Your teacher and you

A teacher is the most important person in your academic life. Here are a few hints to establish an ideal relationship with your teacher.

I remember a teacher in my high school who never made an attempt to get know her pupils. She treated every student alike and was ever really interested in the progress made by any. Once, I remember, she made the whole class stand and read a poem from our English text-book.

I was not reading the poem and she came to me and slapped hard on my face without uttering a word. She did not give me a chance to explain my inability to read that poem – the page was missing from my book.

 Such teachers, of course, are rare. Not all are like them. There was another teacher in my school who was just the opposite of the one I mentioned above. He took a keen interest in every student and tried to bring out the best in each. As a result, he had a happy, well-controlled and disciplined class. He held competitions in the class and even gave away prizes. I am still the proud possessor of a ‘Funk &Wagnall’s Dictionary’ which I won as a prize in an essay competition he held.

As a rule, most teachers are hard-working and pleasant to get along with. But, let’s turn it around and ask a question. How do you rate with your teacher? Does he like you as a person and as a student? Often a teacher never reveals his likes and dislikes because that would be playing favourites. But if you happen to be on your teacher’s black list – better watch out. When it is time for him to correct examination papers – and you have already handed in a poor paper – you are doomed.

If you want to excel in your studies and improve your marks (and who doesn’t) study your teacher well. Not all teachers are likes and dislikes. Picture in your mind the kind of student he would admire. Write down the plus points of this mythical character and then try to emulate this model student.

It is something hard to like our teachers. They work hard (while we like to play) and they are constantly giving us orders. No one likes to be ordered. And such pleasant relationship with your teacher means learning obedience. It is a bitter pill to take but, remember, that all those who went before you had taken it and benefited from it.

 Here are a few tips on how to establish an ideal relationship with your teacher

1.      Give full attention to your teacher. This will give your teacher the message that s/he is important to you. Your attitude towards your teacher is important in establishing a pleasant relationship with him or her. Your attitude should say: “Let’s share this class hour together – learn together.”

2.      Be polite and respectful to your teacher. Respect is shown not only by saying “yes sir” or “no mam”. It is shown by the attitude and posture you hold in the classroom. It is shown by standing up when the teacher enters the classroom. By not talking when the teacher is speaking and wishing him politely when you meet him outside the classroom.

3.      Try to be extra co-operative. If you are the first to volunteer, your teacher will always retain a pleasant impression of you. When your teacher has used the blackboard, be the first volunteer to erase it. Of course, use your judgement when you do these things. Don’t become a teacher’s pet. But then, it is better to be a teacher’s pet than a teacher’s pest.

4.       One way to get on the good side of your teacher is to learn to become a fully-involved student. No teacher likes to feel that he is the only one participating. Prove your interest by enthusiastically taking up any project your teacher may introduce. Do not be the wet blanket who says, “Oh, no, miss, we can’t do that” most teachers appreciate an understanding student.

5.       Prove to your teacher that you that you are his model student by being interested in what he is saying. And if you try to ‘pretend’ an interest – sooner or later that interest will become genuine and half your battle is won. For, your teacher is there to impart knowledge and the enthusiasm to seek knowledge. Once he sees that even one student has caught the magic of learning – it will leave a glow in him, a feeling of self-confidence and accomplishment.  

Binaca Geetmala – From Genesis to Nostalgia

Some of you reading this article may not have even been born when ‘Binaca Geetmala’ was the only source of the latest music for some. The programme, aired on Radio Ceylon, was started in 1952. In those times, radio was the only medium of listening to songs. The gramophone and tape recorders were out of reach for people living in rural areas and even cities. Even those who owned either of them still listened to the programme everyday.

Ameen Sayani hosted the show and was one of the most popular and recognisable voices in the Indian sub-continent. A recipient of the Padma Shree, Dada Saheb Phalke award and many others, he is one of the few radio hosts to have become more popular than many actors. There are several radio channels now, especially on Frequency Modulation (FM), but how many radio jockeys can you think of who are as popular or even come close to Ameen Sayani? He remains the golden voice of radio and played a major role in the success of Binaca Geetmala.

Binaca Geetmala, in the initial years, did not play the top ten contemporary songs. Songs were played in no particular order. Later, a top ten countdown was adopted. The list was compiled based on album sales, opinions of record store owners and ‘Shrota Sanghs’ (listeners’ clubs). The first countdown on the show was topped by Mera Man Dole sung by Lata Mangeshkar in the film ‘Nagin’.

The show was renamed as Cibaca Sangeetmala, Cibaca Geetmala and Colgate-Cibaca Geetmala. Later, it was aired on Vividh Bharati and ran till 1994. Vividh Bharati is still continuing on radio; however, Binaca Geetmala is no longer a part of it.

People belonging to the era when radio was popular still like to hear Vividh Bharati. Of course, they miss their favourite show, ‘Binaca Geetmala’. You may find people trying to tune into Vividh Bharati on the contemporary compact music players, which do not have any frequency other than Frequency Modulation (FM). 

Shake it, baby

A handshake tells it all.

 A handshake is not as simple as it looks. It may well be the starting point or, may be, not of the new job type you are hankering for.

Here is a list of different kinds of handshakes and what they say about a person

The flabby handshake

A limp, soft paw that feels like a piece of sponge. Indicate a pessimist who needs reassurance before anything else.

The squeeze

They squeeze your hand too hard. These people, usually men, want to show their strength and power. Possibly to cover up an inferiority complex. Meet their needs with flattery.

The next-to-the-body handshake

The arm and elbow are bent and the right hand stays close to the side. This is the handshake favoured by politicians and others who are hesitant to take risks. Use caution with these folks.

The impelling handshake

It is used by people who never miss an opportunity to shake hands. As soon as they meet you, they thrust their hand forward and shake with vigour. They seem insecure, so use more insistence than usual.

The non-gripping handshake

Not really a handshake at all. The hand is thrust forward and the fingers do not move. These people say, “I do not want to get involved.” Approach slowly.

The robot

The hand is offered quickly and automatically. These people are indifferent and self-interested. When dealing with them, indulge in hard bargain.

The jackhammer

These hand-pumpers have a lot of will power and tend to be inflexible. You will have to be even more determined than they are.

The prison handshake

These people hold your hand and will not leave it until they get your full attention. These people may be opportunist. Emphasize on the good fortune it is that you met each other, and pursue your objectives.

The normal handshake

·         This open, honest handshake means you can trust your instincts with the person.

·         Ensure your hands are clean and dry and free of perspiration.

·     Wait for the interviewer to offer his/her hand. Do not initiate the handshake as this portrays dominance. However, if you do, do not suddenly pull back as this will give an impression of   indecisiveness.

·       When invited, offer your hand, with your palm in vertical position. Turning your hand with your palm facing down in the handshake, is symbolic of dominance, whereas offering your hand, palm up, portrays submissiveness.

·      Exert a similar pressure to that of the interviewer, as with the palm position; a limp handshake will portray weakness and lack of confidence. Crushing the interviewer’s hand will exhibit dominance.

The handshake should last for not more than three to five seconds, with a maximum of six pumps. Any longer or shorter,

Rules that rule the virtual world

They say rules and promises are made to be broken. Breaking rules is dangerous unless you know them well enough to escape the consequences. Breaking rules in the virtual world may ban your access to sites. No one is immune from getting banned. Most of us use Internet and read the terms of conditions (TOC) and privacy policies of sites before signing up for them but hardly a few people really know the rules that rule the virtual world. Here are a few must-know rules for online users to immunise themselves from bans.

A few days ago, Facebook users were directed to a page where they were asked not to send friends requests to people they don’t know personally.  Such requests will be considered spam and their accounts will be blocked. The site asked users to cancel all pending friend requests.

It was an effort from the social networking site to control unwanted and annoying activities on the site.  According to information available on the website, Facebook took the step after receiving complaints from many users who said that many a time people create accounts and send friends requests to unknown people. This practice is increasingly becoming an online nuisance.

The site does not allow any one below 13 years age to sign up. Not only Facebook, there are many sites including the newly-launched Google Plus that does not allow people to register pseudonyms. Recently the site deleted hundreds of such users.

Twitter has its own way of deciding the authenticity of users through its verified account service. The verified twitter account badge is given to avoid confusion with personalities’ accounts with the same name. Many celebrities have been given the badge and it appears on the right side of their twitter pages.  LinkedIn does not allow you to impersonate others or misrepresent your identity and if you are caught your account is blocked.

Fake accounts are not the only thing that is considered offensive in the online world. Many sites delete comments, posts and other digital content if and when they find it necessary or receive complaints from other users. It is advisable not to upload content that is offensive to religious groups or obscene in nature.

Terms of condition on the micro-blogging website Twitter reads, “Everyone has different levels of sensitivity towards content. What may be shocking to one may be fine or acceptable to another. Twitter does not pre-screen content and we do not remove potentially offensive content.” But the site administrators act on complaints filed by users.

Users can be banned if they bully others online. Many accounts on social networking websites were deleted in which users made fake profiles of personalities and uploaded morphed pictures taht were objectionable.  Sometimes college and school friends make fake profiles of their teachers and upload objectionable pictures. Many students involved in such practices have been arrested under the Information Technology Act.

Users can face a ban if they spread viruses or malware on Internet. Sometimes users get trapped in a situation in which their friends post objectionable content on their pages and it spreads virally even if users try to remove it from their page. The best option in such cases is to avoid clicking on such links.

Websites dealing with money transaction such as Google AdSense block the accounts of persons who provide false details. Anyone trying to monetize their blogs or websites should not indulge in such practices; they can lose the money they earned from the website.  

Achievers in the slowdown

In an emerging economy one cannot rule out the necessity of job hopping and career changing. Jobs nowadays do not come with a ‘for life’ tag anymore.

A person has to be dynamic, adaptive and flexible to cope with the ever demanding job profiles. The achievers in this new economy need to be:

·        A sponge: one must be a good absorber of information. Always try to gather information from numerous sources and retain it.

·        A gymnast: One must be flexible and agile enough to learn foreign languages and traditions to deal with matters across traditional barriers.

·       A sifter:  One must be an onlooker. Delete obsolete information and messages no longer relevant.

·   Proactive: One must be ever-ready to learn new competencies and skills. Self-motivation should be a key factor.

·   An organiser:  One must be able to manipulate and manage goal setting. Also, one must be apt in self assessment, time management and stress management. Besides, the prospective achiever should be creative enough to foresee the future challenges and its measures.

·     A motivator: One must be a self motivator to emerge a champ. The prospective achiever should gain inspiration from failures.

·     A risk taker: Prospective achievers should have the courage to take risks and make quick decisions. They should possess the insight and intuition for the move they make.

·         A leader: One must be a leader not a follower. A follower always loses the race. One must keep oneself abreast with the latest happenings and lead the way to success without depending on others.

To make the going good, the rough and the calm tides have to be taken in one’s stride.

The saree in India : Unbeatable

           Be it on the road, ramp or any other place that you walk wearing this traditional yet elegant attire, you are sure to draw the attention of many. Saree, the evergreen outfit,  adds  grace, glamour, beauty and confidence to your personality. It is the only dress form that suits girls and women of every  age and physique.

          In India, we have a variety of sarees, each unique in itself. There are certain places which are famous for their work and design of sarees. Kanchipuram, Banarasi, Sambalpuri, Gadwal,Chanderi to name a few, are some of the most highly valued possession desired by every women. Besides, every  state in India has its own trend of saree worn in different style.  A saree is made from different fabrics such as cotton, silk, khadi, chiffon, synthetic, crepe, etc.  The uniqueness of every saree comes from its design, colour combination, work pattern and texture.

          The credit for this uniqueness and elegance goes to none other but the weavers, who with their hard labour are able to produce those intricacies of design and patterns with absolute fineness, giving that perfect look and class to a saree. In earlier days, weavers use to weave sarees by hand, with the entire family involved.  Nowadays, weaving machines are used yet in many places weavers still maintain the age- old tradition of manual weaving. Here what is important is the fact that, though weaving machines ease some of the load off the weavers and produce the output faster, yet there is a difference in the finish between a machine woven and hand woven saree; undoubtedly, the hand woven one is more classy.

             Women folk wear sarees  also in Nepal and Sri Lanka, though the draping is in a different style. However, its history belongs to  India where it has  been worn since ages. It is highly affordable by all classes and sells for a range beginning from a hundred to crores of rupees a piece

          The popularity of the saree is spreading fast worldwide with foreign tourists not only enjoying shopping for them but also taking an interest in learning how it is draped. Further, there is an increase in demand abroad for organising fashion shows  on saree where mostly foreign models are willing to walk down the ramp in this Indian attire with lots of buyers lapping them up.

         Though young girls of today and even working women don Western dresses because of their comfort and easy wearable features, grace and glamour of a saree remains unbeatable. Not only this, the possession of unique and ‘branded’ does count and is considered as a status symbol. With more and more trends and fashion of saree emerging time and again and none getting outdated, this evergreen fashion will surely fascinate women forever. So girls, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and fill in your wardrobe with this exotic outfit.

Out to win

Did you think that a relationship is all about love? Honey! You are wide off the mark. Partly it is about the right kind of love, hold your breath there is more to it than you would care to think. You know what — it is also all about the mushy technical knowhow, walking that thin edge that separates the sublime from the absurd, maintaining it, discarding the Romeo Juliet gushy affair and getting down to brass tacks. In short, it is about living with reality. 

No fool proof formula, no fast forward moves or a magical wand for bliss. Yet, since Adam and Eve, it is the most fantasized topic. Sugar and spice and all that is nice is how most starry eyed teenagers think it to be. If you are one of those starry eyed ones then you are in for a great disappointment.

A psychiatrist will tell you, unrealistic expectations can strain even the most loving relationships. YS zeros in on the six most lethal toxins and brings to you the survival skills for enduring love.

Fantasy No. 1

Happy twosomes are always hot on each other

Discard this notion as fast you can. Levels and modes of expressing love change with reality. Even if you two are physical, every relationship has a cycle as varying as the weather. As relationships face stress priorities and even hormones, go for a sixer. Find time to be together but do something different to break the routine. Go for a drive, take a walk  and see a movie.

Fantasy No.2

Tell each other 100 percent truth

Truth sometimes hurts. Few people are equipped to handle it. Also know your reason for opting for whole truth… Are you doing it to hurt the other person, to be one up psychologically or will it strengthen your relationship, if it is the above two then dump it. In the last, weigh the consequences of airing the facts. Selective honesty is sometimes a better way out. The idea should be to convey a truth and not to hurt.

Fantasy No.3

Fights lead to grudge free make ups

Forget bygones. Let the dead bury the dead. Forget long drawn battles. No point in making up if you are going to keep a balance list ready which you can recite even in your sleep.

Fantasy No.4

Love is not enough to change a person

If-you-love-me-change-for-me-crusades have wrought havoc with a good relationship. If you truly love your partner you will accept him or her  with all the shortcomings. Change-for-me happens only in fairy tales. Give your partner a chance, time and freedom to change at will. Harping on ‘change-or-else’ may not be the best thing to do if you want the twosome to last.

Fantasy No.5

People in love only eye each other

The green eyed monster can really damage your relationship like nothing else. Give each other space to live freely. Curfew rules are good for hostels not for people in love.

Fantasy No.6

People in love crave for coupledom

Spend time doing your own thing. For the zing to stay between the two of you, strike a right balance between liberty and intimacy. Cultivate independence in yourself and your partner. Round the clock vigil and breathing down each other’s back can head to a Splitsville. 

Plagiarism in Music

         The debate on plagiarism is a never- ending one. Be it films, writing or music, those who are accused of it either do it subconsciously or deliberately. Subconscious plagiarism is done by all and is not an offence. Deliberate plagiarism is an offence as every popular song, made for commercial purposes, has a copyright.

            George Harrison (of Beatles fame) was involved in a case of plagiarism in 1971. He was accused of copying a song originally sung by ‘Chiffons’, the rights of which were held by Bright Tunes Music Corp. The song ‘My Sweet Lord’ topped the charts for five weeks. Bright Tunes filed a case against George, which went on for almost ten years. George was found guilty of ‘subconscious plagiarism’ and the matter was settled for $587,000. It was found that he had not copied the song deliberately. However, there are several composers and singers who do.

Plagiarism has been prevalent in the music industry for a long time. In India, some music directors copy songs which are originally sung by somebody else. Anu Malik has been accused of plagiarism several times. Some of his songs are directly copied from English and even from those sung by Pakistani singers and bands. There are several others who do it. When confronted by reporters, music directors often say that they were inspired by a particular song. Copying is not inspiration. Can a student, who cheats in an examination, when caught, claim that he/she was inspired by a classmate?

‘Dildaara’, a recent song from the movie Ra.One is copied from Ben E King’s ‘Stand by Me’ It cannot be called copying or plagiarism as the producers had bought the rights of the song before remaking it in Hindi. This is an example of going through proper channels to re-make a song. This way, producers, singers and musicians do not have to bother about legal suits and negative comments by critics. However, such cases are rare. 

Several famous singers like Michael Bolton, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay and others have been accused of plagiarism. In India, music director Pritam and singer Baba Sehgal among several others have been accused of copying a music and re-producing it in their own style. Baba Sehgal was lucky to have escaped a legal suit. His song, ‘Thanda Thanda Pani’, from the album of the same name which was released almost twenty years ago was copied from Queen’s hit ‘Under Pressure’.

Copied songs can bring fame and money. Sometimes, plagiarism can be unintentional. But, those who do it deliberately should refrain from doing so as they are artists and art is all about being original.

Micro-blogging: Share your thoughts, in short

Micro-blogging is all about posting small digital contents—text, pictures, video and links—on  the Internet. In short, it is a combination of blogging and instant messaging. Micro-blogging websites allow users to share a message of 140 or less character, a video of 12 seconds or less duration, short links or individual images with online followers.

Twitter is the most famous micro-blogging website. It allows users to update their messages in 140 or less characters. The website is increasingly becoming popular because the list of celebrities joining the site is growing each day and everyone out there wants to know what these celebrities are doing. The site has been in news for many controversial tweets by famous personalities. A few tweets that grabbed headlines and caused a ripple effect include Shahsi Tharoor’s calling ‘Economy Class’ a ‘Cattle Class’, Lalit Modi’s tweet on Indian Premiere League (IPL) and many more.  The tweet that made the biggest news of the last year was from a man from Pakistan. Sohaib Athar (@ReallyVirtual) live-tweeted the raid in which terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed.

There are certain things we should know about micro-blogging. There are a few must-know terms related to micro-blogging. One of them is hash tag (#). Tweeter users (generally called tweeple) must have seen the hash tag often in tweets. Hash tags allow an online community to easily stream a particular subject. It is a community-driven practice of tagging an individual tweet by using a hash in front of the tag such as putting #Indiancricket in a tweet about Indian Cricket. It also makes the tweet easily searchable online. Another term is re-tweet, it is used when you update someone else’s tweet on your page. ‘@’ is the sign used for specifying that a message is for a particular individual.

People using Tweeter has developed a terminology. They use tweeple for people using twitter, twaffic is used for users’ traffic on the site, twalking is used for tweeting while walking and twitticism is used for witticism used in tweet updates. There are several other terms and many are being added by its users.

The micro-blogging phenomenon is not limited to sharing text updates. 12seconds.com is a micro-blogging video website. 12 Seconds limit the length of uploads to just 12 seconds. Making a video that’s interesting but is only 12 seconds can be a bit of challenge. Currently, they only offer integration with Facebook and Twitter. Some other websites such as Pluckr, Tumblr, Posterous, Plerb and Sweeter are also known among online users for their distinctive features. There are many sites such as twitpic, pikchur, twitgoo and others which allow users to share their pictures on Twitter.

There are many sites which provide an application through which you can shorten a Universal Resource Locator (URL)—you want to share with online pals. Some sites such as bit.ly, tinyurl, ow.ly and goo.gl provide an online tool for shortening URLs. These sites are useful because many URLs exceed the character limit.

Military music – inspiring our bravehearts

After the termination of British power from India the various bands of the Indian Army had to be re-oriented to render them truly Indian. The task was not easy as with the division of the country many bandsmen of various units opted for Pakistan. Under the distinguished patronage of Gen. K.M Cariappa, OBE the then Commander-In-Chief of the Indian Army, a Military School of Music was established in Pachmarhi in 1950. Here the bandsmen of various bands of the   defence forces are given training in playing the various instruments used in the military bands.

In the early years, our bandsmen had to play western martial tunes as suitable native material scores did not exist. Gradually over the years a small group of composers sprang up who composed martial music appropriate for our bands based on the folk-lore of the regions which contributed most to the strength of the Indian Defence Forces. Thus, the folklores of Punjab, Rajasthan, Marwar, Garhwal and Konkan coast have given inspiration to the Indian composers.

Music has been an integral part of the Indian armed forces. It is used during parades and other occasions. During the Republic Day parade, military bands of various regiments march ahead of the marching contingents. Every Army regiment, Air force, Navy and Paramilitary force have its own song which is played during important occasions and which identifies the force. 

Military music and bands were used to motivate and lead soldiers to war in the olden days. Indian military bands play Saare jahan se achha and Vande Mataram to motivate soldiers. Kadam kadam badhaaye jaa is played during the passing out parade at the Indian Military Academy. The influence of the British Raj can be seen in military music. Auld Lang Syne, (a poem written by Robert Burns, set in the tune of a traditional folk song) is played during the passing out parade of the Indian Military Academy as cadets cross the Final Step to become officers.

Some of the most popular numbers of military music have been composed by British officers. After independence, Officers and JCOs of the Indian armed forces started composing their own songs. Sam Bahadur is a great example of a music number which was composed to pay tribute to the great Field Marshal  Sam Manekshaw. 

An espresso has less caffeine than a cup of coffee

• A cup of drip brewed coffee has about 115 milligrams of caffeine.
•   An espresso and percolated coffee about 80 mg.
• Instant coffee has about 65 mg of caffeine.
• Decaffeinated coffee is not totally caffeine free; it contains about 3mg of caffeine.
• A can of Coke has about 45 mg of caffeine.
•   Tea has about 40 mg of caffeine.
•  An ounce of chocolate contains about 20 mg of caffeine.

Coffee is the world’s most popular stimulant: four out of five Americans drink it every day, consuming more than 400 million cups a day. Consumption in Scandinavian countries is more than 12kg per capita. With more than 25 million people employed in this industry, coffee is second only to oil in world trade.

Although coffee is believed to have been grown near the Red Sea since the 7th century, an Arabian author of the 15th century wrote that Ethiopians enjoyed coffee ever since anyone could remember. By the 16th century, coffee plants were found throughout the Yemen region of Arabia. After a Turkish ambassador introduced it to the court of Louis XIV in 1669, Europeans quickly acquired a taste for it. A few years later, the Dutch introduced coffee in Java. In 1714, the Frenchman Desclieux planted a single sapling of a coffee tree on the island of Martinique. Plantations soon grew from French Guiana to Brazil and Central America.

• Red coffee beans ready for picking.
• Coffee is the seed of a cherry from the tree Genus coffea, a tree yielding about 1kg of coffee per year.
•  There are more than 25 species of coffee.
• The three main commercial types being Robusta, Liberia, and Arabica.
•   Arabica represents 70 per cent of total production.
•  Caffeine increases the power of aspirin and other painkillers, that is why it is found in some medicines. Ironically, caffeine withdrawal also is one of the most common causes of headaches.
• Women who drink two or more cups of coffee a day also have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis. This however, can be offset  by drinking milk or yogurt to replace the lost calcium.
•    Most studies have found that high caffeine consumption impairs fertility and taken during pregnancy may cause premature or defected birth.
•    Caffeine is removed from the coffee by treating the green beans with chlorinated  hydrocarbon solvents.
•  Instant coffee is prepared by mixing ground and roasted coffee with hot water. The water is then evaporated by spray dryers and high pressure, leaving only coffee powder.
•     In some coffee products, coffee is replaced with chicory — a wildflower herb, fig, date, malt or barley, remotely resembling real coffee. 

Keys to successful weight management

Losing weight and its maintenance is a difficult task. The aim is to attain target weight as well as improve health and fitness levels.

Five factors for a successful weight loss and weight maintenance programme:

1.      Consuming fewer calories than required: Negative energy balance can be created by taking in fewer calories than what actually is being used. The body takes the needed calories from stored body fat and there is weight loss.

2.    Nutritional balance: A balanced diet is a must for maintaining nutritional balance, since the deficiency of essential nutrients may result in ill-health.

3.   Peer support: For most people, reducing calories over a sustained period is simply not easy. Some form of peer support is necessary to encourage them when they slip up.

4.  Behaviour modification: Identification of eating and lifestyle habits causing overweight should be replaced with new positive habits.

5.  Commitment: The ultimate success or failure of the programme depends on one’s ability to maintain or renew the commitment. As a result there will be many benefits from this programme like weight control, feeling of enthusiasm, balance in life and ability to cope easily with stress and strain. 

    

      Tips for keeping weight off

·  Fat intake should be kept at 20-25 percent of total daily calories.

·  Consider eating the heaviest meal early in the day. There is a better chance to burn off by physical activity.

·  Instead of depending on yo-yo dieting, focus on becoming more active and reducing fat in diet.

·  Adjust your previous day’s diet plan as per the special occasions ahead.

· Make nutritious and low fat food selections when dining out.

· Monitor weight and fat levels regularly.

·  Social support helps in making lifestyle changes.

Films and fashions: Chicken and egg syndrome

The hot topic of gossip among youngsters has always been clothes. Be it Guide, Rangeela, HAWK or Devdas, costumes in the movies have always attracted the masses. The modern casual outfits like jeans, capris and so on lure the young crowd whereas the ethnic stuff of suits and sarees are still preferred by the older generation. The traditional outfits remain a’ la mode.

A new dress on the silver screen never goes unnoticed. Fashion-conscious people keep an eye on Bollywood for the latest style. Whenever something new comes in vogue, they start hunting for similar attire in boutiques and retail outlets.

The general attitude is that what looks bright and attractive in the theatres, enhances beauty too. Yet they forget the fact that stars are stars.

A peep into the yesteryear movies reveals that fashion repeats itself by a stitch here and a cut there. Wear anything different to set sparks ablaze and that is fashion!

Film-makers sign famous designers to give their film a grand opening and designers in turn are benefitted by huge sales and publicity.

It is a maze that has neither a start nor an end. If not films what else can create a wave in the streets of fashion. Both the industries enjoy a symbiotic relationship.

YouTube and beyond

When we talk about online videos, then YouTube is the name that comes first to our minds. It is not that YouTube is the only video-sharing website; but certainly it is the most accepted website in its genre.  Online experts believe that the credit for the website’s popularity goes to its user-friendly features. Users can upload videos, share them on social networking websites and blogs, and make channels of their choice to save their favourite videos. But there is a huge world of video-sharing sites beyond YouTube. And all these sites have some or the other distinctive features to grab eye-balls.

Metacafe—the video entertainment engine—is famous for excellent quality videos. The site is known for lesser duplicate videos to provide good user experience. A team of moderators sort out videos before making them public that is why the website serves better quality videos than any other video-sharing website. It has about 40 million monthly users worldwide. You can find selected YouTube videos on this site.

A majority of sharing websites provide all kinds of videos ranging from musicals, movies, and educational videos and so on. 

Break is the website that knows what it wants to show. The majority of the contents is humorous. A few are bloopers and blunders caught on camera and others are scripted video clips shot by users. Other kinds of videos available on the site are sports or military related videos aimed at catering to the demands of its huge male user-base. Some additional options—other than shortcuts for pause, play and zoom— such as fast forward, setting contrast and brightness of videos and an option that tells how much time is elapsed and how much time is left in a video make the website unique.

There are several other video-sharing websites that cater to the demands of different user-bases and are known for their usability. Google Video is known for offering numerous options for searching videos while Dailymotion is a kind of professional video-sharing site that broadcasts newscasts, short films and commercials. So if you have shot a film, written a script around it to make a short film then this is the site where you can upload your video.

Revver gives an opportunity to users to earn money through video uploads. If anyone clicks on an advertisement published with a member’s video then the member gets 50 per cent of the revenue generated from it. Vimeo is a social networking-cum-video-sharing website and most of the videos on this site are original. Though copies of TV serials are shown but a team of moderators works on it to minimize the number of copyright videos and promote original works. The site is known for accepting many video formats.  

VidiLife is known for Video Mail feature. It is similar to email except that you can send a video recorded on a webcam to your vidilife friends and anyone with an email account. Stickam is an interesting website to meet new friends from around the world. Besides offering video sharing, it hosts chat rooms and video chats. It means you can broadcast yourself live. Just click the ‘Who’s Live’ tab to see who are currently online. 

The secret of happiness

Every one of us wants happiness. We are constantly searching for joy, but do not know where to find it. In the Bhagavad Gita, there is a wonderful question which runs: “Where is the joy for peaceless?” The implication is that peace of mind alone will give one joy.

If peace of mind can be purchased in the bazaar by throwing some coins or by issuing a cheque, everyone will purchase it. In fact, the rich will buy several large packets of peace of mind, and keep one each, at home and in office and have still one more always in the pocket. Alas! It is not just so easy. It happens that the rich lacks  peace of mind more than the poor!!

Then what is the way? We always seek joy and peace of mind by two methods, (1) by acquiring the desirable, and (2) by avoiding the undesirable. This is a continuous process. Everyone puts in constant effort to this end. Still, peace of mind is as elusive as ever!  It is because, (a) the desirable, when acquired, produces fresh desires and wants, and this goes on in a vicious circle; and (b) the avoidance of the undesirable is more easily said than done as wishes arrive like uninvited guests and just stay on with us. What then, is to be done?

Our wise men of yore do have a solution. They say: “Do not seek the desirable, nor avoid the undesirable. Just have no likes and dislikes. Train the mind to be equipoised in pain and pleasure, in success and in failure, in achievement and in disaster”.

Does it then mean that one should be emotionless, insensitive and unresponsive like a block of wood? We are not pieces of furniture, we are humans and therefore as human, you may ask: “What incentive to action is there, what ambition? Without ambition, how can there be progress or achievement?”

Our savants have a clear answer. They advise us: “Have emotions, by all means, but do not succumb to them. Have sentiments, but be not sentimental. Act on, and accept the rewards of your labour, calmly. Give up the constant anxiety for results, but all the same work devotedly. Possess wealth, certainly, but do not be possessed by wealth. Acquire wealth by legitimate endeavour, as a means to spread happiness, but give up the craving for acquisition and possession as ends in themselves, as they are the destroyers of your peace of mind”. How do you like this?

All this sounds well, but there are underground enemies ever bent on sabotaging our efforts at every stage. These enemies should be spotted and annihilated—before progress in these lines is possible. Who are they?

The Great Master, Lord Krishna, tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita: “Desire and anger born of passionate nature, and all-consuming, are thy deadly enemies. Recognise them”. Once we recognize them, we will surely turn them out.

 The Lord further adds: Desire, Anger and Greed. These are the three gates of hell. They allow unhappiness to enter and loot the treasure of peace of mind”.

The origin and consequences of desire and anger which reduces man to the state of a beast are also lucidly explained in a famous pair of couplets. You would like to know them, as they are much of interest to everyone of us. Here they are: “The man whose thoughts repeatedly dwell on sense objects, develops attachment for them; from attachment springs up desire and from desire (unfulfilled) ensues anger. From anger (wrath) arises infatuation; from infatuation (delusion) confusion, and from confusion, loss of reason (discrimination). Loss of reason takes one to total ruin”.

The solution to our problems hence lies in equipoise of mind, free from desire as well as aversion. Calm and serene in success and failure, tranquil in gain in loss, one keeps at one’s job. Such a self-possessed and calm sage is called a man of steady wisdom, the sthithapragna. The portion describing the attributes of the sthithapragna in the Bhagavad Gita was Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite chapter and he lived his life by it.

One main reason for failure and misery in life is that most of us do not know the art of conservation of mental energy. We fritter it away in profitless pursuits, and do not have enough left to concentrate on the job in hand. 

The master again advises us: “Free from the regrets of the past (failures), or arrogance over past successes—free from the anxiety regarding the failure (results), and free from the excitement of the goal act on”. This is utter concentration, with a capital “C”. Anyone with such concentration avoids pitfalls and is bound to succeed.

We all know that a student at an examination, with his mind filled with regrets over past failures or anxiety regarding the results, is unlikely to pass. So also would be the chances of success of a candidate at an interview for employment, or a salesman before a customer. Liberation from the past and future and concentration on the present, one is assured of success.

All this goes to show that happiness and misery, success and failure are of one’s own making.

A famous preacher went to a friend who was always found happy and asked him to disclose the secret of his perpetual joy: “Hey, Jim, how is it that you are always happy”. Jim answered: “Hmm, very simple. Every morning, on getting up, I just decide to be happy”.

“Do you mean to say you have no problems at all?”

“Oh, problems there are, aplenty; but I don’t let them interfere with my happiness. I do not worry about them, just go about calmly and solve them”.

Let us all, therefore, just decide to be happy, on rising every morning, come what may, go what may. Happy, we shall remain.