cheerful attitude – Page 51 – Take off with Natarajan

6 Tips for You to Stay Fit….

July 27, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The keys for attaining good health and a fit body are quite simple. All of you have to do is take care of good nutrition, physical activity, sufficient sleep and rest, meditation and conscious breathing.

Constant travel for work coupled with never ending long and tiring commutes to the office, work pressure, unhealthy diets high in saturated fats, sugar, food with high sodium content and a sedentary lifestyle, all combined together pose serious health challenges like obesity. It can also play host to complications like hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes, osteoporosis, and more. In the long run, if this kind of lifestyle is not altered these will turn into life threatening and life shortening disorders!

But, the good news is that despite these challenges, one can maintain one’s weight and achieve a healthy and fit body by adhering to a sensible eating pattern with a variety of natural, wholesome foods and most of all by staying active, physically and mentally.

Diet and nutrition

The best insurance for healthy eating is maintaining a diet that has a balance of fruits, veggies, salads, millets, whole grains, nuts, pulses, sprouts, seeds, low fat milk, soy milk, tofu etc. These foods have detoxifying, healing and regenerative properties and are rich in antioxidants and elements needed to keep you nourished.

Exercise

Any physical activity like walks, swimming, yoga, gym workouts etc helps to keep one energised, well oxygenated and improves strength, stamina, flexibility, immunity and metabolism.

1. Avoid snacking on junk foods

Instead, make sure you eat a wholesome breakfast before hitting the road and carry a fruit that can be munched on in between. Choose steamed foods like idlis or toasted sandwiches and stay away from all fried foods, aerated drinks, milk shakes, fruit juices, desserts and any kind of sweets.

2. Keep dry fruits handy

These are nutritious and will keep hunger at bay. A few almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts, dates and figs are ideal.

3. Do neck rotations, shoulder shrugs, arm rotations etc. in between travelling

These can be done when you take a break from driving, between meetings and even in an aircraft. These exercises work wonders especially for long flights as they keep your blood flowing even when you’re sitting in one place for a long time. While sitting at a traffic signal or in the plane extend your legs, keep your toes pointed and rotate your ankles clockwise and anti-clockwise. Shoulder rotations are also recommended to ease away the muscle tension.

4. Walk a lot

A brisk walk daily is an effective way to do some cardio without hitting the gym and can be an invigorating experience as walking is an exercise that you can do anywhere, anytime.

Take a brisk walk everyday and you are sure to be on the way to better health and vitality. Walking also helps you enjoy the freshness of nature with the added benefit of relaxing your mind and simultaneously getting rid of stress.

Here’s a quick tip, whenever possible, use the stairs instead of elevators.

5. Exercise

Simple exercises like leg kicks, squats, lunges, chair dips, push ups, ab crunches and a few yoga stretches like suryanamaskar, bhujangasan, dhanurasan, sethubandhasan and naukasan are possible to do in your room.

These help to boost flexibility as well as stamina and strengthens the core and back muscles.

Pranayam or breathing exercises like chanting Om, kapalbhati and anulom-vilom should be done at regular intervals throughout the week. These revitalise your body and alleviate stress and tension after a long day.

6. Drink plenty of water

Keep yourself well hydrated. This can include water, herbal/green teas/coconut water (depending on their availability).

Health, wellness and fitness certainly do not require extreme or rigid measures. All they need is proper planning, consistency and regularity. These are the key factors for a healthy mind and a well toned body. Incorporate the above mentioned simple strategies to reinforce complete and total wellness and enjoy a healthy and stress free life.

Photograph: pexels.com

Source….www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

How Brooklyn girl Chanie Gorkin’s poem became a global sensation….Just Read it…

July 26, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Across the seas … teenager Chanie Gordon is “overwhelmed” by the global reaction to her school assignment. Picture: Thinkstock Source: ThinkStock

A HASIDIC girl from Brooklyn, New York, wrote a clever poem that spread like wildfire online and became a hit after it was posted on a wall in London.

Chanie Gorkin, in eleventh grade at the all-girls Lubavitch high school Beth Rivkah in Crown Heights, jotted down the lines for a class assignment last year and then published it on PoetryNation.com.

What happened next is remarkable.

Zachery Stephenson, the events manager at the Nambucca bar on Holloway Road in North London had tacked the poem on a wall, after his cousin in New York had forwarded it in response to a negative Facebook post, US ABC News reports.

There it was seen by Ronnie Joice, who was feeling a “bit worn out” after a day of meetings about a prospective job.

The poem, which at first appears to be a bleak outlook on a bad day, contains a surprise. The ending instructs the reader to go back and re-read from the bottom to the top, which completely reverses its meaning.

Class assignment … the Beth Rivkah High School in Crown Heights, where Chanie Gorkin wrote her poem and is in 11th grade. Picture: Google Streetview Source: Supplied

Mr Joice was so taken with the clever poem, he photographed and posted it to Twitter, which resulted in thousands of shares on social media.

The uplifting poem — ironically titled “Worst Day Ever?” — has since been translated into multiple languages, including Hebrew, Chinese and Russian. Her father, Baruch Gorkin, posted some of the translations to his Facebook page.

Chanie’s brother, Shimon Gorkin, proudly posted: “That’s my sister!”

Chanie’s mother, Dena Gorkin, confirmed to ABC News that her daughter wrote the poem. She also said Chanie was away at summer camp and unavailable for comment, but Mrs Gorkin has been telling her daughter about the reaction to the poem and “she’s quite overwhelmed.”

One of the major tenets of Hasidic philosophy is that the mind rules over the heart, that we are able to channel our emotions to the positive … that there is God in everything, and it is part of our mission in life to look for the good, and to find it and to spread it,” Mrs Gorkin said.

So, when Chanie was given the assignment to write about her worst day ever, she used her writing skills to turn the question around.

The Worst Day Ever, by Chanie Gorkin

Today was the absolute worst day ever

And don’t try to convince me that

There’s something good in every day

Because, when you take a closer look,

This world is a pretty evil place.

Even if

Some goodness does shine through once in a while

Satisfaction and happiness don’t last.

And it’s not true that

It’s all in the mind and heart

Because

True happiness can be attained

Only if one’s surroundings are good

It’s not true that good exists

I’m sure you can agree that

The reality

Creates

My attitude

It’s all beyond my control

And you’ll never in a million years hear me say

Today was a very good day

Now read it from bottom to top, the other way,

And see what I really feel about my day.

Source….www.news.com.au

Natarajan

3-திருப்பதி… திருப்பம்… திருப்தி…

July 25, 2015July 25, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

சின்ன குழந்தைகளிடம் சென்று, ‘திருமலை திருப்பதியில் என்ன விசேஷம் குழந்தே?’ என்று ஒரு கேள்வி கேட்டுப் பாருங்கள்…

பெரும்பாலான குழந்தைகள், ‘வேங்கடாசலபதி சாமீ’ என்று சொல்லாது. விழிகளைச் சற்று பெரிதாக்கி, நாக்கையும் சப்புக் கொட்டிக் கொண்டு ‘லட்ட்டு’ என்றுதான் அழுத்தம் திருத்தமாகச் சொல்லும். அந்த அளவுக்கு திருப்பதியும் லட்டும் இணைந்தே இருப்பவை.

திருப்பதிக்குப் போய்விட்டு வந்தால், லட்டு இல்லாமல் எவரும் வீட்டுக்குத் திரும்ப மாட்டார்கள். ஒரிஜினல் லட்டு கிடைக்கவில்லை என்றாலும், அதிகக் காசு கொடுத்து டூப்ளிகேட் லட்டையாவது வாங்கி வருவார்கள்.

ஒரிஜினல் லட்டுக்கு அதிக தேவை இருக்கும்போது, டூப்ளிகேட் லட்டுகள் அந்த இடத்தைப் பூர்த்தி செய்கின்றன என்பது சோகம். இதை எப்படிக் கட்டுப்படுத்துவது என்று திருமலை திருப்பதி தேவஸ்தானமும் யோசித்து வருகிறது.

முதலில் ஒரு சின்ன பொதுத் தகவல்: லட்டு என்பது தமிழ் வார்த்தை இல்லை. சம்ஸ்க்ருத வார்த்தையில் இருந்து மருவி வந்தது. ‘லட்டுகா’ என்றால், சின்ன பந்து என்று அர்த்தம். லட்டும் பந்து சைஸில் இருப்பதால், அதற்கு அப்படி ஒரு பெயரே நிலைத்துவிட்டது போலும். தெலுங்கு, கன்னடம், மலையாளம் என்று எல்லா பாஷையிலும் ‘லட்டு’ தான்!

திருமலை திருப்பதியில், தினம் தோறும் லட்சக்கணக்கில் தயாராகும் லட்டு, சாப்பிடுகிற ஒரு உணவுப் பண்டம் மட்டுமல்ல… அதையும் தாண்டி – ஸ்ரீவேங்கடாசலபதியின் பரிபூரண பிரசாதம்! பலராலும் விரும்பப்படும் பிரசாதம். அதில் இருப்பவை சர்க்கரையும், முந்திரியும், திராட்சையும் மட்டுமல்ல; பெருமாளின் அனுக்ரஹமும்கூட.

நீங்கள் ஆசைப்பட்டால் மட்டும் அது, உங்கள் கைக்கு வந்து விடாது. அந்தப் பிரசாதம் உங்கள் கைக்கு கிடைக்க வேண்டும் என்று பெருமாள் நினைத்தால், நீங்கள் திருவண்ணாமலையில் இருந்தாலும், அது உங்கள் கைக்கு வந்து சேர்ந்துவிடும். அதுதான் பெருமாளின் மகிமை.

ஏதோ, ஆயிரக்கணக்கான வருடங்களாக திருப்பதியில் லட்டு தயார் செய்து பக்தர்களுக்குக் கொடுத்து வருகிறார்கள் என்றுதானே நமக்கெல்லாம் நினைக்கத் தோன்றுகிறது. ஆனால், அதுதான் இல்லை. லட்டு என்கிற இந்த இனிப்பு பிரசாதம் அறிமுகமாகி சுமார் முந்நூறு வருடங்கள் தான் ஆகி இருக்கும் என்றால் உங்களால் நம்ப முடிகிறதா?

லட்டு பிரசாதம் எப்போதில் இருந்து வழங்கப்பட்டு வருகிறது என்பதை ஆதாரபூர்வமாகச் சொல்லும் தகவலோ, கல்வெட்டுக் குறிப்போ கிடையாது. என்றாலும், கி.பி. 17ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் இருந்து லட்டு பிரசாதம் நடைமுறையில் இருந்து வருகிறது என்பது தகவல்.

பெருமாள் சேவைக்குப் பணம் கட்டு பவர்களுக்கும், பக்தர்களுக்கு இலவச விநியோகம் செய்வதற்கும், ஒருவருக்கு இவ்வளவு லட்டு என்று விலைக்குத் தருவதற்கும் திருமலையில் தினமும் லட்டுகள் தயாராகின்றன. சுப்ரபாத சேவை, தோமாலை சேவை, ஆர்ஜித பிரம்மோத்ஸவம், டோலோத்ஸவம், வசந்தோத்ஸவம், சஹஸ்ர தீப அலங்கார சேவை, ஏகாந்த சேவை – இப்படிப் பல சேவைகளில் பணம் கட்டிக் கலந்து கொள்ளும் பக்தர்களுக்கு இரண்டு சிறு லட்டுகள் பிரசாதமாக தேவஸ்தானத்தால் வழங்கப்படுகின்றன.

திருமலை – திருப்பதியில் இன்று தினம்தோறும் மாபெரும் விசேஷமாகவும், தவிர ஒவ்வொரு ஊரிலும், வெளிநாடுகளிலும் விமரிசையாக நடந்து வருகின்ற ஸ்ரீநிவாசர் திருக்கல்யாண உத்ஸவம், கி.பி. 1546-ஆம் ஆண்டில் தாளப்பாக்கம் திருமலை ஐயங்கார் என்பவரால் முதன்முதலாகத் தொடங்கப்பட்டது என்று ஒரு கல்வெட்டுத் தகவல் உண்டு. அதாவது – அது விஜயநகர மன்னர்களின் ஆட்சிக் காலம். பங்குனி மாதத்தில் ஐந்து நாட்கள் இந்தத் திருக்கல்யாண உத்ஸவம் வெகு விமரிசையாக நடக்கும். ஆனால், இந்த உத்ஸவத்தில் லட்டு என்கிற பிரசாதம் விநியோகிக்கப்பட்டதாகத் தகவல் இல்லை. அப்போது திருக்கல்யாணத்தில் கலந்து கொள்ளும் பக்தர்களுக்கு வடை, மனோகரம், அவல், பொரி போன்றவை பிரசாதமாக வழங்கப்பட்டதாக ஒரு கல்வெட்டுத் தகவல் சொல்கிறது.

திருப்பதி திருக்கோயிலில் 17ஆம் நூற்றாண்டிலேயே லட்டு அறிமுகமாகிவிட்டாலும், பிரசாதமாக வந்தது 20ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில்தான் என்பது ஆணித்தரமான கருத்து. இன்று பிரசாதமாக நாம் விரும்பிச் சாப்பிடுகிற லட்டுவுக்குக் காரணகர்த்தா கல்யாணம் ஐயங்கார் என்பவர்.

1932ஆம் ஆண்டில் மதராஸ் அரசாங்கத்தினரால் திருமலை-திருப்பதி தேவஸ்தானம் உருவாக்கப்பட்டு அவர்களின் நிர்வாகத்தின் கீழ் திருமலைக் கோயில் வந்தது. என்றாலும், மடப்பள்ளியும் பிரசாதங்கள் செய்யும் உரிமையும் ‘மிராசி’கள் என்பவர்கள் ஆதிக்கத்தில் இருந்து வந்தன. ஐந்து மிராசிகளுக்குப் பிரதிநிதியாக ஒருவர் உண்டு. அந்தப் பிரதிநிதிதான் மேல் பத்தியில் நாம் சொன்ன கல்யாணம் ஐயங்கார். ஒட்டுமொத்த மடப்பள்ளி நிர்வாகத்தையும் இவரே பொறுப்பேற்று நடத்திய தகவல் இன்றும் திருப்பதி தேவஸ்தான குறிப்பேடுகளில் இருக்கிறது.

அப்போது ஒருநாள் திருப்பதி திருக்கல்யாண உத்ஸவத்துக்கு ‘கொண்டந்தா லட்டு’ (மலையளவு லட்டு) என்கிற ஒரு பிரார்த்தனையை தெலுங்கு பக்தர் ஒருவர் செய்தார். அதற்குரிய பணத்தையும் தேவஸ்தானத்தில் கட்டினார். அதன்படி பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கான லட்டுகளைத் தயாரித்து திருக்கல்யாண வைபவத்தை ‘மலை’க்க வைக்கும்படி ஜமாய்த்துவிட்டார் கல்யாணம் ஐயங்கார். பக்தருக்கும் இதில் ரொம்ப திருப்தி.

அன்றைய தினம் திருக்கல்யாண வைபவத்தில் கலந்து கொண்ட அனைத்து பக்தர்களுக்கும் லட்டு பிரசாதம் வழங்கப்பட்டது. பிரசாதமாகத் தங்களுக்குக் கிடைத்த லட்டைப் பல பக்தர்களும் வீட்டுக்கு எடுத்துச் சென்று அக்கம்பக்கத்தினருக்குக் கொடுத்து மகிழ்ந்தனர்.

மூதறிஞர் சக்ரவர்த்தி ராஜாஜி அவர்களே, கல்யாணம் ஐயங்கார் தயார் செய்த லட்டுவின் பெருமையை ஏகத்துக்கும் பாராட்டி இருக்கிறார் என்றால், பார்த்துக் கொள்ளுங்கள்.

தற்போது மிராசி நடைமுறை இல்லை. அப்போது என்ன ஓர் ஒப்பந்தம் என்றால், தேவஸ்தானத்தில் 51 லட்டு தயாரித்தால், அதில் இருந்து 11 லட்டை மிராசி குடும்பத்தினருக்குக் கொடுத்து விட வேண்டுமாம். இதில் விருப்பம் இல்லாத திருப்பதி தேவஸ்தானம், சுப்ரீம் கோர்ட் வரை போய் மிராசி நடைமுறையையே ஒழித்துவிட்டது. இப்போது லட்டு தயார் செய்யும் பணியை தேவஸ்தானமே மேற்பார்வை இடுகிறது.

திருப்பதி பெருமாளுக்கு அவ்வப்போது திருக்கல்யாண உத்ஸவம் ஆலயத்திலேயே கோலாகலமாக நடந்து வந்தது. இது 1940ஆம் ஆண்டில் இருந்து நித்ய கல்யாண வைபவம் ஆயிற்று. இந்தக் கல்யாண வைபவத்தில்தான் திருமலை திருப்பதி தேவஸ்தானத்தாரால் எல்லோருக்கும் இனிப்பாக லட்டு வழங்கப்பட்டது.

1943ஆம் ஆண்டிலிருந்து, பெருமாள் கல்யாண உத்ஸவத்தில் கலந்து கொள்ளும் அனைவருக்கும் பிரசாதமாக லட்டு வழங்கப்பட்டது. அதே சமயம் திருக்கல்யாண வைபவத்தில் கலந்து கொள்ளாத பலரையும் இந்த விநியோக முறை ஏங்க வைத்தது. ‘கல்யாண உத்ஸவத்தில் கலந்து கொண்டால் மட்டும்தான் லட்டு பிரசாதமா?’ என்று தேவஸ்தான அதிகாரிகளிடம் குறைப்பட்டுக் கொண்டனர்.

அதன்பின் தேவஸ்தான அதிகாரிகள் அமர்ந்து பேசி, ஒவ்வொரு சனிக்கிழமை அன்றும் ஆலய தரிசனத்துக்கு வரும் அனைத்து பக்தர்களுக்கும் இலவச லட்டு பிரசாதம் வழங்குவது என்று தீர்மானித்துச் செயல்பட ஆரம்பித்தனர். பிறகு, அதுவே நிரந்தரமாகிவிட்டது.

லட்டு இன்னும் தீரவில்லை. சுவையான தகவல்கள் அடுத்த பதிவிலும் காத்திருக்கின்றன.

Source…..www.balhanuman.wordpress.com

நன்றி தீபம் (கல்கி வழங்கும் ஆன்மீக மாத இதழ்) and P Swaminathan

Natarajan

Australia is Full of Cute Animals ….!!!

July 24, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

When I think about Australia I mostly think about snakes, spiders, crocodiles and vast deserts but this wonderful country has so much more to offer! Australia is also home to some of the world’s cutest animals, and I guarantee that you won’t be able to look at these pictures without feeling a need to just say “Awww!”

We start with this kookaburra, which might be the most welcoming bird in the world.

This ringtail possum is using his mother as a cozy combination of a car and a bed.

A wombat is really just a pair of fuzzy cheeks and a lot of fur.

The Golden Brushtail Possum, or as I like to call it: the dog-cat-squirrel combo.

Quokka, the happiest animal in Australia. This little guy is always smiling!

This tiny cute little thing is a pygmy possum, and yes, they really do stay this size.

Ever wonder if there is such a thing as a cute fish? Yes there is, say hello to thecuddlefish.

This amazing pair of eyes is part of a spectacled flying fox, but did you really notice anything else in the picture besides them?

A baby koala sitting in a mug and eating, I have nothing more to add.

I can’t make up my mind if this bilby has ears that are too big or too cute.

Baby kangaroos are called joeys, and this little one has just hurt his leg so he is staying in a home until he feels better, while wearing an “appropriate” baby outfit.

A baby numbat who is too lazy to move both ears.

He might need a diet, but I would still love to hug this Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo.

This baby Tasmanian devil will grow up to be quite the danger but for now he is just irresistible.

The Australian masked owl is a delightful mix of serious and adorable.

Yellow-bellied gliders have the cutest noses you have ever seen.

colorful crimson rosella, enjoying a nice bath in the Australian heat.

And we end with these dingo puppies, which for some reason look slightly concerned but it only makes them look cuter.

Source…. JIM .S in www.ba-bamail.com

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” That One Time the Australian Army Fought a Bunch of Emus….and Lost …” !!!

July 24, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Australia’s known for being a pretty badass country — a worthy reputation when your nation is populated by a bunch of outlaws on one of the world’s harshest continents.

What Australia doesn’t want you to know, however, is that in between all that crocodile-wrangling and kangaroo-eating, it got its butt kicked once by a bunch of flightless birds.

The year was 1932. Australian farmers were struggling to save their wheat crops from a fierce, egg-laying pack of scavengers that had migrated into the area. And we’re not talking a pesky flock of chickens, either. This was a battalion of 20,000 emus.

Being Australian, the farmers figured they could probably take out these birds themselves. That plan quickly failed, since there were simply too many birds to handle, though one does wonder how they attempted to solve the problem in the first place.

Regardless, the crops were failing and it was decided reinforcements were necessary. Enter the Royal Australian Artillery.

Major G.P.W. Meredith led two regiments of machine-gun wielding Australian soldiers against the bird infestation, figuring the issue would be taken care of in a few days.

He was wrong.

The emus proved wilier than expected. They dodged bullets with shocking finesse, weaving in and out of troops and scattering into the brush before they could be herded together. Many of the birds that were hit still got away. Whether because of their dense feathers or sheer force of will, they would not not bend to the Aussie military.

Meredith decided to up the ante, organizing a surprise ambush near a dam where 1,000 emus were gathered unawares. This failed as well.

Ego bruised, Meredith decided that the only way to destroy an army of demon emus is to do it yourself. In what no doubt would have made a soul-stirring slow-motion montage, Meredith climbed in the back of a truck and manned its machine gun, firing at the birds as he sped beside them.
The emus outran the truck, leading it through terrain so uneven and wild that the vehicle ended up crashing through a fence in its pursuit. As the emus disappeared into the sunset, the AA had no choice but to accept defeat.

According to Scientific American, Dr. Murray Johnson’s entries in Journal of Australian Studies reflect Australia’s humorous response to the skirmish:

“On 8 November, it was reported that Major Meredith’s party had used 2,500 rounds of ammunition – twenty-five per cent of the allotted total – to destroy 200 emus,” says Johnson. “When one New South Wales state Labor politician inquired whether ‘a medal was to be struck for those taking part in this war’, his federal counterpart in Western Australia, responded that they should rightly go to the emus who ‘have won every round so far.’”

In the end, less than 1,000 of the 20,000 emus were killed, and the farmers were left to weep over their wheat and gather an army of wallabies to fight back.

Totally kidding — the government decided to cut out the middleman and give the farmers the ammunition they needed to finally fry the birds, taking the lives of 57,034 emus and restoring peace once and for all.
Source…www.businessinsider.com

Natarajan

Meet the Parents of Sumit Nagal… Wimbledon Boys’ Doubles Champion ….

July 24, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

‘Even if we ate our chappatis with pickle, we ensured proper food for Sumit.’

Wimbledon boys’ doubles champion Sumit Nagal’s father tells Manu Shankar/Rediff.com about his son’s tough rise, Mahesh Bhupathi’s incredible support and the hurdles ahead.

Image: Suresh Nagal and Krishna Nagal at their Nangloi home. Photograph: Manu Shankar/Rediff.com

When you enter Nangloi, west Delhi, and ask for directions to the Nagal home, you observe a glint in people’s eyes. A hint of pride.

Sumit Nagal’s home is now a local landmark.

Local residents may not know precisely what the teenager has achieved, but the constant buzz about him on television has added to their curiosity.

Some say he is a kabaddi star, some tell you he won a medal in judo while others assert that he was part of the junior hockey team that won a medal.

They could, I guess, be excused for their ignorance since the mother and sister of Wimbledon’s latest boys’ doubles champion were national kabaddi and hockey players themselves.

Meanwhile, Suresh and Krishna Nagal are waiting for yet another journalist who wants to chat with them about their son’s success at Wimbledon.

Sumit, partnering Vietnam’s Nam Hoang Ly, defeated Reilly Opelka of the United States and Japan’s Akira Santillan 7-6, 6-4 to win the boys’ doubles title at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships, only the sixth Indian to win a Grand Slam junior title.

Yuki Bhambri was the last Indian to taste similar success at the junior level when he won the Australian Open boys’ singles title in 2009. Ramanathan Krishnan (Wimbledon, 1954), Ramesh Krishnan (French Open and Wimbledon, 1979) and Leander Paes (Wimbledon 1990, US Open 1991) are the other Indian junior Grand Slam singles champions. Sania Mirza won the Wimbledon girls’ doubles title in 2003, partnering Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova.

Suresh Nagal, a teacher at Delhi’s municipal school in Nangloi, looks back on his son’s steady rise:

Image: Sumit Nagal. Photograph: Kind Courtesy Sumit Nagal

How did Sumit get into tennis?

We got Sumit enrolled at the DDA (Delhi Development Authority) tennis academy in Paschim Vihar, when he was 7. We are fond of tennis, so wanted him to get into the sport. Everyone sends their kids for cricket coaching, so I thought of putting Sumit into a different sport.

When he turned seven, I got him a Head tennis racquet, which was expensive at that time. It cost Rs 2,000 and I could see he liked the sport very much.

Cricket is commercialised these days and that’s why I wanted Sumit to play tennis. It is such a beautiful game!

At what age did Sumit win his first medal?

Sumit won his first medal, a gold, when he was 8 at a tournament organised by the DDA, in the Under-10 category. He had talent and his coaches used to tell me that tennis comes naturally to him.

When he was 10 he would convincingly beat the Under-14 or Under-12 boys. After that he won several medals outside the country, in Germany, Canada.

Tennis is an expensive sport. What were the difficulties you faced?

Sumit practiced at the Siri Fort Sports complex, which is about 27 km away from Nangloi. So the travelling took its toll. We used to travel in packed buses.

While studying at the Modern Child School, he used to come back by 1:30 pm, have his lunch and then leave for coaching, as he had to be there by 3.

We ensured that he had a proper diet, as this is a very physical sport. Humnein chahe achaar se roti khayi ho, ladke ka dhayaan zaroor rakha (Even if we ate our chappatis with pickle, we ensured proper food for Sumit).

It was after buying a racquet for him that we built our upper floor so that he could practice upstairs by hitting the ball against the wall.

The school authorities accommodated us a lot. There were several occasions when he had tournaments, they would adjust his schedule and allow him to come to school after his matches.

Image: The cabinet filled with trophies Sumit has won. Photograph: Manu Shankar/Rediff.com

When did the jump from DDA’s coaching to the RK Khanna Academy happen?

In December 2007 Apollo Tyres asked Mahesh Bhupathi along with foreign coaches to conduct a nationwide talent hunt. They selected 14 bright prospects and train them for the future. They had four rounds before the final selection process in Delhi.

It was there that Mahesh spotted Sumit and said there is talent in the kid. Frankly speaking, I didn’t expect him to do so well. There were more than 5,000 kids in the trials and I wasn’t expecting him to bag a place, let alone work with Mahesh.

Sumit was the youngest of them all and had to go to the academy in Bengaluru.

What has been Mahesh Bhupathi’s contribution to Sumit’s growth as a tennis player?

Whatever Sumit has achieved today is due to Mahesh Bhupathi’s help and blessings. During the Apollo Tyres talent hunt, Sumit held Mahesh’s hand and urged him to come see his game. He was pretty impressed by the kid’s confidence level.

His mother, who accompanied Sumit to the trials, did not know who Mahesh was. Once he got into the academy, Bhupathi ensured that Sumit played in Europe to gain exposure. He supported us financially big time too.

They (Mahesh and Sumit) are pretty close and speak on a regular basis, discussing finer points of the game.

Image: Sumit Nagal and Nam Hoang Ly celebrate after winning the junior boys doubles title at Wimbledon. Photograph: Kind Courtesy Sumit Nagal

Sumit also took part in the singles at Wimbledon, but failed to go through. Were you disappointed?

He was aiming for singles glory at Wimbledon, but there were lot of complications which may have hampered his singles game.

First and foremost, his visa was delayed. He could only go to Wimbledon a day before the tournament commenced.

Secondly, at the airport, the Air India staff were not letting him fly as he was under 18 and asked him to bring along either a coach or guardian. His coach Mariano Delfino was supposed to meet him at Heathrow.

After spending considerable time explaining that he was going to represent the country in Wimbledon Air India let him fly.

In the commotion he missed the direct flight to Heathrow and had to travel to Germany, then take a train to London before just making it to the tournament.

Naturally, he was jet-lagged and tired. How can one expect him to do well?

Despite that he took the game against Juan Pablo Ficovich in the first round to the third set.

Coaches play an important role in the development of one’s game. Do you rue the fact he doesn’t have a personal coach?

A personal coach will enhance his game. At the moment he is missing one. A coach reads match situations better and is able to tell you the difference between a correct shot and a wrong one.

In Germany, when he practices, the coach records his practice games and then points out the mistakes so that he can work on his game. Otherwise, it’s like two friends playing the game.

At the same time, we want someone who is good. Often you find people who won’t even know the full form of AITA (the All India Tennis Association) or ITF (the International Tennis Federation) and are in the position of coach at various academies.

Manu Shankar / Rediff.com

Source….www.rediff.com

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Meet Nischal Narayanam, India’s Youngest Chartered Accountant….

July 23, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

He’s the country’s youngest Chartered Accountant but he needs to wait two more years before he can enrol in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), which needs its members to be at least 21. Nischal Narayanam is only 19 years old, but he already has a postgraduate degree in commerce from Osmania University in Hyderabad.

“The journey wasn’t easy and a tough one. But I was determined to achieve it,”Nischal told The Hindu.

Narayanam’s gifted mind was recognised early. He was eight years old when he passed several Sanskrit exams equivalent to a masters degree. By the time he was nine, he was already correcting mistakes in his father’s company balance sheet. At 10, he was the world memory champion among kids, had authored volumes of books on mathematics, and had designed and developed a mathematics laboratory. That year he won his first Guinness World Record by memorising 225 random objects in just over 12 minutes.

Nischal memorises 132 random digits as he prepares for his second Guinness World Record.

The next year he was awarded the national child award for exceptional achievement.

As he entered his teenage years, Narayanam passed the Cambridge University examination and qualified the basic level exam for becoming a CA. He also won another Guinness World Record — this time for memorising 132 digits in just a minute. Two years later, at 15, he passed the second level of the CA exam, and became the youngest mentor to a company — Nischal’s Smart Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd — which offers tools to make learning easier.

He is listed as one of the “7 brilliant brains of the world” by the National Geographic Channel, and has his own philanthropic organisation to help kids to study at free summer camp

Source….Indrani Basu in http://www.huffingtonpost.in

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Joke of the Day…”I was not really used to the hook yet…. “!!!

July 23, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Joke: A Pirate’s Tale…

A pirate walks into a bar and the bartender says, “Hey, I haven’t seen you in a while. What happened, you look terrible!”

“What do you mean?” the pirate replies, “I’m fine.”

The bartender says, “But what about that wooden leg? You didn’t have that before.”

“Well,” says the pirate, “We were in a battle at sea and a cannon ball hit my leg but the surgeon fixed me up, and I’m fine, really.”

“Yeah,” says the bartender, “But what about that hook? Last time I saw you, you had both hands.”

“Well,” says the pirate, “We were in another battle and we boarded the enemy ship. I was in a sword fight and my hand was cut off but the surgeon fixed me up with this pirate

hook, and I feel great, really.”

“Oh,” says the bartender, “What about that eye patch? Last time you were in here you had both eyes.”

“Well,” says the pirate, “One day when we were at sea, some birds were flying over the ship. I looked up, and one of them pooped in my eye.”

“So?” replied the bartender, “what happened? You couldn’t have lost an eye just from some bird poop!”

“Well,” says the pirate, “I wasn’t really used to the hook yet…!!!

Source….www.ba-bamail.com

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This Video Clip will Make Your Day … Have a Cheerful Day !!!

July 22, 2015July 22, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

A fishing trip in Alaska’s Day Harbor turned into the whale-watching trip of a lifetime.

Brad Rich, an Alaskan fisherman, caught an amazing display of humpback whales feeding on video.

It started out looking pretty calm:

Then Rich says, “I hear ’em,” and the whales erupt from the water, mouths agape and blowholes spouting:

Throughout the incredible encounter Rich’s uncontrollable laughter and sometimes profanity-laced exclamations are priceless.

“I was just in awe,” Rich told KTVA Alaska, “I knew that humpbacks do this group feeding. So I knew what was happening as soon as it happened. But to be in the middle of that, to actually experience that as to just watching it, it was the most awe-inspiring thing, it’s the most amazing thing to have ever happened to me.”

The humpbacks, which migrate to Alaska in the summer and fall, are engaging in a unique feeding behavior called “bubble net feeding.”

The whales swim below schools of little fish or krill and blow a circle of air bubbles out of their blowholes as they spiral upwards towards the surface. These bubbles surround their prey and form a type of net. The bubbles push their food into a small ball that makes easy pickings for the whales as they surge upward with mouths wide open.

Brad Rich was lucky enough to see it firsthand, and we were lucky that he shared it on YouTube. Check out the video:

Source……Cody Sullivan in ….www.businessinsider .in and http://www.you tube.com

Natarajan

This Epic Image of Earth will Floor You….

July 21, 2015Natarajan2 Comments

NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera captures stunning view of the entire sun-lit side of Earth.

This colour image of Earth, taken by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera and telescope on July 6, 2015, shows Earth as seen on July 6, 2015 from a distance of one million miles.

Clicked from 1.6 million km away in space, a NASA camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite has returned its first stunning view of the entire sun-lit side of Earth.

DSCOVR is equipped with the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) that took the new photo on July 6.

EPIC captures a series of 10 different images in a variety of wavelengths, from near infrared to ultraviolet light, which can be analyzed in a number of different ways.

“Just got this new blue marble photo from @NASA. A beautiful reminder that we need to protect the only planet we have,” US President Barack Obama tweeted on his official @POTUS handle.

The images clearly show desert sand structures, river systems and complex cloud patterns on planet Earth.

“This first DSCOVR image of our planet demonstrates the unique and important benefits of Earth observation from space,” said NASA administrator Charlie Bolden in a statement.

“I want everyone to be able to see and appreciate our planet as an integrated, interacting system,” he added.

The primary objective of DSCOVR is to maintain the nation’s real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities, which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of space weather alerts and forecasts.

“DSCOVR’s observations of Earth, as well as its measurements and early warnings of space weather events caused by the sun, will help every person to monitor the ever-changing Earth, and to understand how our planet fits into its neighbourhood in the solar system, Bolden noted.

NASA will use the camera’s observations to measure ozone levels in Earth’s atmosphere and plant growth on the ground.

It will also help build maps showing the distribution of dust and volcanic ash around the globe, among other things.

“The high quality of the EPIC images exceeded all of our expectations in resolution,” said DSCOVR project scientist Adam Szabo.

“There will be a huge wealth of new data for scientists to explore,” he concluded.

Source…www.the hindu.com

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