Pallikkutam: January by james paul

FROM EDITOR’S DESK

Merits and demerits of online learning MAGAZINE ON EDUCATION VOLUME 1 ISSUE 8 JANUARY 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 Sebastian Menacherry Marketing Manager Varghese Kachappilly CMI Art Sajo Joseph

The availability of massive open and online learning resources has been rapidly changing the global academic landscape, making education and learning more relevant and accessible to society. But while the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are an interesting tool to aid higher education, it can never be a substitute for classroom learning or conventional university education, especially in India, where issues of the quality of learning and level of skills acquired through open university and distance education were already being questioned Academicians and eminent faculties from various global centres of higher education, who debated over the future prospects of MOOCs at the recently-concluded three-day international workshop on transnational education in Thiruvananthapuram, seemed to agree that MOOCs will have to go a long way beyond mere delivery of high-value content – may introduce new pedagogic models, teaching practices, delivery mechanisms and primarily bring in an international framework of quality and accreditation— before taking over higher education. MOOCs are the biggest upcoming trend in the current education scenario. Simkins Scott, Director, Academy for Teaching and Learning, North Carolina A & T University, U.S., said that a lot of discussion was going on in the U.S. about the future of MOOCs. “What is the purpose of college education; whether MOOCs can bring in the overall transformation in a student the way a university education does; whether education can be marginalised… are questions that are being hotly debated. But MOOCs could take over if the faculty in universities continue to regurgitate content and resist pedagogic changes. When high quality content is being made freely accessible round the clock, the value added in classrooms would have to go much beyond mere content,” Dr. Scott said. In future, MOOCs could offer a formal degree or credit to a student who may already have considerable knowledge and skills in the subject; or it could become just another open, free educational resource, which is part of a university course so that the students may at least have occasional interaction with the academia in classrooms, he felt. Muralee Thummarukudy, Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction, UN Environment Programme, Geneva, felt that the time for MOOCs had indeed come in Kerala, particularly because students were increasingly seeking to earn credentials from globally acclaimed universities and also because of the current job markets which called for skills and knowledge of international accreditation.

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

He noted that MOOCs could provide the answer to one of the most vexing problems faced by may academic institutions in Kerala – the shortage of well-qualified and knowledgeable faculty to teach niche subjects like Geographic Drawing for engineering courses. But while MOOCs have opened up possibilities for the creation, delivery and reception of content far beyond the confines of academic establishments—a terrifying prospect for academic institutions– quality control is an issue that it will have to come to terms with.

CONTENTS 11 COVER STORY Can HMT regain its past glory? HMT was once an industry which did Kerala proud. Its decline is an obvious example of lack of vision and prudence at the political and bureaucratic levels.

15 STORIES OF LIFE

The teenage girl who is back to life after a kidnap

17 EXPERT COUNSEL Keep society and rule of law above self

Rose was abducted by some men in a taxi car and was let off in the far end of the city. Dr. Jos Cletus Plackal

WATCH 49 HEALTH HHEALTHHEALTH

Dr. K.N. Raghavan

PEDAGOGY

WATCHH WATCH

Students’ learned helplessness in writing

Six guidelines for lifelong healthy eating Weight-loss winners tend to eat in the morning.

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PERSONAL

Love at the expense of character Sajit Malliyoor

Pallikkutam | January 2014

CONTENTS 29 RESEARCH

37 BOOK REVIEW Distil the Mind off Negatives

Snow Author : Orhan Pamuk

The real change is the change in the brain

Translator: Maureen Freely

Dr. George Athappilly

42 STUDENTS’ CLUB

39 STUDENTS’ CLUB

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51 POLICY WATCH

GUEST COLUMN

Common Core National Standards benchmarks for quality education

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Sebastian Menacherry

54 ASPECTS

35 INTERVIEW Self ControlGenerosity-Mercy An interesting story about Prajapati from Brhadaranyaka Upanisad Dr. Augustine Thottakara

Pallikkutam | January 2014

Invisibility cloaks Interview with eminent physicist Nathan Cohen

NEWS

Cusat yet to renew NAAC accreditation

he Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) may lose out on financial assistance from the University Grants Commission (UGC) as it has not renewed its accreditation issued by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

3lakh Naukri App downloads in a month

to university sources, the delay has been due to the confusion about Cusat getting Indian Institute of Engineering Science and erming its new Android mobile App as Technology (IIEST) status. “Once, Cusat a major development in the Indian job gets IIEST status we need not apply to portal sector, Naukri.com Tuesday claimed NAAC. Also, another reason for the delay to have record more than 2.9 lakh downloads of the App within a month of its launch.

According to the company this mobile App is available for free at the Google App store and is currently ranked 134 with a rating of 4.4 stars. Vibhore Sharma, CTO-Naukri said, “More than two lakh downloads was an important milestone for us. Now it clearly demonstrates that this App has filled the need of job seekers.”

As per clause 7.1 of its 2012 regulations, UGC has notified that financial assistance will be given to institutions of higher education which have undergone assessment and accreditation process. Accordingly, in its meeting on November 29 it was decided that all universities and institutions must apply for NAAC accreditation by June 2014, failure of which would lead to discontinuation of financial assistance by UGC from April 2015.

When asked to highlight some of the reasons behind the record number of App is Cusat’s grave financial situation,” said an downloads, Sharma said that a lot of official. The accreditation process is based on different criteria, including curricular aspects, teaching-learning and evaluation, research, consultancy and extension, infrastructure and learning resources, student support and progression, governance, leadership and management and innovations and best practices.

companies in the present era have a prohibition on recruitment sites in their offices. This App overcomes this problem With over 45% vacancies in faculty by letting job seekers obtain access to jobs positions, the university could lose out on through their mobile phones. Cusat lost its NAAC accreditation six years ago but is yet to renew it. According points on that ground, sources say. “23% of our job seekers visit Naukri.com from mobile phones. Job seekers’ response to the android app has been overwhelming. With over 4 lakh detailed job description views , 43,000 searches and more than 50,000 applies a day - Naukri’s Adroid cally weaker section category. If the ll 1,100 Kendriya Vidyalayas will App has made significant inroads into the number of applications surpasses start their admission process for mobile phones of job seekers,” he said. capacity, a lottery system will be Class I (entry level) from February 15. followed in each category. The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan will Executive Vice President Naukri Vivek Jain shortly bring out the admission notificasaid Product and Analytics of the company “There will not be any major changes in tion as well as guidelines. said this mobile Android is the most admission guidelines from last year. extensively used platforms and therefore it Minor changes can be notified if Over one lakh students will be admitted was a natural choice for the company to necessary to bring more clarity within in Class I across all KVs, including launch an App catering to Android devices. categories. The admission process will be around 20,000 students in 80 KVs in the as per RTE Actguidelines with 25% seats “Through this App we want to broaden our national capital region. Delhi alone has reserved for EWS and a neighbourhood 60 Kendriya Vidyalayas. user base by engaging more with Android policy,” commissioner of KVS Avinash users” Vivek said. As per Supreme Court guidelines, 25% Dikshit said. seats will be reserved for the economi-

25% EWS seats in KVs

Pallikkutam | January 2014

NEWS

Top Indian, Aus varsities to offer new scholarship programme

op Indian universities including IIT Speaking ahead of the launch, Melbourne Kanpur and IIT Madras have now University Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis partnered with University of Melbourne in said the new programme was a valuable Australia to offer a new joint PhD addition to Melbourne’s already extensive scholarship programme from 2014. scholarship offerings. The multimillion-dollar scholarship programme was launched in India on Monday to provide the next generation of researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs in Melbourne and India with world-leading academic supervision and support.

“We’re excited that the program will give students the opportunity to contribute to the development of education, cultural and industry links between both countries,” Davis said. The programme will officially commence in 2014 and will be open to PhD students enrolled at the University Of Melbourne, to be co-supervised by staff at IIT-K, IIT-M or IISC.

According to an official statement, the Melbourne-India Postgraduate Programme (MIPP) will link the University of Melbourne with some of the leading research institutes in India, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore (IISc), the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) and the Indian “By enabling students from India and Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M). Australia to undertake jointly developed A joint initiative of the four institutions research of the highest quality, we’re is an AUD 3 million programme which will confident the programme will address provide 16 PhD scholarships and shared global challenges in areas of associated support for research exchanges environmental, societal and technological over the next three years. need.”

Alternatively, students enrolled in one of the three Indian institutions will have access to co-supervision with Melbourne academics. IIT-K Director Professor Indranil Manna said the initiative would bring leading institutions together. “Australian and Indian communities hold immense respect for each other and this is yet another opportunity that would contribute to the strengthening of cultural ties between the two great nations,” he said.

UGC to bring New Technical Education Norms for Degree Institutions Only

RD ministry and University Grants Commission (UGC) on 30 December informed that the new regulations being framed for technical education institutions is going to be implemented only for the colleges that are offering graduate degrees. According to the statement of a senior official, the draft regulations will leave out institutions offering all diploma courses. After the UGC proposed the new regulations a large number of management institutions reported complaint and are on their course to appeal at the Supreme Court (SC) against the proposed UGC directives. Their petition will be against the new regulation of UGC which shall delay the process of admission that is already going on.

needed to be obtained by the private colleges to receive consent for running MBA courses in their private institutions,

Sources from Ministry told that Management institutions failed to perceive the Supreme Court judgment as it does not affect diploma courses by non-affiliated institutions. However, the regulations have not been confirmed as yet and some more time will be taken to know the exact.

because AICTE does not fall under the definition of technical education.

The SC had also stated that AICTE’s role vis-a-vis universities is “only advisory, UGC had to seek this matter after the recommendatory and one of providing Supreme Court (SC) in early 2013 declared guidance and has no authority empowering that permission of the All India Council for it to issue or enforce any sanctions by Technical Education (AICTE) is not

Pallikkutam | January 2014

itself.” Instead, the apex court had said regulatory function is with the UGC or the university.

To implement SC judgment, UGC came into the scene. Formerly, UGC wrote to universities who have affiliated colleges under it that no new courses should be permitted by them. A senior UGC official told that regulations need to be brought before the 2014-15 admission session activates. On the other side, AICTE officials are still expecting of their regulatory function to return either by amendment or through ordinance.

NEWS

Only 10% of students have access to higher education in country

ccess to education beyond higher secondary schooling is a mere 10% among the university-age population in India. This is the finding of a report “Intergenerational and Regional Differentials in Higher Education in India” authored by development economist, Abusaleh Shariff of the Delhi-based Centre for Research and Debates in Development Policy and Amit Sharma, research analyst of the National Council of Applied Economic Research. The report says that a huge disparity exists — as far as access to higher education is concerned — across gender, socioeconomic religious groups and geographical regions. The skew is most marked across regions. Thus, a dalit or Muslim in south India, though from the most disadvantaged among communities, would have better access to higher education than even upper caste Hindus in many other regions. Interestingly, people living in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal — designated as the north central region — and those in northeast India have the worst access to higher education. Those in southern India and in the northern region — consisting of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Haryana and Delhi — are relatively better placed in this regard. In the age group 22-35 years, over 15% in the northern region and 13% in the southern region have access to higher education. In the north-central region, the number is just 10% for men and 6% for women whereas in the northeast, only 8% men and 4% women have access to higher education. The report, brought out by the US-India Policy Institute in Washington, is based on data from the 64th round of NSSO survey 2007-08. It throws up quite a few other

interesting facts. For instance, among communities, tribals and dalits fare worst with just 1.8% of them having any higher education. Muslims are almost as badly off, with just 2.1% able to go for further learning. Similarly, just 2% of the rural population is educated beyond higher secondary level, compared to 12% of the urban population and just 3% of women got a college education compared to 6% of men. South India offers the best opportunities for socially inclusive access to higher education including technical education and

education in English medium. For instance, the share of Hindu SC/ST in technical education in south India is about 22%, and the share of Muslims 25%. These were the lowest shares among all communities in south India. But this was higher than the share of most communities including Hindu OBCs and upper caste Hindus in most other regions. South India also has the highest proportion of higher education in the private sector at about 42%, followed by western India where it is 22%. The northeast has the least privatized higher education sector and is almost entirely dependent on governmentrun or aided institutions.

annual expenditures ranging from less than Rs 1,000 to around Rs 1,500, except in north and south India, where the average is above Rs 2,000. Both private and privateaided institutions are quite costly, making them difficult to access for the poor. With little regulation of the quality of education and cost differentials, the poor and deprived are often trapped in low quality education, the report points out. It adds that although free education is provided at school level, it is almost nonexistent at higher levels. The report also compares India’s low 10% access to higher education with China’s 22% enrolment and the 28% enrolment in the US. Since the early 1990s, China’s postsecondary enrolments grew from 5 million to 27 million, while India’s expanded from 5 million to just 13 million, says the report, while emphasising that higher education has the potential to enhance productivity and economic value both at the individual and national levels. “The government has to urgently address the geographical skew in the availability of higher education facilities in the two regions of north-east and north-central,” says Shariff. “The central region, comprising Chhattisgarh, MP, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha, too needs attention. There is so much talk about a Harvard in India. I say, give two hoots to Harvard. What we need are thousands of community colleges that can offer professional courses so that youngsters can improve their skills and become employable.”

Not surprisingly, government institutions are the cheapest places to study at, with

Pallikkutam | January 2014

NEWS

Education should be child centric: Kapil Sibal

ooting for reforms in education

system, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday said reforms need to be child centric so that children can pursue their own dreams and aspirations.

He also propagated a 10-year vision to create a road map to facilitate reforms in education to ensure that India comes to the forefront of world’s education scene.

He further said: “We have a level of excellence that we have achieved which is symbolized by the launch (Mars mission) and you have the lack of excellence that is staring us in the face and that is the irony of India.”

Referring to India’s first mission to Mars, Sibal said: “When we talk about launching a satellite on to Mars, we have more than 220 million satellites in the country, our children and each satellite has its own trajectory. We should help them in finding their orbit and shine.”

He emphasized on the need to make education compatible to leverage technological advancements like cloud computing and low cost access devices.

Sibal has previously held HRD and Science & Technology Ministries. Speaking here on the occasion of the twoday CII global university-industry congress, the Minister said that education needs to concentrate on the child and not the curriculum. Its efforts should be to bring out the brilliance in the child.

“They are winding up because of lack of quality and a feeling among students that these institutions lack on individual structure and other things,” he said.

Commenting on the plight of education, Sibal said that ironically, while, satellite (Mars Mission) is being guided, “many institutions under the AICTE, engineering institutions, are closing down in India.

Sibal advocated providing students with low-cost devices that can facilitate access to educational material and global information anytime, anywhere. The Minister added that investment in education will suffer in absence of legislation saying it could create chaos and uncertainty.

President urges IITs to attract students for PG

resident Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday pressed upon the IITs to devise strategies to attract undergraduate students towards post graduate programmes and research activities, saying lack of enthusiasm to pursue higher studies does not auger well for the country.

The President said as against the student strength of 71,000 in National Institute of Technology (NITs), there are about 4,000

“IITs have so far not been very successful in attracting undergraduate students to post graduate education and research. IIT should devise some strategy to attract under graduate to post graduate programmes,” he said while addressing the 44th convocation of IIT-Delhi. “I understand that very few IIT graduates are pursuing specialised education leading to PhD or higher degrees. In the long term, this will deprive the country of talented specialised personnel who are most important assets in a knowledge economy,” he said.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

innovation. This does not speak well for our research facilities,” he said. Asserting that the present day economy is knowledge- driven, he said IIT-Delhi needs to take a giant leap as a contributor of knowledge. This can happen only by further strengthening and enhancing post graduate education and research in IITs, he said. India is also far behind in creation of intangible assets and creation of ownership. Hence, the time has come to recover this trend through research in frontier areas of technology, engineering and science, Mukherjee said.

PhD students. Similarly, in IITs, as against the strength of 60,000 students, there are around 3,000 PhD students. “This indicates that bright students are moving away from research and

As IIT system has seen an increase of new institutes and increase in number of seats, he asked the established and old IITs to provide the same kind of support and hand-holding to the new IITs which they received when they were set up by friendly countries.

INSIGHTS

Sleep boosts brain development S A

ccording to a new study reported online in the journal Brain Science, the connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain in young children develop rapidly during a good nights’ sleep. Such connections are essential for brain functions to mature. The research team under the leadership of Dr. Salome Kurth at the University of Colorado Boulder in USA came to this conclusion after elaborate studies using electroencephalograms (EEGs), which measures brain activity. They observed that during peaceful sleep, the connections within hemispheres weaken, while those between hemispheres got strengthened.

Remove anxiety with meditation

cientists and monks alike have suggested for years that meditation can cure anxiety. How this cure takes place has been proven by scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. They have identified the brain functions involved in the process in a report published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. They have identified the areas of the brain activated during meditation-related anxiety relief programs. In the test, healthy volunteers with normal levels of day-to-day anxiety were allowed to practice an anxietyreducing meditation practice, “mindfulness meditation”. Here people are taught to focus on breath and body sensations and to evaluate distracting thoughts and emotions non-judgmentally. The brain activities of the candidates are evaluated both before and after meditation training using a sophisticated brain imaging technique arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging, which is proven technique to image brain processes during meditation. The anxiety levels were measured both before and after brain scanning suggests that the participants decrease in anxiety during meditation by as much as 39 percent. This showed that a few minutes of mindfulness meditation is powerful to reduce normal everyday anxiety. The brain imaging has shown that during meditation, the anterior cingulated cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex were activated. These are the areas of brain responsible for executive-level functions. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which controls worrying, is found to have increased in activity during meditation. Similarly, the anterior cingulated cortex, which governs thinking and emotion, is also found activated. Both these activations seem to decrease anxiety.

It is known to the scientists that the brain functions change dramatically during early childhood. New brain connections are developed; some others are removed during this period of life. A fatty layer called “myelin” forms around the nerve fiber in the brain. This strengthens the connections by speeding up the transfer of information. Maturation of the nerve fibers is found to improve skills such as language, attention and impulse control. However, it is for the first time the influence of sleep on brain development is recognized. Researchers found strong indications of correlation between sleep and brain maturation during their experiments. They found that the strength of the connections between the left and right hemispheres increased by as much as 20 percent over a night’s sleep.

The neuro-imaging experiments during meditation thus identify the brain mechanisms associated with meditation-related anxiety relief in healthy people, complementing to the wealth of information correlating meditation and anxiety reduction.

New study on weak students

here is a popular contention that learning with “stronger peers” boosts performance of the weaker students. However, a new study apparently contradicts this conclusion. Michigan State University’s Scott Imberman and colleagues found that this is not always true. “Just because you have stronger peers doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to perform better” said Imberman, associate professor of economics and education. The study was based on students participating in “Gifted and talented program”, which has grown popularity

in USA. The research team analyzed the standardized test scores in math, science, reading, social studies and language arts of the students participating in the program to reach their conclusions.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

INSIGHTS

Exercise improves brain function S

regulation of behavior and emotions in hort bouts of physical exercises is found to boost higher brain functions social, academic, and sport settings. like, memory, concentration, planning, decision-making, etc. It is also found to boost self-control. These facts are revealed through a review of 24 relevant studies on the theme reported up to April 2012. Physical exercises are particularly important for children and teens, who develop their higher brain functions during these periods. Physical exercises are important for them to ensure academic achievement and to improve other aspects of their lives. The physical exercises are The review speculates that short bouts of found to enhance inhibition/interference exercise boost the cerebral blood flow to control, which are crucial for success in daily life. Inhibition is essential for

the pre-frontal areas of the brain, responsible for higher executive functions. The review also suggests that physical exercise also might help repair impaired higher brain functions, such as attention hyperactivity deficit disorder (ADHD) and autism. Similarly it might also delay the ravages of dementia. Modern times are characterized by more sedentary lifestyle, worldwide aging and the increasing prevalence of dementia. The results of the review highlight importance of regular physical exercise for general population to counter the bad effects of modern life-style.

Meditate to attain emotional control M

editation training has been shown to affect enduring emotional processing in the brain, according to a new study reported in the November issue of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. According to the researchers the part of brain, known for decades to be important for emotion, is modified slightly after meditational practices.

thoughts and emotions and “Compassion Meditation”, which includes methods to develop loving kindness and compassion for oneself and for others.

Many previous studies have suggested the hypothesis that meditation improves the practitioners’ emotional regulation. The current study reports reduction in the activation of amygdale-a structure at the base of the brain that is known to have role in processing memory and emotion. The current research venture to test the hypothesis: “Meditation training could also produce a generalized reduction in amygdala response to emotional stimuli”. The brain functions during meditation were measurable by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Two types of meditation techniques were put to test, namely “Mindful Attention Meditation”, which is propagated for developing attention and awareness of breathing,

Pallikkutam | January 2014

activation in the right amygdale in response to all images, supporting the hypothesis that meditation can improve emotional stability and response to stress. In the “Compassion Meditation” group, right amygdale activity was found to decrease in response to positive and neutral images. However, good practitioners of “Compassion Meditation” developed right amygdale activity in response of negative images depicting human suffering. The researchers conclude that two forms of meditation cultivate different aspects of mind. “Compassion Meditation” enhances compassionate feelings. Increased amygdale activation in this group was also correlated to reduced depression scores in the compassion meditation group, which suggests that having more compassion towards others may also be beneficial to oneself.

The fMRI images of the brains of the participants were taken at the Martinos Center’ state-of-art imaging facilities. The participants in the “Mindful Attention Meditation” showed a decrease in

The research supports the hypothesis that meditation may result in enduring, beneficial changes in brain function, especially in the area of emotional processing.

INSIGHTS

Nonverbal Learning Disability D

oes your child perform excellently well in language skills and yet lag behind in mathematics? It may be due to so called Non Verbal Learning Disability. NVLD is characterized by significant discrepancy between higher verbal skills and lower motor, visuo-spatial, and social skills. The affected children will develop deficits in perception, coordination, socialization, non-verbal problem-solving, understanding humor, and memorization. NVLD usually coexists with other disorders like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and hence remain indistinguishable. However, distinguishing a disorder is the key to its treatment. The findings of Michigan State University researchers published in Child Neuropsychology, help distinguish NVLD with other learning disorders.

No test to detect cognitive abilities A

new study from MIT neuroscientists working with education researchers at Harvard University and Brown University suggests that even high performing schools don’t influence their students’

abstract reasoning abilities. Such schools usually equip students to be successful in standardized qualifying tests. Such tests are designed to measure the knowledge and skills that students have acquired in school- the so called “crystallized intelligence”. However, when it comes to the “fluid intelligence”, such schools typically fail. “Fluid intelligence” consists in the ability to analyze abstract problems and to think logically. The researchers asked themselves the question: If you have a school that’s effectively helping kids from lower socioeconomic environments by moving up their scores and improving their

The research shows that the children diagnosed with NVLD had smaller spleniums than children with other learning disorders like Asperger’s and ADHD, and children who had no learning disorders. The splenium is part of the corpus callosum, a thick band of fibers in the brain that connects the left and right hemispheres and facilitates communication between the two sides. This posterior part of the corpus callosum serves the areas of the brain related to visual and spatial functioning. This possibly suggest that NVLD is a unique learning disorder in the family of learning disorders.

chances to go to college, then are those changes accompanied by gains in additional cognitive skills?” They found that educational practices designed to raise knowledge and boost test scores do not improve fluid intelligence.

The study does not find fault with schools who design their curriculum to boost test scores of students. It does not rubbish crystallized abilities students acquire in such systems. Rather, it points out to educational policy makers of the need to add practices that enhance cognitive skills into the curriculum. Such skills are seldom explicitly taught. Many studies have already concluded that educational programs that focus on improving memory, attention, executive function, and inductive reasoning can boost fluid intelligence. However, there is no agreement over the programs that are consistently effective for the purpose.

Childhood music training improves brain functions

rain functions associated with listening and the complex processing of sound get critical enhancement from the music training in the childhood, suggests a new study from Northwestern University. The study reports that adults with one to five years of musical training as children possessed improved brain responses to complex sounds, making them more effective at recognizing the fundamental frequency of the sound signal. Musical training also makes children better listeners later in life, the study observes. Thus even a short-term music lessons may

enhance lifelong listening and learning. This insight is useful not just for those students who later on pursue professional musical career. It applies to the general public of students. Hence, the music training needs to get adequate attention of educational policy makers and curriculum developers. These insights will be shortly published in the paper “A Little Goes a Long Way: How the Adult Brain is Shaped by Musical Training in Childhood” in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

COVER STORY

Can HMT regain its past glory?

COVER STORY

HMT was once an industry which did Kerala proud. Its decline is an obvious example of lack of vision and prudence at the political and bureaucratic levels. In its glorious days two decades ago, HMT had about 3,500 employees working in three shifts. Now its employee strength is less than 400.

he Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) compound at Kalamessery, Kochi, now bears a deserted look. HMT was once an industry which did Kerala proud. Its decline is an obvious example of lack of vision and prudence at the political and bureaucratic levels. In its glorious days two decades ago, HMT had about 3,500 employees working in three shifts. Now its employee strength is less than 400. The arrival of HMT’s Kalamassery unit has had a defining impact on the way Kerala’s industrial history has unfolded over the past 50 years. As part of an engineering behemoth, which Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru called the ‘jewel of the nation’, its appearance on Kerala’s shores with the 10 storied building (the tallest in Ernakulam those days) could not but be taken notice of. The aim of the ambitious HMT enterprise as a whole was “to manufacture mother machines to build modern industrial India”. A brief on the initial

years of the company in the 1960s is in glowing terms. The success in those years in technology absorption and in production competence ahead of the time schedule

prompted the company management to launch diversification and expansion drives, resulting in the duplication of the Bangalore unit. Units at Pinjore, Kalamassery and

Hyderabad were the results of this optimism and vision. The setting up of the HMT unit had a cascading effect. A whole lot of new businesses imbibed strength from the concept of advanced engineering and rapidly grew around the HMT unit since its inauguration in 1966. The most prominent bus stop on National Highway 47 after Ernakulam used to be HMT Junction. The reputation remains intact to this day despite the travails of the unit and the fact that the new generation may hardly be aware of the great drama that unfolded on the State’s industrial stage on account of its arrival here. The decline in the unit’s fortunes has been quite dramatic too. The decline in the employee strength apart, “constant shortage of working capital is the most serious problem confronting the unit”, according to K K Balachandran, the unit chief and General Manager.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

COVER STORY

The decline in the unitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fortunes has been quite dramatic too. The decline in the employee strength apart, constant shortage of working capital is the most serious problem confronting the unit.

A group of employees, under the banner of HMT Employeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union, has been on a relay hunger strike from January 1, 2010, demanding the induction of professional management, revision of salaries and wages and raising of the pension age to 60 from the current 58 years. The present conditions can change significantly at Kalamassery if there is sufficient working capital, says Balachandran. The Kalamassery had been marked by high skill levels of employees and commitment on their part.

Kalamassery HMT to be independent A high-level committee convened by Union Ministers Praful Patel and K V Thomas has decided to make Kalamassery HMT an independent company. Among the six HMT Machine Tools units across the country, the Kalamassery unit alone has been making some profits. This has been so for the last

Pallikkutam | January 2014

five years. The gross profit was Rs 6.25 Crore and net profit Rs 2.26 Crore in the last fiscal year. With the unit becoming an autonomous entity, the company can initiate joint undertakings with PSUs like Cochin Shipyard, FACT, Kochi Metro, Kochi Refineries and LNG Terminal. The decision taken by the Centre to make the Kalamassery unit an independent company is expected to mop up its capital position and talent pool, apart from enhancing emoluments of the existing employees. The loss-making status of the HMT Machine Tools entities as a whole was depriving the employees of the Kalamassery unit also of salary increases. The pay scale in the unit is now at a level which was revised in 1992; despite the fact that the unit was making profits. When the unit is made independent, it will be possible to offer better compensation package to the staff, says Balachandran. The increased operational freedom that the new decision extends to the company will also enhance its

prospects of launching joint ventures with other public sector entities. It will also provide the enabling environment to increased talent acquisition to the company which with its 350-odd personnel is facing severe manpower shortage, he said. BRPSE has recommended total revival for the company. It has also mooted allotment of working capital of Rs 75 crore for 201314. The Union Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Sector Enterprises has decided to appoint a commission to study the proposal. The report is expected to be submitted within two months. BRPSE has also recommended an increase in retirement age from 58 to 60.

Business opportunities Lots of new initiatives are in pipeline to regain HMTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lost glory. HMT Kalamassery has bagged orders worth Crores of rupees with BEL, at the behest

COVER STORY

Lots of new initiatives are in pipeline to regain HMT’s lost glory. A high-level committee convened by Union Ministers Praful Patel and K V Thomas has decided to make Kalamassery HMT an independent company. Among the six HMT Machine Tools units across the country, the Kalamassery unit alone has been making some profits. tools unit is also keen to partner with Kochi Metro Rail Limited.

of Naval Physical Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Thrikkakkara, for supply of components. The deal, worth Crores of rupees could help improve the turnover of the machine tools unit, which is planning a large-scale expansion. While the deal would boost the prospects of the unit, it would help the Kochi-based Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) unit to have some of the important orders executed locally. The tieup with NPOL will be an important step in its march towards progress. The machine

HMT Kalamassery: Manufacturing Facilities Can handle machining of components weighing up to 10 tons

The HMT unit has more than 300 acres of land at Kalamassery, which could be used for the expansion project. The HMT unit at Kalamassery is keen to enter into an agreement with Kochi Metro Rail Limited for manufacture of metro rail components and discussions are in progress. While the pact with the metro rail company might take more time, the nod for the defense facility could come soon.

Major Projects Executed First in the country to manufacture CNC Slant Bed Turning Center through in-house development

FIE Foundation Award for Excellence in Design at IMTEX 1975 (FC 25) FIE Foundation Award for Excellence in Design at IMTEX 1979 (SBC 35)

Pattern shop Tool room with latest facilities

CMTI-PMT Foundation Award for Excellence in Design (SBCNC 35) at IMTEX 1979

In-house heat treatment plant

Best application engineering

Machines exported to Europe, America

Awards of Excellence

A range of CNC machines for manufacturing small parts and heavy parts

Online production monitoring and material management system

Heavy duty CNC Turning Machines with gantry load/unload systems

and Middle East Countries

Captive foundry of capacity 2500 MT per annum – Size of Grey Cast Iron casting up to 9.5 MT & S.G. Iron up to 2 MT

Experienced in-house design team with CAD facility

heavy armour penetrator for Stragegic Sector

First in the country to develop flexible turning cells Design, development, manufacture and commissioning of fully automated flexible turning system to manufacture

Vasvik Award (STC 25) PRINTEK’90 Technology Award (SOM 125) FIE Foundation Award for Excellence in Design at IMTEX 2001 (STALLION HS)

Pallikkutam | January 2014

STORIES OF LIFE

The teenage girl who is back to life after a kidnap Dr. Jos Cletus Plackal

One day on her way to college Rose was abducted by some men in a taxi car and was let off in the far end of the city. Rose told her parents that she could identify her abductors.

ose ,18 years, a first year nursing student was brought to the clinic by her parents along with a host of her relatives. They all looked worried, helpless and confused. The parents painfully narrated what had happened to their dear daughter. One day on her way to college Rose was abducted by some men in a taxi car and was let off in the far end of the city. Rose told her parents that she could identify her abductors. The parents were extremely worried and perplexed, yet at times expressed doubts about their daughter’s version of the dramatic events as she vividly narrated. The family found her walking aimlessly in a remote part of the city. Rose spoke in

earnest to convince them that she really was abducted and that this whole thing was so frightening, she didn’t want to talk about it. Rose’s background was equally confusing and entangled. She is a tall, slim, beautiful girl interested in becoming a medical professional. Rose got admitted in the degree course in a public college and was earnest to achieve her great ambition. Unfortunately She caught jaundice and missed a month’s classes. She hails from a low income family and her father is a semiskilled worker. Rose has a sister who is two years younger and “very snobbish and silly”. Obviously the older one does not get along well with the younger one, and vice versa! Rose’s mother is very loving and gentle. Although the father loves the older daughter very much, she doesn’t reciprocate that love. He is an

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alcoholic and every day he picks up a quarrel with mom, ending up in physical abuse and mental torture. Ever since she was a child, she has been forced to witness to these horrible scenes. No wounder Rose is so shy and different, has very few friends. Though lately Rose has been jumping into the family fray, she accuses her father of destroying the peace of the family. Father’s counter-accusation is that she is the puppet of her mother. To make things worse, Rose has developed a habit of fainting at frequent intervals. This made it impossible for her to continue her college education. An in-depth interview with the family brought the following facts to light: 1.

Rose was under tremendous stress, both at home and in college.

She was physically weak and had very low blood pressure, resulting in fainting at slightest provocation.

STORIES OF LIFE

After four days of continuous counseling and therapy, Rose became almost symptoms-free. She was helped to sharpen her determination to achieve her goal of becoming a medical professional. 3.

dissociating the exaggerate anxiety about the studies and the phobia and shame associated with the abduction episode. For this, Brain Wave Therapy was administered. She was advised to discontinue her college classes for the time The day she was ‘abducted’ she being. Rose also received attention about was supposed to appear for a her tendency to faint. The frequency of class test for which she had not fainting attacks was brought under control. prepared a thing. Long restructuring of the personality, Rose has started identifying with improving the coping skills, family her negative role model- short dynamics separation and individuation etc. tempered, quarrelsome etc. were attempted. Since Rose’s father is very loving but disruptive, this issue had As she missed out a month’s to be tackled. Fortunately he cooperated. classes, she didn’t understand She was given training in separation, much of what was taught in the individuation from the family’s emotional class. ego-mess. She was given motivational Rose had suicidal ideation and inputs such as her determination to verbalization with one attempt become a medical professional was far to cut her veins. greater than her fear of exams, disruption Rose is quiet a determined young at home etc. She was advised to take up lady yet was unable to reach her less work load and she complied. goal. This made her more Therapeutic outcome miserable, confused and After four days of anguished. continuous Her father was not a source of strength due to his alcoholism. She loves and hates him. She has felt deep sense of insecurity and fear.

counseling and therapy, Rose became almost symptoms-free. No more fainting, reduced rivalry with sister, no more depressive spells, no suicidal ideation and verbalization etc. In the follow- up sessions, She was helped to sharpen her determination to achieve her goal of becoming a medical professional. For this she had to separate and individuate from the enmeshing, disruptive family dynamics and had to work for emotional empowerment. After one year Rose was successful in regaining admission in a Government college and completed a semester without events. She is earnest in her professional studies and enjoys all activities. At this rate Rose is sure to attain her goal of becoming a medical professional as well as an integrated caring person. The author is licensed clinical psychologist (HRT), Jeevas Centre Aluva.

Therapeutic strategy and intervention Immediate attention went to

Pallikkutam | January 2014

EXPERT COUNSEL

Keep society and rule of law above self Dr. K.N. Raghavan

Corruption can be curbed only if each citizen takes upon himself the task of placing society and rule of law above self. Punishments and tougher laws might act as a deterrent in the short run and may also be successful in masking the symptoms, but without curing the malaise.

he success of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the recently concluded elections to the Delhi state legislature has shaken the political class thoroughly for a number of reasons. AAP has been unique in many ways- as the first political organization to fight elections after being born as an off shoot of an anti corruption movement; for making it loud and clear that the party and its leading lights would not play by the rules that had hitherto bound politicians and political parties and for ensuring that the candidates put up by them were new faces who had not fought elections before. The commitment and zeal of its cadres along with a forceful and well planned campaign helped to convert the novelty and admiration into ballots, thus ensuring a stunning electoral performance which has the potential to be a game changer in the history of parliamentary democracy in India. This event has served to bring the enactment of Lokpal Bill, which is aimed at curbing corruption in public life, into sharp public focus once again. There cannot be any two opinions about the adverse impact that corruption has on the economic health of the nation besides its capacity for imperilling the moral structure of the polity. In the six and a half decades since independence, corruption has

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unfortunately increased, developing tentacles that have engulfed all sections of the society. Thus there is an urgent need

to tackle this menace head on with the intention of rooting it out and the verdict of Delhi elections highlights the angst and anxiety that the common man has in this regard.

However before deciding on how to eradicate corruption we should analyse why it happens in the first place. I will begin this by recounting a couple of instances when I was forced to shell out bribes. The first instance took place in 1987 when I and some friends of mine from Medical College had gone on a tour which took us to Kathmandu. While leaving Indian borders we were asked by Customs officers whether we had anything to declare whereupon we informed that we had with us only cloths and articles for personal use and some sarees bought from Benares during the course of our tour. We were told that they were not required to be declared at the point of leaving the country. But when we returned we saw a different face of the same department and the officer who was on duty said that we would not be allowed to proceed unless we paid a hefty sum as duty. Our fervent pleas that we had carried these goods out of India fell on deaf ears and the officer became more adamant. Finally a tout who was loitering in the background approached us and told us to settle the matter by paying a bribe. We were aghast as we had not brought anything from abroad nor done anything wrong. However we also realized that there was precious little we could do as we were in an unknown part of the

EXPERT COUNSEL

The most crucial reason for the growth of corruption, which can be termed as an unholy urge to promote oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own interests unmindful of the damage it causes to the society at large. Corruption can thrive only in a society where there exist persons willing to pay as well as to accept bribes. country without any access to help and assistance. So we pooled together some money and paid the bribe after intense negotiations. This incident continues to rankle me as it made me painfully aware of the helplessness that a person experiences when confronted with misused authority. The next instance happened when I was umpiring my first ever Ranji Trophy match at Ranchi in December 1992. The match was to get over on 7 December but Bihar so outplayed Tripura that the game got over one day earlier. As we were completing the post match formalities, my cousin, who was working in Ranchi, came over and told me that there were reports of some troubles in Ayodhya and hence it was better to leave at the earliest since curfew is declared in the city at the smallest of provocations. So I finished my work and went with him to railway station, where I bought a second class ordinary ticket from Ranchi to Kochi. My cousin, who was meanwhile talking to another railway officer, called me and told me to hand over a small amount to the officer, which I did. Then he took me away and told me that the payment was for getting a reserved berth in the train. I was sceptical whether the bribe would work but when the train came to the platform I saw my name printed in the chart against a reserved berth. Thus I managed to leave Ranchi before troubles broke out in the city while my fellow umpire who refused to change his ticket the way I did was forced to spend another 15 days there on account of the curfew that was imposed. If the first incident had angered me, the second one had pleased me and I used to

narrate this before many audiences. But as time progressed I started wondering about the correctness of my action. In the course of first incident I (and my friends) had been threatened by a rogue officer who managed to extort money from us by threats. The best that we could have done was to complain to his superiors which we did not do. In the second instance I stood

guilty of encouraging a practice which not only denied Indian Railways a fair share of its revenue but further deprived a passenger the reserved berth that he was eligible for. So by any standards my actions at Ranchi about which I had felt happy were more detrimental to the public as a whole. But my thought process, which was totally focussed on my personal interests, made me angry with an unscrupulous officer at the Indo Nepal border while making me feel grateful to another corrupt official at Ranchi.

This brings one to the most crucial reason for the growth of corruption, which can be termed as an unholy urge to promote oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own interests unmindful of the damage it causes to the society at large. Corruption can thrive only in a society where there exist persons willing to pay as well as to accept bribes. While the former part with money for short circuiting the system with the intention of promoting his narrow, selfish interests, the latter does so solely for enriching himself. This is the reason why law enforcing authorities have traditionally placed the bribe givers on par with bribe takers. However the existence of rogue officers, like the one I encountered at Indo Nepal border, bring out a strong case for protecting the ordinary citizens through pro active measures such as supporting whistle blowers etc to weed out such elements. In the final analysis, corruption can be curbed only if each citizen takes upon himself the task of placing society and rule of law above self. Punishments and tougher laws might act as a deterrent in the short run and may also be successful in masking the symptoms, but without curing the malaise. AAP is a good beginning; its success has made the citizens aware of their rights and privileges in a democracy. But the organisation would be able to reach its goals only if it is able to reach out to the population with the message that rights are required to be balanced with responsibilities and personal interests should never override national and common goals.

The author is the Commissioner of Customs in Kochi.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

NOTES ON CREATIVITY

Hone your fluent thinking skills Dr. Varghese Panthalookaran CMI

High intelligence quotient (IQ) may not suffice to ensure success in life. It is not sufficient when it comes to creative contributions, which usually benchmarks successful lives. We need to develop high values of creative intelligence quotient, to ensure successful career and entrepreneurship.

ffortlessly flow a river from the hilltop to the valley. It gently responds to the inherent gravity pulls and exhibits mesmerizing spontaneity as they fall. A joyous experience to an onlooker! So is a person gushing out incessant stream of powerful thoughts! People love to listen to such speakers with awe and reverence. Great artists, philosophers, statesmen, and all creative thinkers repeated the same feat in the past. The prolific ideas and fluent thoughts characterized them as a class.

the scorching sun of life. I have seen many of them becoming entrepreneurs contributing significantly towards the welfare of the society. They become highly successful in business, the arts, science, education, politics, and more. They even contribute much better than those intelligent “front benchers”, who often end up with lacklustre careers!

This warrants careful distinction between two types of intelligence: ordinary intelligence and creative intelligence. Ordinary intelligence is something that As a teacher, I have observed many so could be measured using intelligence called “dull” students. Let free, they love quotient (IQ). It signifies the power of to occupy the last benches – the so called “last benchers”. They pay attention to you your brain to think clearly and distinctly. The output of ordinary intelligence is with great difficulty and often under logical conclusions, the right answers, and coercion. They get easily distracted. However, at times they may surprise you well-founded inferences. Creative with their stunningly creative ideas! They intelligence rather posits large number of creative options. Ordinary intelligence and are damn creative! Their eyes glitter in creative intelligence are two sides of the response to your creative suggestions. same coin, called success in life. These “back benchers” are often found successful in the life-after-school. They It was Joy Paul Guilford (1897-1987) who stand the test of time. Being baptized in first distinguished between two forms of fire of failures, they do not wither away in

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thinking: Divergent and convergent (J.P. Guilford, “Traits of creativity” in H.H. Anderson (ed.), Creativity and its Cultivation, Harper, 1959, pp 142-61). Divergent thinking “diverges” in that it is not linear. It is rather lateral, not directed to the only best solution. It seeks multiple viable solutions. Convergent thinking, on the other hand, seeks the logical solution, which is at the same time the “best answer”. True intelligence is “multipleintelligence”, equipped for both convergent and divergent thinking. Therefore, high intelligence quotient (IQ) may not suffice to ensure success in life. It is not sufficient when it comes to creative contributions, which usually benchmarks successful lives. We need to develop high values of creative intelligence quotient, to ensure successful career and entrepreneurship. It is high time that we train the new generation students in creative thinking too, to ensure that they are successful in their globalized work place. They should

NOTES ON CREATIVITY

accepted measure of creativity made popular in his name.

The popular assignment of logical thinking to the left hemisphere of the brain and creative thinking to the right hemisphere may not be accurate. However, students should learn to integrate both the logical and creative functions of their brain. Education is complete only if we equip students for creative contributions.

The very first measure of creative thinking skills in both these schemes is but “fluency of thinking”. Both Guilford and Torrance consider fluent thinking as a stepping stone to creativity. Those who master the skill of fluent thinking, according to them, will be naturally initiated to creative thinking, creative problem solving, creative decision making, and to creative living. Equipped with fluent thinking, a student may undertake creative assignments; an adult may develop a piece of art or write a book; a parent may identify alternate ways of executing a boring task; a home-maker may become resourceful to rightly choose vacation programs for children. Fluent thinking skills can change the locus of your life for better.

How to measure creative thinking skills? There are many standard methods of measuring intelligence quotient (IQ) of an individual. One may wonder how we could ever measure creative thinking skills. There are, in fact, many attempts in this regard from the part of educational psychology. It was J.P. Guilford, who gave one of the first schemes for measuring creative thinking skills. He suggested that creative thinking could be measured based on the scales of fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration. He developed a “gold standard” for estimating creative thinking skills based on them.

Fluent Thinking Skills

Fluency of thinking, according to Torrance, consists in generating great number of ideas and alternate solutions to a given problem. Quantity of ideas, not their quality, is the primary concern of the first phase of Dr. Ellis Paul Torrance (1915 – 2003) built creative thinking. Ideas should flow freely on Guilford’s research, gave suitable and quickly. They should occur fluently modifications and popularized this method and in plenty. This is just the steppingof measuring creative thinking skills. It was stone to skills of creative thinking. The later on known as Torrance Tests of quality of the ideas generated is simply Creative Thinking (TTCT). Many unimportant at this juncture. consider E.P. Torrance as the “father of Fluent thinking can be distinguished from creativity research” because of this widelythe so called “brain storming”. Thinking

fluently requires that one think about related topics. It is a correlated thinking. On the other hand, in brain-storming ideas pop up just like a popping corn in a popcorn machine. Unrelated ideas pop up during a brain-storming session. In a fluent-thinking session, on the other hand, related ideas emerge. It is more comparable to a stream flowing incessantly from the top of a hill. It gushes out and flows down as an incessant torrent. It coordinates different elements of truth, and makes it a whole. Fluent thinkers often access their long-term memory and get in touch with their foundational life experience. This allows them to present a total picture of things in many facets. Thinking fluently is more or less an individual activity, which may be at times done in a group. On the other hand, brain-storming is primarily a group activity, which is at times done at individual level. Free and effortless flow of related ideas characterizes fluent thinking; whereas diversity of ideas determines success of a brain-storming session. In order to develop the skill of fluent thinking, one should learn the skills to compare, convert, invert, associate, adapt, define, illustrate, explain, identify, label, list, match, outline, paraphrase, predict, summarize, etc. the ideas at hand. It requires much more intellectual prowess, much more than just memorizing ideas as in rote learning. Higher order learning skills are the necessary pre-requisite of fluent thinking.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

NOTES ON CREATIVITY

Do not allow your inhibitions to obstruct that flow. It is your inner freedom that counts, which will be reflected in your fluent thinking. If your mind is sufficiently free, your thoughts will follow your mind. Fluency of thinking can express itself in many different ways: Word fluency consists in the ability to use larger vocabulary of words to express precisely what one want to describe; associational fluency consists in fluently using synonyms for a given word; expressional fluency consists in easily writing wellformed sentences with a specified content; ideational/imaginational fluency consists in easily developing concepts to meet the challenges of a given task.

• Learn the art of comparison: E.g. A book

your right hand.

is like a machine gun, it shoots out ideas.

• Label same thing differently. E.g. Give different captions to the same photo.

• Exercise conversion techniques: E.g. Convert a “Lion” into “Dear”: Lion-LoirLiar-Lear-Dear.

• Invert words to generate different meaning. E.g. A word could become a Sword if you add your “Yes” in front of it.

• Associate an idea with another one to bring about a different sense. E.g. World is round, when it is surrounded.

• Match one thing to many other things to produce different senses. • Outline the same event to evoke different feelings in the hearers.

• Narrate the same story differently so as to bring them to different climaxes.

• Emulate a well-known rhyme with

How to develop fluent thinking skills?

• Adapt an idea to communicate different

different melody.

The fascinating aspect of the fluent thinking skills is that they can be honed. With adequate practice one could systematically open up to the world of creative thinking. Given below are some exercises that would help students to train in fluent thinking skills:

senses. E.g. Sky is blue-Sky looks blueSky appears blue.

• Predict different outcomes for the same • Summarize a text in many different ways • Write a poem in different physical

property. E.g. Red Colour: Blood, Red Sea, Chinese flag, setting sun, Apple, etc.

• Define a common thing in numerous ways. E.g. To smile is a way to show your appreciation to somebody; To smile is to move your muscles in a coordinated way so as to please others; To smile is your “yes” to go extra-mile; To smile is to smell nitrous oxide; To smile is to imitate Monalisa.

• Categorize things into groups: E.g. List

• Illustrate things differently: It rains

food items corresponding to all letters of the English alphabet.

clouds weep; It rains as the cloud chuckles; It rains as the clouds pisses; It rains as the cloud wellspring, etc.

• List different things that share a common

• Pool different types of things sharing similar names: E.g. Round table, Water table, Table of contents, Table land, etc.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

• Explain things differently. E.g. Explain different ways to touch your nose with

course of action.

formats. In all these exercises, make sure that you allow your ideas to flow freely. Do not allow your inhibitions to obstruct that flow. It is your inner freedom that counts, which will be reflected in your fluent thinking. If your mind is sufficiently free, your thoughts will follow your mind. It makes you creative. Your inhibitions, on the other hand, will chock your ideas. Inner freedom is the true locus of both fluent thinking and creativity.

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ktlm-Z-c≥am-cp-sSbpw _nPn-_m-ens‚bpw Iot_m¿Uv t{]m{Km-a¿ Beph IogvamSv A‘-hnZym-e-b-Øn¬ aq∂mw ¢m n¬ ]Tn- Bbn Ipd-®p-h¿j-ßƒ. Cß-s\sbm-s°-bmbncp∂p kwKo-X-h-gn-bn°p-tºm-gmWv A^vk¬ ]mńt\mSpw kwKoX-tØmSpw NßmØw te-°p-ff A^vk-ens‚ bm{X-Iƒ. IqSn-b-Xv. tlmkv‰-en¬ hnZym¿∞n- A\p-`-h-ßƒ Icp-Ømbn Iƒ°v ]cn-io-en-°m-\p-ff lm¿tamA^vk¬ Ggp-hsc ]TnWnbw aoń-bm-bn-cp∂p XpS°w .a-\®Xv Beph kv°qƒ t^m¿ ns‚ IÆp-sIm≠v lm¿tam-Wnbw ssª≥Unse t_m¿Un-Mn¬ \n∂maoń-bm-bn-cp∂p A^vk¬ kwKo-XØns‚ hgn-bn-te-°v \-S-∂Sp-ØXv. A-°m-eØv hońse-Øn-bm¬ lm¿tam-Wn-bØn\v ]Icw Iot_m¿Un¬ ]cn-io-en®p.-Hmtcm ]m´pw \nc-¥cw aqfn lm¿tam-Wn-b-Ønepw Iot_m¿Unepw CuW-an´mWv A^vk¬ kwKo-XØn-te°v NphSv sh®-Xv. ]n-∂oSv B a\w \ndsb kwKoXw am{X-am-bn. Pohn-X-Ønse hgn-Øn-cnhv kwKo-tXm-]-I-c-Wßƒ X\nsb hmbn-®p-t\m°p-∂-Xm-bn-cp∂p A^vkens‚ sNdp-∏-Ønse t\ctºm°v.h-f¿∂-t∏mƒ kwKo-XsØ Kuc-htØmsS I≠p.- _-‘phmb kwhn-[m-I≥ ^mkn¬ hgn Hutk-∏-®s\ ]cn-N-b-s∏-´Xv Pohn-X-Øn¬ ]pXnb hgn-Øn-cn-hm-bn. -B-Zy-ambn t{]m{KmanMv sNøn-®Xpw Km\-Øns‚ _n.Pn.-Fw.-H-cp-°m-\m-h-iy-s∏-´Xpw At±-l-am-Wv."-kz]v\w sIm≠v Xpem`mc'Ønse "IkvXq-cn-°pdn sXm´v...'-F∂ ]mń-\p-th-≠n.-]n-∂oSv cho-{μ≥ amjn-s‚bpw t_Wn Ct·-jy-kn-s‚bpw ssIX{]w

Item¬k-h-Øn¬ hn≥Uv Cukvtd¨ hn`m-K-Øn¬ XpS¿®bmbn hnP-bn-bm-bn-cp-∂p.- Cw-•ojv _ncpZw ]q¿Øn-bm-°nb A^vk¬ alm-cm-Pm-kn¬ _n.-F.-ayq-kn-°n\v tN¿s∂-¶nepw apgp-h-\m-°msX t{]m{Km-an-Mn-te°v Xncn-bp-I-bm-bncp-∂p. a[pcn-°p∂ Hm¿Ω-Iƒ kwKo-X-Po-hn-XØns‚ AºXmw h¿jw BtLm-jn-®-t∏mƒ Km\K-‘¿Δ≥ Xnc-s™SpØ CjvS-ap-ff 50 ]m´p-I-fn¬ H∂m-bncp∂p "Ie-≠-dn'se "NndIm¿∂ au\w...'-CXv X\n°v e`n® hen-sbmcp AwKo-Im-c-ambn A^vk¬ Icp-Xp∂p. Hcn-°¬ tZh-cm-P≥ amkvd-dsd sN∂p-I≠Xpw tXmf-Øp-X´n At±lw ss[cyw-]I¿∂Xpw Cu bphmhv s\t©mSp tN¿°p∂ Hm¿Ω-bm-Wv. IpSpw-_-hn-ti-j-ßƒ

-sIm-®n≥ bqWn-thgvkn-ddn-bn¬ sIankv{Sn eIvN-d¿ Bbn-cp∂ tUm.-sI.-sI.-ap-l-ΩZv bn-cp-∂p. -A-hn-sS∂v In´nb A\p-`- bqk-^n-s‚bpw ^mØn-a-bp-sSbpw h-ßfpw Icp-Øp-amWv \nXy-Po-hn- aI-\mWv A^vk¬ bqk-^v.`mcy:Pnj.-a-°ƒ˛sl\ ^mØnX-Ønepw {]Xn-k-‘n-I-fnepw a(G-gv),-^nZ ^mØn-a(A©v),-AA^vk-en\v XpW-bm-Ip-∂-Xv.- B_vZpƒ d“m≥(-H-∂-c).Fd-Wm-Ipfw scbpw B{i-bn-°msX kz¥w ]p°m-´p-]-Sn-bnse "lcn--XIw' ho´nBh-iy-ßƒ sNøm\pw FgpXm\pw hmbn-°m-\p-sa√mw ]Tn-s®-Sp- emWv A^vkepw IpSpw-_hpw Xmakw. Øp. -Fw.-Pn.-bq-Wn-th-gvkn-ddn Pallikkutam | January 2014

PEDAGOGY

Students’ learned helplessness in writing Jose K. C.

Can we let our students love what they write? Let not the high sounding jargons of academic writing distract them. Academic writing then will become a piece of hot cake and a cup of welcome tea to our students.

ijay Krishnan, class X, in an Ernakulam suburban school is “hopeless” in writing essays. The “hopelessness” comprises poverty of ideas, loose organization, incoherence, ill-defined topic sentences and – much to the teachers’ chagrin – the failure to belong. His essays, in the pedagogic jargon, evades the classification – argumentative, expository, narrative and you name it…”My God, they just don’t belong,” something in the fashion of O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape (1922). Such ‘Vijayean hopelessness”, the seasoned teaching fraternity admits, is a frequent stone in the otherwise delicious curry of teaching English. Highly

Pallikkutam | January 2014

recommended remedies from within and without the country have been tried – writing portfolio, writers’ workshop, relay writing, peer editing and so on. Despite these remedies, many of our Vijay’s still write substandard. The teacher’s label “hopeless” sticks and sinks and the Vijay’s continue to be such even in tertiary institutes once sneaked in. I may be allowed to call this writing handicap ‘learned helplessness.’ For, once when Vijay was still in Class X, I chanced to read a pretty long love letter Vijay had meant for his girl-friend, Shruti Balan. Head over heels in love with Shruti for a month then, Vijay had struggled hard to clear a

misunderstanding that had so mischievously crept into her head. But the struggle was in vain. Shruti was not convinced. So, Vijay sat down; his sorrow and helplessness sat down with him. So did his undiluted passion for Shruti, his do-or-die pining heart. And they together wrote that wonderful piece. It’s Vijay, his heart, soul, brain, self, image, esteem – a multitude – that wrote it. “I am large; I contain multitudes,” as Whitman sang. A Whitmanesque charm his love letter had indeed. It had marvelous richness of ideas, cogent argumentation and silky persuasion, coherent presentation and bull’s eye-hitting quotes. A wave of exhilaration ran down my

PEDAGOGY

It had marvelous richness of ideas, cogent argumentation and silky persuasion, coherent presentation and bull’s eye-hitting quotes. A wave of exhilaration ran down my spine as I read it.. The composition was immaculate except for some jarring grammar slips, which hardly interfered with its irresistible communication. hardly interfered with its irresistible communication. Vijay’s is an interesting case study. He is “hopeless” in a typical classroom academic writing but superb (at least to me) in one of his personal writings. When he writes to Shruti, he is not worried about the hierarchy of the ‘process of writing’; he is not in the least bothered about the topic sentences in each paragraph; never does “coherence” distract his flow. He just does not know which sub-genre his essay belongs to. But still, his finished product shows all of them. Then, what was the big motive force, the great enabling factor when he wrote? He was passionate; he targeted a 100% persuasion of Shruti – his audience was concrete. Vijay’s inability for academic writing was learned helplessness. His teacher with good intentions taught him the chemistry of writing, the philosophy of the audience, tone and coherence and at last the taxonomy of the genre, essay. He lost his way in this academic jungle and he developed a belief in his inability to write a well-knit essay; he thought he did not belong. Can we let our students love what they write? Let them have before them a concrete audience. Let not the high sounding jargons of academic writing distract them. Academic writing then will become a piece of hot cake and a cup of welcome tea to our students. Let them belong, unlike O’Neill’s Yank. Epilogue A father tells his son, “Dear son, Shruti is a nice girl. I like her. Why don’t you marry her?” The son obliges, out of filial duty. Before long, their marriage sails in rough waters.

The author is lecturer in English, College of education, Samtse, Bhutan

Pallikkutam | January 2014

PERSONAL

Love at the expense of character Sajit Malliyoor

Building character strength is not an academic activity, in fact, much of the training should happen at the family setting. In our attempt to provide our children with whatever they want, we love them probably at the expense of their character.

Working as a teacher in an upscale metropolitan school for more than 9 years gives me certain insights into the life of children in urban middle class families of Kerala. My school prides in our ability to inculcate higher values of life in our pupils and to equip them for a successful life, going forward. However, I’ve been repeatedly observing this phenomenon in many of our students. I may not be expressing it clearly, but I feel, they are somehow appearing ‘brittle’ in their approach to difficult situations. Here is an example: Last week, after the class tests, when the mark sheets are distributed, I had to face a mini melt down in the class. Many students were not happy with the marks they received and kept arguing with me to revise their scores. When I finally put my foot down and told, enough is enough; at least half a dozen of them went into crying spells. It leaves me really worried about their ability to face the adversities. I told them several stories about the need to face life as it comes etc, but I feel, we teachers require some professional guidance in handling similar situations. Kindly advice us on how to build strength in them.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

In the year 2010, a documentary film, ‘Race to Nowhere’ made a kind of ripples in several wealthy suburbs across the country of United States of America. The movie deals with the stressors faced by the privileged American high school students. It is the story of a high achieving adolescent girl who faces increasing pressure to succeed both at class and home, which finally ends up in taking her own life. What the film really helped was in bringing about a movement of psychologists and educators who argued that the present practices and methods employed to raise and educate the kids in affluent families are actually devastating them. In her book “The price of privilege”, Psychologist Dr Madeline Levin who is a key figure in the movement, sites several studies and surveys to back up her argument that children of affluent parents now exhibit “unexpectedly high rates of emotional problems beginning in junior high schools”. She attribute it to the prevailing practices of child rearing in the wealthy families where the parents are likely to remain emotionally distant from their children and at the same time insist

on high achievement, which creates intense feelings of shame and hopelessness in children. The scenario is not exclusive to the USA, and Kerala is definitely not lagging far behind. Often we come across reports on students taking extreme steps in response to failures. It leaves one wondering what is going wrong with the kids. I am happy to see that a teacher perceives the problem from the perspective of building strength, but a comprehensive answer to your query is beyond the scope of this column. Hence I’ll focus here exclusively on character strength as a remedy to the malady. Discussions on academic achievement usually hover around IQ as the predictor of success. But we also know that IQ alone is not sufficient to conquer the scholastic heights. Learning is hard! Those who excel are the ones with exceptional character strengths- the essential traits of minds and habits- like optimism, persistence and social intelligence. Those who succeed are the ones, who can recover from a bad grade and resolve to do better next time; who resist the urge to go out for

PERSONAL The characters more relevant to the problems here are the ‘performance characters’ which include values like perseverance, self control, diligence etc. This scenario presents you with a unique opportunity to be the champion of character strength training! a movie and stay home and study instead. Psychologists have been researching on the character strengths that bring about better chances of enduring success and happiness in life. Dr Martin Seligman and Dr Christopher Peterson in their book, ‘Character strength and Virtues’ comes up with a list of 24 character strengths common to all cultures and eras. A more manageable list of 7 strengths their research found to be especially likely to predict life satisfaction and high achievement are the following: Zest, Grit, SelfControl, Social Intelligence, Gratitude, Optimism, and Curiosity. Like many other traits, character is also half nature, and half nurture. Unfortunately, not much public discourse is happening in our part of the world on nurturing the character strengths. Value and character education is widely adopted in our schools but these programmes mostly focus on the ‘moral character’ values like integrity, fairness, generosity etc. The characters more relevant to the problems here are the ‘performance characters’ which include values like perseverance, self control, diligence etc. This scenario presents you with a unique opportunity to be the champion of character strength training! You could begin by compiling a list of ‘indicators’ for the above mentioned character strengths. Assess the children on their characters using these indicators and then communicate with students about their strengths and the areas where they need improvement. You may also seek the help of competent Psychologists in the training programme. Building character strength is not an academic activity, in fact, much of the training should happen at the family setting. There is a word of caution to the parents. In our attempt to provide our children with whatever they want, to protect them from the dangers and discomforts; we love them probably at the expense of their character. By indulging them and overzealously protecting them from the hardships, we may be depriving them of the kind of experiences that can lead to character growth. Characters like Grit and Self-control are built through the repeated cycles of failures and fight backs. Children can do with a little hardship, some challenge, some deprivation that they can overcome, even if just to prove to themselves that they can. We all want our children to succeed, but it is just that in order to do so, they first need to learn how to fail! Please send your queries to malliyoor@outlook.com

Pallikkutam | January 2014

RESEARCH

Distil the Mind off Negatives

RESEARCH

Scientists have discovered a system that drains waste products from the brain. The finding may reveal new ways to treat neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease. Our bodies remove dead blood cells and other waste through a network of vessels called the lymphatic system. The brain, however, has a different method of keeping clean. Cerebrospinal fluid cleanses brain tissue. But how the fluid moves through the brain and clears waste wasn't well understood. Until now, scientists could only study brain tissue in animals that were already dead. They thought nutrients and waste were transported through the slow process of diffusion.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

RESEARCH

The real change is the change in the brain Dr. George Athappilly

Brain and so the mind is plastic. On an average, there are billions of neurons and trillions of connections in a brain. Brain can make or break a connection in the brain. This phenomenon is dependent on the activity undertaken by the brain.

basket ball coaching was conducted. Half of the players, say group A, were given coaching as usual in a court, with all the physical exercises and techniques. But the other half, say B was trained only inside a hall, not given a ball or taking any exercise. They were given only visuals of the actual exercises and techniques. After seeing the exercises, they were asked to visualise them as if they were doing it. A sort of mediation! For 3 weeks this happened. At the end of it, there was an on court test of the abilities of both the groups A and B. Surprisingly, both the groups had almost same score in the test! This means the actual change happening is in the mind. In studies too, a

Pallikkutam | January 2014

lot of mechanical, impersonal readings will not make any good. The moment we personalise the concepts, they make a difference, whether academic or spiritual. Here is a big difference between the learning/living of academic or spiritual things. Every study should be an assimilation of concepts and change in the brain: not just bye-hearting of the letters! If there is device with just an ON or OFF possibility, it can represent 2 possibilities. If two such devices are there, together they can represent 4 different possibilities. If there are 16 such devices, together they can represent 65536 possibilities. Then how much of possibilities can be

represented by 100 such ON/OFF devices? In our brain, there are trillions of such devices called synapses. Even if only 1 % of them are properly working, how great is the power of a human brain? But we fail to train it, tame it and tap it! In relation to what is in front of you, what is at the back of you and what is around you and above you, what is inside you, has no comparison. Brain and so the mind is plastic. On an average, there are billions of neurons and trillions of connections in a brain. Brain can make or break a connection in the brain. This phenomenon is dependent on the activity undertaken by the brain.

RESEARCH

A prepared mind gets the answer. Many scientists have come to an answer after years of effort and thinking. The brain gets formed and the proper connections are taking place to get more complete picture of the issue. Brain can get answers due to its plasticity like this. Greater the connections, more powerful the brain becomes. Thus we can make or break ourselves. It can get changed by external influences before birth, after birth and from within the person too.

Brain can accommodate changes A lorry driver, on seeing a big snake lying across the road, stopped the vehicle. But as more and more vehicles queued up on both sides he finally had to take the

drastic step of running over the big snake. He did it. But later he got a child, and that child was having scales on his body! The children he had before the incident were normal and one more child he had after the incident also had scales on his body. This is news I read about 40 years before in the newspaper.

The pregnant mothers are to meditate on good faces and good children, so that they can have good faced good children. Even the parents are to think of good things and do good things, much before they go for procreation, if they want worthy children. During the prenatal stage, what parents do and what the mother eat... influence the child in the mind and body Abhimanue of Mahabharata is supposed to have learned the skill of piercing the

chakra vyuha, when he was in the womb of his mother. John the Baptist could sense the joy of the presence of Mother of JESUS, while in the womb. If Sachinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s child becomes another cricket prodigy it is quite understandable. After the birth, the brainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thinking can be greatly influenced by the others. Just by

the suggestion of the doctor a patient can gain strength or lose all strength. Because of an encouragement, a positive stroke, one can grow to heights or in the opposite of it, can get completely dejected and lost By oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own effort, one can change the course of brain or its way of thinking and acting. Many ordinary people have come up in life, just by the sheer power of determination. Michael Faraday, Thomas Alva Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. A P J

Abdul Kalam and the like are proofs to this. A prepared mind gets the answer. Many scientists have come to an answer after years of effort and thinking. The brain gets formed and the proper connections are taking place to get more complete picture of the issue. Brain can get answers due to its plasticity like this.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

RESEARCH

The ancient yogis of India had identified this and so introduced the concept of yoga. Yoga is the stopping or controlling of the activity of the mind. The Egyptian magicians and Indian rishis developed great powers of mind, due to the strenuous efforts. They have trained their minds/brains with disciplined practice. Your dream can lead you to sleepless days filled with work to realise the dream. In spite of the dejections, some have come up in life, taking it as a challenge. This is possible because the mind is able to control itself and the body. It is able to drive the body and our thinking. Mind can change the course of action of anyone. Merlin Monroe, Amitabh Bachan, John Keats and so on are some examples. Mind can take over the matter. In the evolution it is clearly seen. From a same prominence state, of mouth, stomach, heart and genitals intellect gets a primary and highest post with the erect posture of man. Head is held high. So is the thinking in relation to anything else. So brain is to rule the humans, nothing else.

scaffold it can gain/scale heights. Fallen onto itself is fallen apart. Controlled by itself is winning oneself, and in turn, winning everyone. Win one is win all. Winning oneself is winning everyone. Self victory is the greatest victory, which even Alexander the great would subscribe. Even this great Alexander became so, because of the strict control, training and taming of his mind by the able guide Aristotle the great! Is it not this principle preached by Jesus when He taught, ‘enter by the narrow door’? The ancient yogis of India had identified this and so introduced the concept of yoga. Yoga is the stopping or controlling of the activity of the mind. The dissipation is arrested and focussing of mind is achieved. Yoga is not just twisting and flexing of the body, but keeping the mind serene, calm and focussed. This collects a lot of energy of the mind.

A set of people, who called themselves as the illuminated, had strained, trained, tamed their mind and brought forth great Control develops energy. The water discoveries, inventions and principles. flowing through a river does not provide Scientists like Newton belonged to that energy. But when it is controlled and group. The strenuous exercises they did to released, it creates energy. Light, when train their mind, are described to a great oscillates in every plane in any phase, is extent in the famous novel, ‘Da Vinci not powerful. But when controlled to Code’. The energy they collected by these vibrate in one plane and in phase, can make methods, helped them find out great truths lasers, which can cut even metals! The of science. mind when controlled can create lots of energy which can work wonders The rishis of India, the magicians of Egypt, Moses from the wilderness, many spiritual A non-trained, non-controlled mind falls on gurus all have tapped this great energy of itself like a creeper onto itself. But with a mind and worked wonders. Even the

Control your mind to produce energy

Pallikkutam | January 2014

Illuminati of the Europe have brought out great powers of mind and discovered many scientific wonders. Control over the mind is possible in different planes. Before our birth, our brain is formed or deformed due to the genes inherited from the parents.

Tips to induce changes in mind When the Pond is still, the image is clear: Mind augers well when it is focussed and sharpened. As the pond gets still, without turbulence on the surface, the reflection in the pond becomes clear. So also as the mind becomes still, the picture inside it, the concepts inside it becomes clearer. When the bigger picture is clear, the small picture does not assume so much significance. In the beginning the mind could be shapeless and order less. But out of that, we can make shapes and order. We just will have to will or say meaning it, “Let there be ...” and it will be. That is the great power of mind and brain. No wonder man is created in the image and likeness of God. Say and it is done: We need just tell the mind, “Be calm”. And it will be. It can be: if we have faith, if we have control. Jesus said, to the roaring sea. “Be calm” and it became calm. Same is the case with our mind. When we make our mind calm, still a lot of power can be distilled out of it. Forgiveness: This distils one’s mind off the burden of hatred at the same time giving the power out of controlling it to win over that emotion. So burden lightened

RESEARCH

Win one is win all. Winning oneself is winning everyone. Self victory is the greatest victory, which even Alexander the great would subscribe. and power heightened. Burden decreased and power increased!

concepts... it will act in two different ways to calm the brain.

Helping others: This helps the brain to get involved in other matters than one’s own brooding issues. When the other mind is happy, it will reflect that happiness, which will induce in us a joy, which none can take away from us and it will teach the basics of mind too. Knowing the working of another mind, helps us understand our own mind. This in turn pacifies and strengthens it. Close interaction with animals also is good. This in turn will help us understand another simple mind, giving the A B Cs of our own mind. The one who does not know another mind, does not know one’s own mind.

Faith: The mind gets a lot of strength the moment another big force is with it. Here too, it is not the actual visible strength of the god which is important, but the faith that, this god can do it for me. “Your faith has healed you”. The very feeling that, someone or many are there to help me, help one release a lot of brain/mind’s energy out.

Self assertions & Auto-suggestions: Self assertions like ‘I can do that’, ‘I am good’ will in turn help the brain to work better. Brain gets feedback from the mind as well as from all over the environment. The input from the mind will help the brain reclaim itself, re-align itself, adjust itself and work better.

Conclusion

Mantras & Rituals: These will help the mind attain a still state. Anything repetitive will set the mind to a convolute path and put it in a still state. That is why as we repeat anything, we feel like sleeping. It is keeping the mind attain a still state. No wonder yogis continue saying mantras. Importance need not be the words said, but the sheer act of repetition does the trick. In that case, if we are repeating something good, some good

Man is a mind. “Manushyan oru manassanu”. “The reality is the idea”, says Plato. The reality of man is the mind which could be flexed as one likes! We reap what we sow!

The author is Asst. Prof., Ramanujan Computing Centre, Anna University, Chennai. His PhD is in Computer Science and Brain, under the guidance of Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

INTERVIEW

Invisibility cloaks: their future possibilities America is that one nation which has gone to the moon and never gone back, but India must not stop marching ahead and establish herself as a superpower.

athan Cohen is a physicist, radio astronomer and innovator/inventor, with a broad scope of knowledge proven and applied across many fields. This foundation has provided the perfect opportunity for him to gain an insight into the application of fractals to antennas and electronics. Cohen has published over 90 technical and scientific papers and two books (Gravity’s Lens and Mysteries of the Milky Way (w/D Goldsmith)). He holds 28 US patents on ultrasound and medical devices, real-time deconvolution, compression, image processing, antennas and fractal engineering.

Invisibility cloaks are the major staple of science fiction. Did that play a key role in the formulation of the idea? Science fiction is very inspiring. We know that it sounds like it is real; no, it’s

marching ahead and establish herself as a superpower. What are the future possibilities of invisibility cloaks?

He is the inventor of the ‘invisible cloak’.

The problem with being an innovator is that it is an experiment of people. The innovator might know how to use it but the public doesn’t. The invisibility cloak has an immense array of future possibilities. It can be used in cloaking so that radio waves can go around the objects. They also find applications in the field of defence, but then problems arise when the cloak is misused. There are loads of moral implications which have to be tackled but I will try to prevent its misuse and until my time is up, I will make sure that it doesn’t fall into wrong hands.

Students of Rajagiri got an opportunity to talk to this great personality during the International Conference on Fractals and Wavelets (ICFW), which was organized by the college. Here are excerpts from an interview with him: Can you tell us about the applications of fractals and wavelets in fractal antennas? Fractals and wavelets help to make the antennas smaller and more compact, and these antennas find uses in wireless remotes, airplanes and televisions and also in helping machines talk to machines. Why are fractal antennas better? Well, fractal antennas involve a new concept and it overcomes the various drawbacks and they are much smaller due to their shape. Fractal antennas also have a wider frequency range.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

I have one very important thing to say: Don’t look to the US as your role model. The US is someone who succeeded in the past but it is backing out now and India is yet in its prime and has a huge store of potential. But the employable youngsters have to stay in India if the potential has to be realized. India should be more technology-oriented, and automatically salaries will go up. America is that one nation which has gone to the moon and never gone back, but India must not stop

visionary rather than innovative. It kicks up your brain cells and gets them to start exploring all the possibilities and it did play a pivotal role in creating the idea of an invisibility cloak back in modern-day antennas. They require no additional parts like separators. Do you have a message for youngsters of today to go ahead?

You have held many public demonstrations in various places. What was the response you got? Utter shock and amazement!! People have never seen such a concept in real life and each time a demo is given, people still continue to be flabbergasted.

INTERVIEW

The invisibility cloak has an immense array of future possibilities. It can be used in cloaking so that radio waves can go around the objects. Students these days prefer to go for professional degrees rather than delving into science and research. What do you have to say to them? The US started from scratch. People wanted to start afresh in the new world and had a huge need to make things happen. All that we need is an idea, but its execution is hard. People do have a lot of ideas bottled up in their minds and India has started to take the lead. People are going into management consultancy and young budding entrepreneurs are striving hard to establish themselves. My own son, a graduate of the prestigious Vanderbilt, has many friends who are giving up science and getting a PhD saying that they can always get into science and

then deviate if needed because you can always come back. What are your future prospects in terms of Fractals and Wavelets? As a family man, it was hard for me to decide whether I should work with fractals and wavelets as it was a relatively new concept in the 1980s and I did have to fend for my family too. In spite of that I jumped into this and found that many applications have been conceived but they weren’t being used. In the US, the golf ball manufacturing company refuses to sell fractal golf balls out of the fear that the competition might take up this idea. So to maintain this dominant market share they go into ‘hibervation’ which is basically hibernation.

If this is not stopped then new technologies will never be used and the applications of fractals can’t be realized. How was your stay in India? Any experiences you would like to share? What I liked about India is that the people are motivated; there are no lazy people in India. They are all approachable and friendly. In the US everybody is hostile but the same behaviour in India would make people think that you are crazy. What would you like to take back from India? A sense of vibrancy, community and the urge to push ahead in the face of adversity.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

BOOK REVIEW

Snow Author

: Orhan Pamuk

Original title

: Kar

Translator

: Maureen Freely

Pages

: 436

In Turkey, Pamuk is the equivalent of rock star, guru, diagnostic specialist and political pundit: the Turkish public reads his novels as if taking its own pulse. He is also highly esteemed in Europe.

erit Orhan Pamuk (generally known as Orhan Pamuk; born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey’s most prominent novelists,[1] his work has sold over eleven million books in sixty languages,[2] making him the country’s best-selling writer.[3] Born in Istanbul, Pamuk is Robert YikFong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing.[4] His novels include The White Castle, The Black Book, The New Life, My Name Is Red and Snow.

who hasn’t written anything in years. But Ka is not his own narrator: by the time of the telling he has been assassinated, and his tale is pieced together by an ‘’old friend’’ of his who just happens to be named Orhan.

cards. The story is being told in third person by a close friend of Ka’s long after the events have actually taken place. The girls of Kars are forbidden from wearing headscarves in the university and this along with other forms of ill treatment meted out to them has led to the epidemic. A snow blizzard engulfs the city and breaks all modes of communication and transport from the rest of the world. Ka himself is reunited with an old crush from college, Ipek, and falls in love with her. Her sister, Kadife, is the leader of the headscarf girls, who refuse to give up thier right to religion. Kadife is also in love with an (alleged) Islamist terrorist called Blue.

Ka and Ipek witness the murder of the education director of the local university, the man behind the ban on headscarves. Blue’s involment in the murder is widely rumoured and Ka finds himself surrounded by political controversies. Also a writers block that he has been suffering from suddenly gets lifted and several beautiful poems start ‘coming’ to him. The love In Turkey, Pamuk is the equivalent of rock between Ka and Ipek develops further and star, guru, diagnostic specialist and he starts harbouring dreams of a happy life political pundit: the Turkish public reads ahead with Ipek back in Germany. Though his novels as if taking its own pulse. He is he is a long time atheist, newly found love, also highly esteemed in Europe. the politico-cultural unrest and the ‘divine’ Summery poems confuse him and he starts looking This seventh novel from Orhan Pamuk is for answers in religion. A budding Ka, a poet and a turkish political exile, not only an engrossing feat of talereturns to Turkey from Germany after 12 friendship with a religious student Necip spinning, but essential reading for our years. Upon a friend’s advice he decides to (who interestingly is bending towards times. undertake a life changing journey to Kars, a atheism himself) also helps. Like Pamuk’s other novels, ‘’Snow’’ is an sleepy little town on the eastern border, A revolutionary theatre group has also in-depth tour of the divided, hopeful, posing as a journalist. A suicide epidemic arrived in the city and they stage a play desolate, mystifying Turkish soul. It’s the has broken out among th young girls of which becomes a front for a military coup story of Ka, a gloomy but appealing poet Kars and a municipal election is on the As well as the Nobel Prize in Literature (the first Nobel Prize to be awarded to a Turkish citizen), Pamuk is the recipient of numerous other literary awards. My Name Is Red won the 2002 Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, 2002 Premio Grinzane Cavour and 2003 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

BOOK REVIEW

‘’Snow’’ is an in-depth tour of the divided, hopeful, desolate, mystifying Turkish soul. It’s the story of Ka, a gloomy but appealing poet who hasn’t written anything in years. and an army takeover of Kars to prevent an Islamist victory in the forthcoming elections. Necip is killed in the coup. Many religious students are arrested and tortured. In the course of events, Blue is arrested as well and is sentenced to death by the new regime.

him. Heartbroken, he returns to his hotel where he asks Ipek if what the MIT has told him is true. Ipek concedes that she

The mastermind behind this coup, Sunay Zaim, is a forgotten theatre personality who has ideas of his own. He decides to stage another play and broadcast it on local television and wants Kadife to remove her headsacrf in it as a political statement. In return he is ready to release Blue. He chooses Ka to act as an arbitrator in this deal and threatens him with arrest if he does not comply. Scared of losing his new found happiness, Ka falls in with the plan. Eventually he brokers a deal and Blue is released and he hides at a secret location. Now however Blue changes his mind and sends for Ka once again. He tells Ka that he no longer wants Kadife to bare her head. When Ka is on his way back from Blue’s secret hideout the secret police of Turkey, The MIT, takes him in and interrogates him on the whereabouts of Blue. When Ka feigns ignorance they tell Ka that Ipek was in a relationship with Blue and is still in touch. They then release

was once in love with him but denies any contact now whatsoever. Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the play and Ipek and her father plead with Ka to go and stop Kadife from

performing in it. Ka agrees and tries to persuade Kadife but she decides that she will bare her head after all. Ka makes his way back to the hotel but is apprehended by the army on the way. The blizzard being over, the transport links have opened again and the army decide to send Ka away for good. Ka sends word to Ipek to reach the railway station directly. Ipek recieves the message and begins preparations for leaving. Then she recieves a message that Blue has been found out and murderd by the secret police. Convinced that Ka has given him away out of jealousy, Ipek decides to stay and Ka has to leave without her. He spends the rest of his life in Germany a dejected man. Four years later he is assasinated by a Turkish Islamist group which holds him responsible for Blue’s fate. Orhan (probably the author himself), the narrator, decides to find out the ‘divine’ poems that Ka wrote while in Kars and also find out whether Ka had really sold Blue out. He visits Frankfurt and then Kars. He is unable to find the poems but discovers that Ka had indeed been the person because of whom Blue died. As a farewell to his friend, Orhan decides to write a book on his journey to Kars.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

STUDENTSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;CLUB CLUB STUDENTSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

In the offing - a new Industrial Revolution Jerin Shaji Mathew

The Industrial Revolution that followed started around 1760. It was a transition to new manufacturing processes from hand production and can be said to have occurred in four phases.

technology. Industrial Revolution 1.0 was a mechanical revolution.

These changes didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen in a fortnight. It all began with the invention of the wheel. The Industrial Revolution that followed started around 1760. It was a transition to new manufacturing processes from hand production and can be said to have occurred in four phases.

Industrial Revolution 2.0, also known as technological revolution, started during the latter half of the 19th century and lasted till the First World War, primarily in Britain, Germany and the United States. Electricity, internal combustion engines, telegraph etc were the areas around which this phase was centred. Electrification was the most important feature of this period. The manufacturing sector adopted serial production methods. Henry Ford made significant contributions to this revolution. Industrial Revolution 2.0 can be considered as an electrical revolution.

e cannot think of a world without machines, electricity or the present communication facilities. These innovations have changed our lives to such an extent that life without them seems impossible.

The first phase began with the introduction of steam engines. Animal power/slave power was replaced with machine power, which was more consistent and cheaper. Production went up and so did the income of industries. Mechanization of processes was the main change that took place during this period, especially in printing and communication

Pallikkutam | January 2014

The third phase began in the 1940s as a result of massive development of electronics especially the advent of the microprocessor, which was a breakthrough in computing. The communication phase, or the digital revolution, grew enormously.

This led to the change from analogue, and mechanical and electronic technology to digital technology with the adoption of digital computers and digital record keeping that continues till today. To be precise, it is the use of electronic and IT systems to automate production and is the foundation of automation. Industrial Revolution 3.0 is an information and communication technology (ICT) revolution. And now, it is Industrial Revolution 4.0. The whole process of manufacturing will be automated completely, ie from scratch till the final product. Any changes necessary will be identified automatically by the system and will be executed. Direct human involvement will be reduced to a minimum. This is done through the use of cyber physical systems. This phase is expected to reach its full potential in the next 30 years. It is believed that internet

STUDENTS’ CLUB

Advancements in artificial intelligence, especially in the areas of speech recognition and decision-making, are encouraging. Announcements on the adoption of more and more robots in the industries also give us the signs of the coming industrial revolution. technology is about to change the manufacturing industries crucially. It will also give an extra push towards more efficiency, security and resource protection in manufacturing and logistics, ie by the birth of cyber physical systems to be simple, creating direct and real-time interface between the virtual and physical world. What will be some of the important features of the emerging Industrial Revolution 4.0? In simple words, automation will be made smarter. For example, we may use an iPhone to change the parameter of production in a factory. This could possibly mean cheaper and smarter factories. Presently the technology is not fully developed. It is not fully ripe. Advancements in artificial intelligence, especially in the areas of speech recognition and decision-making, are encouraging. Announcements on the adoption of more and more robots in the industries also give us the signs of the coming industrial revolution. Last year we saw the popularization of 3-D printers though the idea has been on for the last 30

years. They help in rapid prototyping and also cheaper production of small quantities. They are known for their fast production and easy recast. The cloud computing technology helps to organize

factory in Amberg, Germany, with much advancement in digitalization. Just as the USB allows us to connect a number of devices to a computer, they have developed a totally integrated automation portal which can play a significant role in the interaction between various machines. The German Government has announced funds for upgrading its factories sensing the wave and positive feedback is received from all over the world. Other governments keenly follow the development of Industrial Revolution 4.0.

The automation and coordination of the cyber physical systems which could alter themselves for the changes required in the events all around the globe, that too in real- products is at the heart of Industrial time. Devices with properties of existing Revolution 4.0. It reminds one of the computing including artificial intelligence Richie Rich cartoon in which Professor are termed smart devices. These devices Keenbean makes a machine which ‘invents with NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth etc help to new inventions’. That day is certainly not coordinate and control a number of far off. devices. These are the technologies that make us wait for the revolution. At Hannover Messe, the world’s largest technology fair, last April, the concept of integrated industry was proposed. Siemens has already demonstrated an electronics

Jerin Shaji Mathew is a Mechanical Engineering student at Rajagiri School Of Engineering And Technology, Kakkanad.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

STUDENTS’ CLUB

Ncn{X"teJ' AYhm hnPb"teJ' jmPn amen]md

Ncn{XØnemZyambmWv Hcp aebmfnXmcw Pnwt\jymUn¬ saU¬ Ic-ÿ-am-°p∂-Xv. Aßs\ A©Sn s]m°-ap≈ ]Xn-\-©p-Imcn, temIImbnI Ncn{XØnte°v HmSn°bdnb "Ncn{XteJ'bmbn amdn. 2013 Unkw_¿ c≠mw XobXn aebmfØnse c≠v {]apJ Zn\]{Xßfnse kvt]m¿´vkv t]Pnse Hcp hm¿Ø-bpsS io¿jIßƒ {it≤-b-am-bn-cp∂p. H∂v Ncn{XteJ; as‰m∂v hnPbteJ. {_ko-ense temI-kv°qƒ HfnºymUn¬ (Pnwt\jymUv2013) 1500 ao‰dn¬ aebmfnXmcw teJ DÆn sh¶ew t\SnbXmWv hm¿Ø. Ccp ]{Xßfpw \¬Inb Xe-sI-´p-Iƒ A¿∞hØmbncp∂p. Ncn{XØnemZyambmWv Hcp aebmfnXmcw Pnwt\jymUn¬ saU¬ Icÿ-am-°p-∂-Xv. Aßs\ A©Sn s]m°-ap≈ ]Xn-\©p-Imcn, temIImbnI Ncn{XØnte°v HmSn°bdnb "Ncn{XteJ'bmbn amdn. BZyambn ]s¶-SpØ A¥¿ tZiob a’cØn¬ Xs∂ teJbv°v saU¬ hnPbw t\Sm\mbn; cmPyØns‚ bi pb¿Ønb Cu IuamcXmcw A£cm¿∞-Øn¬ hnPbteJbmbnØo¿∂p.

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tg°pw tXh-c-bn-ep≈ tagvkn-°p´≥ A°mZanbnepw {]thi\w t\Sn. F´mw ¢m n¬ tXhc tk{IUv lm¿´vkv sslkv°qfn¬ tN¿∂ teJ Ct∏mƒ H≥]Xmw ¢m n-em-Wv. C°gn™ h¿jßfnse k_v Pq\nb¿, Pq\nb¿ hn`mKßfnembn 400,600,800,1000 ao‰dpIfnemWv teJ DÆn a’cn®Xv. kv°qƒ ImbnI tafIƒ°v ]pdsa kwÿm\, tZiob Xeßfn-ep≈ hnhn[ ao‰pIfnepw ]s¶SpØv hnPbw hcn®p. Ign™ h¿jw eIv\uhn¬ \S∂ tZiob Pq\nb¿ AXve‰nIv ao‰n¬ 1000 an‰dnepw C‰mhbn¬ \S∂ tZiob kv°qƒ ao‰n¬ 1500 ao‰dnepw sh≈n saUtemsS teJ tZiob {i≤ t\Sn-sb-Sp-Øp.

FdWmIpfØv \S∂ C‚¿ ¢∫v AXve‰n°v ao‰n¬ ]pXnb dn°m¿Uv t\Sn. kuØv tkmWnepw C‚¿ tkmWnepw Dƒs∏sS \nch[n ao‰pIfn¬ teJ hb n¬ BZyambn kwÿm\ kz¿Æw t\Snbn´p≠v. temI ImbntIafbn¬ ]s¶-SpØp. AXve‰n°v ao‰n¬ \mep an\n´v 58.38 sk°≥Un¬ ^n\njv sNbvXmWv kv°qƒ ImbnI tafIfn¬ teJ 1500 ao‰dn¬ sh¶ew t\Snÿnckm∂n[yamb teJ Ggmw bXv. kv°qƒ Iq´n-Iƒ°m-bp≈ ¢m n¬ tXhc sk‚ v tacokv bp. Cu hnizImbnI tafbnse ]n. kv°qfn¬ tN¿∂p. At∏mhnPbw teJ DÆnbpsS ImbnI Pallikkutam | January 2014

STUDENTS’ CLUB

ImbnI]mc-º-cy-ß-sfm∂pw Ah-Im-i-s∏-Sm-\n-√mØ ho´n-te°v teJ sIm≠ph∂ saU-ep-I-fpsS Xnf°w hne-a-Xn-°m-\m-hm-Ø-Xm-Wv. Poh-nX-Ønse Ncn{X t\´-ambn hne-bn-cp-Ø-s∏-Sp-∂p.

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IpSw-_-hn-ti-j-ßƒ

tagvkn°p-´≥ AXve‰nIv A°mZanbnte°v Hcp A¥mcmjv{S saU¬ BZy-ambn FØn® teJ, Kpcp-Z-£nW \¬Im≥ Ign™Xns‚ kwXr]vXn-bn-emWv. Cu henb t\´w Kpcp-ÿm-\o-bcmb Hfnw-]y-≥ tagvkn°p-´\pw c≠p h¿jw ap≥]v A¥-cn® apcfn-°p-´≥ kmdns‚ Hm¿ΩIƒ°pw apºn-emWv ka¿∏n-°p-∂Xv. s]m°-an-√m-bva-bpsS A]-I¿j-Xbn¬ \n∂pw Ic-I-b-dm≥ klm-bn-

Pallikkutam | January 2014

®Xpw kv{]n‚ v C\-ß-fn¬ \n∂pw a[y-Zqc Hm´-Øn-te°v Nph-Sp-amdm≥ t{]cn-∏n-®Xpw Cu ImbnI

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STUDENTS’ CLUB

ITn-\m-≤zm-\hpw \n›-b-Zm¿Vy-hp-amWv teJ DÆnbpsS hnPbØn\v \nZm\w. {_ o-ense Imem-hÿ A\p-Iq-e-am-bn-cp-s∂-¶n¬ teJbv°v CXnepw anI® {]IS\w ImgvN hbv°m≥ Ign-bp-am-bn-cp-∂p. `mhn-bpsS Xmcw

tZiob P\nb¿ AXve-‰nIv tIm®v cPoμ¿ knwßv skbn\nbpsS ""tIcfØnse G‰hpw `mhnbpff \nco£Ww Cßs\: ""ASpØ ImbnIXmcßfn¬ Hcmfmbn Rm≥ bqØv Hfnw]nIvkn¬ C¥y-sb teJ DÆnsb ImWp∂p.'' Hfnw{]Xn\n[o-I-cn-°m≥ km[yX-bp-ff ]y≥ tagvkn-°p-´≥ ]d-bp-∂p. Xmcw.'' {_ o-ense Imem-hÿ A\p-Iq-e-

am-bn-cp-s∂-¶n¬ teJbv°v CXnepw anI® {]I-S\w ImgvN hbv°m≥ Ign-bp-am-bn-cp-s∂-∂mWv ]cnioeIbpsS \nKa\w. A¿∏W t_m[ap≈ Ip´nbmWv teJ. Cu {]IS\w XpScm≥ IgnRm¬ \ΩpsS cmPyØn\v anI® Hcp cmPym-¥c AXve‰ns\ e`n°psa∂pw Kpcp\mY {]Xymim°p∂p.

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Pallikkutam | January 2014

INNOVATION

Rudder in brain identified Enzymes can A

University of British Columbia study published in Nature Neuroscience reports how one of the smallest parts of the brain, lateral habenula, which is considered as one of the oldest regions of the brain evolution wise, plays a crucial role in decision making. Lateral Habenula is earlier identified as a region of brain linked to depression and avoidance behavior. It is involved in the important decisions that we make on a daily basis, like choosing between job offers or decisions to buy a car or a house.

In experiments with lab rats, it was found that once lateral habenula was inactivated, rats could not choose to avoid risk and get better reward, which they could do with an active lateral habenula. They rather chose at random. This gives insights into the treatment of depression. It is observed that a deep brain stimulation, which could inactivate the lateral habenula, could be used to improve depressive symptoms in humans. This may be because they simply do not care as much about what is making them feel depressed.

regulate mood A

n enzyme called Rines, which regulates brain proteins, is also found to control emotions and mood, giving clue how to treat diseases associated with emotions such as depression. The gene Monoamine oxidase (MAO-A), nicknamed the “warrior gene” plays a crucial role in influencing emotions and mood. It is often associated with increased risk of violent and anti-social behavior. A research team headed by Jun Aruga at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute has shown for the first time that a ligase named Rines regulates the level of MAO-A in the brain. The study is published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The research presents a promising new avenue for analyzing the role of MAO-A in brain function. This promises insights into the treatment of anxiety, stress-related disorders and impaired social functions.

Underlying circuit architecture of brain uncovered S

cientists at the Gladstone Institutes and the Salk Institute have discovered a way to untangle the complex neural networks in the brain. The power of brains is determined by its trillions of intercellular connections, called synapses. These synapses together form complex the circuit architecture of the brain. Using an

Pallikkutam | January 2014

innovative brain-tracing technique the

scientists could produce high resolution mapping of brain. To realize it, they used a

sophisticated tracing system and assembled brainwide maps of neurons that connect with basal ganglia, a region of the brain that is involved in movement and decision-making. Developing a better understanding of this region is considered important as it could provide insights into the disorders affecting basal ganglia dysfunction including Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease.

INNOVATION

Brain has a Eggs essential for brain say on what development you eat R I

t is often said that what one eats could influent what and how one thinks. However, according to a review study presented at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, what and how you think determines what you eat. The study reveals the neurological component of dietary disorders. According to the study, the brainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biological mechanism may contribute to public health menaces including, obesity, diabetes, and the fascination towards high-calorie meal. The study suggests that being obese seemingly affect cognitive functions. Obese people tend to require more effort to complete a complex decision-making task. The study further suggests that the effect of skipping breakfast as a measure of diet control is minimal. This is because, on skipping a breakfast, the pleasureseeking part of the brain is activated by pictures of high-calorie food, suggesting that skipping breakfast may lead to increased food consumption at lunch.

esearchers at the University of Montreal have found that the amino acid, asparagines found in foods like meat, eggs, and dairy products, is essential for normal brain development, though nonessential for other organs. They found that asparagine is not well transported to the brain via blood-brain barrier. Hence brain cells resort to local synthesis of asparagine to function properly.

In the brain of healthy persons, the level of asparagine synthetase, the enzyme responsible for synthesizing the amino acid asparagines, is sufficient to supply neurons. It is found that in individuals

Brain smarter than eyes A

ccording to a new research published in Psychological Science, the brain processes visual inputs effectively, even if you are not consciously perceive that input. This conclusion challenges the currently accepted models of processing of visual information by brain. The research was led by Jay Sanguinetti of the University of Arizona, who showed study participants a series of black silhouettes, some of which contained recognizable, real-world objects in the white spaces on the outsides. On analyzing the subjectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; brainwaves using an electroencephalogram

(EEG), it is found that even when the participants have not consciously seen the object, the brain has already processed the information regarding it. It suggests that our brains have seemingly evolved to sift through the stream of visual input in our eyes and identify things that are most important to us to consciously perceive, such as a threat or resources such as food, etc. It indicates that as we walk down a street, our eyes perceive and our brains recognize meaningful objects, even without our conscious awareness of it.

with gene affected by mutation code for asparagine synthetase, the enzyme is not produced in sufficient quantity, resulting in the depletion of asparagines, which affects the proliferation and survival of cells during brain development. Children with this gene mutation suffer from variety of symptoms, including intellectual disability and cerebral atrophy, which can lead to death. The researchers are an effort to develop suitable treatments for this disease. They think of asparagines supplement given to infants to ensure an adequate level of asparagines in the brain to ensure its normal development.

Memory boosting herbs identified

xtracts made from unique antioxidants found in spearmint and rosemary is found to improve learning and memory, according to a study reported from Saint Louis University, USA. Based on experiments on animals, the researchers found that this herbal preparation reduces deficits caused by mild cognitive impairment caused, for example, by early stages of Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease. This could probably mean that eating spearmint and rosemary is good for brain health. However, the researchers do not suggest more than chewing them in gums, since the effects of these herbs in humans is not yet well-studied.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

INNOVATION

Drug causes permanent Story of changes in brain psychopathic criminals R

esearchers of Northwestern MedicineÂŽ have identified abnormal changes in the brain structures related to working memory in teens, who use ffenders diagnosed with psychopathy marijuana regularly for about three years. are more likely to harm other Working individuals and to do so again after being memory is the released. According to a brain imaging study in the Netherlands, individuals with ability to psychopathy have reduced empathy while remember and process witnessing the pains of others. information in However, when asked to empathize, they the moment and can activate empathy. This explains why transfer it to psychopaths look callous and socially long-term cunning at the same time. memory. A poor working It is observed that individuals with memory usually psychopathy typically demonstrate causes poor reduced empathy. Hence it is easy for them to hurt other people. The reason lies academic in the lack of spontaneity in psychopathic performance and poor overall persons to respond to the pain of others, functioning of the brain. Brain not the lack of it. abnormalities and memory problems were The researchers suggest a change of course observed in drug users even after two years in the treatment of psychopathy. Instead after they have stopped taking it. This of attempting to create capacity for could indicate long-term effects of chronic empathy, therapies may need to focus on use of drugs.

The memory-related structures of the drug usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; brain is found to shrink and collapse inward, possibly reflecting a decrease in neurons. The study also shows that marijuana-related brain abnormalities could be correlated with that associated with schizophreniarelated brain abnormalities. The younger the individuals were when they started chronically using marijuana, the more abnormally their brain regions were shaped, the study reports. The study gives insights for policy-makers dealing with substance abuse. The results are published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin.

Poverty can influence brain development of children

making the existing capacity more automatic to prevent them from further harming others. The study is published in the Journal Brain.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

esearchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggest that poverty could directly affect the early stages of development of brain of poor children. It is found that the gray matter of the brain in the brain of poor children grows at significantly low rate for children living under poverty limits. Grain matter is the brain tissue critical for processing of information and execution of actions. Poverty can really get under the skin, the study suggests. Poverty and biology have important links between them. Children in

poor families lagged behind in the development of the parietal and frontal regions of the brain. These deficits help explain behavioural, learning and attention problems commonly encountered in disadvantaged children. The parietal lobe, which is one of the last parts of the brain to develop, works as the network hub of the brain connecting disparate parts to make use of stored or incoming information. The research is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Pallikkutam | September 2013

HEALTH WATCH

Six guidelines for lifelong healthy eating Skipping a morning meal leaves you so hungry that you can justify eating anything later on. Weight-loss winners tend to eat in the morning.

ounting kilojoules can be depressing. Even worse is trying to count grams of fat or grams of carbohydrates or trying to add up the kilojoules in the foods you eat, as so many diet plans insist you should do.Instead, do what your common sense tells you: eat a little less and move a little more. Do that every day and you’ll lose weight. For steady, healthy, lasting weight loss, there’s no better way. And the best foods for a healthy heart are exactly the ones you need to eat most of for a healthy weight. Here are some simple guidelines for making the change to lifelong healthy eating.

LET PORTIONS BE YOUR GUIDE Using the perfect portion size guide on page 101, keep track of serving sizes. You may find you’re eating more fruit and

much pasta, ice-cream or snack foods you eat, and consuming more kilojoules than you realised. START WITH BREAKFAST Skipping a morning meal leaves you so hungry that you can justify eating anything later on. Weight-loss winners tend to eat in the morning. DON’T MISS LUNCH OR DINNER

vegetables than you thought (which is good), or you may be underestimating how

The main reason for night-time binges is not eating enough during the day. Try filling up on the slimming parts of your meal - salad, vegetables and stock-based

Four foods that harm 1. Smoked and cured meats

rom fancy charcuterie to complex

canapes, pass on cured meats in any form – they’ve been linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and migraines. Plus, they’re packed with artery-clogging grease: as an example, most shop-bought sausages contain 20% fat!

2. Energy drinks Stick to a cup of coffee for your afternoon boost. Seemingly harmless caffeinated

Pallikkutam | January 2014

beverages are often loaded with sugar – and the US FDA has received numerous

3. White rice Skip the refined grains and go for whole: a 17% higher risk of diabetes is associated with eating five or more servings of white rice per week, compared with eating white rice less than once a month.

4. Low-fat peanut butter When companies take out the fat, they have to add something back in to make peanut butter taste delicious. In this case, it’s extra sugar – and who wants that? Instead, spread regular, natural reports linking certain energy drinks to peanut butter on your sandwich for more possible heart attacks, convulsion and even of the good fats and protein without fake death. sweetness.

HEALTH WATCH DON’T BE AN ISLAND Join a weight-loss support group online or locally. Enlist the support of family and friends. Plenty of research shows that dieting with a friend helps both of you to stick with it, especially in the tough first few weeks.

soups. Eat highkilojoule meats and starches last so you need a little less of them.

could help you to lose just over 11 kilograms over the course of a year.

DRINK WATER, UNSWEETENED TEA OR DIET DRINKS

KEEP A FOOD DIARY FOR A WEEK

Cutting out one sweetened drink a day whether a soft drink or sweetened tea -

It will reveal what you’re really eating and help you to spot the times of day when you’re skimping or overdoing it.

Don’t eat out of boredom, stress or habit. It’s amazing how many people do. We tend to nibble while watching TV, while at the computer or just when we need to take a break. Find healthier ways to take breaks or deal with the stresses of everyday life. The best choice is a short walk followed by a glass of water or a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Are all processed foods bad? P

rocessed foods get a bad rap, which many of them deserve. They can be unnecessarily high in sodium and sugar, and laden with unrecognisable ingredients. Reducing your reliance on prepared and packaged foods is a positive step for your health.

You can also find breakfast cereals that don’t contain too much sodium and sugar. There are also a number of good, prepared soups available from the fridge section at local supermarkets. Eat fresh

foods and cook from scratch as often as you can, but don’t worry about having a few of these time-saving processed foods in the pantry and freezer.

However, if you are selective, you can find processed foods that are nutritionally sound, and the convenience makes it easier to eat well. Canned fruit retains many of the nutrients found in fresh fruit and it’s a low-cost alternative, especially varieties canned in fruit juice. And frozen berries are an easy – and healthy – dessert. Canned lentils and beans are quicker to use than dried beans, while frozen vegetables are a no-chop alternative to fresh vegies. As they’re snapfrozen soon after harvest, they can retain more nutrients than “fresh” vegetables that have been left for a week in the bottom of the fridge.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

POLICY WATCH

Common Core National Standards benchmarks for quality education Sebastian Menacherry

Building on the excellent foundation of standards the states have laid down, CCSS are the first step in providing young people with a high-quality education

ow that the common man has taken up cudgels for essential social and political reforms, it should serve as a wake-up call for all those concerned with revamping and strengthening our educational system in the light of principles of equity and quality. It is important for all those engaged in this field - parents, students, teachers and the community - to take a call on this and make painstaking efforts to shake off the dead habits of role learning and score-oriented education and replace it with realistic and holistic transformation of every child. It is in this context that we have to realize the need for and the importance of Common Core National Standards ( CCNS). In our previous issues we had discussed how some of the countries achieved considerable success in revolutionizing their education system and could stand out in global competitions. Those

Pallikkutam | January 2014

countries, such as Finland and Singapore, gave top priority to the revamping of education at the national level, and today the world looks upon them as benchmarks for education. While considering the important reasons for the success of those reforms in those countries, two unique features stand out: 1) the consensus of all major political parties on supporting the national educational reform policies; 2) the rigorous quality insistence on the selection, retention and empowerment of teachers, which are the sine qua non for any reform measures in our country too. Another important initiative to be taken by the Central and State Governments would be the decision to work in tandem in order to design and implement a national curriculum for schools, incorporating regional requirements and at the same time laying a strong framework of core national content with quality standards and parameters for

schools all over India. The basis for an initiative on functional policies may, perhaps, call for more control by the Central Government and national agencies like NCERT and NUEPA (National University of Educational Planning and Administration), asserting and establishing their firmly adequate space in the present ambiguous concurrent list, in which education lies at present. Concurrent list consists of areas where the Central Government and states share responsibilities for policies, budgeting and implementation. Education was shifted from the state list to the concurrent list in 1976 during the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi. The prototype for such national core standards can be found in the recently introduced CCSS (Common Core State Standards) in the US. This step has been

POLICY WATCH

In our country, till recently, different kinds of syllabi had been designed and implemented by state/regional governments, but interestingly, of late, there have been more and more demands for a central/national or even global curriculum. adopted after the failure of the scheme called NCLB (No Child Left Behind) which was introduced by the previous regime. The mission statement of CCSS states that â&#x20AC;&#x153;it provides a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careersâ&#x20AC;?. The response to the CCSS initiative in the US has been overwhelming. Forty-five states, the district of Columbia, four territories (US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa) and the Department of Defence Education Activity have adopted CCSS, which proves the high acceptance of the initiative. Building on the excellent foundation of standards the states have laid down, CCSS are the first step in providing young people with a high-quality education. It should be clear to every student, parent and teacher what the standards of success are in every school.

f o r national or even global competition. Wider mobility of people, advance of technology in media and IT have enhanced this paradigm shift. As a result, today there is increasing demand for national curricula such as CBSE, CBSE-i, ICSE and International O and A Levels, IB etc in our country. Parents look for more acceptability of the educational stream and, more importantly, a system that can bring out the best in the child and her/his overall

development. Our educational planners have to take serious note of these changing trends and shift of interest while planning our future education. A national summit for educationalists from Central and State Governments and corporates that are involved in educational activities should initiate a productive dialogue with all stakeholders and arrive at a consensus on an effective CCNS scheme. In the US, the core standards are mostly set for two main subjects, English and Mathematics. In India, we can perhaps have such standards for Science subjects too. Initially, if we start with these core subjects, we can move on after studying the feedback from all those at stake. In view of the emerging mobility, it is the need of the hour to consider such CCNS.

Sebastian Menacherry is former chairman, Council of CBSE Schools in the Gulf, and former Director of Goverment Model Schools, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

ASPECTS

Dama-Dana-Daya Self Control-Generosity-Mercy Dr. Augustine Thottakara

The verbal root “da” has all these three meaning: damyati, meaning to control, dadati, meaning to give, and dayate, meaning to be kind and merciful.

rhadaranyaka Upanisad narrates an interesting story. Prajapati, the first born of the supreme Being, had three sons, who were also at the same time his students. The three sons/students were: one god (deva), one human being (manusya) and one demon (asura). They were not three separate species, but three types of people, with three specific characteristics and distinctive features. They stayed with Prajapati for twelve years and learned the Vedas, Vedangas, Upavedas, Itihasas, Puranas, Dharma-sastras, and also philosophical disciplines like Nyaya, Vaisesika, Yoga, Mimamsa, etc. After this long period of formation and training Prajapati, the preceptor, decided to conclude their period of studentship (brahmacarya), and to send them back home to enter into the next stage of life, namely, household-life (garhasthya). They have to go home, where their fathers would perform the samavartana samskara (home coming ritual), and arrange their marriage. Therefore, Prajapati asked his disciples to take the ritual bath (diksanta-snana) and come before him for the final instructions. This bath is important. These brahmacarins are pervaded and permeated by the divine power and grace, by the divine lustre and by the energy of the Vedic word. They are all personification of divinity and supra-mundane godliness; they are almost like celestial beings. If they go to the world like that, the contacts

with the world and worldliness, contacts with material realities, and earthly entities may cause them harm. They need to wash away some of the sacredness, godliness and divine nature, wash away the divine lustre, and render themselves ‘normal’

human beings before they enter into the arena of normal human life in the world. The god, that is, the student with the characteristics of a god, took the ritual bath, came before Prajapati, prostrated before him, and said: ‘Revered Sir, speak’.

The preceptor looked at him and solemnly pronounced just one letter “da”. He then asked the student: “Did you understand?” The student, that is god, said: “I understand you perfectly Sir. You are telling me damyata, ‘control yourself’. My problem is that I do not have any control in my thoughts, words and deeds; I am unbridled in my dealings with persons, events and things; I say and do things without mature deliberations and prudence. This is my cardinal vice, and you are telling me that I should take care of this in my future stages of life, away from your care and protection. Revered Sir, I shall control myself”. Prajapati said: “You have understood what I said, you go and do accordingly”. Then the man, that is, the student with the characteristics of a human being, took the ritual bath, came before Prajapati, prostrated before him, and said: ‘Revered Sir, speak’. The preceptor solemnly pronounced the same one letter “da”. He then asked the student: “Did you understand?” The student, that is man, said: “I understand you perfectly Sir. You are telling me datta, ‘give, be generous’. My problem is that I am very selfish, very much ego-centred; I am not at all generous. Selfishness is my cardinal vice, and you are telling me that I should take care of this flaw in my character in my future stages of life, away from your care and protection.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

ASPECTS

Let the people strive to control their body, senses, mind, passions, thoughts, words and deeds; let the people learn to be generous and munificent; let the people practise maitri (loving friendship) and karuna (mercy and kindness) things will take a turn for the better. Revered Sir, I shall give my being and my havings to others; I shall be generous”. Prajapati said: “You have understood what I said, you go and do accordingly”. Then the third student, the demon, that is, the student with the characteristics of an asura, took the ritual bath, came before Prajapati, prostrated before him, and said: ‘Revered Sir, speak’. The preceptor solemnly pronounced again the same letter “da”. He then asked the student: “Did you understand?” The student, that is demon, said: “I understand you perfectly Sir. You are telling me dayadhvam, ‘be merciful’. My problem is that I do not care for others, I am cruel to others, I do not show any consideration and care for the well-being and feelings of others; I hurt others in my thoughts, words and deeds; I say and do things without mercy. This is my cardinal vice, and you are telling me that I should take care of this in my future stages of life, away from your care and protection. Revered Sir, I shall be merciful and kind to others”. Prajapati said: “You have understood what I said, you go and do accordingly”. This is the shortest Convocation Address ever delivered in the world: just one letter “da”, with three connotations. This is not just a fanciful and whimsical way of giving meaning to the letter “da”, without any logical reason behind it; it is not the creation of imagination. The verbal root “da” has all these three meaning: damyati, meaning to control, dadati, meaning to

Pallikkutam | January 2014

give, and dayate, meaning to be kind and merciful. The Upanisad further says that this oneletter instruction of the teacher was

ratified by the heavenly voice. As the preceptor gave his last one-letter advice to the demon, the clouds in the sky thundered ‘da, da, da’, indicating that the teacher has rightly interpreted and helped his disciples to interpret the inherent meaning and application of this verbal root. T.S. Eliot refers to this Upanisadic passage in his Epic Poem “The Waste Land”. T.S. Eliot undoubtedly is the most famous and greatest poet of English language of the nineteenth century. The Waste Land is written in the wake of First World War. He laments that Europe has become a waste land. He is not referring to the material destructions that the war has caused. The destructions were enormous: great monuments, celebrated Cathedrals, eminent churches, notable historic buildings, important commercial

complexes, bridges, roads – all these were destroyed. But in the poetry he grieves over the moral degradation and deprivation that has happened in the personal and societal life of people. People have become very self-centred and unkind. Love, sympathy, empathy, compassion, etc. were values and virtues which were conspicuous by their absence in the lives of individual and society at large. Exploitation of the weak, absence of the concern for common good, untruthfulness and cheating in interpersonal relationships and business dealings, cruelty meted out to others without any remorse, lack of moral integrity in politics, unethical means employed to secure wealth, etc. were rampant. He is immensely pained by this sad state of affairs. In the last chapter of his book, he suggests the means to overcome this debilitating malaise of the Europe. The fifth and last chapter of The Waste Land is entitled as “What the Clouds Said”. It refers to the three “da” of the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad, which stand for self control, generosity and mercy - damyata, datta, dayadhvam. Individuals, families and society at large should practise these values and virtues; changes will definitely ensue from a life tuned to the ethos of these values. Let the people strive to control their body, senses, mind, passions, thoughts, words and deeds; let the people learn to be generous and munificent; let the people practise maitri (loving friendship) and karuna (mercy and kindness) - things will take a turn for the better.

INFO TECH

What metros searched for in 2013 D

elhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai have emerged as the top five metro cities that searched online in 2013 and mobile phones followed by apparel, PC and tablets, home and kitchen and books were the top five searched categories, says a survey.

category. However, video games were most searched by consumers in Hyderabad, it said. In Chennai and Bangalore, consumers searched the most for mobile phone and

“Customers in the country are increasingly adapting to online shopping. One in four online shoppers now visits a comparison shopping site before completing a purchase on a seller website. We are not only witnessing an increase in traffic from the top six cities but from mini towns as well,” Junglee.com General Manager Mahendra Nerurkar said.

Traffic from tier-2 cities and mini towns such as Pune, Gurgaon, Noida and Chandigarh also increased by over two-fold year-onyear, according to findings of Junglee.com’s ‘Online Shopping Search Trends Report 2013’. The report analyses key consumer online shopping search trends in 2013, based on customer searches on Junglee.com. Delhiites searched the most for home appliances in 2013, while consumers in Kolkata searched the most for entertainment products like books, music, movies, video games, accounting for 62 per cent of searches in this

The survey further said consumers also searched for global products on the site, such as Google Nexus range of phones and tablets as well as the new PlayStation 4 during Q1, Q2 and Q3 of 2013, were searched for when these products were launched in the US market.

apparel accounting for more than 60 per cent of the overall searches. Consumers in Mumbai searched for footwear accounting for 15 per cent of searches in this category, the survey revealed.

The report also revealed that pricing played an important role in 2013. As compared to 2012, consumer preferences in mobiles and tablets category gravitated towards the higher priced models this year, it added.

Govt to launch internet spy system ‘Netra’ soon.

Beware! Use of words like “attack”, “bomb”, “blast” or “kill” in tweets,

“Netra”, an internet spy system capable of detecting mala fide messages.

by all security agencies to capture any dubious voice traffic passing through

status updates, emails or blogs may bring you under surveillance of security agencies as the government will soon launch

The home ministry is giving finishing touches to ‘Netra’, which will be deployed

software like Skype or Google Talk, besides write-ups in tweets, status updates, emails, instant messaging

Pallikkutam | January 2014

INFO TECH transcripts, internet calls, blogs and forums. The “Netra” internet spy system has been developed by Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), a lab under Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

Infosys mulling double-digit salary hike I

nfosys is considering double-digit pay raises as chairman NR Narayana Murthy looks to keep the workforce of 1.5 lakh motivated, people aware of discussions in the company said. Although growth is showing signs of picking up, several senior executives have left the Bangalore-based company in recent months, making it imperative for attractive pay raises to keep employee morale high.

retaining people,” said Ajit Isaac, managing director and chief executive of Ikya Human Capital Solutions, a staffing company that serves the Indian IT sector. Analysts said the decision to offer higher pay hikes is a welcome one although it could impact the company’s margins. “At this point, improving employee sentiment matters more than worrying about dip in margins,” an analyst with a foreign brokerage firm said on condition of

“The specifications of the ‘Netra’ system can be taken as frozen following tests by the Intelligence Bureau and Cabinet Secretariat, and can be considered for providing multiple user access to security agencies,” a Home Ministry note on Netra says. An inter-ministerial group, comprising officials of the Cabinet secretariat, home ministry, DRDO, CAIR, Intelligence Bureau, C-DoT and Computer Emergency Response Team ( CERT-In) recently have discussed the deployment strategy of “Netra”. The group also chalked-out a strategy on how to deal with computer security incidents, track system vulnerabilities and promote effective IT security practices across the country. “When Netra is operationalized, security agencies will get a big handle on monitoring activities of dubious people and organisations which use internet to carry out their nefarious designs,” a government official said. The inter-ministerial group favoured allocation of 300 GB of storage space to a maximum of three security agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau and Cabinet Secretariat, for intercepted internet traffic and an extra 100 GB would be assigned to the remaining law enforcement agencies.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

“Not only have they decided to hand out bigger pay increases, there will also be more promotions,” said a senior industry executive on condition of anonymity. “Hikes could fall in the 8-12% range to motivate employees,” the person said.

anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Attrition at Infosys was 17.3% at the end of the September quarter, the highest among the tier-1 Indian IT providers, illustrating that the company had become Infosys usually announces pay increases fertile poaching ground for rivals, as in June. A spokeswoman for the company demand picked up for the $108 billion outsourcing industry. declined to comment. Last year, Infosys raised salaries for staff in India by 8% on In comparison, Tata Consultancy Services, average, shortly after founder Murthy which had announced a 5-10% pay returned to lead the company as executive increase in April, had an attrition of 10.9% chairman in June. at the end of second quarter. “I think Murthy’s going to offer higher Last June, Wipro said it was raising wage hikes because a combination of hikes salaries by 6-8% for its employees. and other factors will be critical to

INFO TECH

Google ties up with auto majors for Android OS to cars

oogle has entered into a partnership with the leading carmakers and a chipmaking firm in order to bring its Android operating system into vehicles in 2014. Open Auto Alliance (OAA), an auto-tech group, also announced on Monday, the opening day for CES 2014, that they will support the OS’ widespread use with certain tweaks.

Although the details are being kept undercover, the OAA added that Google’s Android OS will arrive with certain carspecific features. The Android-Audi tie-up came into news last month itself, reports CNET, as it was

Some of the carmakers involved in the partnership are General Motors, Audi, Honda and Hyundai whereas Nvidia will be also giving its support under-the-hood. “The OAA is dedicated to a common platform that will drive innovation, and make technology in the car safer and more intuitive for everyone” the group announced. “Its open development model and common platform will allow automakers to more easily bring cuttingedge technology to their drivers, and create new opportunities for developers to deliver powerful experiences for drivers and passengers in a safe and scalable way.”

revealed that the popular carmaker would include entertainment and information systems-based on the Google’s OS. However, the Android-General Motors agreement is considered to be much bigger as GM is the largest automaker around the

globe. The firm is said to pair itself with the mobile OS via its native OnStar communications technology. The OAA partnership is also considered a starting point for the implementation of the much-anticipated self-driving car technology, providing a platform for standardised computing and services. The self-driving car technology’s biggest drawback is fear for driver and road safety, and to reassure consumers, the alliance said: “We have been in contact with government agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Our goal is to build an experience that helps drivers get what they’re looking for without disrupting their focus on the road.” As a competition to Android, Apple’s iOS is also working on car electronics. Ford is also said to have a close partnership with Microsoft regarding its Sync technology.

Facebook acquires Indian startup

acebook has acquired Bangalore-based startup Little Eye Labs making it the social networking giant’s first acquisition in India. Little Eye is a tool that helps Android app developers to measure, analyze and optimize their apps. It helps visualize the app’s behaviour and estimates the app’s power, memory and network data consumption trends. The entire LittleEye Labs team will move to Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, where they would leverage the social networking giant’s infrastructure to improve the performance of their apps. “Little Eye Labs will join forces with Facebook to take its mobile development to the next level! This is Facebook’s first acquisition of an Indian company, and we are happy to become part of such an incredibleteam,” the company said in a note on their website. The Bangalore-based startup was founded in May last year by four programme

analysis geeks — Giridhar Murthy, who worked at Apple earlier, Kumar Rangarajan, who has worked at IBM and HP, Satyam Kandula, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus and ex IBMer Lakshman Kakkirala.

This has been a fun and exciting journey. We’re eager to be working alongside the incredible team at Facebook and together, we’ll continue on our mission of building awesome analysis tools to aide in the development of brilliant apps,” said

Rangarajan, the CEO of Little Eye. The company has raised seed funding from from GSF Superangels and Venture East Fund. Rajesh Sawhney, founder of GSF Accelerator, added, “Acquisition of Little Eye Labs by Facebook is a transformative deal for not only the Indian startup ecosystem but also for the whole of the emerging world. This validates GSF’s core tenet that Indian product startups are now ready for a global play.” Subbu Subramanian, engineering manager in Facebook said, “I’m excited to announce that we’re acquiring Little Eye Labs.This is an opportunity to welcome some of the industry’s most- talented engineers to our team in Menlo Park, California. At Facebook, we remain focused on producing useful and engaging mobile apps. The Little Eye Labs technology will help us to continue improving our Android codebase to make more efficient, higher-performing apps.”

Pallikkutam | January 2014

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GUEST COLUMN

C¥y kzmX{¥yw t\Snbn´v Adp]Ønc-≠p h¿jw Ign™p. P\m[n]Xyw F∂ `cW{IasØ°pdn®v APRcmbncp∂ P\w. aXw, PmXn, h¿§w, \ndw, `mj, `£WcoXn, IpSpw__‘ßƒ, kmºØnIw F∂√, C{Xb[nIw sshhn≤yam¿∂ Hcp kaqlw temIØn√. t\mhenÃv BdSntbmfw s]m°hpw HØ XSnbpap≈ HfnºnIvkn¬ ImWmdp≈ shbn‰v en^v‰nwKv hn`mKØnse saU¬ tPXmhns\t∏msebp≠-v. km≥^vdm≥knkvt°mbn¬ Xmakn°p∂p. H∏w \√ Dbchpw BI¿jWobamb apJIm¥nbpap≈ awtKmfnb≥ \nd°mc≥ saen™ a≤yhbkv°≥. IqsS k©cn°p∂ Iq´pImc≥ F∂¿∞w hcp∂ Iw]m\nb≥ F∂mWv ]cnNbs∏SpØnbXv. Ccphcpw C¥y≥ kμ¿i\w Ign™m¬ t\sc ]ekvXo\nte°mWv t]mIp∂Xv. a\pjymhImi{]h¿Ø\w. temIsØ F√m cmPyßfn¬ \n∂pw Bƒ°m¿ AhnsS FØpw. Rßƒ tIcfsØ°pdn®v kwkmcn®p. C¥ysb°pdn®v kwkmcn®p. sIm®nbpsS ]mcºcysØ°pdn®pw Ncn{XsØ°pdn®pw kwkmcn®p. temIØnse G‰hpw ]g°ap≈ tIcfob IykvXob kaqlsØ°pdn®pw c-≠mbncw h¿jtØmfw apºv ÿm]n°s∏´ ]mebq¿ ]≈nsb°pdn®pw kwkmcn®p. ]s£ Ah¿°v {][m\ambpw Adntb≠-nbncp∂Xv C¥ybpsS Zmcn{ZysØ°pdn®mbncp∂p. kmaqly\oXn IpńIƒ°v e`n°mØXns\°pdn®mbncp∂p. C¥ybn¬ 125 aney¨, ]{¥-≠c tImSn IpńIƒ hni∂p Ignbp∂p. kv°qfn¬ t]mImsX. H∏w Hcp hm¿Øbpw I-≠s{X. icmicn°W°n¬ C¥ybn¬ A©p hb n¬ Xmsgbp≈ aq∂p IpńIƒhoXw ]e ImcWßfmepw {][m\ambn t]mjImlmchpw sshZyklmbhpw e`n°msX Hmtcm an\nńepw acn°p∂p≠v.

Ign™p. P\m[n]Xyw F∂ Cu Ip™pßƒ°pth≠-n `cW{IasØ°pdn®v F¥psIm≠-v C¥y≥ APRcmbncp∂ P\w. aXw, PmXn, FgpØpIm¿ i_vZapb¿Øp∂n√? h¿§w, \ndw, `mj, `£WcoXn, Rm≥ ]d™p. ]Sn™md≥ IpSpw__‘ßƒ, kmºØnIw Nn¥Ifpw [mcWIfpw D≠-m°nb F∂√, C{Xb[nIw AfhptImepIfneqsSbmWv sshhn≤yam¿∂ Hcp kaqlw Ing°≥, Gjy≥ kaqlØns\ temIØn√. ChnsS P\kwJy Ign™ c-≠p \q‰m≠-pIfmbn ap∏Ømdp tImSnbn¬ \n∂v \nßƒ -I≠-p h∂ncp∂Xv. \q‰n∏Xn\©p tImSnbnseØp∂p. ChnSpsØ Zmcn{Zyw tUmfdns‚ ChnsS Ign™ Adp]Ønb©p aqeyØnemWv \nßƒ IW°p sIm√Øn¬ Hcp Znhkw t]mepw Bcpw `cWm[nImcnIsf hna¿in°mXncp∂nń√. GXp cmPyØpw ]ńWn IqSptºmƒ GIm[n]XnIƒ D-≠mIpw. ]´mfw \n¿ÆmbIi‡nbmIpw. hna¿i\°mcpsS hmbSbv°pw. icn°p≈ C¥y Cu IW°pIfpsS ]ńWn®Xn°pgnbv°v a\ nem°mhp∂Xn\∏pdamWv. C¥y≥ P\m[n]XyØns‚ ]n∂nse i‡n a\ nem°m≥ Ncn{Xhpw kwkvIyXnbpsS Bghpw tXSWw. P\m[n]XyØns‚ ASnÿm\inebmWv A`n{]mbkzmX{¥yw. FgpØpImcn kplyØv kΩXn®p. Iq´p∂Xv. AXv XnI®pw sX‰mb kao]\amWv. {Kmaßfpw IpSnepIfpw AhbpsS kmºØnI i‡nbpw IpńIfpsS Imemhÿm\ptbmPyamb BtcmKy\nebpw icnbmbn IW°pIfpsS ]cn[nbn¬ sIm≠p hcp∂ Ãm‰n‰nIvkv Nn¥Iƒ C\nbpw D≠mIm\ncn°p∂tXbp≈p. RßfpsS _p≤nsbbpw I≠p]nSpØtijnsbbpw t]mepw \nßƒ hnIeambn kzm[o\n®p Ign™p. Ah¿°p hnizmkambn√. Rm≥ hniZoIcn®p. C¥y kzmX{¥yw t\Snbn´v Adp]Ønc≠-p h¿jw

C¥ybn¬ am≤yaßƒ°p≈ kzmX{¥yØns‚ Awiw t]mepw Atacn°bnen√. C¥ybpsS AWp]co£Wßsf°pdn®pw Iq‰≥ PesshZypX]≤XnIƒ D≠m°p∂ ]cnÿnXn{]iv\ßsf°pdn®pw ]´nWn acWßsf°pdn®pw a\pjymhImi[zwk\sØ°pdn®pw CjvSw t]mse B¿°pw ]dbmw. temIXeÿm\sa∂p hntijn∏n°p∂ \yqtbm¿°n¬ sN∂pw ]dbmw. Atacn°bv°v HscXn¿∏pan√. ]s£ AhnsS \S°p∂ AWphmbp[ ]co£Wßƒ, h≥InS AWs°´pIƒ kyjvSn°p∂ ]mcnÿnXnI{]iv\ßƒ, Pallikkutam | January 2014

GUEST COLUMN

{]m¿∞\ shdpw A[cØn\∏pdtØ°v FØp∂n√. Xe Ip\n®v ]p¬°pSnte°v Ibdm≥ hnZzm∑msc \n¿_‘nXcm°p∂ kl\coXn kaqlØn\v {]m]vXamIWw. BZnhmknIsf H‰s∏SpØn dnk¿hvUv GcnbIfn¬ HXp°p∂ coXn Chsb°pdns®ms° ]dbm≥ Bscbpw A\phZn°pIbn√. _p≤nPohnIfpsS H‰s∏´ i_vZw t]mepw Db¿Øm≥ Ah¿°v GjybnemWv IqSpX¬ Ahkcw. Ah¿ au\nbmbn ss_ ss_ ]d™p IYIfn ImWm≥ t]mbn. Fs‚ {]Xntcm[w Hcp Fkvt°∏nÃv hnZybmbncp∂p Fs∂\n°dnbmw. F\n°v Cu AhÿtbmSv tIm]n°Wsa∂p≠-v. ]s£ F\n°Xn\v Ignbp∂n√. {Ko°v XXzNn¥I\pw _p≤nPohnbpambncp∂ AcntÃm´nens‚ Hcp {]ikvX hN\ap≠-v. B¿°pw tIm]n°mw. AXv hfsc Ffp∏amWv. AXn\v henb Ignshm∂pw th≠-. ]s£ icnbmb hy‡ntbmSv icnbmb kabØv icnbmb Afhn¬ icnbmb ImcWØn\v icnbmb coXnbn¬ tIm]n°m\p≈ Ignhv A]q¿hw t]¿t° D≈q. B Ignhv t\SpI F∂Xv hfsc {]bmkamWp Xm\pw. \ap°v CsXßns\ km≤yamIpw? ssZhhnizmkw. GIm{Kamb {]m¿∞\. AXv Hcp ssIØncn Im´p∂p≠-v. \ap°v B XncnbpsS

Pallikkutam | January 2014

shfn®w ImWmw. B XncnbpsS {]ImihyØw sNdnb Hcp _nμphmWv. AXns\ Ah\hs‚ coXnbn¬ ImWWw. s]m´p shfn®w am{Xw I-≠v Rm≥ F√mw I≠-p hn⁄\mbn F∂v Al¶cn°p∂h¿°v Aßns\ kam[m\n°mw. AtX kabw Cu temIØnse k¿hNcmNcßsfbpw \ΩpsS `mKam°m≥ \ap°p shfnhp Xcp∂ kqcy{]`bmbpw \ap°nXns\ ImWmw. \mw t\m°Ww. A{X am{Xw. ]s£ Cu Xncnbnte°v \ΩpsS ZyjvSnIƒ GIm{Kambn hbv°m≥ \ap°p ss[cyap-≠mIn√. B ss[cyw ssIhcn°p∂Xp hsc \mw ssZhhnizmknIf√. shdpw Bcm[\®SßpIfnse Poh\n√mØ ]mhIƒ am{XamWv. Ffp∏w a\ nemIp∂ Hcp kXyw CXns‚ hniZoIWØn\mbn ]dbmw. \ap°v, {]tXyIn®pw tIcfob¿°v Gsd ]cnNnXamb kXym{Klw. Km‘nPn {InkvXphn¬ \n∂v Is-≠Ønb {]m¿∞\bpsS, kzbw ]oU\Øns‚ ASnÿm\amb Cu kXym{KlsØ F{X s]s´∂v Hcp Dfp∏pan√msX \mw hnIeam°n ! Cu alØmb BibsØ If¶s∏SpØp∂ dnte

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BETTER ENGLISH

A Guide to English Style and Usage- 9 A.G. Menon

Generation X (Gen X) is used to refer to people born in the 1960s and 1970s. Those born in the 1980s and 1990s belong to Generation Y. In front of means ‘close to the front part of something’ Opposite means ‘on the other side.

F food The word is generally an uncountable one. It becomes countable only when it refers to a particular kind of food: baby foods, health foods.

‘continually’; ‘all the time’: He is forever demanding money from me. For evermeans ‘for always’: She tells me she will remember me for ever.

full;You will get the amount in full. Fully means ‘completely’: The flat is fully furnished; He has fully recovered from his illness.

foot One goes to a place on foot and by car/ from and since Use from...to... when you by bicycle or by bike. mean ‘from one time in the past to another’: I was (I lived) in Kolkata from 2003 to 2006. for To explain why one does something, Use since when you mean ‘from a time in you should use a to-infinitive, not for: He the past until now’: I have been waiting here went to the US to join an MBA course (instead since 10 o’clock. of He went to the US for joining an MBA course). front Please note the difference between in front of and opposite. In front of means Use for to say ‘how long’: He worked for ‘close to the front part of something’: There the newspaper for 30 years; He has not seen is enough space in front of the building for a film for the last 12 years. parking. Opposite means ‘on the other side Use over/during/in to say ‘when’: The (of the street, room etc) facing’: The ration country has witnessed a significant increase shop is opposite the homeo college. in terrorist activities over the last few years. fruitin general is an uncountable noun: We Use the present perfect tense for actions buy lots of fruit; Would you like a piece of and situations which began in the past and fruit?Fruits in the sense of particular types continue up to the moment of speaking: I of fruit is seldom used in British English. have been waiting here for the last 45 minutes; fryThe word, used with ‘small’ before it, ie We have not contacted each other for the ‘small fry’, means ‘unimportant people or past eight years. things’: They may be leaders in this small forbidYou can forbid somebody from area but are small fry outside their territory. doing or forbid somebody to do It is an uncountable noun. It is incorrect to something:Her parents have forbidden her say ‘small fries’ or ‘a small fry’. to talk to anybody over the phone after 10 fulfilIn British English it is fulfil and in pm; The authorities have forbidden people American English fulfill. from trespassing. full In full means ‘without any part missing foreverandfor everThere is some difference or removed’: My article was published in between the two words. Forever means

furnitureis an uncountable noun: The Johnson family brought Italian furniture when they returned home from that country; The new showroom has stocks of office furniture.

future In future means ‘from now on’: You should be more careful in future. In the future means ‘at some time in the future’: In the future we will be using a much more sophisticated computer system.

Gain support, knowledge; earn your salary gain The sentences She gains a monthly salary of Rs 50,000 and Without working you can’t gain money are wrong. They should be changed to: She earns a monthly salary of Rs 50,000 and Without working you can’t earn (or get/make) money. You gain something whether you deserve it or not. You may also gain strength, knowledge, support, respect, popularity etc: The Congress has gained considerable support in the southern districts.You earn/ get/make money by doing work,by investing your money in banks, bonds etc: He earns/gets/makes Rs 3,000 a week.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

BETTER ENGLISH

You gain something whether you deserve it or not. You may also gain strength, knowledge, support, respect, popularity etc -gate This suffix is derived from Watergate. It refers to a political scandal in the United States during President Richard Nixon’s election campaign in 1972 when Republican agents were caught breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic Party in Washington, called the Watergate building. The subsequent attempts to cover up the break-in led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Afterwards the suffix gate was added to words relating to scandals, mostly to sexual scandals.

Generic means ‘of or relating to a group or class’: a generic label/name/term; “Paracetamol’ is the generic name/term used to describe the medicine which reduces fever, inflammation and pain.

generation The term Generation X (Gen X) is used to refer to people born in the 1960s and 1970s. Those born in the 1980s and 1990s belong to Generation Y (Gen Y). Generation Next (Gen Next) people are new. Some people also refer to this generation as Generation Z (Gen Z). These gay The word has now come to be accepted terms, however, are seldom used now. for ‘homosexual’: He became gay when he get Don’t say He got promoted to senior was in the eighth standard. Though the term manager in 2012; say He was promoted to can be applied both to men and women it is senior manager in 2012. more applied to the former. The corresponding word for women is lesbian. get in(to) You get in(to) and out of a car, Originally gay meant ‘happy’, ‘merry’ etc: taxi or boat: As soon as I got into my car I We felt gay as the dance progressed. received the manager’s phone call. general and generic These two adjectives get off/on You get off and get on a train, are related in meanings but are not plane, bus, ship, motorcycle or horse: They synonymous. got off the train by 5.30 pm and hired a taxi to reach home; After visiting the sight we got General means ‘as a whole’, ‘overall’, on the wrong bus back to our hotel. ‘widespread’ etc: The book gives you a general idea of the rules of grammar; I’ve girl A girl is ‘a female child or adolescent’. got a general idea of how my new house However, it is seen very often applied to a should look; In general, girls score higher young woman or even to a woman of any marks than boys; There is general concern age: His wife told him she was going out with about the increasing prices of essential the neighbourhood girls. But many, including commodities. women, object to such use.

Pallikkutam | January 2014

go begging not go abegging which is oldfashioned. If something goes begging, it is available easily. Radio sets are going begging nowadays. good The word is an adjective and cannot be used in the following way: My daughter doesn’t speak English very good. Say My daughter doesn’t speaak English very well; My son is a good singer; My son speaks very good English;I hope to fare well (NOT good) in tomorrow’sexamination. Say good at (doing) something(NOT in): My nephew is good atmaths; Our neighbour’s daughter is very good at painting; The child is very good at making dolls. It’s no good/use means ‘it’s pointless’: It’s no good/use spending money on it; it can’t be repaired; It’s no good/use advising him; he won’t listen. grow and grow up The first word means ‘to develop or get bigger as part of a natural process or to cause plants etc to do this’: Tomy’s daughter has grown taller now; Oranges never grow in our climate; We have started growing vegetables on the terrace; The country’s GDP is growing at a fast rate. Grow up means ‘pass from childhood into maturity’: Many of the children in that country grow up in the midst of poverty; What do you want to be when you grow up?

Confessions Chetan Bhagat What is your idea of happiness? A state of mind when one feels calm, engaged in the moment and not wanting to change a thing. What is your greatest fear? To lose my health, family, motivation to work. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Work out more and be less sensitive. If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? I would make them more engaged in my work, though I realise they have their own lives. What do you consider your greatest achievement? To be able to live my passion and be recognized for it. If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be? I think I would come back as the same person. If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?

What do you most appreciate in your friends? A sense of empathy Who are your favourite authors? Too many to name here. Who is your favourite hero of fiction? Howard Roark in the Fountainhead. Who are your heroes in real life? Steve Jobs. Barack Obama. Anna Hazare. What are your favourite names? All of Krishna’s names - which become the names of protagonists in my books. What is your present state of mind? Relaxed, slightly nervous about the workload to the book launch. How would you like to die? In peace, without pain and not leaving any hassles for people behind me. What is your favourite motto? Don’t be serious, be sincere.

I have had a good life. Would not mind an encore. What is your idea of misery? Lack of health, money and good relationships. Where would you like to live? I live where I want to live Mumbai What is your favourite occupation? Being a writer, of course. What is your most marked characteristic? My casual manner What is the quality you most like in the opposite sex? Intelligence and a zest for life.

Chetan Bhagat , is an author, columnist, and speaker. Bhagat is the author of bestselling novels, Five Point Someone, One Night @ the Call Center, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, 2 States, Revolution 2020 , and What Young India Wants . All the books have remained bestsellers since their release and three have inspired Bollywood films (including the hit films 3 Idiots and Kai Po Che!). In 2008, The New York Times called Bhagat “the biggest selling English language novelist in India’s history”. Bhagat, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, is seen more as a youth icon than as an author. Time magazine named him as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

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