THE INQUIRERA Students Practice Journal of the Centre for Electronic Media and Mass Communication, Pondicherry University

Vol. 1 No. 2 March, 2009For private circulation

w w w. p o n d i u n i . e d u . i n

p u i n q u i r e r @ g m a i l . c o m

Inside

On the Wings of

the Muse & FeaturesPages 4-5

Spotlighting cultural values

and the arts

Campus Buzz Pages 2-3

A retrospective of

activities in the university

PotpourriPage 8

A mixed bag of opinions

and observations

HumanscapePage 7

Looking at society and

trends in development

Earth MattersPage 6

Problems and Solutions

In the driving seat of change!Women take to novel occupations in Puducherry

Many changes are sweeping over thelives of women in general. Rising educational levels and economic necessities promote a willingness to trywhat has not been attempted beforedue to family and social restrictions.ough it still remains a man’s world,women are getting to play larger partsin it undoubtedly.

While we may be tempted tothink that women achievers comefrom the upper echelons of our society,there is reason to believe that womenfrom all social and economic classesare courting changes readily in oneway or another, giving them a greatersense of self worth and independence.e increasing presence of women inthe commercial sector – from shopsand restaurants to cinema houses andpetrol stations – is evidence of a coming of age in the general populacewho can now take kindly to their social visibility in new areas of workand livelihood. Needless to say, manyemployers also began to see the economic merits of employing womenover men in many sectors as they exhibited a greater sense of focus andcommitment to work.

e spectacle of women drivers –of autorickshaws, taxis or vans – isa fairly recent one in India. Indian society, until recently, offered no encouragement to women who mayhave wanted to enter such exclusive

male preserves as driving publictransportation vehicles - of people

or goods. Continued on page 7

Puducherry: e InternationalWomen’s Day is an occasion when onecan take stock of and reflect upon thechanges that are happening in theworld of women at large. e empow-erment of women is something that iscrucial for a healthy global society.Taking this actuality into considera-tion, women staff at various workplaces are enjoying the benefits ofextra leave and crèche for their toddlers. Institutions of learning arealso paying a great deal of attention towards making higher educationmore accessible to women students.Pondicherry University provides incentives such as free hostel accommodation and free transportfrom the town to the campus whichhas encouraged a good percentage of

girl students, particularly from economically weaker sections, to seekadmission here.

Our university celebrated Interna-tional Women’s Day on March 9 by conducting a Colloquium on ‘Womenand Moral Policing.’ Dr. Usha V. T.,Reader and Co-ordinator, Centre forWomen’s Studies, during the welcomespeech, commented upon the commercialization of Women’s Day. Apresentation on the ‘Context ofWomen’s Day’ by Divya K., a research scholar of the centre, dealtwith the history and origin of Women’sDay. e pub incident that happenedin Karnataka was cited upon byMr. S. Loganathan, Registrar ofthe university, in his inaugural address. He pointed out that freedom

is one’s birth right and it is not some-thing that is to be given to a woman byher husband.

According to Dr. D. Sambandan,Dean, School Of Social Sciences andInternational Studies, reverence forwomen should not be confined to aparticular day of a year but practiced,ideally, every moment. However, thesad reality is that our social and judicial systems along with our religions and religious texts do not domuch to support women. Dr. K. Pan-chagam, a feminist theoretician, andMalathi Maithri, poet and social activist, spoke at the technical sessionheld.

e panel discussion on ‘Womenand Moral Policing’ held in the aer-noon had panelists from various departments. It was felt that moralpolicing is based on one’s own sense ofwhat is right but not on legal rightsand duties. It follows the standard ofbehaviour considered acceptable bysociety. e subtle details of the complex subject of moral policingwere discussed and thought provokingideas and opinions were offered by theparticipants.

We hope that in future this specialday is celebrated with the participationof more students and faculty. LongLive Women Power!

PU Celebrates Women’s Day

ArivoucanyMonalisha

Suja

Celebrating Women’s Day in the University Photo: Sandosh

A senior citizen running the

Auroville Marathon

( page 8)

Snapshots

is second issue of The Inquirer is another labour of lovefrom the students of the Departmentof Mass Communication.

Long hours of brainstorming, research, writing, editing and fun –sometimes leading to late eveningswith tea, laughter and snacks – charac-terized its production. Diversity is thisissue’s magic word. It brings you aneclectic and heady mix of content to inspire, reflect upon, provoke and enjoy. e recently concluded International Women’s Dayprovides the central motif of this issueand in their honour we dedicate ourlead feature celebrating the power ofthe feminine.

Like the addition of an excitingnew melody to an old song, we have outsider contributions this time aswell, from PU students of other departments to faculty from other colleges and organizations. We werefortunate to have two remarkableartists – a painter and a musician –grace our Arts page with a face-to-faceand a concert review respectively. Ajust started Green page brings yousome eye openers on the state of theenvironment while our Wellbeing column offers you some very inspiringthoughts on how greater awarenesscan add to the quality of one’s innerlife. Our Tamil pages brim with poems,musings and observations and theCampus page brings you a roundup ofkey happenings in the past month including workshops, seminars andother significant events conducted byvarious departments and bodies of theUniversity.

We hope you enjoy this issue too.Please continue to write in to us atpuinquirer@gmail.com with your contributions and comments.

Exclusive gym for women students

and faculty in the University.

Inaugurated on March 9.

Foundation stone of mega mess for

women also laid.

Jayanthi- an auto driver in Puducherry (above) Photo: Arivoucany

Sumathi- a van driver in Puducherry (below) Photo: Radhika

Dr. MiriamSubiranawrites in

from Spain

Radhika KhannaEditor

INKPOT

Primitive tribes and their problems highlightedPuducherry: e Centre for Study ofSocial Exclusion and Inclusive Policyorganised a National Seminar on“Adoptive Difficulties and Problems ofFuture Survival of the PrimitiveTribes” from Feb. 26-27. Prof. N. Ningaiah, Professor of Anthropology,Mysore University inaugurated theseminar.

Prof. T. S. Naidu, Director of thecentre commented that many tribal populations are facing the threat of

extinction and proper adoptivestrategies are necessary to safeguardthem. Prof. N. Viswanathan Nairhighlighted the problems related tothe future survival of the variousprimitive tribes of Kerala, in particular, and of India in general.

Many delegates from the south-ern states of India attended theseminar. Students and faculty fromthe Department of Anthropology andvarious other departments also

participated in the seminar. is seminar has given us

insights into the various problemsfaced by tribes in our country - regarding their health, educationand economic survival - and the various developmental programmes that are beingadopted to address these problems.

Trends in Bioinformatics

Puducherry: e 26th National Seminar on “Current Trends inBioinformatics Teaching and Research” was organised by the Centrefor Bioinformatics of the PondicherryUniversity, from Feb. 16-18, at theEarth Sciences Seminar Hall. Prof. A.Gnanam, former Vice Chancellor,Pondicherry University and formerChairman, NAAC, Bangalore, gave theinaugural address and highlighted thegrowing role of bioinformatics in thefields of pharmacy and biotechnology.e participants were made familiarwith various bioinformatics tools,guided by accomplished experts. ecentral purpose of this seminar was topopularise current techniques andprocesses in this field among studentsand researchers from related fields,and also to discuss the issues that layat the intersection of various fields of

bioinformatics and chemical sciences.15 eminent speakers elaborated upontopics in 6 sessions during the seminar.

According to Nishant Singh, astudent of Bioinformatics, the basicagenda of the seminar was to commu-nicate the latest trends in Bioinformat-ics. Students and participants had agreat opportunity to become aware of,raise and clarify many a question inthis rapidly emerging field of study.

Akanksha ‘09

Dealing with economic recessionPuducherry: e Department ofManagement Studies conductedSYNAPSE 2009, its annual Industry-Institute Interface from Feb. 23-24.e objective of the interface was toconnect students with the contemporary business environmentthrough live interactions with industrypersonalities in order to understandand appreciate the happenings in theworld of management.

e theme of SYNAPSE ‘09 was‘Outsmarting the Economic Down-turn for Emerging India Inc.’ e eventwas held at the Convention cum

Cultural Centre, Pondicherry University and inaugurated by Mr.Shankar, Vice President, and EdelweissCapital. It consisted of four panel discussions that together representedthe theme of the meet. ese panel subjects were: 1) Outsmarting the Economic Downturn for Emerging India Inc. 2) David Vs Goliaths: Who Will Prevail and rive? 3) Widening the Radius of Trust for Corporate Restruc-turing 4) Actualising EntrepreneurialSpirit amidst Turbulence.

Puducherry: e Department ofTourism Studies of Pondicherry University organised Akanksha ‘09, anIndustry–Institute Interface, fromMarch 6-7, at the University’s Convention Hall. Prof. O.P. Kandari, Pro Vice Chancellor of BundelkhandUniversity was the Chief Guest of theoccasion. He reflected upon the partplayed by the railway system intourism. e event comprised paneldiscussions, a theme skit, paperpresentations, quiz, lectures and cultural programmes.

Prof. A. Balasubramanian, Director, Culture and Cultural Rela-tions, commented on the role of mediain the tourism sector. As the objectiveof the department is to understand andpractice tourism management throughresearch and outreach, the interfaceserved as a step towards this aim.

Intellectual exchanges in a global age

Puducherry: ‘Journee France’ was organised by the French Departmentof Pondicherry University in collaborationwith Campus France, French Embassy,New Delhi at J.N. auditorium on Feb. 21.e theme of the seminar was aboutthe various aspects of higher educationin France. e talk centred on variouspossibilities and opportunities avail-able for students to pursue their higherstudies in various universities and colleges in France.

Padmashri Prof. J.A.K. Tareen,Vice Chancellor, PondicherryUniversity highlighted the fact thatthe access to educational oppurtunitiesin France has become easier thesedays and that pursuing higher studies

in France is being facilitated by manyFrench organizations who are prompt-ing the cause of Asian students tostudy in France. Mme Joelle Rayet,Consul General of France inPondicherry invited the students to consider higher studies in Franceand did not fail to mention that visaprocedures for students have beensimplified to aid this.

The students were given infor-mation about various institutionswhere they could learn French inIndia. ere was also a session to highlight numerous job opportu-nities available with French MNCsin India.

A Stepping Stone for

Innovative MindsPuducherry: Recursion’ 09 was an AllIndia Computer Science Meet for thestudent community. It was hosted bythe Department of Computer Scienceof the Pondicherry University on Feb.14-15. Prof. A. Balasubramanian, Director, Culture and Cultural Relations of the University inaugu-rated the meet. In his opening speechhe called attention to the rapidly grow-ing developments in the field of computer science. ese applications,he felt, should fulfill social needs and demands.

Papers were presented on many related topics. ere was a quiz andother variety programmes that offereda light air. Students who participatedpresented a web concept for e-learning in 2009.

Mr. K. Vijayanand, Faculty Advisorfor the event, commented that the aimof Recursion was to expose youngminds to trends in the industry andtap latent talent.

2 Campus Buzz THE INQUIRER March, 2009

Rinoy

Rinoy

Puducherry: A tournament was organized by Annamalai Universityfrom Feb. 27 to March 1. PondicherryUniversity performed well at this meetwith students carrying away gold, silver and bronze medals for variousevents, which included shotput,javelin, triple jump, 100 mts., longjump, shotput, 4x400 mts relay,kho-kho and table tennis.

PU students win tournament

Discussing tourism management

Sandosh

Rinoy Prabakaran

Monalisha

Spirituality and Ethics in Business and Enterprise Puducherry: e Faculty of Manage-ment Studies, University of Delhi andthe Department of Management Stud-ies, Pondicherry University, along withSchool of Global Leadership and Entrepreneurship, Regent Universityand Infinity Foundation, USA, jointlyhosted an unique International Research Workshop and Conferenceat the Annamalai Hotel in Puducherry.The 2nd International Conferenceon “Integrating Spirituality andOrganisational Leadership” washeld from Feb. 9-12. Precedingthis was the workshop from Feb. 5-7 on “Spiritual and EthicalFoundations of OrganisationalDevelopment.” It attempted to focusupon the spiritual and ethical underpinnings that ought to guide the

current world of business. Educationought to encompass more than just career building and serve to go beyondserving the economy alone. It shouldpromote the spiritual and ethical dimensions of one’s life as well, saidMr. C. S. Dwivedi, VP, HCL Info Systems, at the valedictory function ofthe workshop.

Swami Tattwajnanananda,Principal, Ramakrishna MissionShilpamandira said that appliedspiritual and ethics in the workplacecan accelerate social and organiza-tional growth. It will unfold new dimensions and perspectives in theworld of scientific research, businesspractices and managerial etiquette.

Environmental crisis management

Puducherry: e Centre for Adultand Continuing Education and Department of Ecology and Environ-mental Sciences of Pondicherry University organised a workshop on“Disaster Management and Environ-mental Protection” from Feb. 20 -21,

at the University’s Earth Sciences Seminar Hall. More than hundred students from various departments ofPondicherry University and affiliatedColleges participated.

Prof. A. Balasubramanian, Director,Culture and Cultural Relations,Pondicherry University, inauguratedthe workshop and spoke on the needfor forming core groups in every college to manage any situation.

For V. Senthilnathan, an M. Ed. student of Pondicherry University, theseminar taught him how to tackle hardsituation and he also got awareness ondisaster management.

Puducherry: A painting exhibition,“Vivarta” by Prof. S. Murali, Depart-ment of English, at Alliance Francaise’sMaison Columbani, was inauguratedby Padmashri Prof. J. A. K. Tareen,Vice Chancellor, Pondicherry Univer-sity on March 18. e exhibition is ontill March 28.

Painting exhibition

Puducherry: e Department ofBanking Technology, PondicherryUniversity organised ‘Bancquest’, anindustry-interface on March 12 at university’s Earth Science SeminarHall. It also organised a workshop on“Awareness Programme on IntellectualProperty Rights” on March 13 at the J. N. Auditorium of the university.Many industrialists, bankers and students participated in the events.

Bancquest and Workshop on

Intellectual Property Rights

Seminar on tribal society

Suja

Journee France: Educational and job opportunities in France

Suja

Rinoy

The crucial role of Bioinformatics in the

modern world

Jitendriya

Puducherry: e School of SocialSciences and International Studies ofPondicherry University and IndianAssociation for Social Sciences andHealth jointly organised the 6th

International Conference on Health,Equity and Human Rights from March7-8 at J. N. Auditorium of the university. Padmashri Prof. J.A.K.Tareen, Vice Chancellor ofPondicherry University inauguratedthe event. Delegates from UNFPA,UNICEF, WHO, ICMR also participated in the conference.

A technical session, ‘Symposium’was also held. Impact of social and cul-tural factors on health, poverty, equityand vulnerability, the human rights is-sues, gender inequalities in health sta-tus and health care were some of thetopics discussed in the session.

e Young Researcher Award was presented to two research scholars,Somnath Bhattacharjee and RanvirSingh. 15 scholars had presented theirpapers and the winners were selectedon the basis of clarity of presentationand knowledge on the subject.

Conference on

Health, Equity and

Human Rights

Rinoy

Puducherry: On March 9, PondicherryUniversity inaugurated two shuttles tofacilitate intra-campus transport.ese are non polluting electric vehicles that are silent and efficient, making rides a pleasure. eshuttles originate from both universitygates (1 & 2) every 20 minutes and willstop at all important points on thecampus for pick-ups and drops.

Transport green and clean

Jitendriya

Jitendriya

Prof. A. Balasubramanian at the seminar

Arathi

Check out THE INQUIRER inFULL COLOUR at www.pondiuni.edu.in

Puducherry: An International Con-ference on Micro Finance was organ-ised by the Department of Commercefrom Jan. 21-23, at the ConventionHall of Pondicherry University. Dr. K.G. Karmakar, managing direc-tor, NABARD, Mumbai gave the inau-gural address.

More than 150 institutionsparticipated in the conference, which

had technical sessions and panel

discussions. Delegates from variousinstitutions spoke on the topics concerned. e topics for panel discussion included were: ‘Status ofmicro finance in Asian and African continents, corporate and self helpgroup linkage as part of corporate social responsibility, ‘Sustain Micro Finance through Scientific and Technology Intervention.’

Micro Finance - Scope and Potential

3 Campus Buzz THE INQUIRER March, 2009

Demyst i fying Psychology Puducherry: MindSPACE (Society forPsychological Assistance, Care andEmpowerment), Students Associationof the Department of Applied Psychol-ogy, Pondicherry University, was inaugurated on Jan 28 by Dr. Jayachandran, a scientist andProfessor of the department. eevent focused on developing psycho-logical assistance and support to thepeople who are in need of it throughcounselling and awareness camps in

schools, colleges and surroundingcommunities. Mind SPACE also organised various departmental activ-ities for students that included quizzes,debates, seminars and screening ofdocumentary films.

MindSPACE also organized athree-day film festival from Feb. 18- 20at the University’s J.N. Auditorium. Before each screening, students gave abrief presentation on the psychologicalphenomena portrayed in the movie

which was followed by question andanswer sessions with Mrs. ShilpaAshok Pandit and Mr. Barani Kanth,faculty of the department. e aim ofthe film festival was to demystify psychology through the medium ofentertainment and information. emovies screened were: e SixthSense, 15th Park Avenue and anmathra.

Puducherry: Caliber 2009, the 7th International Conference organisedby Pondicherry University and UGCINFLIBNET, Ahmedabad was heldfrom Feb. 25-27 at the Convention Hall of the University. Itwas inaugurated by Dr. Gulshan Rai,Director General, CERT-In.

Free access to e-resources in universities across the country has increased research output by 42% ascompared to the last 10 years. Severalnew programmes will be introducedby UGC to enhance access to newtools, technologies and e-resources.

e importance of inculcatinglove for books in children was empha-sized by Padmashri Prof. J. A. K.Tareen, Vice chancellor, PondicherryUniversity. e library would have achildren’s section in future. Priority isto be given to creating a user friendly

atmosphere in the library. Dr. GulshanRai, in his inaugural address, said thatwe are an electronic generation whoalso ought to be aware of cyber security issues.

Prof. G. Sivakumar from Dept. ofComputer Science & Engg. IIT,Bombay, discussed the concept of Web2.0 and Library 2.0, pointing out thaton-line resources enable one to accessand publish.

While speaking at the valedictoryfunction Prof. Balasubramanian, Director, Culture and Cultural Relations, urged that every libraryshould have online assistance. eUGC is also expected to take the initiative to make e-learning a smoothprocess through library e-access, saidDr. M. Koteswara Rao, the librarian,University of Hyderabad .

e-Access will increase Research Output in Institutions

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PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY

Important details for admission 2009-10 for the benefit of our readersPONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY is a central university with an eminent faculty and cutting edge facilities. It invites students from

across the globe to study and research in a highly stimulating and tranquil environment. Sprawled over nearly 800 acres of lush

nature, it is nestled on the shores of Bay of Bengal. The University is located at R. V. Nagar, Kalapet, 10 km from Puducherry town,

a bustling tourist centre known for its history and spiritual heritage.

POST GRADUATE, M.PHIL & DOCTORAL PROGRAMMES

Our postgraduate programmes on offer are especially designed for students who seek academic excellence and cherish dreams of

dynamic and productive careers in areas of contemporary relevance. Our Choice Based Credit and Semester System offers sufficient

flexibility and options for enterprising students.It also offers various scholarships. For detailed information about courses and

scholarships, visit the University’s website: www.pondiuni.edu.in

ONLINE

Application form can be submitted online

through the University Website

www.pondiuni.edu.in

Send the hard copy (in A4 size) along with

the original bank challan for the

prescribed fee.

BY POST

For Application Form and Information

Brochure, write to

The Deputy Registrar (Academic II)

Pondicherry University, R. V. Nagar,

Kalapet, Puducherry 605 014.

along with a self addressed envelope of

size 32cm x 25cm, stamped for Rs.65/-

Request for application must be super-

scribed on the envelope “Request for

application form for admission”.

Issue of application forms from March 20

Submission of filled forms till April 30 Dates of Entrance Examination: June 6 -7

www.pondiuni.edu.in

IMPORTANT DATES

State-of-the-art seminar halls and

classrooms

Computers and Internet, campus to

be soon WiFi enabled

Central library with full access to

e-journals and e-resources

Well equipped laboratories and

central instrumentation facility

Campus recruitment and Job fairs

Industry-Institute Interface and

Placement Cells

QUALITY LIVING

Tranquil, pleasant and spacious

green campus

Hostels - rent free for women

Exclusive hostel for international

students

Sports stadiums and fitness

gymnasiums for women and men

Free transport facilities for

students from Puducherry town

to University

HOW TO APPLY

APPLICATION FEE

ACADEMIC INFRASTRUCTURE

EXPANSION EXCELLENCE EQUITY

For all courses Rs.200/-

(Rs. 50/- for SC/ST, FREE of cost for

physically and visually challenged

candidates - along with submission of

relevant certificates)

Use separate applications for each

programme. The application forms can

also be obtained from Indian Bank and the

Pondicherry University Staff Co-operative

Credit Society at the University campus.

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4 On the Wings of the Muse THE INQUIRER March, 2009

Painting on the palette of life!Exploring the mind and art of Ongkie Tan

The first thing that strikes oneabout Ongkie’s paintings istheir indefinability. ey don’t

fit into artistic categories, apart fromwhat the viewer is predisposed to giving them. ey are mystical tosome, purposeless to a few and deeplymoving to many. is mutable charac-ter of Ongkie’s paintings reflects hisown fluid and dynamic view of life,which does not rest upon a fixed point.It is contemplative one season, aggres-sive in another, chaotic and tranquilrespectively at other times. His artruns alongside his life and his experiences, some upliing, some depressing but all worthy of consider-ation as they issue forth from the samesource, he observes with a disarminglightness.

Ongkie is a natural painter assome would say. He began drawing ata very early age in his native villagenear Borneo in Indonesia and has hadno formal training in art. Born into arelatively affluent middle class agriculturalfamily of Chinese origin, his tendencytowards art was frowned upon. Paintingwas not recognized in these social circles as a vocation that guaranteed either respectability or prosperity.

He is a consummate travel bug, byhis own description. He le Indonesiaat the age of 26 for America. On arrival he began to paint for a living,selling his pictures on the streets ofLos Angeles. Luck smiled upon himfrom the very start. People were attracted to an inherent appeal in hispaintings and he began to sell well. Hewas noticed and approached by a galleryin Hollywood that soon began to represent him. Over the years he exhibited his work across America and

many cities in Europe. But he travelsnot just to exhibit his paintings. eexperience of travelling opens the doors ofcreation for him. Nature and people –ordinar y people – are his chief

inspirers and subjects of study.Both of these turn up in his work inone form or another, some timesplainly evident, many times inmetaphoric guise.

We asked Ongkie to tell us a little about the famed “process of artis-tic creation”. He told us, in his charac-teristic light hearted way, that therewas no mystery to it. Many times he

would just sketch or doodle a painting into life, letting the unconsciousprocesses guide him. Wewere surprised to learnthat he viewed painting asjust one aspect of his life,albeit an important one.

Ongkie is a man ofmany parts. On differentoccasions he has variouslybeen a hairdresser, amovie set attendant and afarmer. He divides histime presently betweentravel and living in a Zenmonastery. India, he confessed to us, exerted astrong pull on him. “As Iget older, my Asian bloodgets thicker” is how hecharmingly put it. He isdrawn to Auroville withits founding vision of

shared communal life andhuman diversity and is keen to exploreliving here in the years to come.

Monsoon Mother Earth

Towards the Light Alone Yin Yang

Ongkie Tan in Puducherry

Sensing the infinite! The moving spirit of music without boundariesThe concert by fusion experimen-

talist musician Nadaka and hisgroup at the Sri Aurobindo audito-rium on Feb. 28, to mark Auroville’s41st founding day, was a truly movingexperience. Appropriately named “ASense of the Infinite,” it generated apalpable sense of harmony. ‘Global-spiritual’ would be the word closest todescribing this music, which standsfor a genre that looks beyond definableforms and types. It embraces a greatvariety of elements, from classical Indian music and chants to free jazzand folk improvisations, to endorse itsdiverse and free ranging spirit.

Cascading melodies, perfect percussion, resonating vocals and precise instrumental interplay were allpresent in large measure for the enjoyment of novice and aficionadoalike. The ethereal strains ofNadaka’s “veena-guitar” comple-mented Gopika’s emotive voice, thesoothing sibilance of Balasai’s flute, therhythmic refrains of Mishko’s bass andthe punctuated nuances of Suresh’spercussion and Ganesh’s tabla. Together it served up a sound feastthat was singular and stirring at thesame time.

For more information aboutNadaka and contemporary Indian fusion music visit www.nadaka.organd www.shantakaram.com

Radhika Khanna (Faculty) Tejas Joseph (Guest faculty)

Clockwise: Gopika and Nadaka, Suresh Bascara, Mishko M’ba, Balasai Basavaraj, Ganesh Basavaraj. Photos courtesy: Nadaka

Siesta

Tejas Joseph (Guest faculty)

5 Features THE INQUIRER March, 2009

A sinking tradition: the fading art of hand made boat building

Situated at the mouth of theChaliyar river in the Kozhikode

district of northern Kerala, Beypore isa busy port and fishing centre. However, few know that Beypore wasan ancient maritime centre that traded

with Chinese, Arabs and later Euro-peans. Fewer still know that Beyporealso flourished as a centre for shipbuilding for many centuries up untilIndian independence. e boatyard atBeypore is known for the construction

of the ‘Uru’ a traditional sailing vesselused by Arabian merchants in the halcyon days of its trade with India.

e tradition of ship constructionin Beypore is nearly 1500 years old.e Urus had a large market as

recently as a century ago when manypeople, including foreign traders, relied largely upon large hand-madeboats. e crasmanship of the shipbuilders of Beypore was impeccable,which gave the place a unique status in the ship building world.

Beypore’s geography has playedno small role in making it famous forship building. Its location at the mouthof the Chaliyar river as it entered theArabian sea was perfect. e large teaklogs (the principal building material ofthe Urus) could be floated down fromthe forests of Nilambur upstream toBeypore. Here they would undergoseasoning before being worked uponto metamorphose into a stately Uruthat would soon embrace the waitingwaters of the Arabian Sea nearby.

As the ship building industry ofBeypore began to gain renown, itstarted attracting a large number andvariety of talent intrinsic to ship build-ing - from carpenters and woodcarvers to ironsmiths and stevedores.Many families of ship builders alsobegan to earn a reputation for themselves. ey were identified bytheir specializations, handed down inhereditary fashion. e chief builderwent by the epithet of “maistry,” whowas in complete charge of construc-tion. He conceived the design andplans, gave the orders and supervisedthe project from building to launch.He took credit for success and respon-sibility for failure in equal measure.

Aandikutty and his brotherNarayanan are two “maistrys” I happened to meet and talk to. eyhailed from an illustrious line of boatbuilders in Beypore going back to afew centuries. Both recall a time – albeit a few decades ago - when theywere engaged in actively building majestic Urus for a variety of clients.Narayanan has found a place in theGuinness Book of Records for havingdesigned and overseen the building of

the largest Uru in recent times. Today they own and run a small

shop that makes and sells miniaturesof these famous boats, now sold totourists as souvenirs and collectorsitems.

Two things signalled the death ofthe boat building industry in Beypore.It was hard for this industry, depend-ent heavily on labour and abundantsupplies of natural materials likewood, to compete effectively withmodern sea going vessels in terms ofcost and efficiency.

e commissioning of Urus stilldepended largely on rich patronage,particularly from that of Arab millionaires. is handicap was reinforced by another more criticalone when the Government of Kerala enforced a ban in the 1960’s on tropi-cal forest tree felling in an attempt to protect its rapidly dwindling forestcover. It may be of historical interest tonote here that the plunder of the Nilambur rain forests was consider-ably accelerated in the two centuries ofthe British Raj in India who shippedlarge numbers of tropical trees to England to lay tracks for the BritishRailway system.

A few Urus still get commis-sioned by rich oil sheiks who tend touse them as luxury sailing vessels. Atthe time of this survey, a 115 . longUru, commissioned by a sheikh fromQatar, was undergoing construction.However, these orders are few and farbetween and the time is not far offwhen the demand for these handmade vessels will completely cease. Allthat remains now is a vestige of whatonce used to be – a memento industrythat makes miniatures of the onceproud and great Urus that proudlyroamed the oceans of the world, fostering ties and adding to the coffersof many nations.

Arathi

Miniature boat souvenirs. Photo: Arathi

Crafting a souvenir ‘Uru’ under construction

The veena – queen of instrumentsMusic is a part of all human beings.Human beings need music for peaceand entertainment.ere are differentforms of music like classical, jazz, filmand folk music. All these differentforms of music can be expressedthrough instrumental and vocal mediums. e veena is one of the mostancient string instruments of India.

It is considered by many to be the“queen of instruments.” Its origin canbe traced back to the ancient yazh, astringed instrument similar to harpfrom ancient Greece. e design ofthe veena has evolved over the years,probably from the form seen in SouthIndian Medieval paintings and templesculpture: a string instrument withtwo gourd resonators connected by acentral sha, possibly of bamboo.

e veena then went through several innovations and modifications.Presently, the veena is 1.5m long and

is made from the wood of the jack fruittree. Its design consists of a large resonator (kudam) carved and hollowed tapering hollow neck(dandi) is topped with 24 brass or bell-metal frets. e end of the veena’sneck is carved like the head of adragon (yali). A small resonator is attached to the

underside of the neck. A little table-like wooden bridge (kudurai)—about2 x 2½ x 2 inches—is topped by a convex brass plate glued in place withresin. Two rosettes, formerly of ivory,now of plastic or horn, are on the top

board (palakai) of the resonator. A piece of music is produced on four metal strings thatrun above the frets. ese arestretched over a wide bridge that sitson the body of the veena.

ree other strings runalongside the neck of the

instrument. ese arecalled the sympathetic or

vibrating strings used for maintainingtime and for playing the drone. All theseven strings are made of steel and twoamong the four strings are coiled withcopper wire.

e South Indian veena hasadapted itself to changing times andtrends. Its singular and unique soundcan be heard in numerous present day hit tamil film scores and invarious fusion experiments. It is likelyto be one instrument that will defytime and retain its status as the queenof Indian instruments.

Iyappan

6 Earth Matters THE INQUIRER March 2009

On Oct. 29, 2008 the World WideFund for Nature, along with

Global Footprint Network and the Zoological Society of London cameout with the "Living Planet Report2008". (See illustration)

e report highlighted the fact thatif we continue with our consumption

based business as usual models ofworking and living, we would needone more planet by 2030. Currently,our consumption exceeds the biocapacity of the planet by approxi-mately 25%.

I remember reading an article in eHindu Business Line that stated that ifIndia and China meet the consump-tion standards of the United States,then these two countries (India andChina) themselves would require theresources of the entire planet. Whilethis problem is by no means an easyone to address and definitely in needof a multi-pronged approach, there isscope here for individual citizen intervention to lessen the burden ofthe problem.

Here are some “green” ways that I’vebeen exploring, and which I believe iftaken up by many others can cumula-tively lead to the survival of more treeson the planet, for starters.

1. Avail of online options for finan-cial transactions if you are computerliterate. Pay your insurance premiumsand other bills through the internet.Opt for e-statements and receiptswhenever possible.

2. Don’t take receipts at ATMs.Notice the amount of paper receiptslying in waste bins at ATM kiosks?Now, think about the amount of wastecreated on a daily basis across theglobe as these receipts get discarded.e only reason you will need thesereceipts is to tally your transactions atthe end of the month. But since elec-tronic transfers are for the most partsafe and error proof, there is no longerany need to have to painstakingly keepreceipts to cross check bank state-ments at the end of the month. atmuch paper and time saved! 3. Support green initiatives and

policies whenever they manifest, evenif the predominant colour of the current economic and politicallandscape of India is not green. Votefor candidates/parties that have greenagendas and support companies that

incorporate green features into theirproducts services. Visit www.karmayog.org/csr to get alist of socially responsible companies inIndia and www.global100.org for alist of companies worldwide thatinclude sustainability in their corporate vision and philosophy. 4. Prefer public transport over private vehicles whenever possible.Unlike in the west, however, wherepublic transport systems like trains,trams and buses, are dependable andcomfortable, here in India using public transport with its high levels ofpollution and crowding is likely to bemore of a forced choice than a volun-tary one. Still, the gains for the planetwill be considerable if we can bringourselves to do it despite the incon-venience. 5. Use technology fearlessly but

wisely. Technology can be a part of the solution, not always the problem. Climate control in cooling systems likeair conditioners and refrigerators canresult in considerable power savings.Similarly, most of today’s washing

machines conserve both water andpower to the benefit of your bottom-line and the planet’s resource pool.Choose state of the art appliances withgreen features even if they are a littlemore costly. ere are gains of an intangible kind when we do so. Reduced carbon emissions and net energy savings are two such. Also prefer staircases over elevators if youare young and fit. It saves energy andcould add to your lifeline. 6. Use the electronic revolution to ecological and economic advantage.Prefer e-mails and so copies to printouts, unless essential to your work. Recycle paper for your daily use(newspapers etc.) and use recycledpaper whenever available. 7. Going vegetarian can help theplanet to a great extent by reducinguse of fossil fuels and emissions

resulting from mass scale agro production and transportation. It isalso good for your health. Support organic farming and produce to theextent possible! Opting for food itemsthat are locally produced can translate

into energy savings. It can also helpthe local economy and add value toyour nutritional intake.

8. Eschew plastic for packaging,shopping and storage as much as possible. Use a cotton shopping bag (or one made of other biodegradablematerials) for your daily needs.

9. Unsubscribe from all the public/group e-mailing lists if you arenot reading those mails. Data andServer Farms are heavy consumers ofelectric power.

10. Reuse and recycle products,from ball point pens to paper andcomputers, in whatever way possibleto extend their lifelines and reduceplanetary waste.

11. Gi text books/ journals/study materials to libraries, educa-tional trusts for the poor and nightschools.

12. Pay heed to the message of eco-documentaries that tell us honestlythe status of the planet and what canbe done to redeem its falling state.Many of these films, like Al Gore’s “AnInconvenient Truth,” combine a pleafor lifestyle changes with hard scien-tific evidence to move skeptics.

We skirt Paikdev’s temple for‘Paikdev Zor,’ where this tribal

snake deity bathes. e story goes thatthe village of Maina in QuepemTaluka, in the foothills of the WesternGhats that border Goa to the south-east, once received all the water fromthe zor or spring, and people from adjoining Kawrem, none. en aer aterrible tragedy, an angry father fromMaina, grieving for his inconsolabledaughter whom he had given intomarriage at Kawrem, forced Paikdevto send water, through the hill, to thatvillage too.

I glance back. Seeing how themining company ‘renovated’ Paikdev’stemple, I feel a chill of sadness, onlyheightened by the fine spray of a dyingdrizzle. Some years back, Paikdev’stemporal abode was a labour of lovecraed in laterite, mud-plaster andwhitewash, nestling in a small clear-ing, surrounded by hundreds of trees.Now, as if in a mockery of archaeolog-ical surveys, contempt for ‘tribal’ beliefs, it seems manufactured in a factory. Paikdev in concrete; garishlypainted into dissonance; in return forthis paucity, the absence of his hills,trees and water.

Aer an hour and a half, unlikemy motley colleagues, I am tempted tosit. Aki, all of eight, eagerly bunkingschool, skips ahead like a sprite;Zaeen, fieen, playing truant to iden-tify birds, looks like he would rathernot go back to school; and to Pauto, inhis mid sixties, and Shantaram, in his

thirties, this is home. It’s July, the traditional paths covered with thickgrass and shrubs well over Aki’s head;creepers and vines form a thick web,through which we stumble and pickour way.

I mutter a loud prayer to Paikdevand ask him to ensure I do not put myfoot on a snake’s head. “Not all snakes are poisonous,” Zaeensays.‘Yeah…sure…I just don’t want to findout which is which”

Shantaram points to an old mine,abandoned in Portuguese times. Ittakes thirty years for the earth to recover from mining, so, apart from asudden incline and overhang in thedistance, and a deep bowl, the foresthas returned in vengeance, the mudroad all but disappeared, although onecan spot recent wheel tracks. e earthregenerating could have made a nicestory. “is is where they intend mining,” I say. “What will happen then?” Aki asksme.

“is hill will disappear,” I tell her.Her frown says she can’t comprehendthe scale of destruction, or maybe she’strying to figure out how anyone couldbe stupid enough to make a hill justdisappear.

We climb clumps of grass wedgedbetween ancient laterite burnt a deepbrown. At the summit we look out ata morning clear enough to plot therain. In the distance, cloud-misted

hills stretch towards Sulcorna to jointhe taller ghats, home to theKushawati; directly below, sprawlingto our right, the four hills we havetrudged over.

To our le, across the Maina-Kawrem road, barely 500 metres fromthe Government High School atMaina, is the rogue mining operationthat dug out two hills in barely sixmonths, leaving behind a bottomlesscavern. “is is what will happenhere?” Aki asks. “ey’re stupid people.” No, I want to say, just very greedy andvery, very dangerous, the kind whowill murder for ore. Zaeen’s just readthe Goa Foundation’s Goa, Sweet Landof Mine. “How do they get environ-ment clearances?” he asks.“ere’s a laboratory in Hyderabadthat fabricates reports saying there’snothing on these hills except ore.” “at’s it?”“It’s worse”.

I tell him what Joao, a lawyerfrom Quepem, says: that the miningoperations have already begun with-out ‘environment clearances.’ Zaeensnorts in disgust. He’s figured out thatback in school, they’ll tell him he mustrespect the law!

We pass full grown cashew trees,bhendi, teak, and mango, plantedsome twenty years back by the ForestDepartment, who will watch silently asthey are hacked down. I see pots todistil feni, and as we skirt the last hill,plantations of areca, tiny terraced

fields of rice, and lean-tos of thatch leover from the summer months whenshepherds watch over cattle grazing.

e shrine leaves Zaeen, usuallyon constant alert, in repose. Pauto saysPaikdev takes the form of a snake. Tome, his face is a giant rock darkenedwith age, buried in the hill, and festooned with bright-green ferns andlichens, tiny sprigs of wild flower,grasses, creepers and vines; his eyesglow rich with the blackness of ore.Around his forehead are entwined thethick roots of an ancient kusum, itstrunk a pillar to the sky, its canopy ofleaves welcoming the clouds. FromPaikdev’s mouth, along the furrow ofhis pursed tongue, water courses out.

Before his great-great grand-father’s time Pauto tells us, the wateronly flowed to Maina, where lived aman who gave his daughter in marriage to Kawrem. Blessed withbeautiful child, one day she came to fillher pots at the spring only returningto find her infant lifeless, his tiny bodycovered with tiny black ants. e father grieved a full year, then, carry-ing a big stick, walked to the zor withnine men, berating Paikdev for notgiving water to Kawrem and hittingthe rock. From that day three-quartersof the water flowed to Kawrem…

Returning, we descend 45 degreesfrom Paikdev Zor. Zaeen trekked theHimalayas this summer, so he looks atme witheringly, Aki readily followingsuit. Naturally stepped by water, thepath down twines between plants

growing high on either side, as ifplanted by a divine farmer and we getthe hang of going down, grabbing ahandful of the plants as if they wereropes. “You’re way too slow,” Zaeentells me, pushing past with Aki.

We are touched by the succour ofPaikdev Zor, the legend resonating aswe cross a mountain stream fourtimes, awed by the magnificence offlowing water. With innumerablebrooks, this stream joins the Curca, atributary of the Kushawati. It is difficult not to believe, as Pauto does,that these waters are not part of a divine force.

We come back full circle, to thecanal built at a cost of Rs. 4 Crore tocarry water from Paikdev Zor down-stream. Villagers here know contrac-tors and politicians made money fromthe canal, but, they add cynically, atleast they gave us Paikdev’s water. Onthe other side, Kawrem is still blessedwith its abundance, both villagestouched by the munificence of a tribaldeity towards a grieving father.

“at’s dumb,” Zaeen tells me aswe trudge the last hundred yards to ahot shower and change of clothes. Histeeth are chattering. “Her father hit arock to give water, now these swinewill hit that rock to stop the water…that’s dumb!”

IF TREES STOP BREATHING, I STOP BREATHING

Ajith Sankar R N, Faculty, PSG Institute of

Management, Coimbatore

M e n w h o w i l l s t o p t h e w a t e r

Source: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint/

Hartman de SouzaLecturer in eatre ArtsMahindra United World

College of IndiaPaud, Maharashtra

7 HumanScape THE INQUIRER March, 2009

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The liberalization of the Indianmarket resulted in a large varietyof unconventional job profilescoming the way of women. Thosewho were ready took advantage ofthese opportunities. While womentaxi and autorickshaw driversgained quicker assimilation intothe social and economic fabric ofthe large cities, enthusiasm washarder to come by in the smallercities and towns of the country.

The Women’s Welfare Societyof Puducherry started offeringdrivers training in the late 1990sto women from the poorer sections of society. Those interested in testing these new occupational waters were welcometo take the training to drive autorickshaws and mini transportvans. As a result of this initiative

Puducherry has quite a fewwomen drivers today, though theirnumbers ought to increase moresubstantially. I took the opportu-nity to talk to a few of these ‘pioneers.’ Selvi was the first oneI met. She is married and has twosons. Her husband is an autorick-shaw driver who found it hard tomake ends meet with his meagreearnings. Though she wanted toaugment the family’s income insome way, her options were limited she realized, not havingmore than a high school certificate and no working experience what so ever. This iswhen she decided to take the driving course offered by thePuducherry Women’s Welfare Society. On completion of thecourse she applied for a bank loan,only to be turned down. Therewas no precedent of women autodrivers in Puducherry and thebank manager was not sure if Selviwould be able to repay her loan.Selvi refused to give up and convinced him with her zeal and

commitment. This was ten yearsago. She looks back at all that happened since with a sense ofpride and achievement.

Over this period she has beenable to repay her loan with earnings from her autorickshaw,which is her own today. She remembered that there were about15 women who trained along withher, only five of whom continuedearning a living as autorickshawdrivers. Over time, however, morewomen came in and there aresome 15 women autorickshawdrivers in Puducherry today, inaddition to another 8 womensmall van drivers.

Jayant h i was t he s e condone I met . Again , e conomic insufficiency was the main reasonshe took the autorickshaw drivers

training for womenunder the aegis of theWomen’s Welfare Society. Today, she ishappy with this deci-sion, which has helpedsupplement her family’s income c o n s i d e r a b l y besides giving her arenewed sense ofachievement and independence.

Sumathy, who is asmall van driver unlike the oth-ers, used to be the head of a Self HelpG r o u p(SHG) inOulgaretm u n i c i -pality whohad ap-proachedtheir SHGh e a d office forjob open-i n g s . I n s t e a dthey were o ff e r e d d r i v e r s ’training,which wasnot so popular then. Many declined. Sumathy, however,wanted to train as a driver butfaced some resistance from herhusband initially. Her mother-in-law supported her desire and soonconvinced her son of the benefitsof this new initiative that his wifewanted to avail of. Soon thereafter

she took her license and has been driving a vanfor three years now. Initially therewere difficulties of a social nature,coming from that posed by maledrivers who sensed competition ofa sort that did not exist before.But before long they acceptedtheir female colleagues and beganto work harmoniously with them.Sumathy is a happy lady vandriver today who earns enoughmoney and respect to make herrecommend driving to morewomen.

Marie was the last womandriver I met. She was very shortand this handicap seemed to be adifficult one for her to overcome.She was delayed her license onthis ground even after completionof training. Being a fiery woman,she insisted that though short, shewas as good as anyone else. Todayshe is a successful woman drivertoo. All these instances show thatthere are seismic changes happen-ing in the world of women, acrossthe spectrum of nationality, class,caste and economic grouping.While we hear of more womenCEOs and research scientists whomake our news headlines and blurthe gender divide with their achievements, let us not forget, onthe occasion of the InternationalWomen’s Day this year, those simple and ordinary women who

brave social and economic odds towin a much needed sense of selfand economic freedom.

The Inquirer salutestheir enthusiasm and determina-tion to forge new paths for themselves and for many otherslike them. May their tribe increase! V. Arivoucany

Reaching the Unreached: A technicalinstitute with a difference

A considerable number of the country’s population works in the unorganised sector, mainly becausethey are not educated and trained inany particular discipline. e deprivedpopulation of villages can be trained invocational skills through offering qualitative general and technical education, which can help providevaluable employment opportunities.e Auroville Industrial School (AIS),located on the outskirts of the interna-tional township of Auroville near thelegendary temple of Irumbai, is such avocational training institute servicingstudents from economically backwardfamilies of South India. AIS provideshigh quality technical education at affordable costs to rural youth. Over450 students from economically backward families were enrolled sinceclasses commenced in 2005.

For more information visitwww.ais.org or e-mail office.ais@auroville.org.in

e institution works on a non-profit basis and charges nominalfees in order to foster responsibilityand accountability amongst its students. According to its executiveand principal, Lavkamad Chandra, theschool’s primary objective is to enhance the employability of ruralyouth through offering value basedtechnical training that is relevant andeffective. e courses offered in AIS include Computer Hardware Maintenance, Soware Development, Renewable Energy Applications, Secretarial Skills, Industrial Training,Electronics, Civil Draughtsmanshipand short term certification courses inMS Office and Accountancy. e Auroville Industrial School has qualified faculty and is well equipped

with small classes in pleasant surroundings. In addition to professional skills, students are alsotaught communication skills, medita-tion and conflict management to improve personal and social skills. On completion of their courses students find successful placement in companies like General Electric,WIPRO, LENOVO, GT-Electronicsand various Computer Centres inuducherry and Auroville. In the nearfuture, AIS plans to reach out to itsaudiences through community TV.

We spoke to some of the studentsat AIS for their impressions about theschool and its courses and how theyfelt it could benefit them. ey were allunanimous in claiming that thecourses at the institute helped to widentheir awareness at large and taughtthem vocational skills that added valueto their futures. Many of them had difficulties with English in the beginning and found it hard to followclasses owing to this handicap. Butwith time they overcame this difficultywith dedicated inputs from theirteachers. e institute places importance upon extracurricular activities like sport and yoga apartfrom the regular courses of study. ishelps its students achieve a fuller perspective of life.

e staff and faculty of the institute are supportive and dedicated to their students and theirneeds. is, according to them, is whatsets the Auroville Industrial Schoolapart from others of its kind. is unique feature is what will continue to attract students.

In the driving seat of change!(Continued...)

ArathiAnbarasi

Jitendriya

The Inquirer team with Principal of Auroville Industrial School. Photo: Radhika

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Photo: Arivoucany

Photo: Radhika

8 Potpourri THE INQUIRER March, 2009

Thoughts and thought models havea big influence over our lives.

Many people are not aware of the effect they have. inking is some-thing we do every day throughout thewhole day. In fact, we never stopthinking. Even when we sleep we continue thinking in dreams.

When you form your thoughtsyou produce feelings, attitudes, wordsand actions that make up the book orpainting of your life. You are the artistand creator. Develop the wisdom thatteaches you to produce the highestquality of thoughts whenever, howeverand wherever you wish. Getting out ofthe routine so that you are no longerinfluenced by the whirlwind of yourthoughts and emotions, and by thosecreated by others around you, dependson you.

As a result of the daily bombard-ment of information (television, telephones, work, the media and intense relationships), we have rendered our hearts insensitive andfind it hard to control the flight andspeed of our thoughts and to put theminto practice. All this has distanced usfrom our true identity, of who is behind these masks, protective

a r m o u r , attitudes androles. We havecome to believethat we are infact these rolesand we identifyourselves withthem.Be aware of the

quality of your thoughts. You can liveeach moment of your life knowinghow to choose beneficial and qualitythoughts quite consciously, and learnto protect yourself from diverse nega-tive influences. To improve the qualityof your thoughts you must be aware ofhow you think, and recognise thateach one of us creates our ownthoughts, whether positive or uselessand negative. From this you can lay thebasis for real positive change in yourlife.

Look at your thoughts and howyou feel. From here arises a natural desire to try and understand severalthings: why do I think and feel likethis? Where do these thoughts comefrom? By looking into your inner self,or to put it another way, being introspective, in order to understand

what creates these thoughts, you willprobably come across a series ofdeeply-rooted habits within you.

e only way of strengthening thepower you have to choose and make iteffective is through an inner voyage tounderstand and manage how yourmind works in a better way. is iswhat meditation is all about.

Be aware of the influence yourthoughts have over your quality of life.Be aware of the creative capacity youhave in order to choose the kind ofthoughts you want to create at anytime.

Develop a more positive attitudetowards life. Create positive thoughtsand feelings towards situations, peopleand circumstances. Widen the understanding of your spiritual identity.

Learn meditation as a way ofchannelling the energy of your mind. Discover your potential abilities andpowers.

WORD SALAD

e words given below have a com-mon feature. ere are letters ‘on’ ineach of them. Can you solve this puz-zle with the help of the hints given?For e.g.: _ _ _ _on (Ambani brothers,

Tata et al fall under this group) and theanswer is Tycoon.1. _ _ _ _ _ on (A geometric shape having more than nine sides)2. _ _ _on_ _ _ _ (Amitabh Bachchandonned this character in JhoomBarabar Jhoom )3. _ _ _ _ _ _on _ _ _ _ (Open mouthedengineering)4. _ _ _ _ _on_ (A metal bone whichproduces music )5. _ _ _on (Strike a match and go tojail)6. _ _ _ _on_ _ _ _ _ _ (A tanned Greekin a math classroom)7. _ _ _ _ _ _on (What do you have todo to not drown in a French pool?)8. _ _ _ _ _ _on_ _ (A demandingnightingale in a musical drama)9. _on_ _ _ (Express yourself in 14lines)10. _ _ _ _ _ _ on (Athens to Sparta intwo days)

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The power of positive thinking

Positive thinking influencespositive actions. We can

remould the world in which we liveto suit our genuine needs betterthrough changing or manipulatingour thought processes. Physicalhealth, mental harmony and general happiness are influencedthrough positive thinking.

Our thinking is linked to our immune system, heart, hormonaland cholesterol levels. What wethink affects how we feel. Thequality of happiness we enjoy isdirectly related to the way wethink – about ourselves and ourworld. You are what you think!

Life is composed of many

little steps. Each step takes us tothe next and sets the stage for usto grow to new levels of under-standing. None of us know whattwists and turns await us. But if wecan learn to think positively, wemay manage to control the effectsof our life to a large extent and retain our hold on happiness.

Thought is behind every

human idea and enterprise. Some-times our thoughts (desires andwishes) are fulfilled. Many timesthey are not. Being able to thinkpositively helps us deal with temporary setbacks. Every failureis an occasion to remind us thatwe have the power to overcomedifficult situations. It is a powerthat lies within us. It is the powerof appropriate thinking. Use thispower consciously and diligentlyand witness the results of changefor yourself.

S. Ugin MaryPrincipal-in-Charge

Vasavi College of EducationPuducherry

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Advisory Board

Prof. A. Balasubramanian

Gopinath. S

Tejas Joseph

EditorRadhika Khanna

Sub EditorsArathi Krishnakumar

Iyappan. E

Sandosh Kumar. J.M.

Suja Das

Page Design & LayoutIyappan. E.

Kandan. C

Sandosh Kumar. J.M.

IllustrationsIyappan. E.

Reports & FeaturesAnbarassi.K

A. Prabakaran

Jitendriya Jena

Kandan. C

Munnadiayan. A

Monalisha Basumatary

Rinoy Basumatary

V. Arivoucany

Vasanth. V

ResearchAnandarasu. T

Sankara Rao

Srinath. G

Vasanthy. K

V. Nathy

Vijayakumar. A

Ketaki ChowkhaniM.A. English,

Pondicherry University

S. Ugin Mary, Principal-in-Charge,

Vasavi College of Education,Puducherry

Dr. Uma ChandrasekaranDept. of Management Studies

Pondicherry University

S.Vasudeva Rao, IPSIGP, Puducherry

Suja Das

MAIL BAGWhat our readers have to say. . .

Don your running shoes and shortseverybody! Marathons have come toour town too. ey are becoming regular events across the nation to endorse various events and publiciseworthy causes from sports to AIDS.Puducherry is also getting firmly established on the marathon map ofthe country.

e 2nd Auroville Marathon washeld on Feb.15. It witnessed some 500runners across all ages and coming from many places. Inciden-tally, the Chennai Marathon was alsoheld on the same day.

e marathon event started at 5 a.m. ere was a half marathon at

6 a.m. and a quarter marathon at 7 a.m, all originating from the Certi-tude play fields in Auroville. e pathswere well marked with coloured arrows. Posts along the way offeredwater, juice, bananas, biscuits and,most importantly, encouragement.Volunteer cyclists accompanied therunners, as did photographers. A bandof drummers near a turn cheered therunners. e early morning chill became bearable aer a few hundredmeters and the sun’s rays pouringthrough the trees along with the lushgreenery along the track provided asense of warmth and well being. Peacock calls greeted the runners and

some were graced by their unexpectedpresence across a path.

e runners ranged from 12 yearsto senior citizens of 80 years. Break-fast was provided to all participantsand volunteers aer the run. Salt waterfoot baths were available to those whowanted this. Everyone was given a bluetee shirt with the marathon logo on itand certificates were given by themarathon organisers headed byChandresh Patel. ere was a generalmood of jubilation aer the run, witheveryone feeling like a winner. It wasindeed a victory for the human spirit!

R u n n i n g f o r u n i t y - 2 n d A u r o v i l l e M a r a t h o n

Answers:1) decagon, 2) raconteur, 3) orthodontics,4) trombone, 5) arson, 6) trigonometry, 7) natation,8) prima donna, 9) sonnet, 10) marathon

Be Aware

Miriam Subirana, Ph.D.Director of Yesouisi,

International Space of Creativity,Values and Coaching,

Barcelona, Spain

Ketaki ChowkhaniM.A. English

Wellbeing

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Dr. Miriam Subirana

Congratulations to all your teammembers on bringing out the inaugural issue of e Inquirer. is isan awesome beginning and the coverage and layout were indeed very professionally done. Looking forwardto all future issues as well.

e Inquirer brought out by the Department of Mass Communicationis savvy, professional, informative andmakes for an interesting read.e layout is attractive and diverse topicsare covered. Kudos for your attempt.Keep it up. Cheers!

We can't believe that it is your inaugural issue. e presentation and editing is appreciable.

Your inaugural issue was good in content and get up. I hope more colourgets added over time. You may like toconsider adding more columns in future like ‘Inspiring oughts’ and‘Personality Development’. May yourmagazine grow bigger and more popular.

THE INQUIRER is a lab journalbrought out by the students of Dept.

of Mass Communication,Pondicherry University.

Colour version is available atwww.pondiuni.edu.in

Suggestions and inputs invited atpuinquirer@gmail.com