

Qualcomm says the purchase covers 1,400 U.S. patents and about 1,000 more foreign patients for the company’s mobile computing technology.

HP last year sold Palm’s mobile operating system, webOS, to LG Electronics, which now implants the software in Internet-connected TVs.

Hewlett-Packard Co. paid $1 billion for Palm in 2010 as part of its first foray into tablet computers and smartphones, which ran on Palm’s operating system. The effort flopped and HP now sells tablets using Google Inc.’s Android and a recently introduced version of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows. Palo Alto, California-based HP hasn’t re-entered the smartphone market.

Qualcomm didn’t elaborate on its plans for the Palm patent portfolio. Big tech companies in recent years have been looking to expand their patent portfolios to help introduce new technology and protect themselves from lawsuits.

The Palm acquisition was one of three major purchases that have haunted HP,

Pallikkutam | February 2014

EDS and business software maker Autonomy. In November of 2012, Hewlett took an $8.8 billion writedown

The San Diego company last year introduced a smartwatch called Toq to showcase the potential wearable devices that can connect to the Internet.

BETTER ENGLISH

A Guide to English Style and Usage- 10 A.G. Menon

It is wrong to say I am thankful to you for the present. It should be I am grateful to you for the present. Thankful means ‘happy and relieved that something good has happened’.

G grateful if you will/would let us know your views on the matter.

gourmand and gourmet A gourmand is someone who loves eating and drinking to excess: The food at the new hotel will satisfy gourmands. A gourmet is someone who enjoys good food and drink. In the opinion of a celebrated gourmet, nonvegetarian dishes in Kozhikode hotels are better than those in Kochi hotels. The word gourmet is also used as an adjective (a ‘gourmet restaurant’).

grave The word means ‘extremely serious and worrying’. So the sentence I encountered a grave problem at the bank yesterday is not correct. Say I encountered a serious/an unpleasant problem at the bank yesterday; The skirmishes on the border have created a grave situation is correct.

graduate You graduate from a university or a particular college, not at it: I graduated from Calicut University/ Providence College with a degree in chemistry.

greatly The word is usually placed before a main verb: An immediate reply will be greatly appreciated; The standard of living in the state has greatly improved (NOT ‘improved greatly’).

granted It is take it for granted (that),not take for granted (that). The expression means ‘assume that something is true or will happen’: You cannot take it for granted that he will attend the function; you have to go and invite him; You cannot take it for granted that the system you have just installed is foolproof. grassroots The grassroots of an organization are its ordinary members instead of its leaders: Earlier the leaders did not get the necessary support for the plan, but this time the party is hoping for full participation at grassroots level. Please note that it is grassroots, not grassroot. Grassroots is also written as two words (grass roots). grateful and thankful It is wrong to say I am thankful to you for the present. It should be I am grateful to you for the present. Thankful means ‘happy and relieved that something good has happened’: We should be thankful that no one was injured in the accident. Grateful means ‘full of thanks’: We shall/would be

gymnastic. But Her gymnastic ability is well known is correct.

H Don’t invite a headache; be in good health

had better/best If you had better/best do something, you should do it or it would be good to do it. It is an idiom: You had/ You’d better/best leave now so you can green light If someone in authority gives catch the 2’o clock train/...so you may not miss the train. Don’t say You better/best you a(the) green light to a project etc, leave now so … they give you permission to do it: The Ministry of Environment has finally given hairdresser/hairdresser’s is a term used the green light to the airport project. Please in Britain for a shop where someone’s hair remember that the phrase is green light, is cut. Though it is a ‘refined’ or ‘modern’ not green signal as is used in India. word for a barber/barber shop the British male continues to say he goes to growth Don’t write The company has the barber and the female to the achieved a remarkable growth as growth is an uncountable noun. The company has hairdresser. achieved a growth rate of 12% is, however, correct. guilty The phrase guilty about means ‘feeling guilt or ashamed’: I feel guilty about not helping him when he needed money.(Be) guilty of means ‘being responsible for breaking a law etc’: The court found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. gymnastic is an adjective the noun form being gymnastics. So the sentence She showed great skills in gymnastic even when she was at school is incorrect. Here gymnastics has to be used instead of

hair The word is both countable and uncountable. When you mean ‘a single hair’ or ‘some individual hairs’, it is a countable noun: I found a white hair in my bed coffee today; He has a lot of grey hairs on his head. When you mean ‘all the hair on one’s head’, the word is uncountable: She lost her hair after her illness. half Don’t use the before half except when you talk about a particular half: She spent half the term with her friend. She gave the half of the lottery amount to her father is, therefore, wrong. Say She gave half (of) the lottery amount to her father.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

BETTER ENGLISH

Something happens to somebody/something, not with someone/something: I don’t know what happened to the boss yesterday; he was very angry. Like that, Viswan wants to donate two and half lakh rupees to charity is wrong. Say Viswan wants to donate two and a half lakh rupees to charity. It is one and a half hours, not one and half hour(s).

handle It is handle somebody/ something, not handle with somebody/ something: I left the matter to be handled by my friend; He told his children to handle the new TV with care.

hanged/hung Both are past participles and past tenses of ‘to hang’ but they are used in different contexts. Hanged is used if a person is executed or commits suicide by hanging: The accused was found guilty hand It is on the one hand or on the of murder and was ordered to be hanged; other hand, not in/at the one hand or in/ She hanged herself from a ceiling fan with at the other hand: On the one hand I a sari. Hung is used in the other sense of would like to accept the new job offer, but ‘hang’ as in: They hung the picture on the on the other (hand) I enjoy the present wall; A large handbag hung from her work because it is in my home town. At shoulder. hand means ‘near in time or position’: happen Something happens to Help is at hand if we seek it. If someone suffers at the hands of someone else, they somebody/something, not with someone/ hurt you or treat you badly: Many freedom something: I don’t know what happened to the boss yesterday; he was very angry. fighters had died at the hands of the autocratic rule. In the hands of means hardly is used to indicate a negative idea. ‘controlled by’: In that country all the So it is not used with another negative. power is in the hands of the military. Don’t Sentences such as I couldn’t hardly hear say He came to see me with a book in the her speech and He didn’t hardly eat hand, say He came to see me with a book anything are, therefore, wrong. The in his hand. The expression is ‘in one’s sentences have to be rewritten as: I could hand/s’, not ‘in the hand/sS’. hardly hear her speech and He hardly ate hallo, hello and hullo are acceptable spellings of the word used for greeting: Hallo/hello/hullo, he said when we met at the party.

handicapped Many people dislike the word because they feel it is too negative. Some of them therefore use the word disabled instead of ‘physically handicapped people’. Some others suggest the use of physically challenged and differently abled.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

anything. Hardly is followed by ‘when’, not ‘than’, as in Hardly had he started his address when some students tried to obstruct him. However the ‘than’ construction is common. Hardly usually goes directly before the main verb: I hardly could decipher my own handwriting! is

wrong. Say, I could hardly decipher my own handwriting!; It was raining so heavily that we could hardly drive, not We could drive hardly. have and have got When have is used as a main verb, the negative and question forms are made with do. So the sentence After paying my fees, I had not any money left should be rewritten as After paying my fees, I didn’t have any money left. The expression have got/has got is usually used only in informal styles. So say Your selection will depend upon whether you have top scores in maths, instead of...whether you have got top scores... he/she In the past, when people referred to a member of a group of men and women, or boys and girls, they used the pronouns he/him/his: A good teacher is always liked by his students; Every driver must park his car outside the building. To avoid sexism in language many people started using either his/her or his or her in the above examples: A good teacher is always liked by his/her (his or her) students; Every driver must park his/her (his or her) car outside the building. This is, however, considered clumsy by some who put it in the plural: A good teacher is always liked by their students; Every driver must park their car outside the building even though it is considered by purists as ungrammatical.

RESEARCH GUEST COLUMN

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Pallikkutam | February 2014

To the little mischief One day, the young man left home searching for a ‘Guru’

He met a wise man who advised him “you go back to your home. You would meet your Guru there, waiting for you”

The young man went back. Next day early morning reached home and knocked the door. Inside house, his mother was sleeping. When she heard her son’s sound, she got up and went fast with joy to see him. She was in a hurry and so her leg hit somewhere and one of the chappals slipped out of the leg. She didn’t want to waste time by searching chappal as she wanted to meet him first.

He roamed everywhere but could not meet his Guru anywhere.

“How can I recognize him?’ ‘Your Guru will come to you wearing only one chappal. That will be identification mark.’

He thought ‘My Gurus to enlighten me were here always. They were around me with limping legs and always got ridiculed. I failed to identify and salute my poor Gurus.

She reached front side by limping. Seeing his Guru, the son stood perplexed.

Pallikkutam | February 2014

Confessions Jaya Prada What is your idea of happiness? Happiness is a feeling of your own achievement, and it signifies goals. It also relates to a vast variety of changes in your life and there is always a hope of appreciation. What is your greatest fear? Dark nights and being alone in the middle of the forest.

opinion, is the Almighty, who created this beautiful, immortal universe.

Anybody who takes undue advantage and is an opportunist.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Simplicity and honesty make a person most graceful, but in today’s world, they are overrated.

The most used words or phrases in my life are also put to practice everyday. Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life. Think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other thought. This is the way to success.

On what occasion do you lie?

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

What is your greatest regret?

I recall my schooldays and the history lessons in my books, the warriors belonging to various parts of the country, including Jhansi ki Rani, Rani Kittur Channama, Rani Rudramma Devi, Maulana Azad, Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi and Vijayalakshmi Pandit. They never lost their ideology during their fights. I identify myself with all those who have given their support and strength to the success and progress of the country.

Thinking about the past when I may have made small mistakes, which are undoubtedly regretful. When and where were you the happiest? I feel happy whenever people compliment me. I remember the legend of Indian cinema, the world-famous director Satyajit Ray’s compliment: “Jaya Prada is the most beautiful actress on the Indian screen.” It makes me most happy.

Which living person do you most admire? I am still in search of the person whom I can admire most. But I would admire the person who extends his support and helps in crises.

What is your present state of mind? Searching for peace. I feel like going back to Buddha’s golden era where there was peace and ahimsa, no bloodshed.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

How would you like to die?

Possessiveness and always trying to preserve my true identity.

One day, the inevitable will happen. Death venerates all. I cannot predict when, where and how.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

What is your favourite motto? I want to fight corruption. Seeing today’s scenario and the society’s mood, it is a must to protect our constitution and save the decorum of our democracy.

I am still in observation. What is your greatest extravagance? Buying diamonds. It is my passion.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

What is your favourite journey? Holding my mother’s hand and learning to take small steps in preparation for the long journey of life.

This is kalyug and I am helpless. You make me recall Raja Harishchandra.

Love is universal. It is immortal. It exists everywhere in every relationship.

Who is your favourite painter?

What do you dislike most about your appearance?

(Jaya Prada is an actor who has starred in numerous Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films like Anthuleni Katha, Siri Siri Muvva (remade in Hindi as Sargam), Adavi Ramudu, Ninaithale Inikkum, 47 Natkal, Kaamchor, Sharaabi and Sagara Sangamam. She was elected to the Lok Sabha from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh)

There are many exceptionally brilliant artists but among my favourites are Rabindranath Tagore (for his deft strokes) and Raja Ravi Varma (for his glorious colours). But the greatest painter, in my

Nothing. Most of my appearances make me look impressive. Which living person do you most despise?

Printed and Published by Fr.Varghese Panthalookaran CMI on behalf of Rajagiri Media, Rajagiri Valley PO, Kakkanad, Kochi-39 Ph: 0484-2428249. Printed at Anaswara Printers, Elamakara, Kochi. Editor: James Paul