Tuesday, July 19, 2011

TOON TIME


Last week, when I was browsing through the television channels trying to figure out the best one to engage my 18- month old little girl, her favourite tamil cartoon channel ‘Chutti TV’ popped up.

The four children from ‘Little Einsteins’ show were asking the viewers to clap their hands so as to encourage the rocket to fly higher. I was staring at my daughter who was clapping her hands hard and smiling at me. How much have the cartoons changed from the yesteryear characters!

In the early 1990’s when doordarshan seemed to be the only audio-visual mode of home entertainment, children got glued to their seats, mouths wide open, on sunday mornings to watch the adventures of Mowgli, raised by wolves in the jungle with the help of Baloo the bear and Bagheera the black panther to fight the tiger Shere Khan. Not forgetting to mention, Uncle Scrooge and his nephews in the Donald duck series! One show, once a week and yes no retelecast too!!

Today, powerpuff girls and Julie ,the brave little girl who accompanies Jackie chan in his adventures, have taken the place of the soft and sombre Snowwhite or Cinderella. Tom and Jerry donot mesmerize kids as much as Doraemon, the robotic cat does.

Traveling back through history, it is interesting to know that the first animated projection was not photographed, but drawn directly onto a transparent strip and projected in a screen. Wikipedia claims that one of the very first successful animated cartoons was Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). It is considered the first example of true character animation. Some historians consider the first animated feature movie to be El Apóstol,released in 1917, with a duration of 70 min, and which is considered a lost film.

In the United States of America, from the 1930s to 1960s, theatrical cartoons were produced in huge numbers, and usually shown before a feature film in a movie theatre. MGM, Disney, Paramount and Warner Brothers were the largest studios producing these 5 to 10-minute "shorts".
Competition from television drew audiences away from movie theaters in the late 1950s, and shifted the producers interest to the television media.

In India, with the advent of Big Animation Pvt Limited in the animation industry, cartoon characters have transformed into three-dimentional figures. Little Krishna series has broken the age-barrier for cartoon viewing thereby making it universally appealing.

The cartoon characters replicate the social stature of their respective times. For instance, Mowgli represents child abandonment, Tom and Jerry brings out rivalry and Pinocchio stands for bravery, truthfulness, selflessness. Today’s cartoon characters are mostly magical, adventurous and cool. But as long as the core value or theme remains the same, which is victory of good over the evil, wont it be wise to admire these contemporary cartoon characters and go with the order of the day??

Saturday, July 16, 2011

SCHOOLING


Education is to refine onself. This is one of the very few inspirational quotings by the Principal of Mahatma Montesssori Matriculation Higher Secondary School Ms. Premalatha Paneerselvam. Mahatma school has served as a strong foundation for the future of its students through its important asset, TEACHERS. Right from kindergarden, I have been inspired by most of my teachers.

Ms. Jackie Wardon, our co-ordinator in std five, helped us learn English language better .As she was an anglo-Indian, her command over the language inspired me to love any language as one’s own mother tongue and never see it as a foreign language.

Ms. Saro Abraham, the soft-spoken biology teacher would leave a lasting impression on all those who meet her. Her pragmatic approach towards all problems taught us to think rationally.

Ms. Banu not only taught maths but also dance and aerobics. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that she was our quiz master too.

Another all-rounder was Ms. Vijaya Sundar who now heads the K.K.Nagar branch. She used to teach us English. She ensured that the morning assembly took place properly. Also, Ms. Vijaya was our bhajan teacher. Be it music, poetry or dramatics, she enlightened us with her performance on Teacher’s day every year.

Ms. Manimekalai and Ms. Thenmozhi who taught commerce and economics need a special mention. They always shared a special bond with their students.
The list is endless but these teachers stand as a testimony to the rest.

No matter how elegant a building looks, it needs a strong foundation to survive the tests of time.
Similarly, the basic education of a child shapes its future. Let us understand the need to provide a healthy learning environment for the coming generations and provide the same.

Friday, July 15, 2011

இல்லத்தரசி



எண்ணற்ற எண்ண அலைகளில் மிதந்து கொண்டிருக்கும் மனமே...
சற்று நேரம் நான் நானாக இருக்க முயற்சித்து,
என் பேனாவால் என் உணர்ச்சிகளை வெளிக்காட்ட முற்பட்டுள்ளேன்.

மூன்றாண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு வரை, மனதிற்குப் பிடித்ததை மட்டும் செய்தேன்...
இருபத்திமூன்றாண்டுகளான எனக்கு இன்றோ, என் இல்லத்தைப் பற்றிய நினைவுகள் மட்டும்...

கத்திரிக்காய் குழம்போடு என்ன செய்ய,
கைக்குழந்தையை எப்படி சமாளிக்க,
வேலைக்காரியை இன்னும் காணவில்லையே...
சலவைக்குக் கொடுத்த துணிகளை கொண்டு வர வேண்டுமே...
நானும் மாறிப் போனேன் சராசரி மனையாளாக.

தொலைக்காட்சியில் சிறந்த பெண் தொழிலதிபரைக் காணும்போது...
தொலைப்பேசியில் பழைய சிநேகிதி தன் புதிய பணியிடத்தை வர்ணிக்கும்போது...
வீட்டு அலமாரியை சுத்தப்படுத்தையில் சின்னதாய் சிரிக்கும்
கல்லூரிப் பரிசுக் கோப்பைகளைக் காணும்போது...

ஏங்கும் என் மனதை எவ்வாறு சமாதானப்படுத்த என நினைக்கையில்
என் குழந்தை அழும் சத்தம் கேட்டு அலறி அடித்து ஓடுகிறேன் ...

- வைஷ்ணவி பிரசாத்.

MARRIAGE - MISUNDERSTOOD MANDATES


“Marriage is a fierce battle before which the two partners ask heaven for its blessing, because loving each other is the most audacious of enterprises; the battle is not slow to start, and victory, that is to say freedom, goes to the cleverest.” - Honoré De Balzac.

From time to time, the elder generations have tried to pass over the so-called secrets of successful marriage to their children. Unaware that those myths had created troubles for them and might continue to serve as a threat to the newly weds also, its time to know commonly misunderstood mandates and the problems resulting from them.


Mistakes:
• Understand your partner
• Appreciate always


Mistakes in marriage life:


1. UNDERSTAND YOUR PARTNER:

It is believed that understanding one another is the essence of marriage. To know your spouse and to give enough space and time for personal reasons is fine. But, we end up accepting the other half just the way he/she is and tolerate everything. Srimathi got married at the age of 20, immediately after her graduation. She knew nothing about household chores. Her husband Anand understood her limitation. To encourage her, he appreciated all that she did, no matter how bad it was, especially cooking. Srimathi was feeling blessed to have got him as her better half.
After 30 years of married life, Srimathi still finds it difficult to mentally calculate the quantity of salt required for making vegetable pulao. As she knows that her husband will tolerate all that she makes, she doesnt mind even if it goes wrong, EVERY TIME!

There is another instance. Prem was a procrastinator by nature. He never kept up appointments and meetings. Shilpa, thinking she understood the nature of her husband, started going late to office because of Prem. It was only when Prem’s appraisal got denied, she understood that she had failed to prompt her husband to raise up to the common expectations.



2. APPRECIATE ALWAYS:

All of us crave for appreciation. Praise can flatter all kinds of people and make them feel good. Hence it is wise to appreciate your partner for all good deeds. However, this principle is mistaken by some of us by the addition of a four-letter word ONLY.
Niwas was a very caring husband. He used to appreciate his wife and adore her often. Somehow, things seemed to go wrong after his son’s marriage and there was misunderstanding in the family. He shared this with his close friend Kumar whom he had invited for lunch that afternoon. Kumar assured to help him with the issue. At lunch, Mrs. Niwas served food and he praised his wife as a great cook. After lunch, when the daughter-in-law brought payasam for them, Niwas made a remark that the sugar was slightly more and the dish could have been better. Kumar realized the reason for the misunderstanding in the family.



These are just a few samples. There are many more such issues that needs to be addressed. If all of us start adopting a straight forward approach towards solving such problems, the understanding among family members is sure to multiply manifold.

JOY OF PARENTING


A mother is born with the child. The agonizing ecstasy of child birth is the first of many new experiences a woman undergoes as a mother. Her responsibility and involvement in the family increases manifold. Every child is unique. So is every mother.
The first three months seem to be tough for a new mother. Gradually, she learns to adapt herself to meet the demands of her little one. Lack of sleep, tiredness and other similar issues might make her feel stressed. The support of family members will help her heal these initial discomforts.

Today, most of us live away from our parents. Childcare becomes a mounting task in such cases. Although hiring domestic help is possible, reliability of these maids is questionable. In such cases, the need for the father of the child to play a pivotal role arises. If the spouse is one such understanding person, there is no doubt that parenting would turn out to be a sheer joy.