A forest named IIT!

One Friday morning just as we girls settled in the class reading some newspapers, my friend suddenly asked, “Hey guys! Come let’s go attend SHAASTRA! ” (I had totally no idea what it was!) Owing to the fact that our classmates had been there the previous day, we wanted to visit that as well. I then learnt that it was the name of the TECH FEST at the INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Chennai.. IIT being our neighbouring campus we didn’t want to miss it! Our classes got over at 12.05 pm…. And we started. I went in my bike whereas two of my other friends preferred walking. They waited at the exit gate when I entered through the entry gate….here started the confusion! I kept on driving driving driving! Didn't know where the roads were leading to! I didn’t even notice the missed calls by my two other friends (mobile phone being inside my bag). I asked a person whether they knew the way to SHAASTRA; he gave such a weird reaction as if I was an alien. At once I realized that I owned a mobile phone and responded to the missed calls to my two other friends. I have always had thought that all my friends knew something more than me when it comes to remembering the way or, knowing the map of a particular area. I was stupefied when I understood that I had my friends also inquiring the way. So I felt I had to take up this responsibility (as a motorist) of “finding the way” in that thick forest! Somehow I made up my mind to ask another student however weird his reaction would be. We have always been taught the traits of an effective communicator  that made me do this. So when inquired, he pointed his hand straight to a ground where the food stalls of SHAASTRA had been. (It is always embarrassing when one almost having reached the place and asks the way to go there!) . I waited at the entrance of the ground near a famous landmark inside the campus called the GAJENDRA CIRCLE (GC). I directed my friends over the phone to ask for that place and find me. I was doing something that any other person bored of waiting would do- tuning into some of melodious tunes in the mobile phone. My friends, tired of walking, made a call asking me to pick them up… I thought of nothing but started my bike. Sometime later I realized that my dearly bike had to carry three girls of weights (55+45+50) summing up to a whooping 150 kilograms! Oh my God! But with all those thoughts running in my mind, I went about searching for my friends exactly in the direction opposite in which they were approaching. This time after driving about for two minutes I got a call that they were already there at the GC! We three were really glad to see each other as if we have been in separation for longtime (half an hour)! First thing that we did was; we went to a sandwich stall and ordered for some nice sandwiches and omelets. Other delicacies like ice creams and chocolates were out of our reach, owing to our “ever empty” wallets! We emptied our pockets and went towards the actual area where the SHAASTRA was taking place but seriously we never reached there! Our legs started to ache, the Mighty sun was really throwing his anger and fury upon us and humidity was at its best! All the three of us then agreed on one final decision- that was to return back home. Now again I felt deep in my mind that I ought to drop my friends near the exit gate but deeper was the sad plight of my bike! (Remember 150 kilograms)! After many fuzzy decisions taken by the three of us, finally we landed on the idea of going for a triples ride (with one of my friend referring to herself as a BROKEN ARROW between us)! I could hear my bike cry but I kept saying to myself that EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE! After a 20 minute drive we landed near the exit gate of the IIT! I realized three things today! First one to carry a sum more than 50 bucks in my wallet, second to know the geographical map of the area to visit and third, that my bike could actually carry a load thrice of that of mine!!!

THAT MONDAY MORNING…..

NEWSLETTER!

DIVYANJALI.......MA DANCE CLASS

It wasn’t unusual for my dad to gear me up to the dance class, on a bright Sunday morning and that is when the boy running mobile laundry comes to collect the dry clothes for regular laundry as well. Seeing me getting ready, “Where does your daughter learn Bharatanatyam akka?” he asked, referring to my mom to which mom replied “T.Nagar”. He asked, “Why do you go so far when there is one at the next lane???!!” and that is how I acquainted with Divyanjali. It was a cramped place, though, full of dancers, I spotted “Miss” amidst other students and she went about correcting their flaws while dancing- My first reaction being “How young can a teacher be?!” and still am wondering the same…From ethnic classical dance shows to the vivacious “Thillana Thillana” (the then popular dance show in SUN TV) we were then members of the performing team (of kids) ready to dance on any stage! I owe this kind of self- confidence that I received, to Divyanjali!My Arangetram in 2000 furthermore contributed to my closeness with my dance school where I felt at home. In thick and thin Divyanjali family have supported me and in times of my utter distress Divyanjali has stayed with me. With Miss I felt more than what is called a teacher-student relation. Art of teaching is also one of the greatest techniques that Miss has taught that has made me fit to become a staff of Divyanjali which makes me feel immensely elevated. Divyanjali is not merely  dance  institution   but to  me it is an inspiration…I look upon Divyanjali as a Banyan tree, planted CIT Nagar, that grew with the drops of sweat shed by our teacher which later spread out its branches at Kalpakkam, and KK Nagar. It now supports lots of students, gives them aids and makes them feel at home and makes me happy that I am a part of this joyous family!!!

VEGETARIANISM

Vegetarianism,I define as eating and  following a diet which subsumes fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without  or eggs.The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada have stated that at all stages of life, a properly planned vegetarian diet is "healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provides health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases".It is the key to good physical and mental health.

• So why do I prefer Vegetarianism??

I personally feel that by consuming animal products we cause an ill treatment to the animal community.Moreover  our teeth, jaws, digestive system support a diet that emphasizes plant foods.Vegetarianism is natural for man.Some people embraced vegetarianism later in their life,par example,George Bernard Shaw (the well-known writer) ate meat for a quarter century of his life.When he was twenty-five,he became a vegetarian. He wrote that it was the poet Shelly "who opened my eyes to the savagery of my diet." He quoted two lines from Shelly's book "Never again may blood of bird or beast stain with its venomous stream a human feast!"Shaw lived a strict vegetarian till he died at the age of 95 . He said, "Meat is poison to the system. . . . Animals are fellow creatures. I feel a strong sense of kinship with them. It is beneficial to one's health not to be carnivorous." Shaw was not only a vegetarian but never used alcohol in his diet, though he was married to a non-vegetarian.

• Jainism and vegetarianism

Jainism is an ancient religion of India.Jains are vegetarians because they believe in nonviolence. Violence means to kill. If one does not take proper care of one's body and mind, one is committing violence of self.  Thus vegetarianism helps to avoid violence of self.

• How are we different from carnivores?

Carnivores (meat-eating)	Herbivores (plant-eating)	Humans
Have claws for killing	Have no claws	Have no claws
Sharp front teeth for tearing meat	No sharp front teeth	No sharp teeth
Stomach acid is twenty times strong	Weak acid in stomach	Weak acid in stomach
Perspire through tongue	Perspire through skin	Perspire through skin

In general, vegetarians perk up from fatigue faster, are more efficient, and have better health, than non-vegetarians.

• Killing and non vegetarianism

Scads of animals are killed for non-vegetarian food every year while in most cases, plants don't have to be killed for obtaining vegetarian food. Some people think that they cannot get enough protein from vegetarian food. This is not true. Vegetarian food can furnish all necessary nutrients.PETA provides many diet charts by way of helping people to resort to vegetarianism

• Vegetarianism and celebrities

Here is a list of celebrities and great personalities who were/are strict veggies:
Abdul Kalam Dr., President of India and Space Scientist 
Albert Einstein, renowned scientist 
Bryan Adams, singer and songwriter
Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer and philosopher
Michael Jackson, singer and The King of Pop
Nikola Tesla, physicist and inventor
Pamela Anderson, actress
Rabindranath Tagore, Eastern Indian philosopher 
Shania Twain, Canadian country singer
The list continues..............