The People's President!!

The missile man. A visionary leader. A role model for so many,  and a person with an indomitable spirit.
  

He who taught us to dream big. He who inspired the Indian youth. He who let out his last breath inspiring young ones at IIM. Former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam has lived life spreading knowledge and harmony leaving an ever lasting impact. Born in South. Galvanized in West. Leading us from North. And finally leaving us from East.

It's hard to believe if there would ever be a symbol of hope like he was. One of the most inspiring human being, a cult figure is no more. As PM Modi has said, Bharat has lost its Ratna. However, his inspiration and words of wisdom will remain with us forever.

Our grandfathers would have felt proud in saying they lived in the era of Vallabhbhai Patel. Now we can certainly take pride in saying our grandchildren that we lived in the era of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. The ever humble genius who made the whole India proud. Sir, you will live in our hearts and every human invention.

  “If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.” - Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

- DC

The angels onboard!!!

What was once a dream job for women, being an air hostess today is far from wonderful.

People normally think air hostesses must be easy but they do have strict codes of conduct. They are primarily on board an aircraft for the safety and welfare of the passengers and secondly for their comfort. The role of cabin crew can be physically demanding and is in fact more stressful. 

They are usually approachable and enthusiastic with a good sense of self-presentation. They show the passengers to their seats and help them with their baggage. They respond to medical emergencies the way a doctor does. They do all these with a ever glowing smile on their face. They are apparently the face of the airline as you can call it.  

Mostly flight attendants have too many straight flights with just little time for turnaround. So it makes their job even more demanding than we all think it is. Female flight attendants encounter many difficult situations - sexual harassment by passengers being the worse. 

And their long list of duties can look exhausting if we knew about.  

- Starting from having to attend a pre-flight briefing, where they get assigned their working positions for the upcoming flight; 

- carrying out pre-flight duties which includes checking safety equipment and ensuring a clean and tidy cabin; 

- to welcoming passengers on board; 

- informing them of the aircraft safety procedures; 

- checking all passenger seat belts and galleys are secure prior to rake-off; 

- making announcements on behalf of the pilot and answering to passenger queries; 

- serving meals and refreshments; 

- reassuring passengers and ensuring that they follow safety procedures correctly in emergency situations; 

- responding to medical emergencies and 

- to finally completing paperwork, including writing a flight report, the duties are by far tiring. Yet they do it all with a smile. 

These are just a glance at the life of air hostesses on board. They do have life away form their job like we all do. And we need to respect the fact that they are humans too and deserve to be treated well and not taken for granted.

- DC 

The ingenious Epic!!

It was with a mere household fly that he won our hearts. "Naan Ee" was an instant hit across regions and he had a built a strong reputation for himself. Director SS Rajamouli has pulled off something even more spectacular this time with Bahubali (meaning "the One with strong arms"), which is the first of a two-part tale. He has done what he normally does best - giving us an epic by skillfully blending all requisites at just enough proportions. Two things to be noted here - One, he's made a film that actually gets better after intermission. Two, he's given us a totally new epic -  a benchmark of sorts. The CGI landscape, like the waterfalls coming out of a 3D map in the beginning and the rather magnificent Mahishmati empire, are just awesome. 
 

We can only be awe-struck by Rajamouli's ambition, audacity and ever expanding imagination. It is but a wonder how he understands the science of extremes and transforms it into a picture. And more so makes it reach masses and critics alike. Like everyone I was also looking forward to Bahubali-The Beginning, said to be the most costliest Indian film so far. As it turns out, it is everything I expected it to be - mega, ingenious and complete class. There's never a dull moment in this epic fantasy about a lost prince, rebellion, revenge, rivalry and a shocking betrayal to seize the throne. The geography and era specified is entirely fictional. The inspired architecture, the conception of a brand new language ‘Kiliki’ spoken by a wild tribe, and not to forget the music (which in fact carries the movie forward with purpose) are all magical.

Almost three hours go like a breeze in the company of the protagonists, where every single one makes an 'entry' designed for wolf-whistles. Not just entry, an exit has an equal level of applause - when the hero beheads the villainous prince. Bahubali-The Beginning isn’t quite finished; though it concludes on a delightfully suspense note. The rest of the epic fantasy is scheduled for release in 2016. Films that end on a cliffhanger note are usually frustrating. Bahubali isn't. 

The first part of the epic leaves behind rip-roaring entertainment to relish till it’s back to finish what it started in perhaps an even more jaw-dropping manner.

As a tweet went about...
"If you have Troy, we have Bahubali. If you have Cameroon, we have Rajamouli."

Rajamouli incites such confidence. Take a bow sir!!

Box office - Set to cross 400 crores while I'm writing this!!

- DC

One teacher. Thousands of students.

She wanted to do PhD and become a teacher, but after her father's death, she had to take up a job in an MNC. However, Roshni Mukherjee found a way to teach tens of thousands of school students for free.

She launched Examfear.com to post video lessons for classes 9 to 12, and her YouTube channel has more than 68,000 subscribers. She has shared around 3,700 videos in the past four years, which means more than two video les sons posted per day .

"It began when my maid told me her two children kept failing in their exams be cause teachers in the government school in Tamil Nadu, where they studied, would rarely come to class. These were the children I wanted to reach out to," she said.

As technology offered the best solution, she uploaded a video on YouTube, explain PY ing the physics concept of motion. She used a Powerpoint slideshow and a microphone to explain the concepts. As there was a good response, she started posting more video lessons.

"After seeing the videos, students started asking doubts in the comments section and also requested for video lessons on specific topics. I was happy to help," she said. She spent a few hours on weekdays and all her weekends preparing the videos lessons in chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology .

She initially prepared videos for classes 11 and 12, but soon expanded to classes 9 and 10. "I refer CBSE syllabus and brush through ICSE syllabus to add any points I may have missed out. The videos are simple: made on Powerpoint (slide shows) with a voice in the background explaining the concepts," she said.

About eight months ago, Roshni quit her job with HP (which she had joined in the meantime) to focus on video lessons. "The channel was starting to make a little money from Google ads and I added a contribute button for those who wished to do so. I plan to keep the videos entirely free because only then can I reach a lot more students," she said.

Now, Roshni wants her videos to reach the remotest corners of the country. For this, she has to translate the videos into regional languages.

"That is the next course of action -making these videos into regional languages such as Kannada, Tamil and Bengali," she said.

Over time, Roshni hopes to expand her classes to junior grades and also subjects such history and geography .

 

Courtesy: TOI

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/One-teacher-virtual-school-has-68k-students/articleshow/48012594.cms?utm_source=TOInewHP_TILwidget&utm_medium=ABtest&utm_campaign=TOInewHP