Reading Helps

1. Reading can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

2. Being a reader means you are more likely to learn something new.

3. People who read are more likely to vote, exercise and be more cultural.

4. Reading a book reduces stress and puts you in a good mood.

5. Reading can be therapeutic.

6. Reading enhances your memory.

7. Reading helps you boost your analytical thinking.

8. Reading expands your vocabulary.

9. Reading a book makes you a better writer.

10. Reading fiction increases your ability to understand and share feelings of another.

11. People who read are more likely to get ahead when it comes to their careers and in life.

Get started on reading today! IT HELPS.

Aparna Madan of XI - A

Yellow Journalism

Media caters to the public by providing political, cultural and social news and developments in the society through newspapers and coverages. Yellow Journalism refers to the sensational news items, sometimes factual and at other times not. They concentrate on segments of society where glamour and glitz is a part of life and a sustaining influence. The lives of the rich, famous and beautiful are a subject of curiosity to the common man in his deary day to day existence. Celebrities being what they are and conscious of their fame, sometimes live in such a way as to attract attention. In today's world these people are the heroes and heroines and are observed and idolised. Sensational views on these people are printed and photographed. Their lives are followed avidly by the general public. The photographers and the news men who propound yellow journalism are called  "paparazzi" ,which is an Italian term and used in derogatory manner by the day to day India.
          Some of the most hunted of these modern day icons were Jacqueline Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Amitabh Bachan etc and the most tragic of them are Britain's princess Diana. Every aspect of their lives, nuances of expression and behaviour are talked about. Photographs taken with scintillating news helps sell copies of lesser known newspapers and builds up curiosity for more. The photographers are paid heavily for their efforts and they in turn spurred on by the money become more aggressive. In the case of Princess Diana their aggressiveness resulted in her tragic death in a car accident presumably trying to outrun the photographers. Her untimely death and the inconsolable loss to her two children sparkled off worldwide sadness and anger at these mercenaries.
      But it will not be fair to blame all these newspapers and journalists alone. It is the public who thirst for such news and pay money to read gossip magazines and items that create the paparazzi and yellow journalism. Hence indirectly the public at large are also to blame. If the need for such sleazy news and photographers decline journalism can stick to providing useful and current news.

S. Bhagavathy of XI - B

The Man Who Sits Under The Banyan Tree

There was once a man, quite old was he,

He spent his day under a Banyan tree.

Men would come, and men would go

Up to twilight, from the cock’s crow.

They came from all walks of life,

Seemingly struck by mental strife.

When they left, they left with a smile;

No wonder he had people waiting in a file.

And I wonder, “So knowledgeable is he,

The Man Who Sits Under The Banyan Tree?”

And where would he spend the night in?

For he didn’t seem to have any next of kin.

Back then, I was new to the city,

And so, all this was quite the mystery.

I asked around, and answers I got,

Which were contrary to what I thought.

And I mused, “What a fool he must be,

The Man Who Sits Under The Banyan Tree?”

As he was an imbecile, he was thrown

Out to the streets, by his very own.

The rest of it is an urban lore,

Bottom line being, he found a door

That fed him well, and made him gain

In health, only to get back on the streets again.

And I ask myself, “What do people see,

In The Man Who Sits Under The Banyan Tree?”

Atop a pedestal, he sat on a bed,

And so, I couldn’t listen to what he said.

But, I wanted to see what pulled such a crowd

Which made the whole street buzz aloud.

After pushing, pulling, a minor tussle

And two hours of being asked to hustle,

I got to where he was, eventually,

To meet The Man Who Sits Under The Banyan Tree.

“All my life, Sir, what have I done?”

“You have done a good job, my son.”

So, I told myself, “This man, here,

He must be a great seer.”

And then, I realized, for whatever I said,

“You’ve done a good job, son; go ahead.”

Looking back:- Irrespective of the crowd there,

The locals never did seem to care.

So, let me give you some advice for free,

Don’t fall for The Man Who Sits Under The Banyan Tree.

Abhinau Kumar V of XI - A

Singer Noel Harrison Dead

Singer Noel Harrison (s/o British actor Sir Rex Harrison) famous for “The Windmills of your mind” passed away on October 19, 2013. Noel was an actor, singer and an Olympic skier. “The Windmills of your mind” won an Oscar for the best song. Noel Harrison was born in London on January 29, 1934.He spent most of his lifetime in America as an actor and performer. He spent the last decade in U.K and starred in the T.V show “The girl from UNCLE” and had chart hits with “A young girl and Suzanne” by Lenard Cohen in U.S..  

Though he has left the world he is still living within us.

K. Alamelu of V - B

Indonesian Volcanoes

Indonesian volcano spits powerful burst of ash on 24th October 2013.

A volcano in western Indonesia erupted on Thursday, unleashing a column of dark volcanic material high into the air, weeks after villagers were returning home from an earlier eruption, officials said. The explosion at Mount Sinaburg located in North Sumantra Province, shot black ash 3 kilometres into the air, but there were no reports of injuries or damage, said a national mitigation agency spokesman. No lava or debris spewed from the volcano. Last month more than 15,000 people were forced to flee when the volcano rumbled to life after being dormant for three years. The volcanoes last major eruption was in August 2010, which killed two people and forced 30,000 others to flee.

Aarushi. R of V - A

Sports

A sport is a physical activity carried out under an agreed set of rules, with a recreational purpose, for competition, self enjoyment or a combination of these. A game is a recreational activity involving one or more players, defined by a goal that the players try to reach, and some set of rules to play it.

 Games are played primarily for entertainment or enjoyment. The difference in purpose differentiates between a game and a sport. People choose their sport upon their interests.

J. Kaviya Shree of V - A

Golden Leaf Trees Discovered

Scientists from Australian commonwealth scientific and research organization (CSIRO) have discovered that eucalyptus trees in the Australian outback are drawing up gold particles from deep underground through their roots and depositing the precious metal in their leaves and branches. Being a new source of gold leaves, it can provide a cheaper, more environment friendly way to uncover valuable gold deposits. Certain trees draw up gold from a depth of 30 metres, equal to ten - storey buildings. This gold depositing tree was found in the gold rich town of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

K. Alamelu of V -B