September 2015 by james paul

FROM EDITOR’S DESK

MAGAZINE ON EDUCATION

Educating next generation leaders

VOLUME 03 | ISSUE 04 | SEPTEMBER 2015

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

Columns K. L. Mohanavarma Dr. K. N. Raghavan Dr. Jose Cletus Plackal Sajith Malliyoor Joe A. Scaria

Marketing Manager Varghese Kachappilly CMI Design Sajo Joseph

“Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world,” said the late Nelson Mandela. What can we do to develop a new generation of empowered and entrepreneurial leaders through our institutions? Unfortunately, today’s learning management systems focus more on scheduling and taking courses than delivering learning development results. Companies are looking for scalable, holistic and comprehensive leadership development answers that create thriving learning and leadership communities where participants create and curate relevant content to then share with peers and colleagues. Educating students to become innovative leaders is not yet a science, and is inherently a messy enterprise. It is not likely to occur in the safe, predictable, ordered and linear world we tend to put students in. This can be summarized as the need to teach students to dare, to experiment and to fail with joy. John Stuart Mill’s comment, “that so few now dare to be eccentric marks the chief danger of our time,” is right about innovation and leadership. As a discipline, a thing to be practiced and learned, leadership is a woefully low priority in education. Innovation, problemsolving and invention are much more about failure than they are about the occasional success. The concept of “successful failure” is critical to developing leaders and something educators should teach at every possible point in the course of a student’s education. Students should be given multiple opportunities to experience the thrill – and certain failure – of leading. Our educational culture tends to be success-focused, and rewards ‘high achievement.’ But leadership requires putting yourself on the line, consistently taking risks, and without exception, sooner or later failing. Without this element of leadership learning and personal growth, the educational experience is flat, unrealistic and uninspiring. Half the people living in the world today are under the age of 30. The hundreds of millions of young people born in the digital age are more informed and connected than ever before. They have grown up in an era of widespread democracy, with expectations of freedom and equality. They are aware and distressed by the environmental, economic, and political state of the world. Their talents need to be harnessed.

Contact: Rajagiri Media, Rajagiri Valley P.O, Kakkanad, Kochi-39. Phone : 0484 2973979 Mob : +91 9497711010 E-Mail : editor@rajagirimedia.com Web : www.pallikkutam.com

Academic dogma is anathema to creativity, flexibility and resilience, and students should be encouraged to challenge, to inquire, to develop powerful points of view of their own. Leadership development is a collaborative learning and development exercise, one in which mentors and instructors should share information virtually, and where peers can learn from each other long after formal instructor-based learning is completed.

CONTENTS

22 CO VER ST OR Y COVER STOR ORY

New leadership paradigm Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. Today’s successful organizations have transcended the old style management paradigm. As a new paradigm leader, it is important to stay up-to-date with the latest information on personal development, leadership development, leadership practices, and talent management. In this section you will find the latest trends that reflect the ethos and evolution of the new leadership paradigm.

The distance we for being a better leader 24 Leadership: 32 AsTips all must travel to be one a leader, use your compassion and Thomson Skariah

Dr Satish Dhawan’s conviction was “Share the success of hard work with the team. If there be any failure - take up the responsibility shielding the team”

27 V.R. Ferose

Attributes of a great leader

When asked to name their five top leaders of the world, most names that people pick would be common. What makes these leaders get the top of the mind recall and how do they stand apart from others?

29 Satheesh Kumar T. N

Tao of new age leadership

Who is a leader? Conventionally it was assumed that those who enjoyed power and authority in organizations, by virtue of their positions.

empathy to help you understand what went wrong. Instead of jumping to conclusions or trying to guess what happened. Be hard on the results and soft on the person.

34 Politics of change Sherly Stephen

As a person who had faced election in the year 1995 and in the year 2010, I have witnessed how media made changes in leadership and society.

36 Evolution in leadership Rajesh Vijayan

A good leader identifies what others are good at. Successful people always position them well but a good leader position others well.

SEPTEMBER 2015 EXPERT COUNSEL

PERSONAL

10 13

Why we should not cull stray dogs Dr. K. N. Raghavan

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

I am destined to stay with my foe

INSIGHTS.......................... 08

Sajith Malliyoor

STORIES OF LIFE

REGULARS

‘Love is blind’, or is it so?

GADGETS........................... 43 INNO VATIONS ................... 45 INNOV TIONS...................

Dr. Jose Cletus Plackal

POLICY WATCH

Segregating politics from education Dr. D. Dhanuraj

HEALTH MONITOR

SPORTS............................. 62 RAINBO W.......................... 64 RAINBOW

When not to operate Dr. Jagath lal Gangadharan

CREATIVE LIVING

Think laterally to generate creative options Dr. Varghese Panthalookaran

GUEST COLUMN

SUBSCRIBE NOW TURN TO P AGE 21 PA

Please take rest and enjoy, I will run the boat K. L. Mohana Varma

ASPECTS

Pravahana’s teachings on Meditation Dr. Augustine Thottakara

BEST PRACTICES

CONTOURS OF CHANGE

Teach-InspireTranform

Preparing for a world without permanent jobs Joe A. Scaria

REFLECTIONS

From receiving to giving mode Jose Panthaplamthottiyil

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

NEWS

Centre launches portal for students seeking education loan

he Union Government has a launched the website ‘vidyalakshmi.co.in’ for students seeking educational loans. Five banks, including SBI, IDBI Bank and Bank of India, have integrated their system with the portal. “Vidya Lakshmi was launched on the occasion of Independence Day for the benefit of students seeking educational loans,” a finance ministry release said. The portal has been developed and maintained by NSDL egovernance infrastructure limited (NSDL e-Gov) under the guidance of department of financial services in the finance ministry, department of higher education, ministry of human resource development and Indian Banks Association (IBA). Finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech for 2015-16 had proposed to set up a fully IT-based student financial aid authority to administer and monitor scholarships as well as educational loan schemes through Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram(PMVLK). It is aimed to

ensure that no student misses out on higher education for lack of funds, said the release., adding that the launch of the portal is the first step towards achieving this objective. “Vidya Lakshmi Portal is the first of its kind portal providing single window for

students to access information and make applications for educational loans provided by banks as also government scholarships,” it added. The portal will provide information about educational loan schemes of banks, common educational loan application form for students, facility to apply to multiple banks for

educational loans, and facility for banks to download students’ loan applications.It also has facility for banks to upload loan processing status, facility for students to email grievances/queries relating to educational loans, dashboard facility for students to view status of their loan application and linkage to National Scholarship Portal for information and application for government scholarships. Finance ministry said so far 13 banks have registered 22 educational loan schemes on the Vidya Lakshmi Portal and five banks — SBI, IDBI Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank and Union Bank of India have integrated their system with the portal for providing loan processing status to students. “This initiative aims to bring on board all banks providing educational loans. It is expected that students throughout the country will be benefited by this initiative of the government by making available a single window for access to various educational loan schemes of all banks,” said the release.

More girls now make it to IIT he number of girls admitted to tier exam was introduced in 2012, the IITs has gone up marginally this number of girls registering for the joint year too, from 8% last year to entrance examination was steadily on 9% in the current batch. Though, in absolute numbers, girls on the elite institutes’ campuses have gone up by 40, compared to 2014, gender disparity continues to be a problem.

Professors attribute the poor representation of girls on engineering campuses to the mindset of people. Pradipta Banerji, director, IITRoorkee, said girls are poorly represented only in the undergraduate programme, though their success percentage is usually on par with boys.

Of the 9,974 students allotted seats in 18 IITs in the first joint seat allocation process, only 900 are girls.

“There are not many girls taking the JEE (Main), so we get fewer students for JEE (Advanced). But at the postgraduate level, we have more women on the campus. In fact, 44% doctorate students on the Roorkee campus are women. Of the total student population, they constitute around 15%,” said Banerji, adding that people are unwilling to send their girls to a residential campus.

Of the total students who qualified for IITs this year, only 11% were girls. After seat allotments, only 900 got in to the premier institutes. Of the total candidates registered, the number of girls is close to 18%. Before the two-

the rise. From around 24.3% of the total registered candidates in 2008, it had gone up to 33.3% in 2012.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

NEWS

‘Universities must create an eco-system for inspired teachers to propagate knowledge’ he President of India, Pranab Mukherjee addressed the students and faculty of Institutes of Higher Learning from Rashtrapati Bhavan using the National Knowledge Network. The topic of the address was ‘Energizing the Higher Educational Institutes in India’.

must create an eco-system with adequate hardware and software where ‘inspired teachers’ can be effectively used to propagate knowledge. Entrepreneurship is another quality which must be cultivated in our students from an early age.

Addressing students and faculty, the President said he was speaking to them in the shadow of an irreparable loss that we have suffered in the passing away of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. He stated that his two illustrious predecessors, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan - a philosopher teacher and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam - a scientist teacher have greatly influenced his thinking on the education sector. The President said that to take our fascinating and vibrant democracy to greater heights, we need highly educated and skilled young men and women. That is the challenge before our higher education system. Converting information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom, calls for exceptional skills which we must impart in our students. They should be prepared for lifelong learning which now is easier because of digital technology. An inquisitive mind and research oriented approach has to be built in our students.

The President said that value oriented education with deep understanding of the democratic governance structures and systemsis a must for building leadership skills. “Yes, We Can” spirit has to be inculcated in formative years of our gen-next. They must have the disposition “to do the right thing” as well as “to do things right”.

The President said that students must learn how to manage knowledge collectively. It is essential for the younger generation to learn how to use the latest technologies for aiding their learning process. Universities

Pallikkutam | September 2015

India, Australia ink MoU to deepen education ties

eepening cooperation in the field of education, India and Australia agreed on a joint financial commitment of up to AUS$ one million and signed an MoU to strengthen existing partnerships. The MoU would intensify existing partnerships in higher education and research, including technical and professional education, schools, vocational education and training. The agreement, which will also open up new and innovative areas of cooperation, was signed between HRD Minister Smriti Irani and the Australian Minister for Education and Training Christopher Pyne. The MoU was approved by Union Cabinet.

Govt employees should send kids to govt schools: HC

he Allahabad high court taking serious note of the pathetic condition of primary schools in the state and directed the chief secretary to ensure that children/ wards of government officials/ servants, those serving in the local bodies, representatives of people and judiciary, etc., send their wards to these schools. “Only then would they be serious enough to look into the requirements of these schools and ensure that they are run in good condition,” the court observed. Hearing a slew of writ petitions filed by Umesh Kumar Singh and several others, Justice Sudhir Agarwal

directed the chief secretary to take steps within six months so as to make the aforesaid directions effective from the next academic session of primary schools. The court also directed him to submit a compliance report immediately after the lapse of six months. The issue involved in the writ petitions was with regard to appointment of assistant teachers in state’s primary schools. During the course of hearing, the court noticed the deplorable condition of these schools and observed that although they are catering to the needs of 90% population of children, their condition could be described as “shabby.” The court further observed that as officials responsible for running these primary schools are treating them in a shabby manner; these schools have given rise to multiple litigations.

INSIGHTS

Familiarity eases learning

group of psychologists from Carnegie Mellon University have uncovered critical relationship between working memory and strength or familiarity of information. The results are published in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin Review.

People have more difficulty recalling the string of letters BIC, IAJ, FKI, RSU and SAF than FBI, CIA, JFK, IRS and USA. The wellestablished reason is that the amount of information we can hold in our short-term or working memory is affected by whether the information can be related into larger units. New research by Carnegie Mellon University psychologists takes this learning principle one step further

by uncovering how the strength - or familiarity - of those bits of information plays a crucial role. They show for the first time that it is easier to learn new facts that are composed of more familiar chunks. These findings have implications for how students are taught almost any subject, including the choice of the second language. They also indicate that the longheld belief that children have less working memory than adults may not be true because working memory resources are more rapidly consumed when the bits of information are less familiar. Little kids may actually have more working memory than adults, the study suggests.

As machines start teaching

hat if a fusion of computer science and psychology could help us understand more about how people learn, making it possible to design ideal lessons? Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison aim to break new ground in machine teaching, a twist on the more familiar concept of machine learning. The results of the study presented in the 29th annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence, organized by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence recently points to this possibility. Machine learning is a well-established subfield of computer science in which experts develop mathematical tools to help computers learn from data and detect patterns. The goal of machine

Math anxiety could be “hereditary”

team of researchers of the University of Chicago have found that children of math-anxious parents learned less math over the school year and were more likely to be math-anxious themselves – but only when these parents provided frequent help on the child’s math homework. Hence, if the thought of a math test makes you break out in a cold sweat, Mom or Dad may be partly to blame, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Previous research from this group has established that when teachers are anxious about math, their students learn less math during the school year. The current study is novel in that it establishes a link between parents’ and children’s math anxiety. The researchers believe that the link between parents’ math anxiety and children’s math performance stems more from math attitudes than genetics. We need to develop better tools to teach parents how to most effectively help their children with math. These tools might include math books, computer and traditional board games, or Internet apps that “allow parents to interact with their children around math in positive ways,” the researchers wrote.

learning is to develop models that will prove useful in the future when dealing with large, often unwieldly data sets. The analogous term “machine teaching” could make great impact on the educational world as it is quite different from how people usually think about education. It will give us optimal, personalized lessons for real, human students. Machine teaching uses sophisticated mathematics to allow researchers to model actual human students and devise the best possible lessons for teaching them. While the definition of “best” in a particular setting is up to the teacher, one example could be identifying the smallest number of exercises needed for a particular student to grasp a concept. While this work is still in its early stages, it has immense potential to impact education.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

INSIGHTS

Perfectionism causes burnouts

oncerns about perfectionism can sabotage success at work, school or on the playing field, leading to stress, burnout and potential health problems, according to new research published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. The study found that perfectionistic concerns had the strongest negative effects in contributing to burnout in the workplace, possibly because people have more social support and clearly defined objectives in education and sports. A student can be rewarded for hard work with a high grade, or a tennis player can win the big match, but a stellar performance in the workplace may not be recognized or rewarded, which may contribute to cynicism and burnout. In the first meta-analysis of the relationship between perfectionism and burnout, researchers found that perfectionism isn’t all bad. One aspect of perfectionism called “perfectionistic strivings” involves the setting of high personal standards and working toward those goals in a pro-active manner. These efforts may help maintain a sense of accomplishment and delay the debilitating effects of burnout, the study found. The dark side of perfectionism, called “perfectionistic concerns,” can be more detrimental when people constantly worry about making mistakes, letting others down, or not measuring up to their own impossibly high standards. “Perfectionistic concerns capture fears and doubts about personal performance, which creates stress that can lead to burnout when people become cynical and stop caring. It also can interfere with relationships and make it difficult to cope with setbacks because every mistake is viewed as a disaster.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

Most people display some characteristics of perfectionism in some aspect of their lives, but perfectionistic strivings or concerns may be more dominant. The development of a personality profile that identifies perfectionistic concerns might be a valuable tool in detecting and helping individuals who are prone to burnout, the study noted.

Practice doesn’t always make perfect

t also depends on your brain structure! A group of researchers from McGill University and their colleagues in Germany have found evidence to distinguish the parts of the brain that account for individual talent from the parts that are activated through training. The results are published in Cerebral Cortex. The research involved brain imaging studies of 15 young adults with little or no musical background who were scanned before and after they underwent six weeks of musical training. Participants were required to

learn simple piano pieces. Brain activity in certain areas changed after learning, indicating the effect of training. But the activity in a different set of brain structures, measured before the training session had started, predicted which test subjects would learn quickly or slowly.

Predisposition plays an important role for auditory-motor learning that can be clearly distinguished from traininginduced plasticity, suggests the research. The findings pertain to the debate about the relative influence of ‘nature or nurture,’ but also have potential practical relevance for medicine and education. The research, for example, could help to create custom-made interventions for students and for neurological patients based on their predisposition and needs. Future cognitive neuroscience studies will explore the extent to which individual differences in predisposition are a result of brain plasticity due to previous experiences and to people’s genetics.

Young minds think alike, older ones diverge

cientists at the University of Cambridge have shown that young people respond in a similar way to events, but as we age our thought patterns diverge. In a study published recently in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, the researchers also report that older people tended to be more easily distracted than younger adults. Age is believed to change the way our brains respond and how its networks interact, but studies looking at these changes tend to use very artificial experiments, with basic stimuli. The researchers found a surprising degree of similarity in the thought patterns amongst the younger subjects – their brains tended to ‘light up’ in similar ways and at similar points in the program. However, in older subjects, this similarity tended to disappear and their thought processes became more idiosyncratic, suggesting that they were responding differently to what they were watching and were possibly more distracted. The greatest differences were seen in the ‘higher order’ regions at the front of the brain, which are responsible for controlling attention (the superior frontal lobe and the intraparietal sulcus) and language processing (the bilateral middle temporal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus).

EXPERT COUNSEL

Dr. K.N. Raghavan

ver since I was bitten by a dog in my childhood I had suffered a pathological fear of dogs, which diminished to some extent only after Bruno, a daschund, arrived at our house and wormed its way into my heart. I slowly realised why dogs are called as the manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best friend, as he followed us through my transfers

Why we should not cull stray dogs regular hours to make them complete slaves to their masters. They are totally loyal, protect their master and his property from any danger from thieves and intruders, give tons of happiness and are the ultimate stress busters that one can expect to have. Unfortunately, dogs are in the news these days for an entirely different

these stray dogs have shown an aggressive behaviour, biting people and other domesticated animals, leading to demands that action be taken to control them. Various sections of print and visual media have been carrying on a campaign against stray dogs, with there being demands from some sections for resorting to culling

Stray dogs have shown an aggressive behaviour, biting people and other domesticated animals, leading to demands that action be taken to control them. through various parts of this country and Singapore before finally departing couple of years ago. The friendly bark as one reached the gate, the gleeful wagging of tail making one feel the most important person in the world and the affection showered as one walked in through the doors was sufficient to wipe away all the stresses of the office and make home the most welcome place in the world. I came to realise that dogs are animals without any guile and all they need is some affection from your side and food at

reason, which is the menace caused to the general population by hordes of stray dogs that populate our streets. Almost every street in our state has its own pack of stray dogs which are normally seen in a docile state, either sleeping peacefully on the pavement or wandering aimlessly looking for some morsel of food. However, of late,

all canines found on the streets. Comments by certain celebrities have added to the controversy even as attempts made by various civic bodies to build shelters for lodging them came unstuck. Presence of rabid dogs in some of the packs and shortages of anti rabies vaccine in hospitals have compounded the woes of the common man at the receiving end of dog bites. The net result is that stray dogs continue to roam the streets

Pallikkutam | September 2015

EXPERT COUNSEL unchallenged, even as unprotected pedestrians negotiate them with fear in their hearts and prayer on their lips.

One of the tasks entrusted to every local administration is to ensure every human being is allowed access to public places without having to fear for their life and property. During my

owners and households do not dump waste containing carcasses, offal and bones on the streets. There should be facility for removing such waste from all shops/ markets where meat is

World over dogs are identified using micro chips that are placed under their skin so that they can be traced if lost or stolen. This brings one to the basic questions as to why there are stray dogs in our country when they are not seen in any other reasonably developed country and why they turn aggressive enough to attack innocent passersby. The answers to these questions are simple and straightforward. Dogs turn to streets when they have no one to look after them; in the streets they breed without any control thus increasing their numbers. This in turn leads to shortage of available food which makes them fight amongst themselves and make them more aggressive. Further, the practice in our state of meat shops disposing off the waste, bones and offal by bundling them in sacks and throwing them in street corners has led to street dogs feasting on such “offerings”. The blood present on fresh carcasses makes them vicious and belligerent, making them prone to attack human beings who do not pose any threat to them.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

childhood we used to see “dog catchers” from municipal bodies making occasional forays to catch and neuter the stray dogs in the vicinity. One fears that this practice has fallen into disuse of late, seeing the increase

in number of canines that roam around the roads. The simple expedient of vaccinating the stray dogs against rabies and neutering them would help to prevent fear of spread of rabies as well as to control the growth of their population. The next step that civic authorities should do is to ensure that meat shop

prepared so that they can be processed properly without letting them rot by the wayside. Similarly households should be motivated to dispose off their waste containing bones and meat without they being made available to the dogs that live on the streets. Further, NGO’s and other organisations working in areas involving animal protection should be encouraged in their efforts to find persons/ organisations willing to look after such dogs by giving them food and shelter. World over dogs are identified using micro chips that are placed under their skin so that they can be traced if lost or stolen. A system of inserting such chips on all dogs, both domestic as well strays, should be made mandatory so that owners are held accountable for the ones they possess and local administration keeps the numbers of canines on the street under strict control.

EXPERT COUNSEL Killing of stray dogs in an indiscriminate manner would only serve to make the surviving dogs wary of human beings and make them more ferocious and

done by villagers who started banging their utensils together at a specified hour after sunset. The resultant noise created such panic amongst the sparrows that they either died out of shock or fell off the trees and were

We take pride that we are literate, educated, intelligent human beings blessed with powers of compassion and kindness and it does not befit a civil society to authorise killing of innocent animals. Dogs are animals

We would no longer be entitled to call our state as “God’s own country” if we fail to protect and take care of those dogs unfortunate to find themselves in the streets. aggressive. Moreover, it would be unfair and improper to kill dogs to solve a problem created essentially by the failure of human beings. There are many examples in human history where such actions led to severe consequences such as what happened in China during the “Great Leap Forward” in the late 1950’s, when sparrows were attempted to be eliminated. Mao had identified sparrows as one of the pests that destroyed grain and sought for their elimination. This was

killed by the villagers. The programme was so effective that within a few months sparrows vanished from the Chinese skies. But unfortunately, this led to the flourishing of other pests whose numbers were controlled by the sparrows and they started destroying the grains. The end result was that disappearance of sparrows upset the ecological balance without any benefit as the grains were destroyed other pests.

created by the Lord Almighty only for loving human beings and serving them loyally; it would be the ultimate tragedy if man succeeds in converting dogs into animals that hate and despise human beings. The relationship between humans and dogs has been nurtured and sustained from time immemorial; culling these loving, domestic animals forced on to the streets and turned into aggressive creatures by the greed of man can never be justified. We would no longer be entitled to call our state as “God’s own country” if we fail to protect and take care of those dogs unfortunate to find themselves in the streets. And even the Devil himself would hang his head in shame if we proceed with the demand for culling stay dogs. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 The author is the Commissioner of 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 Customs in Kochi, Kerala. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456

Pallikkutam | September 2015

PERSONAL

I am destined to stay with my foe Sajit Malliyoor

Forgiveness is not giving up, but is rather an acknowledgment of the past and a willingness to move on in a new way for the benefit of both sides. Forgive me if you think the issue I am seeking help for sounds silly, for it may indeed be slight compared to the problems people bring here for advice. However, it makes me pretty anxious just by thinking about it. I am a twenty one year old girl who is going to start my post graduate education in a month’s time. It was in the last week that I obtained admission in a college outside of Kerala. The only other Malayali student in my new class happens to be a classmate in my degree course, with whom I have had a very strained relationship. She was a member of our group- a group of 10 close friends- but following an incident related to a project work, our group had cut her off from our social circle. We believe

Pallikkutam | September 2015

that it’s entirely her mistake and since then we have systematically avoided her from our life, academic as well as personal. But now it seems that I am destined to spend another two years with her. To make matters worse, when I looked up the hostel allocation list I found to my horror that we have been assigned to the same room in the hostel! Though I contacted the office immediately, they have been non-committal about the possibility ofchanging the rooms. Now I am really worried about the situation. I don’t know how to face her again and worse still; live with her in the same room. Kindly help me how to deal with the issue.

PERSONAL It is interesting to notice the term you used to describe the relationship status. You have ‘cut off’ the person from your life! I am given to understand that you no longer want to have any truck with the person, or in other words, she is ‘dead to you’. I only wonder how your ‘old

Having said this as a preamble, let us now examine your available options. Quoting your own words, it looks like you are destined to spend two years with your friend turned foe! That being the case, I don’t suppose you have several options other than enduring that person! Now you

In many of the protracted and deep rooted conflicts, apology and forgiveness are the only tools available for the reconciliation and conflict resolution. friend’ would have coped with it! Social ostracism of any kind is difficult and uncomfortable to manage. Kicking someone out of one’s band as a method of revenge and punishment has a strong evolutionary significance. For the major part of our evolutionary history, our social world rarely exceeded 200 people. The size of the tribes our ancestors lived in usually consisted of around 200 individuals. One had to deal with the same 200 people each and every day. And hence, alienated from one’s group would have caused the most dire consequences to an individual. Today you could pick up, move to another city and start anew. But that wasn’t just an option under ancestral conditions. Having important social connections removed could have meant death and, or, a lack of reproductive opportunities – both of which are evolutionary dead-ends. Human social psychology is, thus, highly sensitive to markers of social alienation. Signs that one is “cut out” from others are signs that create disproportionate levels of social anxiety. Given this evolved psychology that we all share, cutting someone out of one’s social world can be an effective strategy at making someone feel really bad about herself. I don’t know about the incident that lead to her social isolation, but given the severity of the punishment meted out, probably she’s done her share of penitence and repentance for the ‘crime’ committed! What do you think?

have an important choice to make here. Do you want to continue as a foe and live with the enemy under the roof, or would you consider making up with the person and starting anew? I can imagine what would be your answer! We are social beings built for peace. Every human being inherently longs for harmonious relationships. But often there is a gap between our longings and how we actually live. That is why it is important to understand and learn the techniques of conflict resolution. Here I would call upon an important behaviour related to dealing with such social situations: forgiveness! Forgiveness can bring peace to the forgiver and the forgiven. In many of the protracted and deep rooted conflicts, apology and forgiveness are the only tools available for the reconciliation and conflict resolution. As long as one side continues to blame the other (or both sides blame each other) for their problems, healing cannot occur, and normal relationships based on mutual acceptance and trust cannot be formed. Forgiveness is recognized in social science literature as well as in many religious traditions across the globe to be a very important element in healing conflicts with other people. It helps heal the offender and the victim. Apology is often a difficult step, as it requires acknowledging guilt. However, the lack of apology suggests to the other side that its opponent thinks that its

Pallikkutam | September 2015

PERSONAL behaviour was appropriate. This creates the fear that the opponent’s unjust or violent behaviour will continue. An apology is a signal, more than anything, that the opponent regrets its actions and wants to rebuild a new relationship on a stronger foundation.The psychology of defining others as friend or foe connects strongly with

Forgiveness is not giving up, but is rather an acknowledgment of the past and a willingness to move on in a new way for the benefit of both sides. This is superior to revenge, because revenge only continues the conflict and the pain. Having said this, I know, it is not always easy to forgive! The deeper the wound, the harder it becomes.

At the end of the day, having fewer people out there whom you have “cut off” – for whatever reasons – can only add to a more positive life. human moral emotions – a set of emotional states that evolved largely to help people stay strongly connected to others in ancestral bands. These include such states as remorse, shame, and regret – strong emotional states that motivate people to engage in ‘reparative altruism’ to try to repair things with those whom you slighted. For example, if I unwittingly say something that you take as an insult to your whole family, and you express outrage publicly about this; I may feel ashamed. That feeling may motivate me to engage in such reparative behaviours as apologizing and may lead to such language on my part as “My mistake” “I didn’t mean it!” ”How can I make it up to you?” ”Please forgive me!” Such behaviour and language is designed to avoid a “you’re dead to me” scenario and keep one connected with the broader social group.However, Forgiveness can also be applied unilaterally without any response from the offender.

Forgiveness is tricky; it is both a decision and a process. It is a decision because it involves using our will and intellect to decide to forgive. It is not a feeling; we need to decide to forgive. Yet it is also a process because we have a right to work through the hurt with somebody who is helpful and will validate our feelings (a good friend, a therapist, etc.). Forgiving somebody does not, in any way, excuse the hurt that was done. It is a decision to let go of retribution. In my therapy, I used to come across people who find it hard to forgive someone who’s wronged. Then I would ask them to go through certain rituals of forgiveness. For example, I had one couple who used to privately write down all their hurts and then safely burn the paper in order to grieve and let go of these hurts!

Always remember that perfection evades each and every one of us! After reading this, maybe it’s time to pick up your phone and say, “I know that two years ago we concluded that we would never talk to each other, but how about we forget those Many people refuse to forgive, feeling that forgiveness is words and move along as nothing has gone wrong?” At the essentially “giving up” or “letting the enemy get away end of the day, having fewer people out there whom you have with” their actions. Revenge or punishment, they feel, is “cut off” – for whatever reasons – can only add to a more the only way to achieve “justice.” Yet the need for positive life. revenge or punishment can delay or even prohibit the Send queries to malliyoor@outlook.com resolution of a conflict, as fear of retaliation can keep an (Sajit Malliyoor regrets he can not enter into personal opponent from accepting guilt and apologizing.

correspondence)

Pallikkutam | September 2015

STORIES OF LIFE

‘Love is blind’, or is it so? Dr. Jose Cletus Plackal

ecently there was so much attention and debate in the media about the pros and cons of inter-caste marriages. Moral and religious compulsions prohibit such marriages, yet the fact is that frequency of inter-caste marriages are on the rise. There was a time when marriages were fixed by elders of the concerned families and the bride and groom-to-be had very limited options.

But things have changed recently, and that too very dramatically. The change may be attributed to socio-culturaleconomic factors. The new-gen youngsters move away from homebase much early and gradually establish new emotional bonds for sheer survival. This gradual distancing from home-base causes an emotional cut-off from the family of origin. This trend is going to continue as it is the

The unwanted feeling and isolation within the family made her gloomy and vengeful. “I have been suffering all these years, now let them also suffer”, was her retort.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

STORIES OF LIFE

“It’s not how much you love your children that matters, but how much they feel affirmed by your love is more important”.

prevalent practice in most western countries.

times a martyrdom which they are willing to endure. In my study of a few cases of such miss-match affairs, In my clinical practice I have come which the families vehemently across some cases wherein the person opposed, a dominant factor was concerned has deeper and brought to the families’ attention. It unconscious reasons to go against the was the neglect (or so perceived interests of the family. For these neglect) from the part of either or both individuals breaking the barriers of parents at the critical formative stage caste, religion, economic status etc set of the child. The child takes early Life by the family of origin is a thrill, and at Position (T. A. Harris M.D.1962) and continue to validate it in later years. Although this is an unconscious process, it is quite influential and has far-reaching consequences. Let me share the case analysis of one such person to demonstrate the impact of parental perceived neglect. It is not my intention to generalize or to make a sweeping statement that every intercaste marriage is due to parental neglect. Each case has to be studied in-depth and then only one can come to right judgment about the reality of the choice of life. Maria (name changed) was brought to the counseling center by her parents. Obviously, she was brought by force and so unwilling to cooperate in the counseling process. Maria was 18 years old, 1st year degree student, very unhappy with the present state of life. When asked about the purpose of their visit, the father responded furiously. “We are contemplating on committing suicide, our daughter has brought us so much shame on our family’s good name”! The counseling psychologist sometimes gets caught up in a catch 22 situation. On separate interviews the complex jigsaw puzzle parts began to fall in place, one by one.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

Maria narrated how she accidentally fell in love with a young man who was the cleaner of the bus which she used to travel to college. Maria knew that the young man belonged to another caste and he was a member of a goonda gang. She also recounted that being the third girl in the family, she felt unwanted from childhood. She felt that her dad was not interested in her… This unwanted feeling and isolation within the family made her gloomy and vengeful. “I have been suffering all these years, now let them also suffer”, was her retort. When informed about the real situation that Maria was going through, the parents broke down in tears. They agreed that they wanted a boy not a girl, but accepted the baby from day one. Maria had a long litany of events in which she felt rejected. These negative memories were gnawing her inside out, distorting her attitude and consequent behavior. With the help of the family she was assisted to reorganize her distorted memory. Finally she began to reconnect with her parents and siblings and mustered enough courage to tell the young man that she wanted to discontinue the relationship. Painfully though, they parted ways. The lesson for parents, “It’s not how much you love your children that matters, but how much they feel affirmed by your love is more important”.

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

POLICY WATCH

Segregating politics from education M Dr. D. Dhanuraj

I believe that many of our campuses are over politicised and it has developed a safety ring for those miscreant elements in the college campuses.

ost of the times educational institutions in India are in news not for their academic achievements but for the controversies surrounding them. In the recent times, three news stories related to the academic institutions that received more attention from the readers have been; the death of a student during ONAM celebrations in College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET), protest of the students and fraternity against the appointment of Gajendra Chouhan as a chairman of the governing council of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and the directive of Kerala Government to M G University Kottayam to shut the off campus centres being operated by them. All these news items do not bring any good reason to celebrate over the status quo in the higher education scenario in India bur rather offers very dismissive and pessimistic picture of higher education in India.

of her peers. More shocking was the seizure of the deadly weapons from the hostels in the college campus upon the investigation by the police. Given the nature of the functioning of many of the campuses in Kerala, this would not have surprised many but the death has set alarm bells once again for type and nature of the functioning of the college campuses.

Since the investigation is progressing, one should restrict himself from judging the culprits. But the question remains unanswered; how come the college campuses became the storage houses for arms and ammunition. How could the students on broad daylight challenge the decency and decorum set by the college authorities without any fear about the public outrage and by risking their own academic careers? It is not an incident confined to CET but in many of the colleges across the country. Many are infamous for the violence and suspension of the regular Any college activity including classes. I believe that many of our celebrations should end in a happy campuses are over politicised and it note. But in the case of CET (in fact has developed a safety ring for those many reports are suggest similar miscreant elements in the college patterns and trends in other colleges campuses. Rather than focusing on the also), it left with a shocking incident to academic brilliance, most of the live with; an innocent student died at campuses become the recruitment the hands of irresponsible behaviour camps for the political parties. In the

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POLICY WATCH new controversy but a serialised episode in that context. What is the transparency and accountability in the due process followed in the appointments to these institutions? Or, what is the independence and autonomy given to these institutions? While on one hand, everyone talks about the upgrading the educational institutions in India to the world standards by providing them the freedom to set in their own syllabus and lateral hiring, on the other hand the controversies like one about FTII does not auger well for the sector. Again the issue is that of political interference in the administration and management of these institutions.

process, no political party demanded for the academic brilliance of those recruited to these parties (in fact this has led to the deterioration of the politics at the state and national level). Instead the campuses are used by the politicians to disturb the public life by staging Dharna and Gheroe claiming that the students of age group 15- 20 are more vigilant to the day to day denial of the rights and government policies of the day than everybody else in the society! Having the protection of age and studentship, the college campuses offer the fort and gated communities for others to hide and get involved in the criminal activities. Such scenarios exist in many campuses that lead to the incidents like the one in CET. The students have been on a protest mode ever since the announcement of Gajendra Chouhanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appointment as the chairman of FTII. They claim that his resume is not worth to look at. The film and television fraternity declared their support to the students struggle. In this case, as in the former, the issue is about the political intervention and their rights to choose or hand pick their persons to the important positions to these prestigious institutions in India. FTII in 2015 is not

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The students should not be the tools in the hands of wily politicians.

The third one in the row; the decision to shut down the Off Campus centres by M G university in line with UGC provisions has another interesting take. The reason given by UGC is that the Off Campus centres will not be able to provide the quality and academic standards quite often or rather such a scenario could not be ruled out. This case could be analysed clubbing it with the protest against setting up of the campuses in India by the foreign universities. Whether Indian or foreign, it shows there is a demand for the higher

POLICY WATCH

The systemic improvements in the policy making including granting autonomy to the institutions both at the administrative and financial matters are key to overcome the abusive type of political interferences. education in India. The demand risks the quality of the education provided. But is it a good enough reason to stop experimenting the process? If that is the case, what about the Distance Learning and Open Universities? Do we have a level playing field in the higher education scenario in this

What has led to all these scenarios? I believe that these are the outcomes of the systemic fallouts of the super regulation and centralised planning practised and enjoyed by the politicians in the sector. When the demand is very high and the supply country? The consistency in policy is limited, there is every chance for making and the independence of the regulations from the whims and fancies the political class to interfere of the political leadership is very much wherever possible as there is a larger essential for the improvement of higher incentive for them to do so. To quote Ramsey, â&#x20AC;&#x153;wherever there is power to education in India. be had, resources to be shared, recognition to be earned, or influence to be brokered, there is politicsâ&#x20AC;?. Hence this necessary evil must be kept on bay from taking important decisions in the education sector. The resource allocation cannot be on a subsistence model or could be rationed. Instead, the sector needs to be more liberal and independent so that all the stake holders have equal footing for their investment plans and autonomy under a free and fair regulatory system. The systemic improvements in the policy making including granting autonomy to the institutions both at the administrative and financial matters are key to overcome the abusive type of political interferences. The students should not be the tools in the hands of wily politicians. The decisions regarding the education sector should be far more data driven than politically influenced. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 The author is the chairman to 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 Centre for Public Policy Research, 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 Kochi. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456

Pallikkutam | September 2015

New leadership paradigm

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successful organizations have transcended the old style management paradigm. As a new paradigm leader, it is important to stay up-to-date with the latest information on personal development, leadership development, leadership practices, and talent management. In this section you will find the latest trends that reflect the ethos and evolution of the new leadership paradigm.

COVER STORY

Leadership: The distance we all must travel to be one Thomson Skariah

ometime in 1994, or maybe 1995, I remember reading in the newspaper on a lazy Sunday an anecdote from our former President late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam referring to one of his main influencers - the legendary Dr. Satish Dhawan.

Move forward to the press conference in 1980 after the SLV-3’s launch that was a grand success, Dr Satish

He mentioned two press conferences that were influential. One - after the failure of the SLV mission in 1979 when Dr. Kalam was the Project Director. Feeling scared to face the press and wondering how to handle, he found Dr. Satish taking charge. Dr. Satish stepped in and said he would handle the press conference. In his statement, he took full responsibility for the failure and at the same time stressed Dhawan asked Dr. Kalam to address on the continued support the team the press conference along with the required and reiterated his support for team and the stage was all to them. them and the faith he had in them.

What a great example. His conviction was “Share the success of hard work with the team. If there be any failure take up the responsibility shielding the team”. Many factors contributed to the success of the July 1980 launch; the tipping point for this success was definitely the press conference after the failure of 1979. Dr. Satish is a great steward for the cause, a true leader for us. (He) Took up the responsibility to see that the team sustains, he was transparent about the outcome, accountable for the failure; and inclusive when it came to sharing success. If we are to see more leaders like Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam we must choose to be influencers like Dr. Satish Dhawan an inspiration to the young ones and an example to those around us.

Dr Satish Dhawan’s conviction was “Share the success of hard work with the team. If there be any failure - take up the responsibility shielding the team”

Pallikkutam | September 2015

COVER STORY A steward is invariably a leader, but never a self-proclaimed one because stewardship is truly about service over self. Every action is towards an improvement for a cause larger than themselves. Where we stand today is purely the sum total of the decisions made by a fraction of women and men, comprising of mainly good ones and other decisions which could have been better. The good decisions came from the leaders - who have been the faithful, the focused and the fearless. We call them leaders, while they see themselves as stewards to a cause they believe in. A steward is born when he or she sees a real cause, she feels the need to rise up from where

economic prosperity. We see them as leaders for they are faithful to the cause, focused on the outcome, have no fear of losing their heads for what they stand and they will never bow their heads down out of fear. Stewards sacrifice their best, a good job, great opportunities to stand for what they believe in. Once convinced

for all. They come, they continue to conquer more territories increasing their profitability and creating shareholder value. On the side they preach corporate social responsibility, and in the backyard they dump toxic chemicals. You do not realise the grave danger till years later illnesses unexpected and unheard symptoms

The good decisions came from the leaders who have been the faithful, the focused and the fearless.

she is. Not alone but along with those who believe and others who will be the beneficiaries. She is already on a journey that the others will soon join to a destination that is inclusive, sustainable, transparent and accountable. It starts with recognising a true cause, visualising a destination and envisioning the journey even before setting out on it. This is when the words “I have a dream…” in the stewards voice becomes a movement and for generations to come be inspiring. Through the last centuries, we have seen some of these stewards fight for political freedom, social inclusions,

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about the cause, there is no turning back, they bring together all their energy, gather all the momentum and then they “won’t step down till you make amends now”. Imagine a multinational firm, coming in promising jobs for many and progress

start surfacing, and the next generation is irreversibly affected. Who will stand with a lady of the house who was the breadwinner, who now has only a placard to hold on to that says “Dear Shareholders, We made you rich. And YOU POISONED US! -(signed) Kodaikanal ex-worker” ? Sofia Ashraf

COVER STORY stood for this lady, and a lot many more who were affected. She left her job to avoid any conflicts of interest; she saw the need and dived in - as the spark to fire up the protest. These stewards (who stand) for the affected, are the young leaders making an impact and ensuring responsible actions are taken. And they do this neither for glory, nor for fame; it is all just to ensure the poor souls affected can truly have their say. Let us each be sensitive to a cause and actively have a say. Let us be stewards (leaders) in our own right, in an inclusive, sustainable and accountable way.

You can still choose to be the steward, and thus become the leader you want to see. Walking the distance as a true steward you naturally become a genuine leader.

In all this growth and development at an unimaginable pace, with complexities ever increasing and the impact - irreversible; it is sad that the proportions of stewards are dwindling. But the number of self proclaimed “leaders” are on the rise. It is disheartening. This breed of so called leaders lack foresight, have no imagination and choose to call a “strike” or “hartal” as a response to their inability to be a steward. In the name of leadership they add to the burden that the society has to bear. Little do they realise that a hartal call is a war cry of the fake leader, who will be pushed aside and fairness put back in place by the stewards of progress. Look around for a leader who can be seen as a genuine steward, there is hope. Is there a single leader who you see today is a genuine steward? The answer is very much a yes. You can still choose to be the steward, and thus become the leader you want to see. Walking the distance as a true steward you naturally become a genuine leader. And that is the distance we must travel to be one, and for this cause, and for our nation we must become one.

The author is the CEO of ACELR Tech Labs, a product development company focusing on content management, cloud computing and enterprise analytics.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

COVER STORY

Attributes of a great leader V.R. Ferose

VR Ferose is the Managing Director, at SAP Labs India. He is the first non-German MD of SAP Labs at the age of 33. He was born as a Keralite brought up as a Bengali and married a Marathi. Mahatma Gandhi is his inspiration. A voracious reader and reads magazine backwards (from last page to first). Educated from NIT, Warangal in Bachelor’s, Computer Science and Engineering. Ferose is named India’s Top 40 under 40 leaders.

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When asked to name their five top leaders of the world, most names that people pick would be common. What makes these leaders get the top of the mind recall and how do they stand apart from others?

here are a lot of leadership qualities that we associate with successful leaders. Different leaders employ different styles through which they provide direction, implement plans and motivate people. These styles can contradict one another. In today’s world, the complexity of globalization and technology are putting demands on leaders to move away from classical patterns of leadership and embrace combinations of different kinds of leadership styles which might be extreme in nature. Here are the 7 ANDs of Leadership: Dreams and Details Sometimes it takes a dreamer to make the dreams of others come true. However, having big dreams and ideas is not enough.A leader should be able to dream big, make people believe in his dream, and be able to give out the tiniest details at any point of time. It’s this ability to dream big together with a keen attention

to detail that differentiates a leader from the rest. It is critical for a leader to have the ability to explore not just the topic at hand, but also to analyze the reasons and issues around it. Smart and Wise There are smart leaders and wise leaders. A smart leader is characterized by their relentless passion toward work, and business success. Smart leaders tend to polarize people. On the other hand, the driving force of a wise leader is purpose, values, and a passion to succeed at work.He is more open to unlearning and selectively forgetting past successes.A wise leader brings with him the ability to mobilize people.It is imperative that leaders combine social consciousness and business performance in order to be smart, but not at the expense of not being wise.

COVER STORY Patience and Impatience It’s amazing to see how many leaders have leveraged their personal a trait of being impatient to their own advantage. Impatience goes hand in hand with energy, purpose and

and people. Would he ever be successful as a leader? The mantra is to be intelligent and interesting at the same time. As a leader, one needs to generate interest among the people who are part of his corporate and social ecosystem. With intelligence

Inspire and Aspire One of the major reasons why people sign up for a leader is the level of inspiration he is able to provide his supporters. A leader can inspire others by being a role model, walking the talk

People around you are smart and as a leader, it’s essential to have a sharp mind to keep you at the head of the game. intensity. And this works immensely in today’s result driven corporate world. A leader impatient for results,shows how engaged he is to achieve a business outcome. However, when it comes to people it is altogether a different ball game.Leaders need to be patient with people. It will help you discover merits and talents in people which are beyond expectations. Being patient with people will enable a leader to respect different types of people and appreciate their strengths and weaknesses. Impatience towards results and patience with people has to be the new success mantra going forward. Intelligent and interesting Nowadays, it is not enough just to own degrees awarded by universities. One should also be intelligent. Intelligent people will be always hungry to learn, curious about things happening around the globe and will have an uncanny knack of understanding things on their own. But does intelligence alone suffice at the next level of leadership?Imagine a person who is intelligent, but who fails to generate interest among his peers

becoming a common denominator for leaders in today’s world, being interesting as well, is the key differentiator of a top class leader. Collector and Connector Today, a person’s net worth is equal to his network.Being a collector of people is an unavoidable

or by being a great motivational speaker. Inspiring and motivating people to believe your visions and work towards a common goal is one of the greatest assets of any successful leader. However, providing inspiration alone is not enough in the long run. A leader has to inspire people to fulfill their own aspirations as well. Aspirations are individualistic in nature and as a leader if you can provide people around you ways to fulfill their aspirations,and inspiring them at the same time. This is what a new-age leader should aim to do

Mind and Mindset A leader’s success is not only dependent on the sharpness of his mind; rather it’s a combination of his mind and mindset.

characteristic for a successful leader. It’s very important to be a people’s person with superior networking skills that includes a large network of friends, colleagues and contacts.But just being a collector of people is not enough. Leaders need to be connectors as well. They should have the mindset to serve and help others by connecting people with more people.The act of connecting your networks to one another even if there is nothing for you to gain is a selfless act and the mark of a true leader.

In the corporate world, it’s absolutely necessary to have an open mind with the right mindset to achieve great heights.A sharp mind is an individual trait that can be achieved through determination and consistent hard work. People around you are smart and as a leader, it’s essential to have a sharp mind to keep you at the head of the game.The right mindset can decide whether you succeed or fail. The right mindset is self-nurturing in nature and it benefits not only the person, but the people you interact with.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

COVER STORY

Satheesh Kumar T. N

Tao of new age leadership training and coaching has become an industry in itself. Who is a leader? Conventionally it was assumed that those who enjoyed power and authority in organizations, by virtue of their positions, belonged to the category of leaders. With the passage of time, the thinking has undergone dramatic changes and today most of the experts concur that a leader is one who has followers. The thinking more or less obviates the need for power or authority to be a necessary pre-requisite for leadership.

Who is a leader? Conventionally it was assumed that those who enjoyed power and authority in organizations, by virtue of their positions, belonged to the category of leaders.

What are the qualities or characteristics or traits that are possessed or exhibited by people to have followers? Since the list could be exhaustive, we will discuss some of the most down to earth but important ones:

eadership is a much written and talked about subject. Initially the focus was on the leadership at the top of the organization but as time passed, the focus shifted to leadership at all levels as organizations attained size. Leadership thinkers and leadership gurus have emerged. Leadership

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♦ Authenticity Leaders must be genuine, worthy of trust, reliance or belief. Authentic people are people of the highest integrity, a deep sense of purpose and true to their core values and committed to building and nurturing enduring organizations. They practice what they advise others to do. We are living in a world where we hear stories of how toxic leaders, focused on self-aggrandizement and grandeur, lead to gradual decline or ultimate demise of their once-reputed organizations. Corporate failures in the US during the turn of the century made the highly respected former Chairman & CEO of Intel to declare “These days I am ashamed I am part of Corporate America” ♦ Give credit where it is due Good leaders don’t take credit for every success of the organization. They give credit to whoever contributes to the achievement of objectives and goals of the organization. They clearly

COVER STORY understood that they cannot take an organization forward by themselves and encourages all those who help them by duly acknowledging, recognizing and rewarding their contributions.

♦ Acknowledge their mistakes Good leaders don’t claim that they are always right. They know that they are susceptible to mistakes and errors and they acknowledge their mistakes and go forward.

♦ Create a realistic vision for the organization Good leaders inculcate an aspiration for the organization and its members by creating a vision for the future and relentlessly communicating the same. People will become proud to be associated with the organization’s achievements in future.

all around towards the vision of the organization.

♦ Respect every employee irrespective of the nature of their work They should keep in mind that every job from cleaning the floors and toilets to the ultimate customer care are equally important for the successful attainment of organizational objectives and goals. There is only work and no mean or dirty work. In Eureka Forbes,

Encourage candor and a questioning culture good leaders are ready to be questioned.

which sells Aquaguard and Euroclean among many other products, the they should take care of the interests former MD Akhil Marfatia used to of the customers, employees and other snatch a company Sales Executive’s stakeholders rather than creating visiting card and work as a sales wealth for themselves. They set executive once in a month to not only examples for others by leading a simple to understand the problems they face life sans luxuries. Many a time, they in the field but also to give respect to are not the highest paid employees in the sales job. their organizations. They liberally ♦ Create a feeling among employees share the fruits of labour with the that good or bad, we are in this employees. together an organization’s journey will ♦ Humility good leaders never think not be always upward looking. It may that they are better than other people face many difficulties and crises during or destined to belong to a privileged or its life. They may pass through elite class. They are aware that they financial difficulties which may call for can’t run their departments without the austerity measures to be adopted. help of others and always understand Leaders should set first examples of that their success depends on the austerity to gain credibility among success of others. employees. The author recently came ♦ High energy levels and ability to energize others Leaders should always across

♦ Simplicity They understand that

an organization passing through tough financial period where monthly salaries were delayed and paid in installments and the annual employee appraisals deferred. The leaders advised all employees to adopt austerity measures but gifted themselves with high end cars. Few would consider these leaders having empathy or compassion for others and authentic.

♦ They take care and effort in developing and nurturing leaders at all levels In today’s dynamic world, there is no assurance that the current leader would continue till his/her retirement. Or they are very aware that however good they are, they have to retire on attaining the retirement age. Hence, good leaders, being concerned about organization’s future, take keen interest in developing not only a second line but also leaders at all levels. Companies like Hindustan Unilever in India and General Electric in the US are said to be the CEO schools or finishing school for managers in their respective countries because of the number of CEOs they contribute to the rest of the corporate world. ♦ Willingness to learn continuously excellent leaders will be investing in themselves to learn continuously and understand the changes and developments in their fields of operation. They keep themselves

be bubbling with energy and never look enervated. In addition, they should be able to energize others

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COVER STORY abreast with the current scenario of their specific and related areas.

♦ Spend time thinking and reflecting good leaders take time off from routines to think and reflect on their actions both day-to-day operations and matters that have long term impacts (strategic matters) on the organization and its members. This thinking and reflecting enables them to alter or modify their behaviours or decisions or actions.

♦ Encourage candor and a questioning culture good leaders are ready to be questioned. They know that they will get different perspectives of an issue if others are permitted to question the assumptions. They also encourage candor so that everybody can voice their opinions or concerns. ♦ Adaptation of leadership styles to suit the performance readiness of their followers. All followers may not exhibit the same kind of readiness; it also may vary from task to task. Followers may have different levels of motivation and ability to perform different tasks. Paul Hersey and Ken

Blanchard refereed to this as ‘situational leadership’ and leaders have to adopt four different styles like directing (for followers who requires a lot of specific guidance to complete the task) coaching (for followers who are willing to learn but need good guidance to complete the task) supporting (for followers who have the skill to complete the task but lack in confidence) and delegating (for followers who are motivated, able and confident)

♦ Serving others good leaders consider their leadership position as an opportunity to serve all others who are connected to the organization customers, shareholders, employees and all other stakeholders. Once this is imbibed, the whole idea of leadership undergoes a dramatic transformation.

heard of had natural abilities of a leader, today it is felt that anybody can build leadership traits and qualities with systematic learning and practice. According to Noel Tichy & Eli Cohen, “Leadership is there in everybody. No matter what level of leadership performance a person currently exhibits, he or she can make quantum improvements. Not everyone can be the CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation, just as not everyone can be an Olympian or win at Wimbledon, but with coaching and practice we can all be a lot better than we are.”

Author is a teacher of Business Strategy, Human Resources Development and Ethics and Corporate Governance. Oxford University Press published his book on Corporate Governance.

Are leaders born or made? While a whole lot of leaders we have

Not everyone can be the CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation, just as not everyone can be an Olympian or win at Wimbledon, but with coaching and practice we can all be a lot better than we are.”

Pallikkutam | September 2015

COVER STORY

Tips for being B

eing a great leader is not an easy task. Consider these tips practised by the young leaders of this age. Compassion first A high performer, who typically delivers excellent work, misses a deadline. It’s completely out of character for them. As a leader, use your compassion and empathy to help you understand what went wrong. Instead of jumping to conclusions or trying to guess what happened. Be hard on the results and soft on the person. Default to trust When you give your unwavering trust to your team, they will do a great job. Inexperienced managers tend to

meddle in the minutiae of what their teams are doing instead of giving them the tools and support they need to do a great job. It’s easy to get caught up in what might go wrong, but in my experience, most staff will go the extra mile to do a great job and keep your trust. Know the difference between skill and will There are two main reasons for underperformance: a skill gap or a will gap. A skill gap is easy to close through coaching, training, and support. A will gap is more difficult to close. You need to take time to dig into your employee’s motivation. Do they understand how their work fits into the big picture? Is there something

blocking them? It’s your job as a leader to find out. Lead by example Leaders need to show, not just tell. If you want your employees to be punctual, make sure you’re there on time – or even early. If professionalism is a priority, make sure you’re dressed for success, and treat everyone you interact with (both in-person and online) with courtesy. Set the tone and your employees will follow it. Humility There is a difference between a leader and a boss. While both are in charge, a leader shares the spotlight and is comfortable crediting others. While it might seem counterintuitive, being humble takes more confidence than

Pallikkutam | September 2015

COVER STORY STORY COVER

a better leader basking in glory. Your employees will appreciate it, and your clients will, too. Communicate effectively Effective communication is imperative, both in the office and in life. Great leaders make sure they are heard and understood, but they also know the importance of listening. Communication is a two-way street, and making the most of it will have your company zooming forward instead of pumping the breaks. Keep meetings productive As the saying goes, time is money. So, of course, you should want to limit tangents and other time wasters during meetings. If you trust your team to do their job, there should be no need for micromanaging, and meetings can run swiftly. Know your limits Even the kindest, most caring leader has limits. Set your boundaries and

Pallikkutam | September 2015

stick to them. Knowing what you will not tolerate can save everyone in the office a lot of frustration, and keeping boundaries clear means there’s no confusion. Find a mentor No man is an island, as they say. The best leaders out there know when they need help, and they know where to turn to in order to get it. Nobody can know everything, so finding someone you trust for advice when things get tough can make all of the difference. Be emotionally aware While many people advise keeping emotions separate from matters of business, business is ultimately about relationships between people. To make these relationships last, you need to be emotionally intelligent — to be sensitive to different points of view and different backgrounds. When using your head to do what’s best for your company, don’t forget to have a heart.

Learn from the past. To once again quote an adage, those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. History, recent and otherwise, is filled with examples of successful business models and spectacular business failures. Think about what the people you admire do well, and consider what went wrong for those who end their careers mired in scandal or disgrace. Lessons can be found everywhere. Never stop improving Great leaders - indeed, great people are constantly learning and always trying to improve themselves. There’s always something that you can work on or a new skill to master. Be sure to keep your mind open to new ideas and possibilities.

COVER STORY

Sherly Stephen

Politics of change

s a great leader once said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;those who create leaders are the real leadersâ&#x20AC;?. In old days for a person to rise to the position of a leader needs support. A person with

people, getting good words about you to the local tea shops etc. This tradition changes with the time. At the time of globalization and social media, reaching people is much easier.

busy to talk to each other personally and share their ideas, the media helps them to create a closer friends circle. A great example for this is none other than collector of Kozhikode, N

As a person who had faced election in the year 1995 and in the year 2010, I have witnessed how media made changes in leadership and society. great influence was always needed for a new comer to indulge within a society. Many of our leaders did rise the same way. In short a godfather was necessary. India have witnessed the rise of leaders in many fields including politics. The only way of getting people to know about your leadership qualities was through mouthto-mouth publicity in old days. Making people talk about you to others was the way to leadership. Godfathers did that job. Throwing the baits to the

Media is the right medium for young and budding leaders to share their ideas and thoughts. Since people are

Prasanth. He communicated his ideas faster to the public through social media and his ideas were welcomed . He launched many campaigns and projects through social media like, Operation Sulaimani and Project 4N which got many positive responses from people. Kerala minister Anoop Jacob and MLA Shabarinath, two young leaders who were leading a different life in their own field had to enter the political arena all of a sudden.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

COVER STORY

Today’s leader just not leads, he/she has to be a creative thinker, a person who can understand others; has to be extraordinary and ordinary at the same time.

Sharing views is a difficult task in politics, but they achieved it with the help of technology and the media. As a person who had faced elections in the year 1995 and in the year 2010, I have witnessed how media made changes in leadership and society. That was a time when women were not able to stand up to men and a time women were giving tight competition to men. Today, the way leaders present themselves to the people have changed, but the motives are same. To come forward and stand for a cause is what political leaders did in the past. The leaders of today are ready to go into the public. They are interested in knowing what the public want. In early days leadership meant only ordering others what to do. This attitude has changed. Today leadership means getting along with others and expressing their ideas and needs without compromising the ideas and needs of those who support them. Today’s leader has to be a creative thinker, a person who can understand others; has to be extraordinary and ordinary at the same time. A leader is like an employed woman managing a home having inlaws, husband and children. It’s a difficult task. The society can’t exist without leaders. Though not all new leaders keep up with our expectations we are blessed to have some leaders who are socially committed. Let new leaders arise with new ideas and thus create a new India.

The author is former Block Panchayath President and Kudumbasree state governing body member.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

COVER STORY

Evolution in leadership Rajesh Vijayan

eo Tolstoy, the Russian novelist, once wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.â&#x20AC;? But now a days the scenario is changing from U.S President Barack Obama to our Prime minister Narendra Modi. Looking inward is a way to examine our own modes. Taking

accountability as a leader today includes understanding his motivations and inner drives, priorities, aspirations, values, and fears. There is always a room for growth and improvement.

tools and choose to believe. Most of our leaders and business tycoons are convinced about yoga. New technologies and social media like twitter, whatsapp, etc. are widly used by new generation ledears to reach others.

Every person has opportunities to positively influence others in their life. World is facing different challenges Everyone has the ability to lead, if only today. Natural resources are reducing they utilize the available leadership day by day but on the other side,

Every person has opportunities to positively influence others in their life. Everyone has the ability to lead, if only they utilize the available leadership tools and choose to believe.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

COVER STORY

technology is advancing like never before. We need new leaders with clear vision of this senerio. A leader can be evolved from circumstance. There are certain traits which were inherent in a leader. This is evident when we study the characteristics of some of the world

are always insecure. There are certain qualities which we expect from a leader, such as humble behaviour, high level of energy, passion to win, giving success credit to their followers etc,. Great leadership begins with self leadership by knowing yourself. We

1979, A.P.J was the project director of satellite mission. More than thousand people worked for this project. During the launch day at Sriharikotta, at the last minute, the computer found a leakage in the system. A.P.J bypassed the computer and launched the satellite, but unfortunately it fell down

A good leader identifies what others are good at. Successful people always position them well but a good leader position others well. leaders. We don’t have a category called “neutral leaders” either they should be good or bad leaders. Good leaders guide, bad leaders misguide. Good leaders create more leaders, bad leaders create followers. Bad leaders

Pallikkutam | September 2015

need more dreamers and imaginers who can follow a vision. Our former President A.P.J Abdul Kalam once in his speech narrated the following story about a true leader. In

into Bay of Bengal and that was a costly failure. A.P.J and team were dissapponited. But Satish Dhavan, chairman ISRO asked A.P.J to attent a press conference with him. Dhavan

COVER STORY addressed the crowd “Dear friends we have failed today but I want to support my scientists, technologists and all staff behind this mission.” Media started questioning that they have put crores of ruppes in Bay of Bengal. He replied “ My team was an excellent and I assure you that next year my team

change the thought process and to make the followers feel that they can do better. But that is a tough task. Once in an interview Nelson Mandela another great leader said that during Barcelona Olympics opening, the entire crowd had sing a song which inspired him very much from which he

which moves at a speed of 100 km/ hr cannot be stopped, but the same train can be, if the it doesen’t have a momentum. A person who want to become a leader needs to identify himself, to find what he is good at and bad too. A good leader identifies what others are good at. Successful

Leadership is an ongoing life line journey, not all the people reach that stage. Leadership is an action. will win.” Next year in July 18, 1980 the same team succeeded. Immediately after the sucess, Dhawan asked APJ to address a press conference. He showed the quality of a true leader by taking the responsibility of the failure and passed the credit of success to the team. A leader should lead by example. A true leader should be in a position to

could inspire his people. A good leader is always trusted by his followers. A new age leader must be have exceptional listening, observation and learning skills. He should have an attitude to serve also. A new age leader should be in a position to create a momentum, so that people will act for a vision. A train

people always position them well, but a good leader position others well. Leadership is an ongoing life line journey, not all the people reach that stage. Leadership is an action. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 The author is the training manager 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 of Popular vehicles & services 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456

Pallikkutam | September 2015

HEALTH MONITOR

Dr. Jagath lal Gangadharan

ears of training, painful moments of learning culminate in the making of any professional; more so in the field of neurosurgery. As with many other specialities of medicine, a neurosurgeon is often vexed with

When not to operate like to share a story where such a decision not to operate was taken, while working in a tertiary care institute. Tanuja was a young mother from a remote village in West Bengal. She and

elderly people found that the child was not as active as babies of that age, and the child would not cry loudly. She thought that everything will be okay and used to get comforted by the smile of her precious one. The baby was not holding the head even after 5 months

The doctor diagnosed the child to have ‘water trapped inside the head’ and quickly referred to a higher centre for further investigation and treatment. problems concerning life and death, treading a fine path between hope and utter despair. The decision taken on a particular moment can act as a verdict for his whole life. Decades are spent

her husband were peasants working in a paddy farm and were earning their livelihood with hard work. It was the happiest moment in their lives when

and she was finding that the head was heavier, even difficult to hold. She felt that something was wrong but they had no medical facilities nearby and hence continued the care with some

Fig.A: (1) Distressed child with hydrocephalus (2) MRI axial images showing the water filled brain, which is thinned out (3) MRI sagittal images showing totally undeveloped brain (arrested hydrocephalus)

on mastering the art of performing a surgery, but often the best surgeon is one who knows when not to operate. It takes wisdom, strength and courage not to intervene. Any decision to operate should always weigh in the favour of benefit to the patient and his family against a possible harm. I would

Pallikkutam | September 2015

she gave birth to her first baby. The delivery was completed with great difficulty with the help of a ‘village dai’. The birth it seems was complicated due to the large head of the baby. At the end of all pain and suffering she was extremely satisfied to see the face of her little one. The happiness was short lived as the

native medicines. By the time, the child was about one year old, his head seemed to increase in size more than his body and he had not even become prone. He used to cry a lot especially if somebody touched his head or turned him in the bed. After much persuasion from her, they decided to take the kid to a health centre about 100 kilometres

HEALTH MONITOR from their home. The doctor diagnosed the child to have ‘water trapped inside the head’ and quickly referred to a higher centre for further investigation and treatment. They returned home as travelling to Kolkata and getting treated ina hospital was out of

MRI scan. After much waiting in the hospital corridors, they could get an MRI done for the child, but they could not get admitted in the hospital due to shortage of beds. It was at this juncture that the neighbourhood boy who was working in Bangalore

the naive Bengali dialect, the mother had expressed. I could read her anxiety, concern and finally her hope. The child was almost listless and skinny, he was hardly able to turn in the bed. It seemed that he was burdened by the weight of the head and winced when I

After seeing the MRI scan, I could quickly spot the water trapped in the brain known as ‘Hydrocephalus’ in the medical jargon and the thinned out brain. question for a poor peasant family who suggested them to travel to Bangalore were already finding it difficult to meet for better treatment. the ends. They reached Bangalore after She returned home in despair but the travelling in a train for two days. It was couple had a resolve to save their extremely difficult to take care of the earnings, so that they could give some child during the journey as he would treatment to their child. The child was cry almost incessantly. After waiting in so dependent on the mother and could the queue for several hours, they hardly move without her help, because of his large, heavy head. His eyes were rolled down like sunset though the child recognised and smiled at her. She was very much bonded with the child and wound spend hours nursing him. The child was now about two years but could not sit or stand, could only cry to express his needs.

palpated the soft head. The circumference of the head was almost that of an adult and he could not even look straight. The eyeball was deviated down, the ‘sunset sign’ and veins were prominent over the scalp. After seeing the MRI scan, I could quickly spot the water trapped in the brain known as‘Hydrocephalus’ in the medical jargon and the thinned out brain. The brain which should have almost fully developed by this age was looking like a paper bag holding water. She asked me whether I could do anything to set the things right. She had been advised by somebody that there is some kind of ‘shunt surgery’ for this disease. As with most cases of neglected hydrocephalus, his prognosis was heart breaking.

A boy in the neighbourhood who had come for Fig.B: (1) CSF is produced from choroid plexus (2) flows through the aqueduct (3) flows vacation from his out of fourth ventricle (4) Flows around the surface of brain (5) get absorbed in the I was perplexed for work place in arachnoid villi. a while on how to Bangalore saw the reached the Neurosurgery OPD. I was convey the message that there is not plight of the child and started destined to see the child brought by much to be done at this stage. That the mobilising the villagers in order to help this family with lots of hope and a few Brain of that child will not recover the child as possible. With great medical records. The first question that whatever surgery is performed. That difficulty they managed to collect came to my mind was why this family draining the water in brain, by putting enough funds and they travelled up to came to us so late. Is it a neglected in a tube in the brain will lead to lot Kolkata. They could meet a child due to uncordial family more complications like bleeding inside neurologist in a government medical relationships, a common scenario in a decompressed brain with vacant college, who advised them to take an the modern world? The boy translated

Pallikkutam | September 2015

HEALTH MONITOR space, giving more torture to the already distressed child. That there are limits to what medical science can

ventricle and lastly the fourth ventricle behind. CSF is filtered out of the blood by the choroid plexus at a rate of about 0.5 ml per minute. In young children,

CSF circulates insidethe ventricles through various channels and aqueducts toreach the subarachnoid space surrounding the brain and spinal

After much rumination, I reached the conclusion that I am not going to operate on this child.

Fig.C: The enlarged ventricles are compressing the brain all around (see arrows) and damaging it.

offer. After much rumination, I reached the conclusion that I am not going to operate on this child. The hardest part was to convey the message to the mother who had come all her hope. But life is at times testing and you have to act on the best interests of the patient. “Primum non nocere” – (Firstly, do not harm) Hippocrates.

the total CSF volume ranges between 65 and 150 ml. However, it recycles once every 4–6 hours. This is because,

cord. It then travels up near the middle of the head called superior sagittal sinus and is absorbed through the arachnoid villi into the blood. So it is produced from the blood and returns to the blood. Normal head growth:

The head growth of a child can be indirectly assessed by using a measuring tape around the broadest part of the baby’s forehead, just above the ears and at Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is the midpoint of the back of the water that completely the head. (Occipito-frontal surrounds and bathes the circumference). Normally exposed surfaces of the brain. this head circumference is It supports, cushions and 35 cms at birth and it nourishes the brain. It is becomes almost 47 cmsby produced in specialised the age of one year. This structures called ‘choroid 12 cms increase is plexus’, clusters of capillary distributed over the first blood vessels which are year in the following present in the cavities of the manner. In the first three brain called ‘ventricles’. The months it increases 2 cms ventricles are an per month, next three interconnected system of CSF Fig D: The tube (green), with a valve placed into ventricle (brain), months it is 1 cm per the other end of tube is placed in the peritoneal cavity (abdomen). filled spaces. The uppermost is month and the next six the lateral ventricle (One on months, it is 0.5 cms per month. Later it the rate of removal normally keeps each side), then comes the third increases @ 1 cm per year and reaches pace with the rate of production. The

Pallikkutam | September 2015

HEALTH MONITOR the adult size of 55 cms at about five years of age. Hydrocephalus: Hydrocephalus is a condition where there is an excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) under pressure, resulting from

♦ Shunting or bypass of obstruction, most commonly with a VentriculoPeritoneal shunt

♦ Third ventriculostomy is useful in patients with non-communicating obstructive hydrocephalus at or below

be taken care of by using a variable pressure tube called ‘programmable shunt tube’. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy:

The Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy is used as 1. Impaired circulation The story is narrated to emphasise that procedure an alternative to a or absorption of ventriculoperitoneal CSFinto the blood sometimes in medical practice, not shunt. This involves 2. Obstruction to the performing a procedure is equally operating inside the flow of CSF in the ventricle using an important in relieving the ventricle endoscope, a camera patient of the distress. system. A hole in 3. Rarely from increased made in the thinnest production of CSF, by the level of the aqueduct connecting portion of the ventricle- the tumors in choroid plexus. the third and fourth ventricle. transparent floor. The CSF comes out Over time, the portions of the of the ventricle thereby bypassing the Ventriculo-peritoneal shunt: ventricular system above the site of block. Chance of infection is less as In this, a tube is passed permanently obstruction gradually dilate. This there is no shunt tube. The success of from the high pressure, dilated causes compression and thinning the the procedure is dependent on the ventricular cavity inside the brain to surrounding brain, thereby damaging pressure gradient the low pressure peritoneal cavity in it. Gradually the pressure inside the The story is narrated to emphasise that the abdomen, thereby bypassing the system decreases and it becomes an block and ensuring continuous flow of sometimes in medical practice, not arrested hydrocephalus. Brain performing a procedure is equally development is much affected in these CSF. The CSF is absorbed into the important in relieving the patient of the blood circulation at the abdomen, cases. There is not much treatment to distress. be offered at this “The story stage. The is narrated brain to development emphasise will not that recover sometimes with in medical whatever practice, surgical not exercise we performing do. This is a procedure a scenario is equally where the important in doctor has Fig E: Endoscopic third ventriculostomy – Fig F: Endoscopic third ventriculostomy- a hole is made on relieving .the endoscope is inserted into the brain the floor of the ventricle to take a through a small opening on the frontal the patient completing the cycle. decision area. of the distress. We can blame the Rarely, the tube can be NOT to poverty and ignorance for the plight of placed into the chest cavity (Pleural) or operate. this poor child. But, when we read that the heart (atrial) in some cases. This is the world spent 1735 billion dollars on Treatment: Usually, the treatment a simple method of treating war in 2012, when it would take depends on the cause of hydrocephalus but can often get approximately 135 billion dollars to hydrocephalus and location of the complicated due to infection or block totally eradicate poverty, we wonder obstruction. In many cases the block is of the tube. This may require revision how the resources of the world can permanent or is unable to be removed or replacement of the tube. In some reach the whole of humanity!” (e.g. most tectal gliomas, aqueduct 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 cases the pressure inside the brain 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 stenosis). A permanent CSF diversion 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 may not be high enough to drive 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 The author is a Consultant and 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 may be required in these cases. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 enough fluid through the tube. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 Head, Dept. of Neurosurgery, 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 Treatment options include: 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 Sometimes, the tube may take out more 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 Rajagiri Healthcare, Aluva, 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 fluid or over drain. These problems can 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 Kerala. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456

Pallikkutam | September 2015

GADGETS

Samsung Galaxy Note 5: launch by November

amsung Galaxy Note 5’s rugged variant is likely to be launched as the Galaxy Note 5 Active in November. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Active will be made available exclusively on AT&T, similar to the Galaxy S6 Active. The handset much like other Activevariant is said to sport IP68 rating that will make it water resistant (up to 1.5 metres for 30 minutes) and dust proof, and also make it sufficiently rugged to be shock resistant. It will probably also feature a US Mil-STD810G rating, like the Galaxy S6 active, certified to withstand vibration, temperature extremes, humidity, and high altitude. Considering that the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active packs a larger 3500mAh

battery compared to the original Galaxy S6’s 2550mAh battery, the logic is that the Galaxy Note 5 Active will feature a larger battery. Though, one of the biggest doubts is that Samsung has never launched an Active variant of its Galaxy Note-series in the past. We will have to wait till November to see whether Samsung has an Active variant of its Galaxy Note 5. Recently, a dualSIM model of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 was reportedly up for retail pre-orders in the Philippines. We can expect Samsung to announce the availability of the dual-SIM variant of the Galaxy Note 5 in other markets soon. To recall, Samsung last week at its launch event had clarified that its Galaxy Note 5 will be available only in select markets.

Oppo announces R5s with 3GB RAM

hinese device maker Oppo has announced an upgraded variant of R5 smartphone – Oppo R5s. Just as Oppo R5, Oppo R5s features a 5.2-inch full-HD (1080x1920p) AMOLED display, 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 2,000mAh battery. The camera too is same, 13MP shooter at the back with Sony Exmor IMX214 BSI sensor and 5MP in front with 83degree wide angle lens. Oppo R5s has received upgrade on both RAM and storage fronts. The smartphone features 3GB RAM as compared to 2GB RAM in Oppo R5. Also, it comes with 32GB in-built storage, double of what R5 had. It runs Color OS 2.0, based on Android 4.4. The phone feature Oppo’s VOOC charging technology to get a 75% charge in 30 minutes. Connectivity options on the smartphone include 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. The Oppo R5s measures 148.9 x 74.5 x 4.85mm and weighs 155 gram.

Asus to shift focus from notebooks to smartphones

aiwanese electronics major AsusTek’s chairman Jonney Shih on his maiden visit to India said the group was shifting its focus from notebooks to smartphones and convertibles. “The PC market is slowly showing signs of decay as the world is moving to a cloud first, mobile first platform. At Asus, we believe in riding the current technology wave and hence in our research and development we are focusing more on devices like convertibles that will provide more productivity and connectivity on the go,” Jonney Shih said on the sidelines of the Zen Festival where Asus launched three new phones and showcased some tablets. “The trend is to get to a convergent device that will replace all other devices and make it easier for the easier. Having said that, mobile computing is still behind compared to PC-like experience,” Shih said. Further

Pallikkutam | September 2015

explaining, he said, “As the world is adapting to the IoT platform, Asus is driving research to put devices on consumers’ hands that will allow free them from the curse of owing different

devices for different purposes.” Asus drives nearly 4.5% of its revenue into research and development which nearly amounts to $650 million. AsusTek closed the financial year 2014-15 with a revenue of $14.5 billion. “Our growth has been steady and the group has been growing at a pace of

20% year-on-year. We intend to carry forward the momentum this year as well,” Shih said. Currently, the electronics major which manufactures motherboards, PCs, laptops and smartphones among many other products, draws more than 50% of its revenue through PCs and notebooks. “Nearly 20% of our revenue comes from smartphones, and by 2017 we are expecting that more than 50% of our revenues will come from this vertical,” he said. Asked about the reason behind using more Intel chips on their smartphones, Shih said, “Intel chips are really powerful, powerful than most of the processors we see in the market and hence we have stuck to it. There are also less problems of heating.” Asus, which is currently the fourth largest PC vendor in the world, also has tied up with Microsoft to bring new devices with Windows 10.

GADGETS

First Ubuntu-powered smartphones launched uropean technology company BQ has launched Aquaris E4.5 and Aquaris E5 Ubuntu edition smartphones in India. The phones will be available on Snapdeal by end of August at a price of Rs 11,999 for the Aquaris E4.5 and Rs 13,499 for the Aquaris E5.

like quick start screens that provide fast access to content. Both devices will be available in black colour and come fully unlocked with dual-sim functionality. The Aquarius E4.5 sports a 4.5-inch qHD (540x960p) IPS display with Dragontrail protection and 5 point capacitive touch.

The Aquaris E4.5 was launched in Europe in February while the Aquaris E5 was introduced in June. The phones run Ubuntu mobile OS and come with Scopes available on the European Editions along with new ones created especially with Indian users. Scopes are individual widget-

Powered by a 1.3GHz MediaTek quad core Cortex A7 processor and 1GB RAM, the phone features 8GB storage with a microSD card slot that supports cards of up to 32GB. The phone is powered by a 2150mAh battery. It sports an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. In terms of

connectivity, the phone supports 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. The Aquarius E5 sports a 5-inch HD (720x1280p) IPS display with Dragontrail protection and 5 point capacitive touch. Powered by a 1.3GHz MediaTek quad core Cortex A7 processor and 1GB RAM, the phone features 16GB storage with a microSD card slot that supports cards of up to 32GB. The phone is powered by a 2500mAh battery. It sports an 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. In terms of connectivity, the phone supports 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS.

Vivo launches new smartphones in India Vivo Electronics Corp. is a Chinese smartphone manufacturer based in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China Founded in 2009, the company has registered the vivo brand name in many parts of the world.

X5 Pro

Play Hi-Fi Live Smart

Extreme Hi-Fi & Slim Body

Gesture Hi-Fi with Cirrus Logic AK4375 Chip.

♦ Indian Language Support.

Touched by Beauty

Y11 Enjoyable fun captures

Price.25980/-

♦ 2.5 D Corning Gorilla on both side along with Magnalium Frame. Price.15980/-

♦ 5.2 Inch FHD Super AMOLED

♦ 5 Inch IPS HD LCD Screen

Screen.

Magnesium alloy body.

♦ Snapdragon 615 Processor, 2 GB

♦ Snapdragon 410 Processor.

RAM,16 GB ROM,128 GB Expandable Dual SIM Support with 4G.

♦ 2 GB RAM,16 GB ROM,128 GB Expandable Dual SIM Support with 4G.

♦ 5MP Front Camera ,13 MP Rear Camera Smart Beauty Mode, Child Mode.

♦ Funtouch OS 2.1 based on Android Lollipop 5.0 Hi Fi Quality Music, Smart Wake.

♦ Indian Language support 2300 mAh battery.

♦ 13 MP Rear Camera with 6P HD Lenses and Sapphire Glass Protection. ♦ World’s Fastest Camera with PDAF technology and focusing time of 0.2 Sec 8MP Front Camera, Smart Beauty, Palm Capture, Voice Capture.

Price.5990/-

♦ 1.3 Ghz Quad core Processor. ♦ 4 Inch IPS LCD Screen 5MP Rear Camera.

♦ 2MP Front Camera Palm Capture.

♦ Funtouch OS 2.1 based on Android

♦ Face Beauty Mode.

Lollipop 5.0.

♦ Funtouch OS 2.0 based on

♦ Smart Wake 2.0 With Customizable

Android KitKat 4.4.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

INNO VATIONS INNOV

The magical pentagons

t is a problem that fascinates both mathematicians and ordinary mortal: what type of pentagons could fill a given space without overapping or leaving a void? Mathematicians of the University of Washington Bothell have discovered fifteenth answer to this age-old question. The answer naturally leads to new types of tiles for a walls and floors.

It was not a problem with triangles, tetragons or isosceles hexagones to perfectly fill a given area in space. However, it was rather impossible with non-equllateral hexagons, and septagones or octagones.The same applies to an isoscales pentagon. For example, the mysterious structure eternalized by the famous famous Pentagon Building in USA does not fill the space without overlapping or leavingvoids. Thus pentagons become one of the most difficult polygons of geometry. Fourteen solutions to this classical question already exist.The first solution was given by the German mathematician Karl Reinhardt already in the year 1918. Among other solutions is the one discovered by an american house wife in 1970. The 14th solution was given in 1985 by a German doctoral student, after which there developed a gap of almost 30 years. All the 15 solutions of the problem is given in the figure.

Immortalizing digital information using DNA

ongevity of the stored information is an important problem in the digital era. Even hand written letters or printed photos sometimes outlives digital information stored in a hard disk. Scientists today

Pallikkutam | September 2015

turn to DNA to save unprecedented amounts of digital data for posterity. A study presented in the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) reports of a method of encapsulating and preserving digital information in a DNA for at least 2000 years. The researchers of ETH Zurich are now developing a filing system made of DNA, which makes it easier to navigate. In the medieval times in Europe, the monks wrote in books information to be transmitted for posterity. Today we save information on hard drives, which wear out in a few decades. As digital data becomes Big Data, scientists look for extremely small systems to preserve the digital universe. This is where DNA comes into play. The double helix architecture of DNA revealed the fact

hefty price tag. Encoding and saving a few megabytes of data costs thousands of dollars. In other words, consumers wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the option of buying DNA-based hard drives anytime soon.

Optical chips for quantum computers

esearchers from the University of Bristol in the UK and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in Japan have announced development of an optical chip that could process photons in an infinite number of ways. It is a major step forward in creating a quantum computer to solve problems such as designing new drugs, superfast database searches, and performing otherwise intractable mathematics that arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t possible for super computers. Their study is reported in the journal Science. The fully reprogrammable chip brings together a multitude of existing quantum experiments and can realize a plethora of future protocols that have not even been conceived yet, marking a new era of research for quantum

that the coding language of nature was very similar to the binary language we use in computers. On hard drive, we use 0s and 1s to represent data, and in DNA, we have four nucleotides A, C, T and G. But DNA has two major advantages over hard drives: size and durability. An external hard drive about the size of a paperback book can back up five terabytes of information and might last 50 years. In theory, a fraction of an ounce of DNA could store more than 300,000 terabytes. And, from archaeological finds, scientists know that DNA from hundreds of thousands of years ago can still be sequenced today. Like many technologies in their early years, DNA storage comes with a

scientists and engineers at the cutting edge of quantum technologies. Earlier a prism dispersed the spectrum of colors present in the white light and helped us to understand the nature through the behavior of light. Today scientists are striving to understand nature at the quantum level and to engineer and control quantum states of light and matter.The future of quantum computers looks bright.

INNO VATIONS INNOV

Glass paint keeps metal roofs cool

unlight can be brutal. It wears down even the strongest structures, including rooftops and naval ships, and it heats up metal slides and bleachers until they’re too hot to use. To fend off damage and heat from the sun’s harsh rays, scientists have developed a new, environmentally friendly paint out of glass that bounces sunlight off metal surfaces — keeping them cool and durable. The results are presented at

the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Most paints we use today on your car or house are based on polymers, which degrade in the ultraviolet light rays of the sun, leading to chalking and yellowing. Polymers also tend to give off volatile organic compounds, which can harm the environment. Glass, which is made out of silica, would be an ideal coating. It’s hard, durable and has the right optical properties. But it’s very brittle. The researchers used potassium silicate that normally dissolves in water, which was sprayed onto surfaces. When the surface dries, it becomes water resistant. Unlike acrylic, polyurethane or epoxy paints, glass paint is almost completely inorganic, which should make it last far longer than its counterparts that contain organic compounds. It is also designed to expand and contract with metal surfaces to prevent cracking. Mixing pigments with the silicate gives the coating an additional property: the ability to reflect all sunlight and passively radiate heat. Since it doesn’t absorb sunlight, any surface coated with the paint will remain at air temperature, or even slightly cooler. That’s key to protecting structures from the sun.

As fireflies beacons the path

nline social networking generates vast quantities of data that might be useful to the service providers, advertising agencies, and even the users themselves. Researchers at the School of Information Technology and Engineering, VIT University, in Tamil Nadu, have developed a new approach what they refer to as a “firefly swarm approach”, which is used to extract, analyze and use big data from online networks. The results are published in the International Journal of Communication Networks and Distributed Systems. The essence of social computing is community, collaboration and connectivity, but

analyzing the three C’s is key to converting data and information into knowledge that might predict trends and help provider and user alike as well as third-parties, such as advertisers. Researchers suggest that their work can provide a way to predict whether an individual member of social network will remain loyal to that service or find a new favorite and move on. Obviously, such a predictor would be useful to a given service provider who, forewarned of an imminent departure, might tailor a new offering to that person that persuades them to stay. Their firefly algorithm is just such a tool to predict the network fidelity of the customers.

World record in superconductors

he physicists of Max Planks Institute for Chemistry and University of Mainz, Germany have reached a milestone transition temperature at which the electrical current could be transmitted without losses. The new transition temperature record is:-70 degree Celsius. It broke the record to date of -123 degree Celsius set up in the year 1993. The discovery leads way to the achievement of superconductivity at room temperatures. Superconductors offers enormes applications not only in the energy technology but in supermagnetism. Under some typical temperatures such materials loses their electrical resistence and allows the electrical current to flow without losses. However, all the known superconductors need to be cooled to extremely lower temperatures making the attainment of superconductivity

and its mainteanance very difficult. Researchers worldwide are hence on a search for material that turns superconducting at room temperatures. The high-temperature superconductors discovered so far are ceramic compounds, whose mechanism is not fully understood to the date. The new material researchers used has the foul smell of rotten egg, since it contains Sulpher. The researchers used extremely highpressure of the order 1.5million atmospheres to obtain the result. They found that the material becomes superconducting already at -70 degree Celsius. However, since it is practically impossible to develop the needed high pressures and to maintain it, the results are not expected to be practically implemented in the near future.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

CREA TIVE LIVING CREATIVE

Dr. Varghese Panthalookaran

Think laterally to generate

creative options F

rom our very childhood we are trained to think and speak logically, ensuring that our words are intelligible and that our communication is effective. Intelligence of children is often measured against the clarity with which they make their points. Both parents and teachers are happy to see children developing in their logical skills. It is absolutely necessary too. But it may not sufficient according to the modern research! Research suggests that both linear/ logical thinking and lateral/creative thinking are equally important aspects in the training of a child. That alone ensures your child to be critical and creative. And the modern world belongs to the creative thinkers, who create and re-create it. If you want your child to be part of this movement,

Pallikkutam | September 2015

help him/her imbibe creativity skills. Lateral thinking is counted one of the important creativity skills. What is linear/vertical thinking?

Research suggests that both linear/ logical thinking and lateral/creative thinking are equally important aspects in the training of a child.

Linear/vertical thinking is perfectly logical thinking. It is causal thinking. In this paradigm, everything is interconnected with their respective causes and effects. Cause precedes the effect just like fire precedes smoke. Logical thinking builds upon existing thoughts, without questioning or challenging their presuppositions. It results in the depth of knowledge. It is founded on the best and right approach to tackle a problem, which validates the rightness of the procedures. It is analytical and sequential. It develops step-wise and one must ensure correctness of every step to ensure the rightness of the

CREA TIVE LIVING CREATIVE

According to Dr. Bono, in any self-organizing system there is a need to escape from a local optimum in order to move towards a more global optimum. Such movement is facilitated by lateral thinking.

conclusion. Logical thinking cannot afford distractions. It rather blocks them. It excludes the irrelevant information for the sake of the relevant one. It defines everything sharply, giving no room for misty components. It follows the most likely path towards the truth and evaluates correctness of every step in relation to it. It considers itself as a finite process in search of the ultimate truth. The Great Greek Trio, namely, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are considered as fathers of linear thinking. They developed a culture of logical thinking in the West, which extends its influence to the class rooms of contemporary times. Clarity and distinction are the most important properties of linear thinking and hence it exerts perceivable influence on disciplines like mathematics and sciences. For example, 1+1 needs always be 2 in mathematics and sciences. Nobody asks the question, why? It seems an irrelevant question. However, it may not be so for a poet, who observes how two tributaries merge together and flow as a single river. For a poet, 1+1 may be just one-perhaps a little greater ONE. (In the language of Muhammad Bashir, one of the celebrated novelists of Malayalam literature, it is: “Immini Valiya Onnu”). So thinks a non-dualist (advaita) philosopher. For him, two apparently different realities are in fact aspects of the same truth. They are just one! For a management expert, who sees the possibility of synergy effects in the communion of two people, 1+1 is greater than 2. He defines synergy of two persons as something which generates effects more than the individual contributions. However, if we consider all our thinking in a day, more that 90% of it would comprise logical thinking or linear thinking. Usually people who think linearly are viewed as honest, mature and intelligent. And for success in many professions like solicitor, accountants, police,

advocate and scientist, linear thinking is of absolute importance. What is lateral/horizontal thinking? The concept of lateral thinking bears the trade mark of Dr. Edward de Bono, a British psychologist and inspirational author. Hence we refer to the meaning defined by him. The term was first used in a book called “The Use of Lateral Thinking” (Jonathan Cape, London, 1967). In the course of time it was recognized as a new word in the Oxford English Dictionary, which is the final arbiter of the official British English Language. Dr. Bono gives a number of technical as well as descriptive definitions to lateral thinking. Technical definitions 1. The first technical definition of lateral thinking conceives human brain as a self-organizing information system. Such systems posit a mathematical necessity of moving across the patterns to generate new options in thinking. Lateral thinking facilitates such movements across different mental patterns. The tools and programs of lateral thinking are designed to achieve such ‘lateral’ movement. 2. The second technical definition provides mathematical justification for creative thinking. According to Dr. Bono, in any self-organizing system there is a need to escape from a local optimum in order to move towards a more global optimum. Such movement is facilitated by lateral thinking. The techniques of lateral thinking, such as provocation, are designed to help that transition. Descriptive definitions 1. Human experience often suggests that trying harder in the same direction may not be as useful as changing direction. This is especially true if one does not have guarantee over the veracity of the direction. Lateral thinking, not linear thinking, promotes changing directions of thinking to obtain global perspectives. In the words of Dr. Bono: “You cannot dig a

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CREA TIVE LIVING CREATIVE hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper.” 2. Logical thinking is epitomized by the game of chess. You start with the given pieces and at any part of the game you carry on with the remaining pieces. However, chess game has only a faint resemblance to real life situations. We just assume certain perceptions, certain concepts and certain boundaries which need not necessarily be present. Lateral thinking tries not to presume the existence of such pre-conceptions. It is not equivalent to playing the game of life with the presumably given pieces. Rather, it starts the game with freshly defined pieces suitable to the life

situations. In this way, lateral thinking challenges the prejudices and assumptions of life and conceives it anew. Thus lateral thinking engages mainly with the perceptional part of thinking, organizing the external world into pieces, which we are in a position to process, without completely forgoing the logic. The most stunning conclusion of Dr. Bono regarding creativity is that it is not just part of human nature; rather it can be nurtured like any other skill. It can be nurtured by proper training in challenging assumptions (e.g. by thinking outside the box), generating alternatives (even when you have an apparently satisfactory solution), suspended judgment, brainstorming, analogies, and random stimulation. In other words, creativity is not a gift for exceptionally genius; rather it is

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available for anybody, who takes time to practice the skills of lateral thinking. Dr. Bono went ahead to develop a large number of techniques, processes and programs to nurture lateral thinking skills, and hence creativity skills. He has a large following among top managers of Fortune500 companies, who ascribes their success to the procedures offered by Dr. Bono. A Complementarity Principle After an extensive research into the mental processes of creative minds, Prof. Robert Weisberg could not identify evidences to prove that lateral thinking is essentially necessary for creative disruptions. (“Creativity and Knowledge – a Challenge to Theories”, in Handbook of Creativity, ed Robert Sternberg, 1999). He analyzed Darwin’s notebooks on the development of his theory of evolution, Watson’s report of the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule, Picasso’s preliminary sketches for several of his most famous paintings, and Edison’s notebooks on the invention of the kinetoscope and found that all of them are sheer epitomes of linear thinking. There are seldom traces of lateral thinking contained there! So it must be trivial to conclude that the creative minds were just lateral thinkers, just prone to break conventions and presuppositions of linear thinking. They were blessed with the skills of linear thinking but equally blessed with flexibility. Based on the evidences in front of them, they could freely fabricate new and alternate worldviews. Hence it is more natural to believe that it is interplay between the linear and lateral thinking that generates creative options. Great innovations have invariably redefined

the basic assumptions and frameworks of human thinking announcing a paradigm shift in the world-view. However, it sounds simplistic to conclude that a trivial altering of the frameworks and assumptions of thought would invariably lead to creative breakthroughs. There is no automatism in this regard. However, a flexible mind would be in a position to easily shift the paradigms and frameworks of thinking when warranted. The Herculean effort of Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei to replace Aristotelian geocentric world-view with a heliocentric one is well-known. At the same time, there are evidences that even the most creative

It is interplay between the linear and lateral thinking that generates creative options.

minds were at times rigid and conservative, when it meant a paradigm shift. Example is Albert Einstein, who successfully replaced Newtonian concept of absolute space and time by his path-breaking concept of relativistic space-time continuum. However, the same Einstein was not flexible enough to accept the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics by the Copenhagen School under the leadership of Niels Bohr. Einstein is said to have quipped: “God does not play dice!” He vehemently opposed the probabilistic Quantum Mechanics by introducing his notorious theory of “Hidden Variables”, without much success. Even creative minds require constant replenishment in flexibility. And lateral thinking can aid it.

GUEST COLUMN

K. L. Mohana Varma

Please take rest and enjoy, I will run the boat

Cosmic calendar is a method to visualize the vast history of the universe. Here the 13.8 billion years of the Universeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifetime is condensed down into single year. The Big Bang is placed at the beginning of January midnight and the present moment is kept at end of 31st December midnight.

he best way for the older generation when they come to a stage where they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t improve the present is to continue on insisting their leadership by glorifying the past and their own little additions and almost cruelly suppressing the innovative ideas and aspirations of the next generations. By the time the

youths find out they were hoodwinked they would almost be the then older generation and of course, they will find it advantageous to follow the same path to keep the leadership with them. It was OK in the past when communication was at a minimum and the physical limitations were in plenty. It was history and geography ruling

us. Cosmic calendar is a method to visualize the vast history of the universe. Here the 13.8 billion years of the Universeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifetime is condensed down into single year. The Big Bang is placed at the beginning of January midnight and the present moment is kept at end of 31st December midnight. The concept is popular as this gives

Pallikkutam | September 2015

GUEST COLUMN

an idea of the biological progress of the earth and human society from a scientific view point. The cosmic calendar has a day scaling 37.8 million years, and an hour 1.58 million years and a second 438 years. Some moments of geographical, historical and scientific importance according to this calendar are given below for getting an idea of its historical value in the evolutionary paths of the universe. As per this calendar, the sun and the planets were formed only on 31st August, rocks appeared on earth surface on September 16, first life (prokaryotes) on September 21st, simple animals on 7th December and human beings on 31st December at 10.24 PM. The alphabets and wheel, which almost categorized leadership in a systematic, but overwhelming way, making rulers and ruled separate, came only on at just 31 Dec, 23:59:49. It means that the science, as we can call it, started only one fifth of a second back in the cosmic year.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

In this graphic picture, the last 30 conclusions of older generations as years, we can call it a generation, is so unquestionable. The funny and at the minuscule that it may not be relevant same time dangerous part of it was that in history. But science and the thought processes of youth were technology, using the tools and always snubbed as far as possible from knowledge unearthed all types of gradually, initially in originality. I will arithmetical give you a small progressions, later on example from our widening to geometric current political and now multihistory. At the time The cosmic geometric Big Bang of independence, calendar has a inventions in almost our country was every sphere of human day scaling 37.8 divided into India activity have made and Pakistan million years, and simply on religious almost all the conventional considerations (for an hour 1.58 equilibriums almost this purpose I am defunct. million years and including Bangladesh also Really the written a second 438 with Pakistan) words started the against all other years. revolution. It appeared norms of separate sieving and keeping nationhood like, the knowledge and geography, passed them on to history, ethnicity, coming generations language and and wider groups. Then the invention economics. As we all know, both the of wheels and its practical applications countries have spent and are still expedited the movements and made spending after 68 years of their crucial the world smaller. The religions took separation, a major portion of their real over and gave the teachings and wealth, energy and leadership capacity knowledge invincibility. Even the in a mutual confrontation psyche at the major scientific inventions from the expense of the economic and social sixteenth century which could make progress both the nations could have inroads in many activities of our achieved. But history cannot be society did not transform the basic reversed. The new generations have to concept of acceptance of ideas and

GUEST COLUMN

follow suit. Any innovative new ideas without the burden of the past will not come out from the new generation of both the countries. An imaginary Berlin wall is still with us. Now can it be possible to change the set up and is it advisable? Now in the present system, what facts and thoughts are we giving

attractive information which was used and is still being used with pomp and style to support the past ideas. But unfortunately these do not have sufficient account of psychology. It is not the mistake of the past or present leaders. Their hardware was being painted and serviced, but they never

time. But the present youth will not be satisfied. He knows well that the previous generations have not been kind to the people and the people are still far behind socially, economically and they do not have an equitable and rightful reach for the resources available for their betterment.

At the time of independence, our country was divided into India and Pakistan simply on religious considerations against all other norms of separate nationhood like, geography, history, ethnicity, language and economics. to the youth who are to tackle this issue and solve it if both countries have to emerge as real developing nations while simultaneously ensuring social justice to every one of the citizens? We have economic facts, population statistics, religious sermons, constitutional organizations, political theories, military statistics and a lot of

thought or could think that there is an alternative. If the current generation youth wants inputs about the problems, he can very well go into any of the number of books and speeches available, and he will get all the information regarding average income, average growth, size of military and all such figures instantly at practically no cost and waste of

The youth wants a better life for all. Let us take the example of present Indians and Pakistanis. For knowing the difference between both the people, if any, one should know what an Indian is and what a Pakistani is. Is there any appreciable difference between both? What both these persons want out of life, what are their discontents, what are their hopes, and what are their fears? They are similar in

Pallikkutam | September 2015

GUEST COLUMN all respects. But he will not get anything about these from the available knowledge base. He wants to know whether they are willing to forgo land reforms for the privilege of voting for some politician they have seen only in television or at a distant podium. The leaders remain in far away capital cities and they even with their good intentions, cannot penetrate deeply into the springs of human activities. What is the influence of

whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. At the age of 21, he co-founded Apple in 1976 in his parents’ home to sell Apple I personal computer and did not look back.

I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. It is so hard. You put so much of your life into this thing. There are such rough moments.. Unless you have a lot of passion, you’re not going to survive. You’re going to give it up.

His famous words are relevant to the youth. He said: When you grow up

Most important factor is that the present youth have an idea, or

Most important factor is that the present youth have an idea, or awareness of a problem, or a wrong that he wants to correct. He is passionate and has the perseverance to stick it through. hunger over slogans? How does the effectiveness fluctuate with the number of calories in your diet? If one leader offers you democracy and another a bag of grain, at what stage of starvation will you prefer the grain to vote?

you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact. Everything

awareness of a problem, or a wrong that he wants to correct. He is passionate and has the perseverance to stick it through.

I think the battle is on and at every top level, in politics, business, industry and in almost all the fields of human activity, Now I will come to the age level of an example of a top leadership is youth who coming down. It successfully may not be pioneered a palatable, but in revolution in spite the cosmic of the existing calendar, the system. one millionth of “And there’s just a second is more one more thing…” than enough for revolutionary It is the famous changes. Just line Steve Jobs for information. often used on In the cosmic stage calendar, on to introduce 30th December at unexpectedApplegadgets: 6.24 in the early Color iMacs, morning, the the Apple Cinema CretaceousDisplay, the G4 Paleogene Cube, the iPod extinction event Shuffle, the Apple, took place and the Mac Book Air dinosaurs, the mighty rulers of the and various other products. Steve around you that you call life was made earth died out and youthful species Jobs, as a young man, revolutionized up by people that were no smarter than started driving the boat. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 the thought processes of his you and you can change it, you can 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 The author is a Kochi-based novel123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 generation in a way none could do till influence it, you can build your own 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456 ist, short story writer and columnist. then. He was the creative entrepreneur things that other people can use. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456

Pallikkutam | September 2015

ASPECTS

Pravahana’s teachings on meditation Dr. Augustine Thottakara

handogya Up. chapter one deliberates on Udgitha. Udgitha is a part of Samaveda. Samaveda is always sung; it is musical and melodious. This Veda consists of a specified number of stanzas or verses. These verses are called ‘Samans’. Udgitha is a portion of the Saman which is sung by Udgatr priests in the context of Vedic Soma sacrifices. Om is

on the syllable Om, which is the Udgitha, for one sings the Udgitha beginning with Om. The explanation of this is given below” (Chandogya Up.I.1.1).

‘You two revered sirs, speak first; I shall listen to the words of you two Brahmanas’” (I.8.1-2).

It is clear that Pravahana, the main protagonist of this story, was not a Chandogya Up.I.8-9 narrates the story Brahmin. He was a Ksatriya. The of three scholars of Udgitha. The story teacher in the story on the meditation on Five Fires was also a Pravahana. starts thus: “In ancient times there He was a King; evidently a Ksatriya. It were three scholars who were

In ancient times there were three scholars who were proficient in Udgitha: Silaka, son of Salavat, Caikitayana of the Dalbhya family, and Prvahana, son of Jivala. an element of this Udgitha. But in this chapter of Chandogya Up., the Om is identified with the whole Udgitha; Udgitha is here the Om. Udgatr sings the Udgitha. His assistants are Prastotr and Pratihartr, and they sing the Prastava and Pratihara portions of Samaveda. The chapter begins with the statement: “One should meditate

proficient in Udgitha: Silaka, son of Salavat, Caikitayana of the Dalbhya family, and Prvahana, son of Jivala. They came together and said: ‘We are proficient in Udgitha. Let us now enter into a discussion on Udgitha’. Saying, ‘Let it be so’, they sat down to discuss. Then Pravahana Jaivali said,

is not clear whether these two Pravahanas are one and the same. The discussion revolved around the Saman, the Prana, the Food, the water, the earth, etc. Finally, Pravahana said the essence of this world is Akasa. The supreme Reality is designated as Akasa in the Upanisads. Brahma-sutra

Pallikkutam | September 2015

ASPECTS I.1.22, in fact, identifies Akasa as Brahman.

sing the Samans. Uttering Om and Som in the beginning, the Hotr priests recite The discussion on Udgitha, that is Om, their invocations. The Adhvaryu priest is concluded with the words: “He who, gives response to the Hotr priest with the syllable Om. The Brahma priest knowing it thus, meditates upon the sets the sacrifice in motion uttering progressively higher and better Udgitha, obtains progressively higher Om” (Taittiriya Up. I.8). and better lives and wins “Meditate on the supreme Self as Om. progressively higher and better Greeting to you; may you cross over worlds” (Chandogya Up. I.9.2). to the other shore (beyond darkness)” (Mundaka Up. II.2.6).

In this section of Chandogya Up., Om (iii) Om contains all the basic sounds; the three primary sounds: A, U, M. ‘A’ is is identified with the whole Udgitha; very first sound; ‘M’ is the last sound of Udgitha, as mentioned above, is part of Samaveda. And this Udgitha is here the real vowels, the Mutes. And ‘U’ comes in the identified with the middle. Therefore, Om. Udgatr sings Om engages all the the Udgitha. His sounds, and assistants are thereby the Prastotr and language. Pratihartr, and they sing the Prastava (iv) “The goal Om is the most and Pratihara which all the portions of Vedas proclaim, sacred and most Samaveda. The which all penances chapter begins with important syllable declare, and the statement: “One desiring which in the Sankritic should meditate on they lead the life of the syllable Om, literature. It is the celibacy, I tell it to which is the it is Om” , the first you: Udgitha, for one (Katha Up. II.15). sings the Udgitha sound-unit. (v) Mandukya beginning with Om” Up., the shortest (Chandogya Upanisad, deals Up.I.1.1). with Om. Its (i) Om is the most constituent sacred and most sound-units important syllable in correspond to the the Sankritic different states of human existence. “All literature. It is the adi-sabda, the first this world is the syllable Om. Its further sound-unit. It is pronounced before explanation is this: the past, the present, and after the chanting of all Vedic the future – everything is Om. And mantras. Not only Hindus, Buddhists, whatever transcend these three Jains and Sikhs use it as a sacred divisions of time – that too is just Om” mantra and appellation for God. Its (Mandukya Up.1). Om is here depicted meaning is rather ambivalent, and as all pervasive and all pervading. hence it is used in a variety of (vi) The waking state (jagrat avastha) contexts; its interpretations are also corresponds to the ‘A’ of Om; the dreammultifaceted. sleep state (svapna-avastha) (ii) Om is Brahman. It is called the corresponds to the letter ‘U’ of Om; the ‘Sabda-Brahman’. It is the only deep-sleep state (susupti-avastha) phonetic symbol of God: “Om is corresponds to the letter ‘M’ of Om; and Brahman; this entire universe, the Fourth state (turiya) corresponds to perceived and imagined, is Om.… the unheard sound of the Om. It is the Starting with Om the Udgatr priests

adi-sabda

Pallikkutam | September 2015

ASPECTS state of union with the Divine. “The syllable Om in its partless aspect is the Fourth; It is the transcendental state, it is devoid of phenomenal existence; it is supreme bliss, and is non-dual. Thus the syllable Om is very the Self. He who knows this, merges his self in the supreme Self” (Mandukya Up.12).

in the practice of concentration, uttering the one-syllabled Om - the (symbol of) Brahman – and remembering me, he who departs, living the body, attains the supreme goal” (Gita VIII.12-13).

(x) In the Gita Krsna says to Arjuna: “I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the (vii) In Prasna Up. the fift question is on grandfather. I am the object of Om: “Then Satyakama, son of Sibi, asked knowledge, the purifier and the him, ‘Venerable Sir, if a man meditate on

when one utters Om, which engages the full breath, which is the lifeprinciple, one is confessing that Brahman alone is the source of all life. Genesis II.7 narrates how God breathed life into matter and communicated his life, spirit and image and made the first man. So Om is Brahman. It is called the SabdaBrahman, as it is the only phonetic symbol of Brahman. There is no meaning (artha) without the

The word “Atman” is derived from the root “an”, which means to breathe, to live, and therefore Atman means the life-principle. Om until death, what is the world that he would attain?’ ‘O Satyakama, that which is the syllable Om is both the higher and lower Brahman. Therefore, with this support, in truth, a knower reaches one or the other ¼ with the syllable Om in truth as a support, the knower reaches that which is peaceful, immortal, unaging, fearless and supreme’” (V.1, 2 & 7). (viii) “Om Tat Sat this has been declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that were created formerly, the Brahmanas, Vedas and sacrifices. Therefore, with the utterance of ‘Om’ are the acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity, as enjoined in the scriptures, always undertaken by the followers of the Vedas” (Gita XVII.23-24). The three words ‘Om Tat Sat’ together designates the supreme Being. Each of these three words individually too indicate Brahman. (ix) “Having closed all the gates, having confined the mind in the heart, having fixed the life breath in the head, engaged

syllable Om. I am also the Zg, the Sama and the Yajur Vedas” (IX.17).

corresponding sound or name (sabda); or, every word carries a meaning. They, the idea and its name, are inseparably united. The idea of Brahman is allcomprehensive, and so is its sound symbol Om. (xii) Om is also proposed as the means to attain the supreme Reality. “Om is the bow, the soul is the arrow, the Brahman is the target. One should hit that mark with an undistracted mind, and like the arrow, become one with It” (Mundaka Up. II. 2. 3-4).

(xi) The word “Atman” is derived from the root “an”, which means to breathe, to live, and therefore Atman means the life-principle. In the Upanisadic tradition Atman is used to designate Brahman and the individual self. Brahman is the source of all life and of all breath. He communicated life into the individual self and into all living beings. As the vital force, he too is residing in the heart of all beings. So

(xiii) The syllable is also referred to as ‘Om-kara’, meaning “Om-sound”. It is also referred to as PraGava, which means, ‘that which is pronounced loudly’. (xiv) “(In the sacred sound Om) the letter “A” signifies Lord VicGu, the letter “U” signifies the goddess Laksmi, and the letter “M” refers to their servant, who is the twenty-fifth constituent, that is, the individual self” (Padma Purana).

Pallikkutam | September 2015

BEST PRACTICES

Teach-Inspire-Tranform Viswajyothi CMI Public School, Angamaly has completed 25 years of remarkable achievements. Utilizing best practices in the School for providing motivation to learn and promote success in a global world.

iswajyothi has the full-fledged notion that today’s children will need creativity, problemsolving abilities, passion for learning, dedicated work ethics and lifelong learning opportunities to survive in a new, globally competitive world. Students have the most amiable set up and best practices here to develop these abilities through excellent teaching strategies, developing thinking and problem-solving skills through active learning. In Viswajyothi, relationships are built through opportunities for communication and teamwork. Numerous luminaries are invited at different occasions and their erudition and tactics create an impression that everyone is created with abilities. In order to find out the real individual, introspection and dedication to the self is essential. Best practices are applicable to all grade levels and provide the building blocks for instruction. For example, in the morning assembly, certain verses from the scriptures are read. All the scriptures have great messages and their verses prove to be the guideline

Pallikkutam | September 2015

for an ideal life. Such practices give the day, an unusual freshness and the person who reads or hears gets a capsule of energy for the whole day.

In Viswajyothi, relationships are built through opportunities for communication and teamwork.

Best practices motivate, engage and prompt students to learn and achieve. Every day teaching in all grades educates the whole child and is based on the best knowledge of how

children develop and learn. Such teaching prepares students for success in school and in life. When it is said that School is the second home, it is not theory but practice. The care and concern to each student is returned to everyone in the same coin. In the Silver Jubilee Year, Viswajyothi has started the Samaritan Task Force. A group of students and teacher coordinators have taken initiative to start fund raising for the heart surgery of 25 school going children. This noble campaign has the motto Care, Concern, Compassion with a target of collecting 10 lakhs by way of gift coupons. The STF logo was released on August 18, 2015. There was a flash mob to give wide popularity of this among the students. Their awareness and influence have helped the speedy sale of coupons. Viswajyothi has amassed a good amount through ‘I Share.’ One rupee everyday is set apart for this. In this jubilee year, the introduction of Heartto-Heart is a best practice to help 25 school going children for their heart surgery. For this, a Kudukka (Cash Chest) was given to every student.

BEST PRACTICES Students have to put minimum one rupee per day in the Kudukka. They request their parents and also the relatives and friends who visit their houses to put some amount in this kudukka till it gets filled. Thus the small Kudukka is expected to contain an ocean of love and sympathy expressed by Viswajyothians towards the ailing needy and poor in the society. Birthday celebration of every Viswajyothian is the special occasion to contribute to charity. Charity

mouth have thus an opportunity to get aware of the harsh realities of life, understand themselves and those around them. As a mark of respect to the grandparents, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thirumulkazhchaâ&#x20AC;?, honouring of the senior citizens, is celebrated in this Onam. Viswajyothi turns to be the ancestral home and the neighbouring senior citizens are invited as the grandparents of this ancestral home. Viswajyothians that day are the children and grandchildren who enthusiastically greet them. There

the valuable awareness about the love, care and respect the grandparents deserve from their children. There are many enriched activities to promote brain growth and development. The 9 Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities of every Wednesday give ample opportunities for this. All the activities are rigorous, relevant and promoting relationships. Teachers are actively engaged with different groups giving them necessary guidelines. This enables the students to participate in various interschool events and mingle

The World of Sports in Viswajyothi is one of the marvelous practices. Training by famous coaches in different track and field events and games mould many stars. measures taken by the school are numerous. Till now around 10 lakhs have been contributed to the kidney patients and cancer patients for their treatment. The recent donation given away was an amount of Rs.10,000/- to Mr Pauly who got paralyzed in an accident. Moreover, during the Christmas season, students and teachers visit old age homes and orphanages to give the necessary articles of daily use. The students who are born with silver spoons in their

will be a grand function, purely Keralite in form, fragrance and taste, to entertain all. The ancestral home will echo with the valuable experiences of the grandparents which they have to share with Viswajyothians. They are honoured with traditional Onakkodi. A sumptuous feast, Onasadya, is prepared. Viswajyothians and the grandparents together have this Onasadya. The celebration day ends with hopes and promises to keep forever. This gives the new generation

with other talented students, sharing their experiences. The World of Sports in Viswajyothi is one of the marvelous practices. Training by famous coaches in different track and field events and games mould many stars. Swimming, Skating, Judo training and Yoga as a part of life skill are also given to those who are interested. Hosting many interschool events and participating in many enhance human relationships and provide opportunity for team work. Viswajyothi has set up a well

Pallikkutam | September 2015

BEST PRACTICES stocked library with books of classics, religious and contemporary literature, reference books and journals, CDs etc., in three languages English, Hindi and Malayalam. Project materials and books are numerous. Students are engaged and focused on their work when they come to the library during their library period. Educational publications are also there to supplement classroom learning. Every class has a small library of the

that national borders no longer define the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind that students need for success. Exact observation and learning about different cultures help reviewing learning standards, organizational structures, leadership models, teaching strategies etc. Thus we had exchange programmes with schools in Singapore, Italy and Germany which enabled to assess relative

the students, teachers and parents. All the best students of every division of each class is rewarded as a motivation. The best student is selected on the basis of academic, co-curricular performances and also based on the positive attitude and behavior to others. Learning in Viswajyothi is a joyful feeling of purposeful movement, industrious thinking and a vital and vibrant atmosphere and environment. Instead of hearing lectures only, the classrooms are activity-based spaces.

We look back to the glory of 24 years which taught us a lot and inspired to look forward to a vast and bright horizon, the impetus for us to transform into perfection. students. As a part of the school disciplinary measures and positive correction, the students who violate the school rules are instructed to contribute one book to their class library. Teachers often come and refer books to use collaborative and authentic tasks that place students at the core of the learning process. As a part of Globalization - 21st Century Skills, we have student exchange programmes. This implies

Pallikkutam | September 2015

performances and shaping the schoolimprovement plans. The Annual day and Jyothis Utsav in Viswajyothi creates active participants rather than observers. All the students from class 1 to 12 participate to showcase their multiple intelligences and talents. Two daysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; celebrations in the second week of every January with dances, dramas and other spectacular pageantries result from the rigorous, relevant and days long hard work of

All classrooms have excellent, resource filled, interactive smart boards where students get access to the vast treasure house of knowledge and experience. This Silver Jubilee Year with its dictum TEACH-INSPIRE-TRANFORM is a milestone. We look back to the glory of 24 years which taught us a lot and inspired to look forward to a vast and bright horizon, the impetus for us to transform into perfection.

CONTOURS OF CHANGE

Preparing for a world without permanent jobs Joe A Scaria

e seem to be at a juncture in history where two contrasting situations have come to head, namely a growing craze to launch start-ups, alongside a continued craving for permanent jobs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ideally in the government sector.

appeared for an examination held by the Kerala Public Service Commission for 1,500 opening of assistants in the state secretariat. Of course, it was a logistical nightmare for the state government-run recruiter, having to hold the examination across

wanting to take the plunge into the unknown, and others longing for the safety offered by job permanency â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is only natural to think of a golden mean in between.

The contours of change happening around the world do not seem to Start-ups seem clearly suggest to be the flavor This craving for government jobs among Kerala that the future belongs to the on campuses youth was underlined most recently in May this risk-takers or it across Kerala, and they year when half a million candidates appeared would be wiser certainly are a to take up a for an examination held by the Kerala Public boon for the permanent job industryin a topsy-turvy Service Commission for 1,500 opening of world. Instead, starved state assistants in the state secretariat. the future to address the employment seems likely to more than 2,000 centres, and even challenges for its youth. Many of the be a world of repeated disruptions having to outsource some of the start-ups tend to meet with a quick where constant upgradation of skills is the best option for everyone, end, but that is part of a bargain which supervision work. When there are particularly employees. promises the society a good number of companies and jobs if The unending waves of even a small percentage of startdisruptions that have ups finally bloom and bear fruit. redefined the automobile While the great start-up rush over the past century is gathers momentum, there sufficient to bring out the illusion of permanency of parallely runs the traditional jobs. yearning among Keralites for a safe, permanent job, ideally in In our part of the world, government. bullock-carts once This craving for government monopolized the dirt-track jobs among Kerala youth was roads, until the car came significant numbers at both ends of along. And what an upheaval it has underlined most recently in May this the aspiration spectrum â&#x20AC;&#x201C; those been over the past two decades with year when half a million candidates

Pallikkutam | September 2015

CONTOURS OF CHANGE electronics outshining mechanical engineering as the core aspect of cars, and driverless cars ready to make their debut on roads within perhaps five years.

bullock-cart drivers experienced when cars appeared on the roads, and what boat rowers experienced when bridges connected the banks of rivers across our state and cars sped over them.

Along the way, even the manner in which transportation services are organized have also changed. To begin with, car owners used their vehicles exclusively for their own commuting. Then came carpooling, followed recently by the likes of Uber and Ola that have shaken the global taxi business by its foundations.

On the face of it, permanency of jobs in future looks as short-lived as the morning mist. In many of the large technology companies of the world, employees are encouraged to shift seats and roles at least every six months. If they are unable to, they may be getting stale on the job, they are told.

Consider how the job scenario around the transportation business underwent change. No trace is left of the tens of thousands of bullock-cart drivers who

What does such a scenario of unending disruption suggest? That permanent jobs in which employees can complete more than three decades and then retire would be far too much to expect in future. In fact, very few companies are

Taxi companies are now feeling the heat as apps like Uber are connecting travelers and cars. And once driverless cars hit the roads, who can expect permanency in a job like driving? once captained cargo and passenger transportation in the state. Taxi companies are now feeling the heat as apps like Uber are connecting travelers and cars. And once driverless cars hit the roads, who can expect permanency in a job like driving? If that is what is happening in just one area of human life with regard to the jobs in that sector, consider what video on demand is doing to theatres, what online shopping is doing to brick-and-mortar shops, online media and citizen journalism are doing to traditional newspapers, and what mobile transactions are soon going to do to banks. Employees in each of these sectors are presently going through the pain that

Pallikkutam | September 2015

likely to last that long in future as technology continues its disruptive progress. For teacher, banker, trainer, engineer or whatever one chooses to be, a constant cycle of learning, unlearning, and relearning new skills appears to be norm for the future. All of a sudden, the centuries-old saying that oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education never ends appears to be painfully true as there appears to be no job where one can settle into and continue in for ever after. Think of the short service commissions in the armed forces. Even for the company executive, such bursts of employment are likely to be the 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 norm soon. 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 The author is former Senior Assistant Editor of 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 The Economic Times. He is presently Director, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 Management Development Centre of the Amal 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirapally. 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890

SPORTS

Adieu, Sangakkara... K

and skills, for the cult status he has umar Sangakkara, the genial, career, which falls a decade short of self-effacing Sri Lankan, finally achieved in his country. what Tendulkar managed. stepped aside from the arc What do we remember of Sangakkara? In his first year in Test cricket, he lights. It wasn’t supposed to end like Statistically, he is a marvel, almost as averaged 33.31 without a single this but that didn’t stop the crowd at P good as the best. Sangakkara wasn’t a century. His ODI start was even Sara Oval from getting to their feet and child prodigy but as he left the P Sara slower. In the first three years (2000applauding a champion who walked 2003), he averaged into the sunset just 28.55 with a one last time. Sangakkara wasn’t a child prodigy but as he strike rate of 69.39 There were and just two left the P Sara Oval, he had 28,016 tears and some hundreds. That he were finished with mindinternational runs to his name trailing only inconsolable as boggling statistics Kumar Sachin Tendulkar in terms of the most is a testament to Sangakkara the hard work he international runs scored in the trudged back to has put in over the the pavilion history of the game. years. What after scoring 18. strikes one is that That’s the kind of legacy Sangakkara Oval, he had 28,016 international runs Sangakkara’s batting, unlike most of has left behind in Sri Lankan and world to his name - trailing only Sachin his peers and past greats of his Tendulkar in terms of the most cricket. The ending wasn’t as sad as country, was not built on muscular that painful 96-ball 45 in World Cup at international runs scored in the history strength. Much like his teammate of the Sydney Cricket Ground but he of the game. He is also the only long standing, Mahela Jayawardene, deserved a better one. It speaks of the batsman to feature in the top 10 in he was light on his feet, nimble in his terms of runs, average and centuries in movements and played strokes with man and what he stood for – as a Test cricket. Having played 66 Tests player and as a person – that despite soft touches. There was no trace of fewer than Tendulkar, Sangakkara is his phenomenal batting average, he brute force behind his elegant strokes. walked into the sunset without too not too far behind him in the number of It was just like his public persona – much of a fuss. runs scored. Where he obviously is under-stated, yet so effective that the too far behind is in the longevity of his end result always left a deep impact on Sangakkara’s own speech was the fortunes of his team. His last few reflecting the personality of a years have been so outstanding that man who seemed to be he is just behind the Great Don in the thanking his destiny number of double hundreds scored. more than his Not that statistics alone can decide the own efforts quality of a player, but in Sangakkara’s case, he stood the test of any scrutiny – be it the quality of his elegant strokeplay, his iron-willed temperament and his appetite for runs, and centuries.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

SPORTS

Kumar Sangakkara K

umar Chokshanada Sangakkara was born on October 27, 1977 in Matale, the youngest in a family of four. He grew up in Kandy, Sri Lanka’s hillcountry capital, his family house overlooking the town’s lake and close to the Tennis Club, a favourite hideout in his childhood. His father, Kshema, also a keen sportsman (who still assiduously analyses his son’s game and offers advice), was an eminent lawyer and a very wellrespected member of the local community. His deep love of literature, law, philosophy and art was adopted by his children, all of whom were encouraged to pursue a broad-based education. The family has a strong educational background with his sister, Thushari, completing a degree at the University of Peradeniya, and his elder brother, Vemendra, completing a degree at Monash University. His other sister, Saranga, was a national tennis champion and played tennis for Brown University in the United States. She completed a fashion degree, worked as a business analyst for Pricewaterhouse Coopers and now lives in Los Angeles. Kumar has played cricket from the age of seven years and started playing first-class cricket in the season of 1997/98.

Pallikkutam | September 2015

the highest partnership in Test history. He also kept wickets for most The elegant left-handed batsman part of his career and has taken 182 played 134 Tests, amassing 12,400 runs catches and effected 20 stumpings in at an average of 57.40, which makes the five-day format. Sangakkara also him Sri Lanka’s most prolific batsman captained Sri Lanka for two years and fifth on the list of highest scorers from 2009 and stepped down after of all time in Test cricket. taking his team to the final of the 50Among batsmen with 5000-plus Test over World Cup held in the Indian runs, only Don Bradman (99.94), Ken subcontinent. Barrington (58.67), Wally Hammond ODI Career (58.45) and Gary Sobers (57.78) have better averages. Sangakkara played 404 one-day internationals since his 2000 debut, scoring 14,234 runs with a highest score of 169. Only Sachin Tendulkar of India (18,426) has scored more runs in the 50-over format. He has scored 25 hundreds and 93 halfcenturies in ODIs at an average of almost 42. Sangakkara retired from the 50-over format after the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. He won two 50over World Cup runners-up medals, Also read: 10 quotes that best describe in 2007 and 2011. He was part of the Kumar Sangakkara 2014 Twenty20 World Cup-winning Sangakkara has registered 38 Test squad and retired from the shorted hundreds and finished one short of format of the game after the victory Australian great Donald Bradman’s against India in Dhaka. Sangakkara record 12 double centuries. He also made 1,382 runs from 56 Twenty20 has 52 half-centuries in this format. In Internationals at an average of 31.40. 2006, Sangakkara hit 287 and added a He was a member of the Sri Lanka staggering 624 runs for the third wicket touring team in Pakistan that was with good mate Mahela Jayawardene attacked by gunmen in 2009. against South Africa in Colombo for Test Career

RAINBOW

The funny aspects of English language

Tas Jawaharlal Nehru

Contrary to the perception that English is a difficult language, there are some funny elements in English which will kindle the curiosity in learners.

nglish is an interesting language once you understand the different nuances of the language. Words denoting animals are commonly used in “Noun” forms only and readers also come across the same. In this blog, I present Words like “Dog”, “Squirrel”& “Wolf” in verbal forms and their usage.

Meaning:

1.) Let’s Start with A Dog:

3.) The last but not the least is “Wolf”

The word “Dog” can be used in two different verbal contexts.

This word is used in a rather idiomatic context.

a.) to follow somebody closely (e.g) Bad luck is dogging my efforts from the start.

To consume (food) quickly and without regard for table manners.

b.) not giving up easily

(e.g) Richard wolfed down all the sandwiches.

(e.g) I was impressed by his dogged determination to succeed.

Contrary to the perception that English is a difficult language, there are some funny elements in English which will kindle the curiosity in learners. This article is my small step towards that direction. 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789

2).The Second word is “Squirrel” The word “squirrel” is used in a negative context.

To store in a secretive manner, to hide something for future use. (e.g) The thief has squirreled away all the things that he has stolen.

Meaning:

1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789 The author is English and soft-skills trainer, Laagoon 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789 English Educational Academy, Coimbatore. 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789

Pallikkutam | September 2015

RAINBOW

Sudoku 08

Sudoku 07 - Answer

Classroom Jokes

Send your classroom jokes to editor@rajagirimedia.com

Pallikkutam | September 2015

REFLECTIONS

From receiving to giving mode

Jose Panthaplamthottiyil

We always look for the opportunity to make money for ourselves. But there are also people who are in the giving mode like Danny Thomas was.

anny Thomas (1914-1991) was an American comedian who was popular not only in Hollywood movies but also in television. He was born of Lebanese parents in Deerfield Michigan. The name his parents gave to Thomas was Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz. However, when he entered the world of entertainment he changed his name to Amos Jacobs. Later he changed his name to Danny Thomas. Thomas was a popular actor as well as a successful television producer. His success in the world of entertainment made him wealthy. However, he did not squander his money for enjoying the pleasures of life. Instead he set apart his wealth for building up a hospital for children. That is how he started St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in 1962. Of course, there were his rich friends like Lemuel Diggs and Anthony Abraham to help him found the hospital. Thomas founded St. Jude Hospital with a vision that ‘no child should die in the dawn of life.’ This hospital is now famous for treating children with cancer. When the hospital was founded in 1962 the survival rate among cancer affected children was only 20%. However, at present 80% of all the cancer affected children who take treatment in this hospital survive the disease. Moreover, no child is denied admission and treatment on financial grounds. In fact, if the parents are poor the hospital also provides financial support for them as long as

cause? The focus of the majority of people will be to make their life secure and comfortable with the newly found wealth. They may not even remember to give away some of their wealth to the less fortunate people in society. It is interesting to note that most of us are always in the receiving mode. We almost always look for the opportunity to make money for ourselves. But it is important to remember that there are also people who are always in the giving mode like Danny Thomas was. Some of the best examples of people in the giving mode are Bill Gates of Microsoft, American business magnate Warren Buffett, and Azim Premji of Wipro. The money we make now may not be even sufficient for our daily needs. However, we also need to shift from the receiving mode to the However, in 1995 someone sent $1 giving mode occasionally not only to million in the form of a winning ticket help the less fortunate ones among us which he received while participating but also to enjoy the joy and peace in a promotion campaign of the giant that come with it. It is with this food-chain McDonald’s. The intention the 92nd Street Y in New York, surprising thing is that it was sent by which is a cultural institution, and the the winner by ordinary post to St. Jude United Nations Foundation together Hospital and the hospital received it started a movement in 2012 to without being lost in transit. celebrate a national day of giving. It is According to the original rules and known as ‘Giving Tuesday’ which is regulations of McDonald’s it was not celebrated on the Tuesday after the allowed to transfer the winning ticket Thanksgiving Celebrations in the US to anyone. However, they made an which is always on the fourth exception to their rules and gave the Thursday in November. money to the hospital in 20 yearly Yes, it is important that all of us shift installments. Suppose we receive an from the receiving mode to the giving enormous amount of money through mode as often as possible. When it inheritance or profits in our business happens it will not only make others or through lottery. What will we do with all that money? Will we ever think happy but it will also make us happy more than ever before. of contributing some of it to a good the child receives treatment in the hospital. Every year an average of 7,800 children receive treatment at this hospital. With more than 3,600 employees the hospital’s daily operating costs exceed more than $2 million. And all this money is raised through the generosity of ordinary people.

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