Youthaffairz December 2012

Good Samaritan:  Ajit Kulkarni grew up in rural environs. After reading books about Baba Amte he went to meet the social worker and inspired by Amte's work, Ajit decided to dedicate his life to social work - a decision that has today brought succour to many poor, destitute, deprived and differently-abled children. Ajit was recently conferred an award instituted by an educational group of institutes for his contributions to the society. Read more .....

Science:  NASA's car-sized rover, Curiosity, has taken significant steps toward understanding how Mars may have lost much of its original atmosphere.Read more ....

A mother's willingness to sacrifice her own health and safety for the sake of her children is a common narrative across cultures - and by no means unique to humans alone. Female polar bears starve, dolphin mothers stop sleeping and some spider moms give themselves as lunch for their crawly babies' first meal.Read more ....

Three members of the Expedition 33 crew undocked from the International Space Station and returned safely to Earth on November 19, wrapping up a mission lasting more than four months. Read more ....

Fiction:  The Government has sent notices and Harshabardhan and his brother Gobardhan have also received them. The country is facing hostilities at the borders and the prospect of a war is looming large. The Government has, therefore, sent notices to all men, urging them to enroll in the military services. Will Harshabardhan go to the war? Find out by reading the crude translation of a story by Bengali humourist Shibram Chakraborty. Read the full story .....

Colours:  For the youth, life is a splash of colours. Whether on or off the campus, living is sheer fun, joy and laughter. Share some light moments here .....

Brain Teaser:  During Diwali, a fair was organised near my house. One of the chief attractions in the fair was a contest.In this contest, four kinds of sweets - a "laddoo", a "barfi", a "gulab jamoon" and a "pedha" - were placed on a table in full view of the participants. A curtain was then dropped blocking the participants' view and the sweets were rearranged and inverted cups were placed over each of them. The curtain was raised. The participants had to correctly guess as to which sweet lay covered by which cup. Can you tell how many participants guessed three sweets correctly? Please help .....

Indian Festivals:  Although Diwali was celebrated on November 13 across the country, a few odd houses are yet to remove the colourful sky lanterns as if unable to come to terms with the fact that the festival of lights has indeed ended this calender year. Read more .....

Youthaffairz November 2012

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Good Samaritan:  Alkagauri Joshi was the quintessential Pune girl till her twelfth standard. Then she attended a camp organised by the Vivekananda Kendra at Kanyakumari and her life changed. Since the last fourteen years, Alkagauri has been engaged in teaching children in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and changing their lives for the better. Read more .....

Life:  I am glad my memory is short, else those haunting eyes of Pluto would have tormented me forever. The memory still lingers but it is not so intense now. It was a few months ago that Pluto died and I was afraid his eyes would continue to rove and speak to me about his anguish. He was a dog and could not communicate as effectively with me with his mouth as he did with his eyes. Read more .....

Who we call and how long we speak to them changes with the weather, according to new research by experts at Newcastle University. Read more .....

Science:  Heightened activity between the emotional and auditory parts of the brain explains why the sound of chalk on a blackboard or a knife on a bottle is so unpleasant. Read more ....

The average area covered by the Antarctic ozone hole this year was the second smallest in the last 20 years, according to data from NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites. Read the NASA release ....

A comprehensive study of hundreds of galaxies observed by the Keck telescopes in Hawaii and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revealed an unexpected pattern of change that extends back 8 billion years, or more than half the age of the universe. Read the NASA release ....

Fiction:  Here is a crude attempt to translate one of Rabindranath Tagore's short stories. Read the full story .....

Colours:  For the youth, life is a splash of colours. Whether on or off the campus, living is sheer fun, joy and laughter. Share some light moments here .....

Brain Teaser:  One day while taking a walk I came across a flock of crows feasting on carrion. I was trying to find out how many crows were there in the flock. Can you help me determine the number? Please help .....

History:  Following the passing away of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru delivered a moving speech that is one of the greatest speeches ever. Read the speech .....

Indian Festivals:  India is in the midst of the festival season. Durga Puja and Dussera were recently celebrated and everyone is now eagerly awaiting the Diwali festival. Durga Puja is the biggest festival of the Bengalis and here we bring some glimpses of the celebrations in Pune. Read more .....

Youthaffairz August issue

Good Samaritan:  Kulandei Francis from India is among the six persons who have been chosen for the 2012 Ramon Magsaysay Award which is considered to be Asia's Nobel Prize. Read more about his work .....

Life:  "C'mon, Champ! One more!", he vociferously urged as I summoned the last vestiges of strength that remained in my straining body to lift that 100 pound barbell a final time. "Sab self hai! Ek aur ho jayega! Puusssh!", he egged me on with such belief in his tone that made it impossible for my leaden arms to give in just yet. Pradyut Hande pays a moving tribute to his trainer at the gym who passed away in an accident. Read more .....

Science:  For several days in July 2012, Greenland's surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations. Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its 2-mile-thick center, experienced some degree of melting at its surface, according to measurements from three independent satellites analyzed by NASA and university scientists. Read the NASA release ....

Your Voice Your Opinion:  Pradyut Hande delves into the Maruti Suzuki India Limited's crisis at its Manesar facility and tries to analyse the situation. Read his views .....

Fiction:  Everyone is cheering for Palaram but, yet, he is hiding behind the bushes! A crude translation of one of Bengali writer Narayan Gangopadhyay's short stories. Read the full story .....

Colours:  For the youth, life is a splash of colours. Whether on or off the campus, living is sheer fun, joy and laughter. Share some light moments here .....

Brain Teaser:  This is all about bananas. Someone has eaten a banana that rightfully should have gone into my stomach. Can you play the detective and find the culprit. Please help me find the banana thief .....

History:  August 15 marks India's Independence Day, and first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's "Tryst with destiny" speech is the apt page from history to celebrate the occasion. Read the speech .....

Heritage:  Khadki in Pune, which is one of the oldest cantonments in the country, houses a novel landmark - the Kirkee War Cemetery (KWC) - which is so serene that the hand involuntarily rises in salute. Read more .....

Youthaffairz July issue

Achiever:  All the odds were against him - he is afflicted with polio, hails from a small village in Solapur district of Maharashtra, and his father had died when he was very young. But Ramesh Gorakh Gholap overcame all the adversities and has topped the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) Main exams 2011 and has also cleared the Union Public Service Commission examination. Read more .....

Expert speak:  Here are excerpts from the address delivered by former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam during the first convocation of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram on June 28, 2012.Read more .....

Science:  Data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have revealed Saturn's moon Titan likely harbors a layer of liquid water under its ice shell. Read the full NASA release ....

Fiction:  A crude translation of one of Bengali humorist Shibram Chakraborty's short stories. The story "Gora's bargaining prowess" is about a small boy's determination not to be cheated by a shop-keeper. Whether Gora gets cheated in the end or is it the shop-keeper, it is for the readers to decide.Read the full story .....

Colours:  For the youth, life is a splash of colours. Whether on or off the campus, living is sheer fun, joy and laughter. Share some light moments here .....

Brain Teaser:  This is rather simple and even I have been able to solve it. So, it should be child's play for you, although it may be a bit tedious. You have to break this secret code and once you do so, your efforts will be rewarded with coins. Please decipher this secret message .....

History:  Father of Indian Unrest Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on July 23, 1856. To commemorate the birth anniversary, here is the text of a speech delivered by him at Nashik in 1917. Read more .....

Faith:  Towards the end of the second week of June, Pune welcomed a "city on move" - a vast congregation of faithfuls who passed through Pune on a rigorous pilgrimage to the temple town of Pandharpur in Solapur district on foot.Read more .....

Youthaffairz June issue

Good Samaritan:  The word "nirman" means to "create" and that is what the initiative "Nirman" is aimed at - to create a new generation of leadership to take up social challenges like poverty, food shortage, energy crisis, child deaths, global warming, unemployment, and others. Read more .....

Expert speak:  Former Chief of the Army Staff Gen V K Singh, a day before he hung up his uniform, impressed upon cadets at the National Defence Academy on the need for military leaders to have right kind of moral and ethical values.Read excerpts from the address delivered by Gen Singh at the passing out parade of the 122nd course of the NDA on May 30, 2012 .....

Innovation:  Four final-year mechanical engineering students of the Pune Zilla Shikshan Mandal's College of Engineering at Manjri in Pune have designed an agro-scooter which is a multi-purpose vehicle that can perform 12 different farming operations. Read more ....

Fiction:  A crude translation of one of poet-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore's short stories. The story "Feast of the rats" is about a group of school students who have not yet seen their new Sanskrit teacher, but yet taken a dislike for him. They undergo a change of heart subesquently. Read the full story .....

Colours:  For the youth, life is a splash of colours. Whether on or off the campus, living is sheer fun, joy and laughter. Share some light moments here .....

Brain Teaser:  Never ask a mathematician his age, or for that matter, the age of any of his family members. This is what my friend Ajit faced when he wanted to know the ages of our Mathematics teacher's three children. Instead of giving Ajit a straight reply, the teacher told him to determine the ages by looking at the house number and his oldest child's love for adventure sports. Can you help Ajit in detrmining the ages?Please help .....

History:  Here is the text of Swami Vivekananda's famous Chicago speech through which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions on 11th September, 1893. Read more .....

Science:  Indian scientist Prof Ashutosh Kotwal from Pune has announced the World's most precise measurement of a fundamental particle called the W boson. Read more .....

Youthaffairz May issue

Grit:  Flying Officer M P Anil Kumar is the personification of an indomitable fighting spirit. Kumar, an alumnus of the National Defence Academy who was adjudged the best Air Force cadet of the 65th Course, had gone on to become an ace fighter pilot. But his brilliant flying career was cut short in a freak road accident when he severely injured his spine, losing complete mobility below the neck. Kumar taught himself to write initially by holding a pen with his teeth and subsequently on a computer using a specially-modified keyboard holding a stylus in his mouth. A prolific writer, his life story "Airborne to Chairborne" is part of the tenth standard syllabus in Maharashtra and Kerala. Read the story .....

Expert speak:  "Mera Bharat Mahan - India, is indeed a great country - full of contradictions. We talk of corruption, but who started it in the first place?" These are excerpts from a speech delivered by Dr Vijaypat Singhania at the 47th annual convocation of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad in his capacity as chairman of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) Society and the Board of Governors. He has since relinquished office as the chairman following completion of his tenure. Read more .....

Inspiration:  Marsha Ivins, a veteran astronaut who has logged 55 days in space, advises youngsters to "Never take a 'no' for an answer". Read more ....

Fiction:  May 7 marks the birth anniversary of poet-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore. To commemorate the occasion, we have attempted a crude translation of one of Tagore's short stories. The story "Holiday" is about the travails of a teenager. Read the full story .....

Colours:  For the youth, life is a splash of colours. Whether on or off the campus, living is sheer fun, joy and laughter. Share some light moments here .....

Brain Teaser:  There are 12 coins. One of the coins is fake. It is known that a fake coin weighs either slightly less or slightly more than a real coin. Using a balance scale, how can you find the fake coin, and determine if it weighs less or more than a real coin in only three weighings? Can you help me solve this?Please help .....

History:  May 7 marks the birth anniversay of poet-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore. To commemorate the occasion, here is a speech delivered by Tagore. The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Tagore in 1913 but he could not be present for the awards function. On May 26, 1921, he visited Stockholm and addressed the Royal Swedish Academy and delivered this speech and acknowledged and accepted the honour. Read more .....

Art and culture:  Ramesh Pachange is a "chowghada" exponent who represents the fifth generation of his family to continue the tradition. He is determined to preserve this dying art form. Read more .....

Youthaffairz April issue

Achiever: Seeta Ashok Shelke, a girl from a small village, Gadilgaon, in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, has proved that a rural background is no deterrant to succeed in life. Seeta has done her village proud by getting selected for a commission in the Indian Army. Read more .....

Expert speak: India has made remarkable progress over the last two decades and is viewed today as a land of opportunities. This transformation had its genesis in the process of economic reforms initiated in the 1990s, which unleashed the entrepreneurial abilities of India's people. This is an excerpt from the speech delivered by ICICI Bank chairman and Infosys chairman K V Kamath during the 47th annual convocation of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. Read more .....

Inspiration: April 3 marked the birth anniversary of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw who was popular as "Sam Bahadur" and who is considered as the architect of India's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 War. To commemorate the occasion, here is an inspiring speech delivered by him on leadership qualities. Read more ....

Your Voice Your Opinion: The Indian economy continues to register respectable growth rates, given the predicament of a sluggish global economy. Consequently, with a substantial increase in the levels of disposable income, consumption trends have also undergone a gradual metamorphosis both in urban and rural India. Urban India in particular has spawned a new generation of educated, dynamic, globally sensitized, highly aspirational and ever burgeoning socio-economic collective that I call the Neo-Indian consumer, says Pradyut Hande while choosing to dwell on the Vending Machine market in India through a more discerning lens with an accent on the Neo-Indian consumer profile. Read more .....

Fiction: In this fast-paced world, fortunes change at a moment's notice. Your employee could well become your boss tomorrow. So, think twice before behaving rudely with your subordinates or those who are at an inferior position now. Perhaps this is what the story wants to tell. Read the full story .....

Colours: For the youth, life is a splash of colours. Whether on or off the campus, living is sheer fun, joy and laughter. Share some light moments here .....

Brain Teaser: The lives of these soldiers depend upon correctly guessing the colour of the caps they are wearing. Can you help them in devising a strategy by which they can make the correct guess? Please help .....

Science: A team of young researchers, led by Dr Bhaswati Bhattacharya and Jayanta Roy, has discovered six exotic millisecond pulsars (MSPs) using the facilities of the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) that is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA). Read more .....

Indian Festival: India is a land of festivals and March witnessed two festivals - the colourful Holi and Gudhi Padwa that marks the new year. Read more .....

Youthaffairz March issue

Achiever: Vandana Suryawanshi, a teacher of Vidya Valley School in Maharashtra, has been selected by US Space Foundation for its 2012 Flight of Teacher Liaisons Program. Read more .....

Expert speak: Former Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman Dr Anil Kakodkar, while debunking the claims that a number of nations were shutting down their nuclear energy establishments, has said that on the contrary many countries were aggressively pursuing the nuclear power option. Read more .....

Fiction: If we fail to do well in school or later in college, does that mean the end of the road for us? Life is one big journey and we can take matters in our hands and shape our life in any manner that we desire at any period or time. It is never too late. Perhaps this is what the story intends to convey. Read the full story .....

Colours: For the youth, life is a splash of colours. Whether on or off the campus, living is sheer fun, joy and laughter. Share some light moments here .....

Brain Teaser: This is all about dots - red dots and blue dots. I am going to blindfold you and paint a dot on your forehead. Can you tell me what is the colour of the dot without looking at the mirror. Do try .....

History: The nation will be observing the 82nd martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. To commemorate the occasion here is a statement of Bhagat Singh before the court where he emphasises the importance of motive - the motive of action should be the main consideration while judging the offence of an accused, he argued. Read more .....

Youthaffairz February issue

Grit: Pune woke up to a nighmarish experience on January 25. An apparently mentally-disturbed driver with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), a state-owned corporation that operates long-distance inter-district buses for public transporation, arrived at one of the bus depots in the city, started a bus and, then, went on a killer rampage, mowing down people on the way. A 21-year-old youth played an important role in stopping the killer run. Read more .....

Expert speak: India figures 3rd on the Forbes list of billionaires (55) in the world but ranks 134th in the UNDP human development index. We have a burgeoning middle class of 300 million but harbor majority of world's poor. We are projected to have the largest English speaking population in the world but are home to majority of world's illiterate persons. This is the convocation address delivered by NAAC committee chairman Prof Govardhan Mehata during the 105th convocation ceremony of the University of Pune on January 14. Here are excerpts from the speech .....

Fiction: Most often, the obstacles on our path leave us so depressed that we start harbouring negative thoughts. Life has ups and downs and it is for us to shape life in the manner that we desire. It is probably this thought that the story wishes to convey. Read the full story .....

Colours: For the youth, life is a splash of colours. Whether on or off the campus, living is sheer fun, joy and laughter. Share some light moments here .....

Brain Teaser: I have a lovely roof-top garden which is illuminated by three incandescent bulbs at three different corners.However, the problem is that the switches of these bulbs are situated downstairs and I keep forgetting which switch corresponds to which bulb with the result that I switch on all the light bulbs thereby wasting a lot of power. Can you help me determine which switch corresponds to which bulb? Please help .....

History: The nation celebrated the 115th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on January 23. It is, therefore, apt to recall one of his speeches. Here is a speech he had delivered in 1944. Read more .....

Indian Festival: India is a land of festivals and January commenced with the celebration of Makar Sankranti on January 15 this year. Pramod Bhosle tells us of the significance of this festival. Read more .....