435 items in this section. Displaying page 27 of 44
Coaching, Anyone?
October 21: Open any newspaper and chances are that you will find yourself staring at a full page advertisement of some coaching college proudly claiming that the bright young girl who topped the IIT entrance examination (her photograph is so smudged that you can’t see) had been coached by their able guides. If there isn’t an advertisement in the newspaper there is bound to be a flyer or single sheet of paper concealed within the folds of the newspaper so that it catches your attention even before that news item on cricket match fixing that you are looking for....
The Brightest of Them All
November 4: Children of Indian origin in Britain, are outperforming white children in important secondary school examinations. The British office for standards in education, Ofsted, shows that the number of Indian children passing five exams at the special Grade C level, a level corresponding to the Indian class 12, has risen from 23 per cent to 49 per cent between 1988 and 1997. What this means is that many more Indian-born children are eligible to attend university in Britain now, than in the past....
UFO Landing
December 9: Did ‘Unidentified Flying Objects’ (UFOs) cause life on earth? Those UFOs that are supposed to float around in space, which are more like distant dreams of an outer space enthusiast? To test this theory, special balloons filled with neon gas (used in electric lamps) were launched into space from Hyderabad recently by a team of Indian scientists. The balloons are expected to collect air samples at different altitudes in space ranging between 10 and 35 km....
The Young Tax Commandos
October 14: Every country has its heroes in every generation, and children, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, point at them. There was a time when becoming a diplomat or a cosmonaut was the most thrilling profession for Russian children. Recognition from others, glamour and adventure – these professions seemed to have it all. But times have changed and how. Today, the ambition of most Russian children is to have an ear to the ground....
A Show of Endurance
A Show of Endurance [Illustration by Shiju George] October 22: The newspaper photograph showed Japanese swimmer Kei Miyamoto’s body finely arched at the starting point as he prepared to slice into the Olympic pool at the Sydney Aquatic Centre. And then I noticed it. He had no arms. Kei was practicing for the Paralympic Games, just as wheelchair-bound track athletes and sportspersons bearing the loss of an arm or limb with practiced ease, went through their paces for the 11-day event for the physically challenged that is going on in Sydney at present....
A Syllabus for Harmony
November 24: A syllabus where a chapter on Habba Khatoon, a famous Kashmiri poet, jostles for space along with chapters on papier-mâché, hanguls (deer), apples and Kashmiri rugs? Well, these subjects are what primary school students in Kashmir, are going to be reading in their textbooks – and it is not without reason. The violence in Kashmir seems to be never-ending. Alarmed at the violence and bloodshed that children in the state are exposed to, the Jammu and Kashmir Government now wants them to absorb themes of love, harmony and ecology, says a report in the ‘Indian Express’....
The Magic Carpet
October 21: Meet Sheikh Tayyab Mahajan. This resident of Nagpur has a dream – he wants to create a carpet in which he can weave the complete cultural pattern of India. Ambitious? But possible, thinks Tayyab. That is why he started weaving a durrie or rug seven years ago. At that time, he wanted to make it to the Guinness Book of Records for weaving the longest carpet in the world. Now he is aiming higher having already woven 900 feet of the durrie....
These Boots are meant for Flying!
October 21: Two weeks ago, as the Russian government was aiming to steer history by trying to reduce the tension between Israel and Palestine in West Asia, history from below was being created in its backyard, at the rundown Salavat Ulayev sports stadium, in Moscow. The fastest boots in the world were being tested out under the watchful gaze of a ‘Sunday Times’ journalist. These Boots are meant for Flying! [Illustration by Sudheer Nath] Chief boot tester Atanov was getting ready to race Russia’s 1,500 metre national champion, 22-year-old Alexei Ivanov, to see if the stilt-like petrol-powered and turbo-charged boots would enable him to take strides nine feet long, past the athlete....
Bid your Name into a Bestseller
November 4: The publishing world has come full circle. At one point of time, authors would run from publisher to publisher trying to get his/her book published. Then it was the turn of the publishers to run after popular authors and pay them astronomical sums just to persuade them to write a bestseller. Now a new twist has been added to the tale: no, it’s not an unknown author paying to get his book published. This time readers will pay through their nose to be a character in tomorrow’s bestseller!...
Chetak's Descendents
September 9: Rajasthan’s Maharana Pratap was a legendary warrior who fought many battles astride his favourite horse, Chetak. The beautiful Chetak was loyal, brave and extremely fast. Chetak is probably one of the few animals famous in history for their legendary qualities. Chetak belonged to a special breed of horses called Marwari or Rajasthani. These horses are known for their loyalty and battle-worthiness. They are handsome and tall and have long flowing manes. The fame of these horses has spread far and wide....