Whenever You Fall, Pick Up Something

Whenever You Fall, Pick Up Something

Human beings, the only inhabitants of the world who tried to gasp the forces of nature, who tried to control these forces, who tried to produce similar artificial forces, once again proved to be a big zero. Nature along with fate- an unrevealed mystery for man- made man the loser. He lost his possessions including his beloved ones.

Man is always after luxury. His luxurious living constantly diverts his thoughts and makes him careless. Our ancestors granted us the knowledge that we can see bubbles along with tides before the giant killer- waves. This is a signal given by nature. But who bothers about these signals. If we are not able to analyze things in the right manner at the right time or if we are not able to foresee the possible disasters that could take millions of innocent lives, it is time to ask probing questions about the utility of scientific progress.

We know that Tsunami struck on 23rd August 1883 and 22nd May 1960. Then it is man’s carelessness which made him ignore the possibilities of another Tsunami, which could come anywhere at any time. All natural calamities remind us that we should always be aware of the natural disasters which are uncontrollable and which still remain a complete mystery to man.

If we ever tried to foresee disasters which could come to our brothers and sisters we would control the massacre by Tsunami to a great extent through safety awareness classes. But now in a world of competition, who thinks of others and their sufferings? All are in a mood to find out more pleasures and to be in a wonder land. But the mighty sword of nature reminds us year after year that we are nothing.

Presently, all humanity conveys their condolesens to the victims. It is our duty to wipe their tears and give them the inspiration to live. It’s we who should support them. Watch out! It may be our family and our relatives who may have to suffer next time. Let us give the afflicted the emotional support they need the only effective support which could bring them back to normal life. Let them be comforted by the hope that those who have lost their lives might be enjoying divine bliss in Heaven.

Practice in life these words ‘whenever you fall, pick up something’. Having seen all these calamities let’s pledge to work hard to keep the balance in nature, to protest against any activity in the name of development which would spoil our beautiful nature. This might help to reduce natural calamities which burst out when nature tries to rearrange itself to accommodate the changes made by man and by the passage of time. Let us bear in mind the wise saying “the virtue of adversity is fortitude” or “sweet are the uses of adversity” and do something constructive.

Article by: Treesa Angel, St. Teresa’s College

Peace

Peace

“Peace rules the day, where reason rules the mind.”

In today’s world, which is dominated by materialism and consumerism pride, ego and selfishness get prime spot as peace is pushed into the background. The perspectives of peace are also different to different nations and individuals. This also creates problems. If Iraq war was fought ostensibly in the name of peace, it only created chaos in that country. This proves that the search for peace needs a broader understanding of peace and the use of a nonviolent method to achieve it.

Peace does not breed in an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust, so mutual understanding and trust is prerequisite to peace. Peace making is usually perceived in the narrow sense of diplomacy and relationship between nations. The pervasive element of peace makes it a unifying force. Development happens when there is peace. So achieving peace is of extreme importance to every human being, in the realization of his potential.

Some say that the ultimate peace is elusive. Since every individual is different in his outlook and interests, there will always be conflicts. But this view gives us a notion that yearning for peace is futile. But only the existence of peace has made the survival of human race possible. So the choice for peace is a choice for life and its survival. To quote Pope John XXIII:

“We supplicate all rulers not to remain deaf to the cry of mankind. Let them do everything in their power to save peace. By so doing, they will spare the world the horrors of a war that would have disastrous consequences, such as nobody can foresee,”

Article by: Josna George,St.Teresa’s College

A Kiss Is.........

A Kiss Is.........

Teacher of Geometry : A kiss is the shortest distance between two points.
Teacher of Algebra : A kiss is divided by nothing.
Teacher of Physiology : A kiss is the contraction of mouth due to the expansion of the heart.
Teacher of Chemistry : A kiss is the reaction of the interaction between two hearts.
Teacher of Zoology : A kiss is the interchange of universal salivary bacteria.
Teacher of Accountancy : A kiss is a credit because it is profitable when returned.
Teacher of Economics : A kiss is the thing for which the demand is higher than supply.
Teacher of Philosophy : A kiss is persecution for the child, ecstasy for the youth and
homage for the old.

Article By: Cismol P Mathew, St.Teresa’s College

Live Out Your Dreams

Live Out Your Dreams

We sometimes come across phases when life seems engulfed in a mire of doubt and bleakness. Nothing seems to work well for us and the roads we take lead us nowhere. We gaze hopelessly at the life of great souls and wonder how they got to be what they are. Perhaps, we reason to ourselves, we have been born at the wrong time, at the wrong place, to the wrong parents, to the wrong world… Some feel thwarted by the situations in our country. Why don’t our countrymen be more open minded? Why don’t opportunities knock at my door? The list of ‘why don’ts and ‘how comes’ is endless. But let us reflect for a moment the significance of our self. We are, whether we believe it or not, a part of a greater plan of God. We have been born where we are, to carry out some goal which is part of the Universe. True that we to get lost sometimes. But, being cogs of the wheel we cannot afford to derail the whole plan. Then how do we derive inspiration to move forward and accept life for what it is? We can learn to do it by reading the map of our lives. The omens that God strews on the path will reveal themselves to every open mind. Hope, that last element in Pandora’s Box, is what makes man’s life worth living.

Ask any psychologist what works wonders in a man’s life and they will inevitably point out a positive attitude. This can be cultivated only if we are alert to the language of the Heart. A great source of inspiration is books. Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of the readers forever. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is an unsurpassed example of such a work. The philosophy is simple yet pregnant with truth: it is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting, Santiago, an Andalusia shepherd boy yearns to travel across the world. He hopes to find a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain, he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and into the Egyptian desert, where a fateful encounter with the alchemist awaits him. The alchemist teaches the boy very many valuable lessons which every human can appreciate. The greatest lesson is that we have to listen to our heart. The heart knows all things because it came from the soul of the world. Whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it is because that desire originated in the soul. The entire universe conspires in helping you achieve it. To read omens is also very essential for the realization of our goals. To understand these God sent impulses or stimuli we need to take time out for ourselves (refer to one of those famous Oprah Winfred shows aired on star world). A little quiet and peace, a few moments of solitude can do wonders in revealing our true purpose in life.

Many of the problems the present age faces can be traced to the lack of connection humans feel with nature, the greater world around him. The only secret to happiness is to see all the marvels of the world. Another realization that ought to seep into our being is that the soul is not just a human gift; everything on the face of the earth has a soul, whether mineral, vegetable or animal- evens a simple thought. Remember those immortal lines of Blake in Auguries of Innocence:

“To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour”

An hour spent for a walk on a beach early morning or late evening, a glorious vision of the sunrise or sunset, moments spent just watching the changing colours of the trackless sky, a walk through the forest taking in it sounds and sights, observing the love in the eye of your loved ones (even the faithful pet dog or any other animal will do, believe me!) or even a few moments up on the terrace of one’s own house watching the flitting butterflies, birds and clouds can be moments of everlasting glory. These eternal moments with nature will reveal to us slowly the ways of attaining our goal. These are moments when God speaks o us. Let us remember Anne Frank’s words in her diary:
Wed 23 Feb 1944,

As long as this exists; this sunshine and this cloudless sky, and as long as I can enjoy it, how can I be sad? The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside; some where they can be alone, alone with the sky, nature and God. For then and only then can you feel that everything’s is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy?
Such a harmony with the elements around us can work wonders in transforming our lives. Coelho was right when he wrote that life is really generous to those who pursue their destiny. Our heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say.

Article by: V.Gayalakshmi,St. Teresa’s College

Automobiles: Enemies Of Earth

Automobiles: Enemies Of Earth

Whenever I see the tempting ads of automobiles, the terrifying picture of global warming comes to my mind. These machines from the day of their birth till they reach the junkyard are the enemies of our beautiful planet. As comfort has become an indispensable part of modern life, one cannot now think of a life-style without these dangerous machines. New models of cars with added comfort and greater fuel consumption hit the street every day. When the temptation to purchase a car grips us, we never think of the harm these machines do to the environment. By owing a car we contribute to the destruction of our wonderful earth.

Fossil fuel excavation, increase in the production of vehicles, and the growth of industry have been going on at a rapid rate for the past few decades. In the name of development we have been exploiting natural resources without any thought of the damage this will cause. Atmospheric pollution has been increasing at an alarming rate. Now we have reached a stage of irreversible changes in the environment. The greatest threat that is looming large in the present century is the problem of global warming.

Global warming is a phenomenon which is going to endanger the survival of human beings on the earth. It can result in the rising if sea level all over the world due to the melting of snow in the arctic region. The changes in regional climate could alter forest, crop yields and water supplies. The evil effects of this cannot be fully predicted now. It may be more terrifying than we predict now.

Global warming is caused by the increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and other green house gases in the atmosphere. The concentration of these gases in the atmosphere will trap the radiation from the sun and will result in increasing atmospheric temperature. The earth’s surface temperature has risen in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. We have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of green house gases, primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface, in turn; the earth radiates the energy back into space. Atmospheric green house gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a green house. Without this natural “greenhouse effect,” temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases. Direct manifestations of a wide spread and long-term trend toward warmer global temperatures will result in heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather, ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding, glaciers melting and Arctic and Antarctic warming. A continued warming may bring many communicable diseases, earlier spring arrival, plant and animal range shifting and population changes, downpours, heavy snowfalls, flooding, drought and fire.

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%; methane concentrations have more than doubled; and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earth’s atmosphere. As a result the snow covers in the Northern Hemisphere and floating ice in the Arctic Ocean have decreased. Globally, sea level has risen 4-8 inches over the past century. All these are clear indications that it is time for action; otherwise we will have to pay a great price for our inactivity.

It is a crime to think: “we don’t care, we are now safe.” The problem of global warming may sound unreal to those who are not aware of the enormity of the danger. If we do not preserve our wonderful earth for our future generations who else will do it? Many nations have become aware of this and as a result the singing of Kyoto Treaty has taken place. The Kyoto Protocol went into effect on Wednesday 16 February 2005. Its 141 member nations have to cut emissions of the greenhouse gases linked to climate change. But there are certain debatable issues that are still remaining. Will Europe and Japan, which must make deep cuts in their emissions under the treaty, be able to do so without hurting their economics? Will the U.S. government, which pulled out of the protocol in 2001, continue to oppose the international negotiations on climate change? And will the automobile companies make cuts in operations and remain satisfied with lesser profit? Many questions are still unanswered, but one thing is sure that this is a positive move in the right direction. In this dehumanizing age this gives a ray of hope for the humanity.

President George Bush has decided not to sign Kyoto Treaty saying that it will affect their economy. But even in the U.S.A. there are people who are aware of the problem and the placards, “To Humanity, hey George, Sign Kyoto” that have appeared before the White House are a clear indication of their feelings. One should remember the fact the U.S.A. is one of the nations which is causing the maximum amount of atmospheric pollution. In the United States, approximately 6.6 tons of greenhouse gases are emitted per person have increased about 3.4% between 1990and 1997. Most of these emissions, about 82%, are from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity and also to power their cars. The remaining emissions are from methane from waters in their landfills, natural gas pipelines, and coal, as well as from industrial chemicals and other sources.

Fortunately, we can take action to slowdown global warming. To reduce the emission of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides, we can curb our consumption of fossil fuels, use technologies that reduce the amount of emissions wherever possible, and protect the world’s forests. We can also introduce new technology to mitigate the impacts of global warming. Through careful long-term planning and other strategies we can reduce global warming. Many people in European countries are switching over to public transport systems rather than using cars. The use of automobiles has been discouraged or controlled in some of the campuses in Europe.

Clearly, global warming is a serious problem that deserves serious attention. Every-one governments, industry, communities and individuals should work together to make a real difference. If we are convinced of its effects then we should also shoulder the responsibility to fight against it and also to make others aware of its massive effects. If we don’t show enough interest in it then we are doing a crime against the human race. The awareness and remedy should go hand in hand and should create a wonderful world to live in. We should advocate policies that will reduce global warming and should think of alternative fuels for our vehicles, find renewable energy sources and stop cutting valuable forests. If these things can be done, then the earth will become the most beautiful place to live in.

Article by: Lima Antony,St. Teresa’s College

Reel Culture V/S Real Culture

Reel Culture V/S Real Culture

Think twice before you go for a movie. Which would you prefer- a Bollywood or a Hollywood one? With the content remaining the same both offer you loads of crap in the name of wholesome entertainment. In the dream factory of Bollywood, aspirations are being fulfilled, even as more are born every second. In a nation of a billion fantasies there is always a new star in the making. The new age actors are ready to go to any extent for the character to be safe in their hands.

Indian movies are no longer ambassadors of Indian culture. With directors trying hard to draw a line between the aesthetic and the vulgar, Indian movies seem to be deteriorating in quality day by day. Gone are the days when film makers made movies for the satisfaction of their creativity. Today’s film makers make movies for fame and wealth. If any of you, the wannabe actors read this article let me illustrate what you should do to be a part of the crowd. Criterion no: 1 is that you should be a director’s actor, the director will tune your system clock and you have to perform. If you try to register your protest it will be considered as an act of interference on your part as there is a thin line between passion and interference. Indian movies are neither at Cannes nor at the prestigious Oscars. They are exclusively the ‘MADE IN INDIA’ brand meant for titillating Indian audiences. Why would the jury prefer Indian movies for Hollywood ones? The movies featured at Cannes and Oscars are typical of different cultures. The actors seemed to have lost the appetite to explore the unexplored realms of cinema. The Indian entertainment industry has lost its credibility, sensibility and sensitivity.

With banal talk shows and phone-in programmes the situation in the TV-industry is no different. The attractive youth who picks up the phone never forgets to ‘welcome’ you and ‘Thank you’ for calling. Cinemas rather than becoming a medium of social change are trying to promote a new culture among the youth. Premarital sex, live-in relationships or divorce were taboo for the middle class a decade ago, but today’s youth gracefully approves all that.

News channels carry tales of sleazy actions caught on camera. Spy cameras are omnipresent and omniscient causing havoc not only to people at work places but also to politicians, housewives and executives who get caught red-handed. From a multicultural society India seems to have transformed itself into a monoculture one which is in sync with the western world. The work of Indians should be a celebration of Indianans. The private domain has become public spectacle with formatted reality shows, 24 hours news, eternally remixed videos and endless film promos. The line between real and reel is no longer distinct. With the urge to emerge on the international scenes Indians seem to have divorced Indian culture.

Article by: Neethi Jayakrishnan,St. Teresa’s College

The Black Sunday

The Black Sunday

It was a peaceful Sunday and the streets wore a tired look after the just concluded Christmas celebrations. As the sun rose slowly spreading its rays of joy, the people too woke up to welcome the day with a bright smile-as mile never to come back to their faces.
December 26, 2004 will forever remain etched in the world’s collective consciousness as massive ocean waves triggered by an undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra ravaged almost half a dozen of the littoral countries of the Indian Ocean. Nature’s ferocity in the form of Tsunami, which returned to devastate after a gap of around 60 years, plunged the whole region in shock and grief. It has brought the world to a screeching halt to take cognizance of the fact that nothing is predictable.
The earthquake, which recorded a whopping 8.9 on the Richter scale-the fifth largest since the beginning of the 21st century-was a foretaste of things to come. Within minutes, the earthquake unleashed a devastating Tsunami as high as 6 meters, which first hit the coasts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Maldives. These spreading walls of water took more than one hour to reach India and Sri Lanka to wreak havoc across the coastal areas of this region, cutting a swathe of destruction and death. The Tsunami though a rare phenomenon in the South Asian region set everybody pondering over its occurrence.
Tsunami, a Japanese word meaning harbor wave, is a silent wave generated when the sea floor is ruptured by seismic action thereby displacing the overlying water in the ocean. These waves cannot be felt aboard ships nor can they be seen from the air in the open ocean. But as the Tsunami approaches the coastal waters, the long waves pile on one another thereby attaining a mammoth size, which lashes the shore devouring the entire region.
The calamitous effect of such an unprecedented catastrophe is unimaginable. The victims of this tragedy were mostly poor people, on account of the proximity of their houses to the sea. People taking a stroll on the beaches, vendors gearing themselves for a busy ahead, fisher folk just back from their fishing ventures, tourists rejuvenating themselves in the cool fresh air of a Sunday morning and trying to feel the tickle of water on their feet, children taking positions on their regular playground… they were all swept away by these gigantic waves which turned the whole place into a ghost town. And what remained was debris of bodies lying strewn in an undignified manner, destroyed catamarans and fishing vessels. Cars and motorbikes lifted by the waves lay mangled. Where once stood fragile huts and sturdy buildings dotting the beach, today one can see nothing but a wasteland.
No sooner had the news of the cataclysm come out than the government was quick in reacting to the situation by ordering the state governments and other officials to roll up their sleeves and start the relief operations. But for those who lost their rays of hope, it will take more than relief measures to expunge the memories of that black day.

Article by: S. Gopika Gopakumar,St.Teresa’s College

'Discrimination' It Starts From The Womb

'Discrimination' It Starts From The Womb

It is agreed by all that man and woman are different. In addition to the differences in physiology they also differ in their thoughts and sensibilities. But these differences have been conveniently termed by society as gender inequalities. Gender inequalities are prevalent in societies which are patriarchal. A patriarchal society is one in which men are privileged over women. Feminists argue that societies all over the world are patriarchal. Thus gender inequality is a world-wide phenomenon.

In a patriarchal society, women are discriminated against and are subjugated. This discrimination starts right from or even before the birth of a child. Female infanticide is quite common now, especially in rural areas. The female fetus is eliminated in the womb itself. Nobel laureate Prof. Amartya Sen. calls female feticide ‘the high-tech’ mode of discrimination. Technology is used by man so as to eliminate the female fetus. Though pre-natal sex determination has been made illegal, this continues to take place followed by the abortion of the female fetus. This has led to the alarming reduction in the sex ratio (Which is the number of female per male). This makes the life of women even more dangerous as their exploitation will increase. In certain rural areas of north India, there is such a scarcity of women that women are bought from neighboring villages. These women are used by all the men in the family. The price of a woman is Rs.2000 there; a buffalo costs as much as Rs.5000. This is the ugly state of affairs to which the world is rapidly moving.

Even during childhood, the female child suffers. She is given less food than her brother, leading to malnutrition. In rural areas, it is considered useless to send a girl child to school. Instead she is trained to become a housewife while her brothers are sent to school. Even if a girl child is sent to school, higher education is often denied to her.

Marriage and child bearing are presented as the focal pints of a woman’s life. The girls are constantly schooled in the thought that they do not belong to their house. They are trained to give priority to the needs of others and ignore theirs. All this assists in their subjugation.
Even professional women suffer from inequality. Often higher posts in employment are denied to them. Furthermore many women do not go for promotions as they have to think of their family. Promotions invariably mean transfers. So in order to be with their family, women often sacrifice their desires for professional advancement. Furthermore, life of the working woman is all the more difficult since she is expected to balance her profession with her family life.
Though gender inequality is said to be more prevalent in South Asia, it is present even in the advanced countries of the world. Many South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Srilanka, have had, or even now have female heads of government. But this has not been the case with other advanced countries.

Coming back to the position of women in a patriarchal set up, this is where women are most discriminated against. Women occupy a pivotal role in the family in such a society, but it is the men who dominate. Right from childhood, a definite code of conduct binds the women. Their talents and capabilities are suppressed in the interest of men’s ego.
Amartya Sen. also points to the consequences of discrimination against the girl child. Nutritional discrimination leads to severe malnutrition in girls. When later in life, these girls become mothers, this affects their children too. The children are often born underweight. Studies link many adult diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart problems to the low weight and severe malnutrition during childhood. Thus in the end, men suffer more than women due to the discrimination against women which seems to come back like a boomerang and haunt them with a vengeance.

Violence against women is also on the rise. Often the oppressors go unpublished. The times are so bad that neither a small girl nor an old woman is safe. Society is more interested in victimizing the woman than in punishing the oppressors.

Different aspects of gender inequality have been eliminated-But some are still on the rise. Women from the corner stone of human civilization. It is essential that she be treated equal with man. Furthermore, she should be respected for what she is. Feminists argue that the difference between man and woman is one of kind and not of degree. It is high time both men and women realize the exploitation of women and provide a discrimination free existence for them.

Article by: Asha Antony,St.Teresa’s College

The Mirror That Cracked

The Mirror That Cracked

Staring at my reflection in the cracked mirror I wondered about the fate that had conspired against me. I wondered why that overpowering benevolence which some call God gave me this loveless existence. Tears streaked away the cheap powder on my cheeks. Quickly I redid my make up but even my best efforts couldn’t hide the pain, misery & hunger in my eyes.

Bright red lipstick, low cut chollies and pleated lehangas can no longer attract customers in the old age. Sitting alone in the verandah in the cobbled street I slowly slipped back to my reminiscences…. So sweet… yet so bitter…

I feel my biggest misfortune was being born into a family of overachievers. My Dad was a prosperous business man in his sixties. In my eyes he was a charmer, a creature as vile as a snake, never to miss an opportunity to make illegal thousands in shady deals. Appropriately his favorite axiom was ‘The end justifies the means’.

Mom, who ought to be synonym for love and sacrifice, was to me like the rude step mothers in fiction. My Mom was an alien in my life; she was no more than a visitor in home. High society world of glitz and glamour was her home and hearth. To my dad she was another trophy to be shown off before others.

My sister was always busy either winning beauty pageants or scholarships. I always watched with amusement tinged with jealousy at the number of boys who queued at her feet ready to slay dragons for her.

I always felt like an intruder in this family. While my sister was stunning I was just a plain Jane. I had neither beauty nor brains neither charm nor charisma. Once I openly heard my dad remark to his friends that I was his little mistake. His friends roared with laughter.

Love seemed like a forbidden fruit to me. The harder I tried the farther it seemed to be. Even God seemed to be playing a joke with me. I was always afraid of dreams. In my dreams I saw people loving me, a family loving me. Everything was beautiful and everywhere I found love. I dreaded waking into the cruel reality. I had shed tears late into the night for love. In those hours I seriously contemplated if my existence was really a mistake.

I vividly remember the day I left home. I had not planned it before. It just happened. Servants had retired to their quarters. Bored of watching. T.V. alone, I loitered to my parent’s room. On a sudden impulse I opened the bed side drawer. I was more than surprised when I took my mother’s diary from it. I never knew she had even kept one. Flipping through the pages I realized, not for the first time, that she was ashamed of me…..ashamed of being seen with me…. Ashamed of being known as my mother….ashamed of giving birth to me….

Though I had sensed it before, reading it from my Mom’s diary written in her own hand was a blow from which I never recovered. I knew then that hopping things would look up one day was akin to my unattainable dreams about love.

Looking back, I don’t remember much about the ensuing events. I left home penniless, walked to the bus stand in mild rain and my drenched clothes attracted a lot of hungry stares. I got into the first bus I saw. Somebody bought me a ticket and some food which I later realized had been drugged.

I found myself in this brothel when I woke up. My body was badly battered and bruised. Here I saw women shed all pretences of dignity, displaying their ample wares to get a mouthful of food a day. Like me the others here don’t know what love is.They foolishly craved for it once, and like me had left home in pursuit of it and found themselves here. So I am home….in a sense…lost among loveless souls….

Big isolated raindrops wake me from my stupor. No sign of customers…another day without food. Slowly…sadly I retreated to my hovel…nobody is there waiting for me…I am wedded to loneliness and poverty. Yet I thrive in pursuit of love…because I am in love with love.

Article by: Sherbin Salim,St.Teresa’s College

A Mobile Phone

A Mobile Phone

‘Necessity is the mother of invention’

This relevant proverb has been always a spark to ignite the fire of development. Men from the Stone Age to the modern 21st century have been inventing things for their needs. And the remarkable notification is that the invention made according to the necessity are for advanced by modernized and modified in accordance to ones comfort and facility. Mobile phone is one such device that boomed into the modern society with dramatic changes. The invention of Telephone by Alexander Graham bell in the 19th century was the stepping stone to the world of distant communication.

The 19th century telephones were coded signals send across short distances through fiber wires that passed through everything that was tall, to the communicator. During the 20th century fiber wires were replaced by telephone cables that passed across large distances and connected many people. The trunk calls of the initial stages were liberalized and more extensive. By the end of the 20th century advance telephone networks were established all over the world. One could speak for a very long distance no matter which part the belonged as long as there were telephone networks. Telephone cables travelled long distances on pole posts, underground and even under water making a very large network of communication.

Man is always a glutton and wants more than his needs and works for his greed’s. The modernized busy living people began realizing that telephones had became a knot in their lives. One could not communicate without being near a telephone connection. Travelling became a problem. Urgent commitments caused panics. Danger could not be alert on spot. Everyone had to rely on their fixed telephones which caused man great inconvenience. This caused the rise of the necessity of having wireless telephones that could bring remedy to all man’s inconvenience. The invention of mobile phone was the result of this quavering necessity.

The invention of mobile phones drastically changed the lives of the modern world. As a fast the wired telephones are falling existing dim with the introduction of portable wireless mobile phones. Mobile phones are great blessing to the fast moving world. The modern developed mobile phones are micro servants in hands. The inconvenience of running back home or office to attend a call is completely knocked off by the use of mobile phones. Mobile phones being portable, every one carries it where ever they go and make use of its advantages. Great business deals are made through mobile phones while travelling in a car. Any time any where one can contact any one with the help of mobile phones. The inconvenience caused to in communication while travelling or out of station, urgent commitments, danger alerts etc., are straightened by mobile phones. As mobile phones are anytime any where useful most of the people especially the youth rely on mobile phones.

The latest technologies of mobile phones put forward many companies have made work and life easier. SMS and MMS services, blue tooth and infrared services, internet services, camera, music players, radio, conferencing and much more are mobile phones greatest advantage. These facilities are in planted in a single mobile which is the greatest blessing to the present generation. From business and political shots to the present generation youth mobile phones have influenced live in many ways. When life becomes much easier and simpler through the facilities mobile phones they are a boon to the society.

The universe posses negative and positive for its existence. Mobile phones too amongst all its advantages and blessings it do posses many disadvantages. Though wireless and very handy it should be remembered that mobile phones work on wave signals. The radiations that these devices give out are of great danger to human health. Ailments like elbow hand, hearings disabilities, cancer, sink diseases and much more are caused by the harmful radiation of mobile phones. It affects the functioning of the brain and causes mental retardation in a slow pace. These are not more hypothesis but many people are affected by the use of mobile phones physically. The heat radiation that is emitted by the long use of mobile phones causes serious damages to the sense organs. Mobile phones are a technological antigen that adversely destroys human health.

Article By: Nikitha Francis, St.Albert’s College

"My Only Goal Is To See My People Free"

"My Only Goal Is To See My People Free"

Ho Chi Minh learned of the October Revolution while in Paris. The young revolutionary had visited many countries in the six years since he left his homeland. What he witnessed every where was the underprivileged and poverty of working people and their oppression by the powers that be? Reading Lenin’s works and talking with French Communists, Nguyen Ai Quoc (as Ho Chi Minh was cooled then) looked forward to visiting the land of the October revolution. But such a journey was no simple thing then.

Nguyen Ai Quoc became a distinguished figure among the Vietnamese emigrants in Paris. He initiated the establishment of the Association of colonial peoples comprising representatives of a number of French overseas territories who were living in the parent state. He also began publishing the newspaper Le Paria which advocated the unification of the colonial peoples with the proletariat of other countries and the working people of Soviet Russia. Ai Quoc was shadowed by the police. His activity attracted the attention of Albert Surratt himself, France’s colonial minister, who had been governor-general in Indo-China. In the August 1, 1922 issue of Le Paria the Vietnamese revolutionary published his open letter to Surratt angrily exposing the inhuman regime the colonialists had established in Annam (as Central Vietnam was called in those years). As a consequent, the “insolent trouble- maker”, was summoned to the minister.

“MY NLY GOAL…”

…The noise from the street could hardly be heard in the enormous office decorated with silk tapestries. A majestic- looking old man, with luxurious mustache, was sitting at a massive ebony desk. The door opened and a young Vietnamese entered. A proudly- set head, shining dark eyes in a lean face… The minister stared at him coldly as he approached the desk, walking on a carpet runner. Pointing to a gift armchair, the minister said, “Be seated.” Nguyen had neither timidity nor fear, but only intense curiosity: “What’s this cunning fox after, I wonder?”
The police had failed to arrest Nguyen the day before; the threat of Marcel Caching and Paul Valliant- Couturier to create a fur ore in the press had caused the procurator of the 17th Parisian Arrondissement to revoke the other.

The minister picked up a copy of Le Paria from the desk.
“I’ve looked through your newspaper. You seem to be discontent with practices in your homeland?”

Surratt put a magnifying-glass to the newspaper.
“And one more thing rather witty, I’d say. While showing concern for France’s budget you deny privilege of being taken care of by our agents.”

“Yes, indeed, Mr. Minister.” There was a touch of irony in Nguyen’s voice. “Is there any sense in spending so much when my daily schedule is no secret to anybody: editorial board library- museum?”

“We know more of it than you think,” Surratt interrupted him. “For instance, your intention to make trip to Bolshevik Russia:”

“They’ve got wind of it, these sleuths,” thought Nguyen and then said: “I simply want to be closer to my homeland.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Surratt spread his hands theatrically.

“The Marseille- Saigon line operates smoothly. You’re an able and energetic young man. Who knows, with time you could well be one of the indigenous representatives at the Cochin China Assembly. And what is in store for you in Russia? There is hunger, misrule.. Just look at this.” Surratt plucked a poster from a file. It showed a furious- looking bandit with a shaggy cap on and a blood- stained knife clenched between his teeth. “Bolshevik,” read the caption.
Nguyen shrugged his shoulders:

“These posters are pasted on all walls in Paris, Mr. Minister.”
“It was only a miracle that helped the Bolshevik hold out for five years,” continued Surratt, getting angrier. “But their days are numbered. What example can they give you?”
“What example?” Nguyen repeated the question. He still looked impassive. “Apparently, it proved most contagious for the soldiers of the Indo china Battalion you sent to Siberia to fight revolutionary Russia. And for the Vietnamese sailors of the French squadron in the Black Sea. They all refused to fight the Bolsheviks.”

“Propaganda!” yelled Surratt. “It’s only from France that Indochina will get all the benefits of civilization. It will transform your land, without it you’ll eke out a slavish and miserable existence.”

“They for your concern. Mr. Minister,” Nguyen gave a slight bow.
“I’ll take account of your wishes.”
“France forgives a great deal,” the minister said ominously. “But it will never forgive trouble-makers who establish contacts with the Russian Bolsheviks and seek to incite unsuspecting crowds in Indochina to commit acts of lawlessness.

“My only goal, Mr. Minister,” said Nguyen rising from the armchair “is to see my people free”.
Several months had passed since that conversation. The house where Nguyen Ai Quoc lived, at 9 Rue Compoint, was watched day and night. Yet despite this he managed to slip away unnoticed from his tiny room on the second floor.

With papers bearing the name of entrepreneur Tren Vang he shortly after showed up in Hamburg. German Communists made arrangements for him to sail abroad a boat bound for Russia.

IN BOLSHEVIK RUSSIA
From my first in U.S.S.R Ho Chi Minch recalled, “I realized how difficult it was for the Soviet Republic to start a new life. Even then, the Soviet people already had achievements to their credit. The Soviet country’s swift progress and each of its successes made every revolutionary proud for the cause of the Great October Revolution.”

In Soviet Russia, Ho Chi Minh witnessed the unparallel enthusiasm of the builders of socialism. There he saw his youthful dream about freedom and equality coming true. “Neither in childhood nor in my mature years,” he later told his jungle comrades-in –arms,” have I experienced such feelings of freedom, infinite joy and happiness as in Moscow in those days.”

The stay in the USSR contributed immensely to shaping the world outlook of Ho Chi Minh and of many his associates, Vietnamese Communists. They thoroughly assimilated the Leninist Party’s experience in order to creatively apply it in Vietnam.

Today, we read with excitement the lines written by the Indochina delegation that attended the 6th Comintern Congress in Moscow in 1928.
“We had lived through long and dramatic years, daily witnessing the ordeals that fell to the lot of our people. Since our first days in the USSR we found ourselves in new environment calm, fraternal, humane. A singularly interesting journey across the USSR has given us fresh strength.
“When back in our Indochina Peninsula we shall prepare for our own battle so as to fight to the last drop of blood to people imperialism and capitalism and to build a socialist country in the Far East.”

During the short existence of the Democratic Front of Indochina, in the mid-1930s, when the Vietnamese Communists had won the freedom to conduct propaganda legally, they started publishing Soviet magazines Soviet Construction Sites, Stakhanovism Drive, Soviet women and other in Vietnamese.

“The USSR’s example shows,” the newspaper Vo San Wrote in 1933, “that the proletariat is powerful enough to create a society ruling out the exploitation of man by man.”
Vietnamese revolutionaries’ internationalism was vividly manifested during the Great patriotic War of the Soviet people (1941-1945). On the day after Nazi Germany’s perfidious attack on the USSR the Communist Party of Indochina circulated leaflets expressing confidence in the triumph of the Soviet people’s just cause. Verses by an anonymous poet were very popular then: “The Soviet Union is unparalleled courage. The Red Army is death to Hitler.”

In the grim autumn of 1941, when the Nazi hordes were approaching the Soviet Capital. Moscow, an international Regiment was formed there. It comprised revolutionaries from various countries who worked or studied in the USSR. Six Vietnamese youths were among the first volunteers.

Underground newspapers of the Vietnamese Communities wrote then; “We unhesitatingly declare that the Red Army men shedding their blood in battles against Nazism are also fighting for the peoples of Indochina. Only the Soviet Union’s victory will give us hope that our revolution will be victorious.”

The six Vietnamese volunteers died a hero’s death on the distant approaches to Moscow. The real names of four of them came to light only recently.

The drawn of the new life that broke over the planet in October 1917 is still illuminating the road to the future for the Vietnamese working people. The Vietnamese people have associated and continue to associate, their victories and accomplishments with the Leninist teachings and the ideas of the October Revolution, with friendship and cooperation with the country in which this great revolution occurred.

Article By: Sreekumar, St.Albert's College

A WARNING TO MANKIND

A WARNING TO MANKIND

There are events the news of which spreads very rapidly round the world. This happened in April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War; When Hilarity bombers destroyed Guernica, a town 30 kilometers away from the large industrial centre of Bilbao. The world shuddered when it learnt about this heinous crime. The day of April 26, 1937, when the Nazi bombs started to fall on the ancient city of the Basques, the inhabitants of northern Spain, is a grim date in mankind’s history. Guernica opened the mournful list of cities and settlements crushed by the Moloch of war in the 20th century. It was the first town almost completely razed to the ground by an air raid, the first common grave of World War II (1939-1945), the same tragic lot befell Or dour- sure- Alien in France, Lidice in Czechoslovakia, Coventry in Britain, Khatyn in Byelorussia.
Those who miraculously survived will never forget the horrible day of April 26, 1937.
This is what A. Jaurequi, a resident of Guernica, told Igor Kudrin, a Soviet correspondent who was working in Spain for many years. “I wasn’t quite twenty and did odd jobs at a construction site. It so happened that the house where I lived was the first to be hit by a German bomb. Everything in sight seemed to be burning the houses the church, the sweet factory, the restaurant, the old people’s home. But most awful was that people around me were falling. It was a market day and crowds were out in the streets. The German pilots flew their planes close to the ground chasing people and gunning them down for a lark”.
The fascists dropped some 200 kg of explosives per square meter 1,654 were killed.
In the years of Françoise the truth about the destruction of Guernica was hushed up by the mass media. Moreover, they tried to shift the blame for this monstrous crime onto the Republicans shoulders. However, the facts show that General Franco, who was waging war against the Spanish Republic with the backing of German and Italian fascists, had been informed beforehand about the plan to destroy the ancient centre of Basque culture by the German air squadron Condor.
After World War II ended in the complete route of fascism, and the Nazi war criminals were put in the dock before the international tribunal in September 1945 in Nuremberg Goering the former Luftwaffe chief was asked the question.
“Do you remember Guernica?”
“Guernica?” he replied. “Yes I do. It was a sort of test of strength for our air force”
By bombing Spain, the fascists wanted to terrorize the people of that country and force it to capitulate. However, they miscalculated. Soviet writer IIya Ehrenburg (1891-1967) who was in Spain at that time wrote in his frontline reports, “The 1,108 air raids on Spanish towns did more than to leave ruins and graves in Spain. They awakened hatred and indomitable spirit in the Spanish people, to a great extent; they contributed to the transformation of this hitherto peaceful land. In his words, the spirit of the Republican Army was born among the smoldering ruins under which people pulled out corpses of their children.
When dropping hinders of high-explosive and incendiary bombs on defenseless Guernica the enemies of the Spanish people had no notion that its ruins would become a symbol urging people to fight fascism, exposing its inhuman character, cruelty and barbarity.
Two days after the raid, on April 28, 1937 the Government of Republican Spain held an emergency session. It discussed the bombing of Guernica, Having condemned the fascist’s monstrous crime; the government decided that a monumental work of art, a panel, must be created which would reflect the Spanish pavilion of the world Exhibition on Paris to be held in the summer of 1937. When the question arose as to who could do such a work, Jesus’ Hernandez, Minister of public Education, did not hesitate to name Fabio Picasso, incidentally, at the end of 1936 he had been commissioned to paint a big picture for the Spanish pavilion of the Paris exhibition.
At that time pabio Picasso (1881-1973) lived and worked in Paris. But he remained in touch with his homeland, visited Spain frequently and remained true to it in his work.
Starting his work for the Paris Exhibition the artist wanted to dedicate it to the freedom of art. But in January 1937 he began work on a series of engravings entitled “Dreams and Lies of General Franco,” which expressed the artist’s hatred for the Spanish General. He transferred the receipts from the sale of his engravings to the treasury of the Spanish Republic. Picasso reacted to the bombing of Guernica as only a progressive- minded artist could do. He did not hesitate to accept the Republican’s proposal to create a panel about the tragedy of the Basques’ city. On May 1, he made his first sketch of three symbolic imagines: a woman with a candle, a horse with a stretched neck and the head of a bull. All of them were included in his final composition.
Those who met Picasso in the spring of 1937 recalled that he worked indefatigably on the picture. He stood at easel for 12-14 hours a day, making one sketch after another.
In the process of work the artists’ conception changed considerably. He decided against depicting the political symbol- the raised first, which was the Republicans’ greeting. The scene depicted took place not in the market square but indoors- The changes he made were towards allegory and generalization moving him ever further from the portrayal of speciesfic events. It could not be otherwise- Picasso’s artistic vision did not permit of documentary presentation or a simple transfer of reality on to a canvas. He strove to depict the truth in symbolic generalized images.
“Guernica” was finished shortly before the opening of the Paris exhibition- it was not even included in its catalogues. The picture greatly impressed those who saw it. The symbolic created by the artist’s imagination aroused in them the feelings similar to those which had inspired Picasso during his work. The pictures reflected a whole gamut of thoughts and feelings; despair, horror of death and destruction, horrible torments of people crushed by the forces of evil, a wrathful protest against these forces, hatred for war threatening all life on Earth, and also hope that the forces of reason would eventually triumph.
The artist pronounced his verdict on fascism. His “Guernica” was recognized as a masterpiece of twentieth –century art. The picture was highly praised by the defenders of the Spanish Republic themselves, among them courageous Dolores Ibarruri, Pasionaria, as the people called her. In her opinion, even if Picasso had created nothing but “Guernica’ he would still have been listed with the best artists of our time. Most of the people who saw this work by Picasso viewed it as a warning to mankind, a warning against the forces which push the world into the chaos of destruction, as an appeal to human conscience and reason.
In 1944 the world famous artist joined the ranks of the French Communist Party. He regarded this step as the logical result of his life and work. He believed his brushes and colours to be his weapons and he used them as such when working on his “Guernica”.
1987 saw the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s immortal work. For over 40 years out of these 50 Th picture was far away from the artist’s homeland, in the New York Museum of Modern Art. Only six years ago, in September 1981 Picasso’s desire that his work be exhibited in the Prado, Madrid, was fulfilled to mark the centenary of the artist’s birth, his great work was moved to the Spanish capital. There “Guernica” and 63 studies to it will be on display in the old mansion of Cason Del Buena Retro adjoining the Prado. Thus, Picasso’s great work has found its permanent home.
As the artist himself said, his idea was to show not the horror of one concrete even but a worldwide tragedy. Therefore “Guernica” half a century after its creation continues to call to people, imploring “This must never happen again”.

Article By: Praveen Kumar, St.Albert's College

CELL- BASIC UNIT OR SUB UNIT OF LIFE

CELL- BASIC UNIT OR SUB UNIT OF LIFE

The word ‘cell’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Cellula’ which means a small compartment. The term was first coined by Robert Hooke (1635-1703) an English Microscopist. He observed a section of a bottle cork under a Microscope. Then he saw a honey comb – like structure consisting of a number of compartments. He published its illustration in a book called ‘Micrographia’, in 1665.
Cell is the most enigmatic mystery of nature about which it is believed that, the day scientists will understand it fully, they would be able to unravel the secret of life and death. With the advance of time, more advanced types of Microscopes became available which helped Robert Brown (1831) to find a conspicuous spherical body in each cell. He called it nucleus. By this time many scientists flung in this field. Mirabel (1819) advanced this statement by saying “Nobody can have life, if its constituent parts are not cellular tissue or are not formed by cells. “M.J.Schleiden and Theodor Schwann (1839) propounded the cell theory saying “The cells are organisms; and animals as well as plants are aggregates of these organisms arranged in accordance with definite laws”- and in 1855 Rudolf Virchow concluded that :Omnis Cellula-e-cellula, “i.e., new living cells arise only by reproduction of pre-existing living cells-i.e. the cell theory. Though credit for formulating this theory goes to him, it had already been postulated in pre historic Vedas.
The cells of all living organisms, though varying to a great extent in size, mass, shape, structure and function have many things in common. A cell has been variously defined, the cell is the structural and functional unit of plants and animals, or the cell is the unit of life or the cell is a mass of protoplasm surrounded by a thin membrane.
However there are many exceptions to cell theory. Eg, Vines and Venuses’ do not fit in the definition of a cell and these are therefore often described as living chemicals. These are supposed to be primitive organisms; which fail to reach a cellular state. Among other examples, coenocytes forms such as Rancheria (algae) and Rhizopus (fungus0 may also be found, placed outside the definition limit. These living substances are enclosed in a wall and there is hardly any organism like that of a cell. It is therefore difficult to accommodate these kinds of units in the context of cell theory.
A vast majority of cells range between 0.5 to 20 diameters. The biggest known cell is the egg of ostrich and the largest unicellular organism is Acetabularia. The fleshy cells of Citrus and Cucurbits are large enough to be seen by naked eyes. The shape of cell also varies depending upon their functions, needs of the organism and environmental conditions. A cell may be meristematic, Parenchy- matons, supporting, conducting, protective or reproductive in function. A typical plant cell has three distinct regions: (i) Cell wall, (ii) protoplasm and (iii) vacuoles. The protoplasm is living but cell wall and vacuoles are thought to be non-living though there is some difference of opinion about the non-living nature of cell wall.
The organism theory introduced by ‘Sharp’ (1934), rejects the idea of a plant or animal, being divided into separate physiological units. The metabolic activities of the whole plant are interrelated and the plant itself functions as a homogeneous entity. Hence, this theory emphasizes the importance of unity of protoplasm as a whole. It does not consider an organism as an aggregation of independent units. It considers the whole organism as the basic unit and the cells merely as its sub units.

Article By: Paulson K.J, St.Albert's College

MOBILE PHONES A BOON OR A CURSE

MOBILE PHONES A BOON OR A CURSE

“ Mobile Phones”- the master brain of the Japanese is one of the most commonly used thing among the people. The entry of this tiniest thing was a decade ago. Even though the entry of mobile phones were not accepted first, in this present era it has become a part of one’s life. Now a time has arrived that people cannot carry out their lives without this superb discovery of the Japanese. As the years pass by the shapes and size of these mobile phones changes. If we compare the latest mobile phones with the first mobile which came decades ago, we will be very much astonished to see the difference in the models, size and their latest techniques used. With the entry of mobile phones communication with the people has become easier. Now a person has to contact someone urgently, he/she can just take use of their mobile phones and call whomever they want from the same place where there are. Even though mobile phones are very useful, it has both good qualities as well as bad qualities. Like the two sides of a coin, mobile phones are a boon as well as a curse.

According to me mobile phones are a boon to this developing hectic world. With the help of mobile phones communication has become more and easier as well as faster. Now we are able to call a person anywhere in the world from the place we are already present. Due to the new developments in these mobile phones we able to get internet access, update flash news, listen to music as well as hear radio news. Nowadays we don’t have to go to those rushy café hubs to browse anything important. All that we have to do is just go on browsing in our mobile phones. If we are bored we can listen to the music stored in the memory card which we use in the mobile phones. Just go on checking the mobile phones for the latest news happening in the world. Sometimes mobile phones even become the part of many evidences in many cases.

Even though mobile phones are having many advantages it’s having so many disadvantages. In this present hectic era we found rarely someone not using these mobile phones. For the present day growing youth to a certain extent mobile phones are a curse. Nowadays when we go through the news paper we could see many suicides of the female youths due to love failure. The main evidence of the case will be the mobile phones from which the investigators identify the reason by checking the call history. For example a few days before everyone would have read about the suicide of a girl named Reshmi and her lover. The next disadvantage is that the use of mobile phones increases the sex-rackets in our place. Usage of mobile phones leads the youth to many wrong paths. The best example for this is the Ambalapuzha case. The suicide of three plus two going students due to the abuse which they had to face. The next main thing is the fast growing off the gangsters and the quotation groups. Through sudden information now killings and robbery has become a fancy event just like dialing a call. All have read about the murder of Paul.M.George. The gangsters get then and there messages and information through these mobile phones. Through a certain extent we can say that this is through these mobile phones notorious activities are increasing day by day.

Mobile phones have both good as well as bad qualities. So try to find out the goods more than the bads. So according to me mobile phones are a boon as well as a curse. Try to make mobile phones a boon to the world.

Article By: Swarna. P. G, St.Albert's College

ASTROLOGY OR LIVELIHOOD

ASTROLOGY OR LIVELIHOOD

The time for Indian freedom was settled in consultation with astrologers. This I think is the ugliest fact of our freedom struggle. If all there had to go the star’s way. Why had people had to struggle, sacrifice their lives, get locked up in jails. It is a shame that astrologers had been consulted for such matters making the people who struggled for India’s freedom mere fools.
People still give much importance to their beliefs. Of course what is their astrology? In dictionary it is given as a pseudoscience based on the notion that the sun, moon and the stars effect human affairs and that one can foretell the future with the aid of these. And an astrologer as the one who makes their studies. Is this true? I am afraid it is not hedgiest on to more details.
Astrology was known as early as 3000 years ago. Since then it has remained static except some unavoidable charges, that too when it could not complete with modern astrology, which is a scientific study of stars and planets.
Calculations in astrology were done on the basis that the earth was the centre of the hero- scope and that the sun and other planets revolved around the sun, until Copernicus exploded this way back in 1543 A.D. He proved that it was the planets that revolved around the sun, for the survival of astrology the astrologers just substituted the sun for earth and did all the calculations unchanged. But I don’t think that the astrologers home any reason to get frightened but there facts because those who believe in astrology do not care about their details. They just believe it.
It was the Greek who gave the stars their godly powers. They named the planets by their name of gods. This included only five planets which could be seen through our naked eyes. The rest were discovered after the invention of telescope. They started predicting ones future with the help of these stars relating it to the situation where it is situated when the person is born, from the Greeks it spread all over the world.
Till now, that is 3000 years after the birth of astrology astrologers have not come to a common solution of when the time of birth should be taken. Some say the time when the head of the baby is visible out of the mother’s womb is to be taken. Yet some others that the time when the baby touches the mother earth is to be taken scientifically speaking. If the time is to be accurately taken, the time when fertilization taken place should be taken.
After deciding the time of birth the astrologers look for the signs or houses. There are twelve signs after deciding the house of the baby the astrologer predicts about the future. The signs are named after the object, animal or human being they belong. If a person is born in the sign of Leo, they give all the qualities of a lion to the baby. If in Aries they give all the qualities of a ram etc that is why people call someone ill-starred. Readymade literature is available on this and the astrologer just her to repeat it.
There we come to aspects or seeing. Through the aspect, a powerful planet may weaken the opposite planet and a good planet like Jupiter may bestow good effects and a bad planet like Saturn may weaken this.
If this is to be true, the influence or rays emanating from one planet should reach the other for example, the rays starting from venue should travel to the sun at the centre covering a distance of 67 crore miles ran the sun diameter of 8, 65,000 miles and proceed with what is left, if there any, a distance of 87.2 crore miles to reach Saturn which would be glying at a rate of 21,000 miles per hour. And that, a ray like this to reach the baby, a thing dust particle compared to, the earth I don’t think is believable.
I know there are still many of you who totally disagree with me let me narrate some incidents.
Poet and a play writer. Kolazhi Gopalakrishnan Panicker was the astrologer in the horoscope column of Express daily from Trichur. He died on January third 1983 of heart attack. He had written the horoscope of all the signs for that day also. But in no column was it written that any would die, leave alone heart attack. That was the care of an astrologer.
Mr.Micheal Jacqueline conducted a very interesting experiment on this subject. He placed an advertisement in ICC Paris in 1979 offering a free personal horoscope if details are sent. He sent one and the same horoscope for all the applicants. Ninety four percent of the people replied that the horoscope correctly resembled their personal character. The great Indian Mathematician, Miss. Sakundala Devi, known for her speed in metrical calculation is now a busy astrologer. But we hear that most of her clients are not satisfied with the results. And 94 percent people whom Mr. Michael sent were extremely satisfied. You may wonder why the reason is one was free of cash and the other collected enormous amounts from people. If she too does not collect money the same horoscope might have tallied with their future.
The astrologer are in a habit of predicting many events if it doesn’t occur they forget it, and if it happen, they make a news out of it; for example, If I predict that there would be an Indo-pak war in 1991, well that looks good and if it occur like what happened to the rabbit which accidentally got under a jack fruit. If the news get spread worldwide and people move in front of my house to know their future. If it doesn’t nobody cares.
So astrologers can be defined as some dubious people, interested in making easy money by cheating people still why do many people even the educated lot gets into this trap? Why an alliance is snapped because horoscope doesn’t tally? It is because of the people’s anxiousness to be told about their unknown future.
It is time for us to revolt against such beliefs clear thinking; control over our mind is what we need. We should strive to make our circumstances our slave and never be the slave of our circumstances we must awaken them who are still unconscious about these facts.
Article By:M.T.Sathesh,St.Albert's College

Miracle Of Smile

Miracle Of Smile

Every year on September 5th we pay tribute to all our teachers. Once when Mother Teresa could not go to a school to deliver her teacher’s day message, the authorities went up to her. Mother said, “What message should I give? If the message exceeds in length, the interpretation will not be effective. Hence I would like to be simple and practical. ‘S*M*I*L*E’ that’s my message to all teachers. For if they smile, the children will smile, when children smile, the whole world will smile”. I cannot remember till date any other anecdote as powerful as this. It speaks volumes of the miracle of smile.

What is the significance of smile? Take my word; there is no healer as happiness for diseases afflicting mind, body and soul. ‘smile’ reflects inner happiness. It is an effective tool to gauge your happiness quotient. There was a time when you immediately recruited on the basis of I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient). Today E.Q. (Emotional Quotient) has taken over. Tomorrow H.Q (Happiness Quotient) will be in demand. So the ability to put all your pressures and worries on the backburner and being cheerful has assumed paramount importance.

All parents today expect their wards to be masters of all trades. Children hence practice the uphill task of juggling all the activities with time. Even an error of the smallest dimension leads to their nervous breakdown. They should learn to take failures in their stride and move on. Marks and ranks can take you to places, but it is your character that’ll give you respect. ‘life is lived but once’, ‘life is like an ice cream, enjoy it before it melts’ – these are the adages that great men have gracefully accepted and put into practice. There is a vital fact that Lord Krishna effectively conveys through Gita even, and that is:
‘Wise men endowed with equanimity, renounces the fruits of action. An action without a desire for its fruit will bear fruit. Suppose a farmer sows seeds without selfish motives, will he get corn? Yes he will.’

Only by enjoying what you do will you be able to remain happy. Happiness acts as a stress buster. It exudes positive energy giving others courage and confidence. According to experts, Priyanka Gandhi enjoys greater mass appeal than Rahul Gandhi. Reason? Her charismatic approach to life. There have been many leaders from time to time who have topped popular charts with this approach. Bill Gabriel Okara in his widely appreciated poem, ‘Once upon a time’ describes the shifting and changing morals and values of people. He says, there was a time when people used to laugh heartily. Whenever they met one another, their joy knew no bounds. There eyes and hearts reflected sincere laughter. He goes on to say that frankness has gone out of their lives. Now they seem to laugh ‘with their teeth’. Their cold eyes tell a different story. Their may be times, when you run into people, who take you for granted. it is at these times that you should have the courage and sincerity to stand up to your conviction.

  Life is all about making memories and hence let those memories be sweet and lovely so that when you look back the world must be smiling with confidence at you. It is not important how many times you fall down, what is important is how many times you pick yourself up and carry on.

Hey friends, pardon me if it was a long sermonizing talk. What you need to remember is so very simple SMILE. It can cure your sadness, madness, illness, loneliness and eeriness. I had a wonderful time writing about SMILE; hope you had a great time reading it too………………………………..!

By, Neethi Jayakrishnan,St.Teresa's College

Spider- The Master Spinner

Spider- The Master Spinner

Spiders are found every-where, up in the Himalayas, below the sea level, in deserts, on tree tops and even in burrows. Approximately 32,000 species of spiders have been described, and this probably represents only a small portion of the actual number. Spiders by mistake are the most feared and maligned of nature’s small creatures- but at the same time the most fascinating also.
Only a dozen or so types of spiders are dangerous to man. On the other hand nearly most of them are involved in keeping the incalculable hordes of harmful insects in check.

Many consider spiders as insects, but they are not. Spiders are closely related to scorpions and ticks. Spider population is very large. Brest-owe calculated that an acre of undisturbed grassy meadow contained 2,265,000 spiders. Many features (adaptations) of spider make them interesting, animals-their feeding habits, their utilization of venom, the powerful vision, the modified hands (pedipalps) foe copulation in males and their amazing capacity to secrete silk and spin webs.

Spider’s spinning habit and hanging on to the web is attributed to Greek mythology. An artful weaver named Arachn impudently challenged goddess Athena to a contest. Later, shamed and mortified by her own conceit, Arachne hanged herself. The goddess in a moment of compassion, brought Arachne back to life, transformed her into a spider and made her nose into a web. In order to preserve the memory of this lesson, the goddess commanded Arachne and her descendents to hang on to the web. Thus these classical are subscribed Arachnids.

The size of spiders range from small pin heads (0.5mm ) to the size of dinner plates (12cms). The larger ones are mygalomorphs like tarantulas, bird spiders or monkey spiders. The convex head (carapace) bears eight eyes anteriorly. A pair of chelicerae, pedipalps and four pairs of legs are the usual appendages of a spider. Chelicerae is of moderate size with a fang at the end. Pedi alps are short and leg- like but in the male they are modified to form copulatory organs. The tip of pedipalp is knob-like and resembles a boxing glove; The legs are formed of eight joints. Abdomen is globe-shaped and usually unsegmented. On each side of the abdomen, openings called spiracles are present through with the spider breathe. At the end of the abdomen a modified structure called spinneret is found which spins the web. Each spinneret is a short conical structure bearing many openings from the silk glands. The glands themselves are largely located in the posterior half of the abdomen.

Spiders feed mainly on insects. The prey either is pounced upon by members of more active groups or is caught on the silken snare. Hunting forms include wolf spiders, fisher spiders, jumping spiders and tarantulas: Prey is detected by tactile and visual stimuli and in some families like wolf spiders and jumping spiders leap on the prey by sudden extension of legs, which result from sudden elevation of blood pressure. Hunting spiders lay down a dragline while ground spiders tie up their prey by running around them.

Spider web is made of silk which is a protein. It is emitted as a liquid and hardening result not from exposure to air but from actual drawing-out process itself. Silk plays an important role in the life of the spider. All families of spiders do not build webs. The silk s sometimes used as a dragline which acts as a safety line similar to that used by mountain climbers. Another function of silk is to protect eggs by forming cocoons.

The silk thread made by the spider is as thin as one-millionth of an inch. The threads are elastic and can stretch more than twenty percent and are stronger than steel wire of the same diameter.

Construction of an orb web by a spider is a remarkable feat. Web building is dependent upon many factors like silk supply, behavioral state of spider and appetite. Web building spiders are aerialists of the family Araneidae. They usually have slender legs. To move about in the web, the lines are hooked by a small middle claw which lies between the two large claws of the legs, the form of threads is determined by spinnerets- clusters of tiny nuzzled jets from which the spider draws the silk with its hindmost pair of legs. The mesh size of the web depends on the size of the spider and the potential prey size. The web is replaced periodically. The sticky nature of the web is lost in a week, the old silk is eaten and the protein is resecreted as new silk. Sometimes the web is replaced every night.

Curved claws and thick barred hairs at the tip of each leg permit orb-web spiders to race across silken lines. They avoid entanglement in their own snares by walking only on the dry radial strands and shunning the sticky spiral threads.

Web builder spiders are very sensitive to vibration: They can determine from thread vibrations the size and location of trapped prey. Investigations show that they respond to strange vibrations also. In a certain experiment, the web of the spider Argiope was touched by a vibrating tuning fork. Instantly the spider rushed across the strands and furiously assaulted the quivering metal. With her legs she pulled silken stream from her spinnerets and in seconds the prongs of the fork were bound tight. Spiders are unable to discern vibrations. The tuning fork or a thrashing insect, the response is the same.

Spiders have highly complex precopulatory or sexual behavior patterns. The partners identify each other by chemical and tactile cues. On encountering a dragline, a male spider can understand whether it is produced by his own relatives and that to from a matured female spider. A chemical substance called pheromone is responsible for this. Like-wise the female also responds to a variety of cues from males. The male plucks the strands of the webbing which can be detected by the female. Sometimes, as in the case of hunting spiders, the male directly pounces on the female and palpates her body with pedipalps to stimulate her.

The female lays her eggs in several batches. Silk is spun over the eggs to form a case called cocoon for protection. The spider ling’s hatch inside the eggs, by ballooning process they get dispersed too far off places.

Right on tomorrow, watch a spider on your window pane beginning to lay a foundation for her web. The very next day you can see, a geometrically perfect web has been made and the spider resting in the centre after the marathon effort. With ablow from your nose, you can destroy it, but again the following day morning you can see a more compact web the spider has made. This spider does not lose battle or lose heart as it does not have one. But then imagine how much destruction you have done with a blow from your nose to this Nature’s art of perfection. If this task of web spinning is given to you, you will mess up and get enmeshed in thread knots as man is yet to attain that standard of perfection as that of a spider.

Article By:P.R.Venkitaraman, St.Albert's College