Library Humour

Library Anecdote: Patron: “I am looking for a globe of the earth.” 
Librarian: “We have a table-top model over here.” 
Patron: “No, that’s not good enough. Don’t you have a life-size?” 
Librarian: (pause) “Yes, but it’s in use right now.” 

 

*** A book may be compared to your neighbor; if it be good, it cannot last too long; if bad, you cannot get rid of it too early.
– Henry Brooke

*** Book lovers never go to bed alone.
– Unknown

***There are two kinds of statistics, the kind you look up and the kind you make up.
– Rex Stout

*** Seventy million books in America’s libraries, but the one you want to read is always out.
– Tom Masson

*** Knowledge is free at the library. Just bring your own container.
– Unknown

*** Book — what they make a movie out of for television.
– Leonard Louis Levinson

Information on dragons can be found by asking one of them in the office.

The purpose of OPACs is to say how much to sell crude oil for.

Reference books cannot be checked out because they are too big and heavy.

Fiction books are just a lot of stories, so they don’t get a rating number.

The Dewey System measures how cold it got overnight by measuring how much wetness is on the grass in the mornings.

You can find words with similar meanings in Rogers Brontasaurus.

Boolean operators are telephone sellers in other countries.

A bibliography is the cast of characters in the Bible.

Books with the letter R on the label are only for people over 18 years old.

You shouldn’t eat in the library because there are too many germs.

Students are allowed to use the photocopier when it is working.

You can use an author search if you don’t know who wrote the book your looking for.

Copyright is using the photocopier the right way.

Plagiarism is when you copy someone else without them finding out.

An abstract is a painting that doesn’t make any sense.

A citation is when you go to a web cite and copy it so no one says you cheated.

The Great Library of Alexandria was destroyed by vandals with chewing gum and spray paint.

The New York Public Library has two lions outside the front door to stop people stealing books.

The Library of Congress is where congressmen go to steal books.

Standing on the shoulders of giants is important in research for getting the books off the top shelf.

People shouldn’t put their real name and address on their library cards because an orthodontist might see it.

If I see stuff on the Internet that makes me uncomfortable, I should tell all my friends where the website is so they don’t get scared when they go there by mistake.

Friction books are put together so they don’t slide off the shelve because of the plestic covers.

Barcodes are put on books so they know who they bilong too.

Literature is long stories in tiny letters with no fun happening.

I like to read graphic novels becaus you can color in the pitchers when you dont know what the words are.

You should not make too much noise in the library because then no one will know you are there when they come to start a fight.

Filed under: library Jokes & Cartoons

Author of the week

Vikram Seth

(Book in the Library: A Suitable Boy)

Born in 1952 in Calcutta, India, Vikram Seth was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Stanford University and Nanjing University. He has travelled widely and lived in Britain, California, India and China. His first novel, The Golden Gate: A Novel in VerseA Suitable Boy (1993), won the WH Smith Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book). Set in India in the early 1950s, it is the story of a young girl, Lata, and her search for a husband. An Equal Music (1999), is the story of a violinist haunted by the memory of a former lover.

Vikram Seth is also the author of a travel book, From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet (1983), an account of a journey through Tibet, China and Nepal that won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, and a libretto, Arion and the Dolphin: A Libretto (1994), which was performed at the English National Opera in June 1994, with music by Alec Roth. His poetry includes Mappings (1980), The Humble Administrator’s Garden (1985), winner of the Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia), and All You Who Sleep Tonight: Poems (1990). His children’s book, Beastly Tales from Here and There (1992), consists of ten stories about animals told in verse. (1986), describes the experiences of a group of friends living in California. His acclaimed epic of Indian life,

Vikram Seth’s latest work is Two Lives (2005), a memoir of the marriage of his great uncle and aunt.

Bibliography

Mappings Writer’s Workshop (Calcutta) (re-issued Viking 1994), 1980

From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet Chatto & Windus, 1983

The Humble Administrator’s Garden Carcanet, 1985

The Golden Gate: A Novel in Verse Faber and Faber, 1986

All You Who Sleep Tonight: Poems Faber and Faber, 1990

Beastly Tales from Here and There (illustrated by Ravi Shankar, re-issued Phoenix House 2002) Phoenix House, 1992

Three Chinese Poets: Translations of Poems by Wang Wei, Li Bai and Du Fu Faber and Faber, 1992

A Suitable Boy Phoenix House, 1993

Arion and the Dolphin: A Libretto Phoenix House, 1994

An Equal Music Phoenix House, 1999

Two Lives Time Warner, 2005

Prizes and awards

1983 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet

1985 Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia) The Humble Administrator’s Garden

1993 Irish Times International Fiction Prize (shortlist) A Suitable Boy

1994 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) A Suitable Boy

1994 WH Smith Literary Award A Suitable Boy

2001 EMMA (BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award) for Best Book/NovelAn Equal Music

Filed under: Author of the week, Vikram Seth

Book of the week

 

My Life

by

Fidel Castro, with Ignacio Ramonet, translated by Andrew Hurley

736pp, Allen Lane, £25

“When the Soviet Union and the socialist camp disappeared,” Fidel Castro tells Ignacio Ramonet, editor of what is in effect both Castro’s autobiography and political testament, “no one would have wagered one cent on the survival of the Cuban revolution.” Even the Cuban president’s fiercest critics would find it hard to disagree with that. The catastrophic withdrawal of Soviet support in the 1990s and the overnight loss of Cuba’s main markets and suppliers plunged the Caribbean island into a grim period of retrenchment, known euphemistically as the “special period”.

In Miami, the heirs of the grisly US-backed dictator Fugencio Batista prepared to return in triumph to reclaim the farms, factories and bordellos that Castro, Che Guevara and their followers closed or expropriated after they fought their way to power in 1959. The US government tightened the screws on their economic blockade and around the world both sympathisers and enemies waited for the Cuban regime to follow the example of its east European counterparts, bow to the global triumph of capitalism and embrace the end of history.More than 15 years later, they’re still waiting. In defiance of the laws of political gravity, Cuba has rebuilt its shattered economy, held on to its independence, stepped back from the most damaging social compromises it had been forced to make and used Castro’s illness to begin the leadership handover outsiders assumed would never happen or would lead to precipitate collapse. Meanwhile, the leftward tide across Latin America and the consolidation of the Chávez government in Venezuela has thrown Cuba a political and economic lifeline, as has the growing economic muscle of China.

In the light of such a remarkable comeback – and given Castro’s history of survival against ridiculous odds, from the attack on the Moncada barracks in 1953 and the ensuing guerrilla campaign in the Sierra Maestra to the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 – perhaps it’s not surprising that the world’s longest-serving president places such emphasis on “subjective factors” in revolutionary politics in this extraordinary account of his life and convictions. If ever there were a case of triumph of the will over objective adversity, the Cuban experience epitomises it.

Of course, the nature of that triumph remains the focus of a sharp global ideological contest, far out of proportion to Cuba’s size or strategic significance. In the past couple of weeks, what Castro calls “the empire” was outvoted by 184 votes to four in the UN general assembly over the annual demand for an end to its embargo, as George Bush openly called on the Cuban military to support an uprising against a “dying” regime. In Rupert Murdoch’s Sunday Times, one writer ludicrously branded Castro “another version of the tyrant that he replaced in 1959”, while he is routinely dismissed as a cold war relic with nothing to say to what he himself describes as this “decisive century” for the human race.

What is striking from the hundred hours of conversations with Le Monde Diplomatique editor Ramonet which make up this book is, on the contrary, the Cuban president’s capacity to reinvent himself and his undimmed focus on contemporary struggles. Far from being beached by history, Castro has in his final years provided a vital link between the socialist and communist experiences of the 20th century and the new movements against neoliberal globalisation and imperialism that have taken root in Latin America and elsewhere in the 21st.

Which is not to say that the veteran revolutionary is in any way reluctant to hold forth on the conflagrationary events and personalities he has been been involved with, from his earliest days on his father’s sugar plantation to his round-the-clock efforts to rescue Chávez during the abortive coup in Venezuela five years ago. There is a gripping, almost cinematic quality to Castro’s recollections of some of the most dramatic episodes – under fire in the mountains with Guevara in the 50s; his chilling exchanges with Khrushchev on the brink of thermonuclear war in 1962; hands-on negotiations with US-indulged hijackers in 2003.

Just as revealing from the perspective of today’s politics are his self-critical comments on issues such as Cuba’s changing approach to gay rights (“homosexuals were most certainly the victims of discrimination”); religion (“I consider myself largely responsible” for excluding believers from the Communist party); and racism (“we were pretty ignorant about the phenomenon”). Ramonet has been attacked for being uncritical – slightly absurdly since this is supposed to be Castro’s book, which the man himself edited from his hospital bed – but he in fact presses the Cuban president on pretty well every controversial question, from caudillismo and dictatorship to press freedom and capital punishment.

Castro has never been a political theorist – Che’s ideological arguments in the early 60s over planning and the market seem to have left him slightly bemused – but his speculations about the future of socialism are tantalising. He describes himself as a Marxist and Leninist (as well as an ethical “Martí-an” after José Martí) and is convinced the human race will not survive under capitalism, but also asks: “What is Marxism? What is socialism? They’re not well defined.” He concedes that the Cuban revolutionaries may have “tried to go too far too fast”, and speculates about what a restoration of capitalism in Cuba would mean, worrying about Cuba’s failure to break the link between educational achievement and family background. “Building a new society is much harder than it might appear,” he says.

For some, Cuba’s resistance to multi-party elections, its clampdown on those who work with the US against the regime, its shortages and bureaucracy mark Castro down as a failed dictator, even if the only prisoners tortured and held without trial on the island are in the US base at Guantánamo. But for millions across the world, Cuba’s resistance to US domination, its internationalist record in Africa and Latin America, its achievements in health and education and its pursuit of an indepen-dent, anti-capitalist course remain an inspirational point of reference. Whatever happens after Castro has gone, this book will provide an indispensable perspective on that record.

Filed under: Book of the week, Castro, My Life

Book reviews

Stolen Voices: 

Young People’s War Diaries,

from World War I to Iraq

Edited by Zlata Filipovic

(Library call No.080 FIL-N)

Armies in combat kill noncombatants. Whether the killings are intentional or accidental, it always happens. Many men, women, and children who are trying to avoid the conflict lose their lives. All the war zone survivors lose family and friends and suffer great hardships. This is the case in every diary in Stolen Voices: Young People’s War Diaries, from World War I to Iraq, edited by Zlata Filipovic, whose tale of Sarajevo is included, and Melanie Challenger.

Filipovic and Challenger have been broad in their selection of diaries. The young writers have many viewpoints about the rightness of the causes of war. Some change their minds during the course of their experiences, while others harden into original prejudices. They even include diaries from young soldiers, who admit killing innocent people.

The last three diaries from Israeli, Palestinian, and Iraqi youth are especially powerful, as readers knows the situations are unresolved. The three all express helplessness. The last diary will be particularly hard for anyone trying to make political sense of the war in Iraq. Hoda Thamir Jehad describes American soldiers killing her friends and her neighbors as they sweep down her street and invade the houses. Despite this, she cheers the Americans for deposing Hussein and promising democracy. Her diary ends in early 2004. I wonder what she thinks now.

Reading is a sub-theme in the book. Most of the young diarists tell about the books they are reading to escape their misery or to improve themselves for a brighter day.

Stolen Voices is a book that should be in all public and school libraries.

Filipovic, Zlata, ed. Stolen Voices: Young People’s War Diaries, from World War I to Iraq. New York: Penguin Books, 2006. ISBN 9780143038719

Filed under: Book Reviews, from World War I to Iraq, Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries

Young World Quiz (February 22, 2008)

 

Questions

1. Name the celebrated Fijian golfer, winner of three Majors, celebrating his birthday on this date.

2. The United Arab Republic was a short-lived state that was formed by two nations (one Asian and one African) on this date fifty years ago. Name the two nations.

3. What is the equivalent rank of a Group Captain in the Army?

4. Chronologically (year published) which is the last of the four Sherlock Holmes novels?

5. In which country is the holy city of Mecca?

6. Which animal could live in a warren, burrow or a hutch?

7. What are members, aged between three and six, called in Indian scouting movement?

8. Name the many-headed monster killed by Hercules during his second task.

9. Of which African country was Jomo Kenyatta the first president?

10. How is the comic book hero Matt Murdock better known?

11. What does the musical term ‘Da Capo’ mean?

12. In which Disney favourite does the song “A whole new world” feature?

13. How many dimes to five U.S. dollars?

14. What would a selenologist study?

15. In scrabble, which vowel has the fewest number of tiles?

Answers

1. Vijay Singh

2. Egypt and Syria

3. Colonel

4. The Valley of Fear

5. Saudi Arabia

6. Rabbit; 7. Bunnies

8. The Lernaean Hydra

9. Kenya; 10. Daredevil

11. From the beginning

12. Aladdin

13. 50

14. The moon

15. U (four tiles)

Filed under: Young World Quiz, Quiz, Young World

Book of the week

 

The Ultimate India Quiz Book

by

Derek O’ Brien

(Penguin Books India, 2007, Rs.250/-)

Library Call No: 001 OBR-U

The perfect blend of entertainment and education . . .Commemorating sixty years of India’s independence and reflecting India’s many facets, this definitive volume packs in 3000 questions in sixty chapters, testing the answering skills of any quiz-lover. Each chapter contains fifty questions on a range of subjects from ancient, medieval and modern India to alternative medicine, and fairs and festivals, Indian cricket, Indian diaspora, Hindi and regional films to science, traditional sport and youth affairs, travel, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.  Put your knowledge of India to the ultimate test with this valuable volume for facts, figures, events, history, literature, politics, and much more.

Filed under: Book of the week, Derek, Ultimate India Quiz Book

Author of the week

 

Arundhati Roy

Books by the author in the library

——————————————————

Call No.                    Title

——————————————————-

823  ARU-A  Algebra of infinity justice

823  ARU-G God of small things

823  ARU-O Ordinary person’s guide to empire

——————————————————-

Arundhati Roy (born November 24, 1961) is an Indian novelist, activist and a world citizen. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her first novel The God of Small Things.

Roy was born in Shillong, Meghalaya to a Keralite Syrian Christian mother and a Bengali Hindu father, a tea planter by profession. She spent her childhood in Aymanam, in Kerala, schooling in Corpus Christi. She left Kerala for Delhi at age 16, and embarked on a homeless lifestyle, staying in a small hut with a tin roof within the walls of Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla and making a living selling empty bottles. She then proceeded to study architecture at the Delhi School of Architecture, where she met her first husband, the architect Gerard Da Cunha.

The God of Small Things is the only novel written by Roy. Since winning the Booker Prize, she has concentrated her writing on political issues. These include the Narmada Dam project, India’s Nuclear Weapons, corrupt power company Enron‘s activities in India. She is a figure-head of the anti-globalization/alter-globalization movement and a vehement critic of neo-imperialism.

In response to India’s testing of nuclear weapons in Pokhran, Rajasthan, Roy wrote The End of Imagination, a critique of the Indian government’s nuclear policies. It was published in her collection The Cost of Living, in which she also crusaded against India’s massive hydroelectric dam projects in the central and western states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. She has since devoted herself solely to nonfiction and politics, publishing two more collections of essays as well as working for social causes.

Roy was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in May 2004 for her work in social campaigns and advocacy of non-violence.

In June 2005 she took part in the World Tribunal on Iraq. In January 2006 she was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for her collection of essays, ‘The Algebra of Infinite Justice’, but declined to accept it.

Source: Wikipedia: Arundhati Roy

Filed under: Author of the week, Arundhati Roy, God of small things

Article of the week

 

Ripples at sea 

Damage to under-sea cables and disruption in Internet connectivity raise worrisome questions.

Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, the third time is enemy action.

Goldfinger, the James Bond villain

R.K.Raghavan

Many of us literally worship the Internet for the amazing speed with which it responds when we either need information or want to communicate expeditiously with someone in a distant Continent. It is a reliable friend who rarely lets us down in an emergency. This reputation for high dependability, however, gets a beating once in a while due to an intervention by Nature or by man’s own proclivity to abuse all of the world’s gifts to him.

We know that earthquakes often cause a problem to Internet connectivity. An instance in point was the dislocation caused in parts of Asia in December 2006 by an undersea earthquake off the coast of Taiwan. This was taken in its stride as a natural phenomenon. Four recent incidents leading to widespread Internet disruption are, however, a greater cause for concern because there is no conclusive view yet with regard to what triggered them. They should provoke a renewed debate on how secure this medium is and how it can be protected from mischief.

Instances of outage

In the first case, the damage suffered by two under-sea cables in the Mediterranean on January 30 led to an unprecedented Internet failure in most of West Asia and parts of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. This happened off the coast of Alexandria, and the affected cables, through which nearly 90 per cent of the data traffic through the Suez flows, were within kilometres of each other, strengthening the surmise that a single event was responsible. Speculation was that a few cuts in the fibre-optic cables connecting Europe with Egypt led to the outage. It took a few days for the service to be restored to about 75 million people faced with loss of transmission.

Before those wedded to the Net could recover from the horror that this communication failure was, there was the report of a problem in two additional cables. These were the ones travelling from one island in Qatar and another in the UAE. The disruption caused here was relatively low because one of the affected cables catered only to regional needs, and the other was just a redundant strand of fibre. There is no corroboration to a first report that Iran had been badly hit by this. In fact, very recent reports carried by Economist (February 7, 2008) suggest otherwise. Whatever be the case, the two disruptions, coming close to each other, showed how fragile the Internet was.

A third happening was the going down of a cable between Qatar and the UAE on February 3. There has been no controversy surrounding the fourth, because here the operator himself took the network off because of a power failure.

What was the root cause of trouble in the first three incidents? There are several speculations, some rational and the others a little too wild for acceptance.

In the first case, an early report suggested that the damage to cables was from the anchors of ships passing through the waters in the area. A spokesperson of the company that owned the cable said that, for some unexplained reasons, ships here were asked to anchor at a spot different from the usual one on the day of the mishap, and this possibly accounted for the cuts seen on the cables. When the second incident took place two days later, experts were not all that sure that it was ships that were the villain. Actually, according to an Egyptian government spokesman, no ships were in the area at the time of the damage to the cable.

A theory that quickly started floating around hinted at sabotage, and a number of bloggers were active in propagating this. The needle of suspicion was on terrorists.

This is countered by some observers saying that the former did not have much to gain from such an attack. Nor did they have the kind of equipment needed to cut the cables in question. These were at best surmises which we cannot wholly go by.

According to one observer, it was quite possible that the US Navy was active in the area, trying to tap the undersea fibre-optic cable for intelligence purposes. This is rejected by experts who claim that it is difficult to tap such cables because they do not leak radio frequency signals. Most of us are ignorant on the subject, and we have to meekly submit ourselves to be confused!

What is more persuasive, however, is the information furnished by Global Marine Systems (quoted again by Economist), a firm in the business of marine cable repairs, that damage to undersea cables is a common occurrence, and that in the Atlantic alone there were 50 instances last year.

These occurrences in West Asia cannot go undebated worldwide. Thousands of cables crisscross the oceans and provide the lifeline for modern communication.

Protecting them from routine maritime traffic is one thing, and guarding them from spy agencies and terrorists is an entirely different proposition. The logistics are forbidding.

This is somewhat analogous to the nagging question that anti-terrorist agencies keep wrestling with: How does one ensure that the huge containers that arrive in thousands from different parts of the globe at large ports can be scanned to eliminate the scope for introducing explosives and similar devices. Technology is improving but not as fast as law enforcement would wish. For terrorists, disrupting Internet connectivity is not such great priority. But it still offers scope to throw modern routine into chaos and disarray if not fear, their principal objective.

The writer is a former CBI Director who is currently Adviser (Security) to TCS Ltd.

Filed under: Article of the Week, Internet

Cyber Quiz

 

Questions

1. What is the claim to fame of Khairat-Dhangarwada Village school in Raigadh district (Maharashtra)?

2. According to a recent Netcraft report, how many Web sites are there on the Net?

3. The second most most-expensive domain name, after sex.com, was snapped up for $9.5 million last year. What is it?

4. Jeffrey Bewkes is the Chief Executive of…?

5. HBO, in an attempt to generate a following for which of its new show, has decided to stream the first 15 episodes (of the 43) free of cost?

6. Who is the author of ‘Rule The Web’ about “how to do anything and everything on the Internet — better, faster, easier.”?

7. Which Web site broke the news of former US President, Bill Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky 10 years ago?

8. Name Facebook’s ‘controversial’ ads system that collects and publishes activities of its users from external Web sites.

9. What is Kevin Rose’s biggest claim to fame?

10. Name the Forbes editor who uses the pseudonym ‘Fake Steve Jobs’.

Answers

1. It is the first pilot of the One Laptop Per Child initiative in India.

2. 156 million.

3. porn.com

4. Time Warner.

5. ‘In Treatment’.

6. Mark Fraunfelder, the co-founder of ‘Boing Boing’.

7. Drudge Report.

8. Beacon

9. He founded Digg, the social bookmarking site that allows users to vote on their favourite news stories.

10. Dan Lyons.

Filed under: YW-Cyber Quiz

Young World Quiz (February 15, 2008)

 

QUESTIONS

1. Which famous website, now an integral part of a Netizen’s life, was inaugurated on this date in 2005?

2. What term is used for a robot that looks and acts like a human?

3. Of the eight planets in our Solar System, which are the third and fifth largest?

4. Expand ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic computer, unveiled in 1946.

5. Which famous Greek philosopher was put to death by using the poison hemlock?

6. Fill in the blank: Charles Darwin began developing his theory of evolution while travelling on a ship named….?

7. What are kyats, kina or the kwacha types of?

8. What sobriquet for Helen of Troy comes from Christopher Marlowe’s Faustus?

9. In fiction, name the hero of H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines?

10. In geography, the strait that separates mainland South America from Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is named after…?

11. What is the botanical name for the ‘stinking corpse lily’, arguably the largest flower in the world?

12. Who did the ancient wonder “Colossus of Rhodes” set to represent?

13. When a horse is moving with its legs advancing in diagonal pairs, it is said to be…?

14. Fill in the blank: Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia are called the three ______?

15. In Puss in Boots, what special function did the boots have for the feline?

ANSWERS

1.YouTube.com
2. Android
3. Uranus and Earth
4. Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer
5. Socrates
6. The Beagle
7. Currencies
8. ‘…face that launched a thousand ships’
9. Allan Quatermain
10. Ferdinand Magellan
11. Rafflesia arnoldii
12. Helios the Sun god
13. Trotting
14. Graces
15. Nothing as such. Its reason for wearing it so that it ‘may scamper through the dirt and the brambles’.

Filed under: Young World Quiz, Quiz, The Hindu, Young World

Career Corner

 

Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)

Common entrance examinations are no longer the prerogative of technical, medical or management education institutes. Beginning this year, the national law schools of the country will launch a Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), through which students can seek admission to some of the prestigious law institutions. The national law schools, opened in the last two decades, have been responsible for instilling professionalism in legal education and making it attractive to the in telligentsia.

Although there are 12 law schools in the country, only 10 will make use of the CLAT score for their integrated law degree admissions this year. They are: the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore; National Academy for Legal Studies and Research University (NALSAR), Hyderabad; National University for Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata; National Law University (NLU), Jodhpur; National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal; Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhi Nagar; Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur; Chanakya National Law University (CNLU), Patna; Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University (RMLNLU), Lucknow; and Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Patiala. The National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Kochi, the only national law school in Kerala, will not join the CLAT scheme this year. “We decided not to join CLAT owing to certain limitations,” says N. Narayanan Nair, Vice-Chancellor in-charge of NUALS.

NUALS is yet to have full-fledged infrastructure, including a women’s hostel. “We will complete our infrastructural work in two or three years. Then, we will certainly join the CLAT regime,” says Dr. Nair, who is chairman of the Bar Council executive committee.

NUALS authorities fear that joining the CLAT regime now will dilute its standard and quality as it will get relatively low-ranked candidates. For the time being, NUALS will continue its admission process through an exclusive entrance examination.

Time to apply

 

For those seeking admission to some of the best law schools in the country, it is time to apply for the CLAT. The examination on May 11 will be held in 20 centres across the country. Kochi will be the lone centre in Kerala. The other centres in the South are Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.

April 10 will be the last date to apply. The results will be announced on May 17, the sixth day after the examination. The admission process will be completed by the first week of June. Application forms are being issued from January 31 at select bank counters across the country and directly from the NLSIU, Bangalore.

The Corporation Bank branches at Ravipuram and Sannidhi Road, Kochi; and the State Bank of India branch at Calrathy Lane, Kochi, are issuing application forms in Kerala.

The application fee is Rs. 2,000. Those buying the application form from the banks should remit the fee there. Those seeking application forms from the NLSIU should send a request letter for CLAT application form to the convener, CLAT, National Law School of India University, Bangalore 560 242, along with a demand draft for Rs. 2,000 drawn in favour of the convener, CLAT, payable at Bangalore.

Students can download the application form from the CLAT web site, www.clat.ac.in. The fee of Rs. 2,000 (DD) should be sent along with the application. The application should be sent to the convener, Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), National Law School of India University, Nagarbhavi, Bangalore-560242 (ph: 080-232 13160, 231 60532).

Students who have passed the Plus Two examination with 50 per cent or more marks in aggregate but will not complete 20 years of age on July 1, 2008, can apply for CLAT. Those taking the Plus Two examination this year can also apply. SC/ST candidates will get an age relaxation of two years.

CLAT will be a two-hour examination of 200 marks. As 2008 will be the maiden year of CLAT, there will be no previous question papers for the applicants to take cue from. However, CLAT organisers say it will have no negative marks. The examination will have five sections, with 40 marks in English, 50 in general knowledge, 20 in mathematics, 40 in legal aptitude, and 50 in logical reasoning. The questions will be of objective type.

With hardly three months for CLAT, some training institutes advise students to embark on a carefully chalked-out study plan. For general knowledge, the suggestion is to divide the topics into several categories as the Constitution, the United Nations, history, geography, current affairs, books and authors, and so on and study each of them thoroughly.

Vocabulary section in English can prove to be tricky if students do not start working on them right away. Besides, trainers suggest that the students need plenty of practice for tackling comprehension passages and grammar segment.

Students should brush up their arithmetic ability picked up by them till class X. Questions can be expected from areas such as simple and compound interest, profit and loss, time and distance, averages, ratio and proportions, sets and so on.

Questions on legal reasoning will contain a legal principle, which students are expected to apply in a given situation and choose the most appropriate answer.

The legal reasoning segment, according to some trainers, can be unpredictable. In CLAT 2008, bulk of the questions may come from critical reasoning, they say. The questions have to be solved by a process of elimination and a couple of options may appear equally correct. Properly reading and comprehending the critical reasoning problem will hold the key. Apart from newspapers, magazines and year books, past year question papers of different national law schools have been suggested for reference for those preparing for CLAT.

Hema Raman, a law professor at Sriram Law Academy, a training organisation for law aspirants, says CLAT will invite the attention of discerning students from science, commerce and humanities streams.

“With salary packages soaring and foreign placements gaining prominence, legal education has become one of the most preferred career options among students,” she says.

Till this year, national law schools had been conducting independent entrance examinations. Students aspiring good legal education had to write a number of admission tests, undergoing tremendous hardship both physically and financially.

It was a writ petition filed by Varun Bhagat against the Centre and various national law schools in the Supreme Court in 2006 that prompted the CLAT. In the course of hearing, the Chief Justice of India directed the government to consult the National Law Schools with a view to evolving a scheme for a common admission test. The Bar Council of India supported the move.

Since all national law schools owe their existence to State legislation, there is no central agency to coordinate their activities. Therefore, a move such as common admission test requires the consensus of all schools participating in such a process. To facilitate such a consensus, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and the University Grants Commission convened a meeting of the Vice-Chancellors of seven schools, namely NLSIU, NALSAR, NLIU, NUJS, NLU, HNLU and GNLU, which have been functioning for some time.

Those seven National Law Schools signed a memorandum of understanding on November 23, 2007, committing themselves to holding the common admission test. According to this MoU, the CLAT will be conducted every year by each school on rotation as per the criterion of seniority. The NLSIU, Bangalore, the oldest of the schools, has set the process in motion by undertaking to conduct the admission test for the academic year 2008-09.

Three other national law schools have already agreed to make use of the CLAT results for their admissions. The others are expected to join the CLAT regime in a couple of years.

Filed under: Career Corner, Common Law Admission Test

Author of the week

 

Gabriel García Márquez

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1982

Books by the author available in the library

CALL NO	TITLE
823  MAR-A	Autumn of the Patriarch
823  MAR-C	Chronicle of a death foretold
823  MAR-G	General in his Labyrinth
823  MAR-N	No one writes to the colonel
823  MAR-N	News of a kidnapping
823  MAR-O	Of love and other demons
823.01  MAR-C	Collected stories
823.01  MAR-I	Innocent Erendira and other stories
823.01  MAR-S	Strange pilgrims

Gabriel García Márquez was born in 1928 in the small town of Aracataca, situated in a tropical region of northern Colombia, between the mountains and the Caribbean Sea. He grew up with his maternal grandparent – his grandfather was a pensioned colonel from the civil war at the beginning of the century. He went to a Jesuit college and began to read law, but his studies were soon broken off for his work as a journalist. In 1954 he was sent to Rome* on an assignment for his newspaper, and since then he has mostly lived abroad – in Paris, New York, Barcelona and Mexico – in a more or less compulsory exile. Besides his large output of fiction he has written screenplays and has continued to work as a journalist.

Filed under: Author of the week, gabriel garcia marques12563

Young World Quiz (February 08, 2008)

 QUESTIONS

1. Name the author of such classics like Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Around the World in Eighty Days celebrating his birthday on February 8.

2. Name the spell used by Harry Potter on the Inferi in …Half-Blood Prince to tie up with ropes.

3. In the first Indian cabinet, if Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister, who was the Deputy Prime Minister?

4. Who was the Nizam of Hyderabad when it became part of India in 1948?

5. Bertha von Suttner was the second woman, in 1905, to win which famous award?

6. In the NBA, if the Bobcats were playing the Bucks, then which two cities’ teams are on show?

7. Which nation’s URL extension would be .bz?

8. Which supervillain, in a 1992 landmark event, apparently killed Superman?

9. Who took the last wicket to fall in the 2006-7 Ashes series, which was also his last Test wicket?

10. What is a male fox called?

11. In which mythology is the battle at the end of the world called ‘Ragnarok’?

12. For what purpose is an Archimedes Screw used?

13. According to a famous poem, which town is in Brunswick by the famous Hanover City?

14. Which solar month follows Vaisakha in the Indian religious calendar?

15. In which video game would one find “Bowser’s Castle”?

ANSWERS

1. Jules Verne

2. Incarcerous

3. Sardar Vallabhai Patel

4. Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan

Asaf Jah VII

5. Nobel Prize

6. Charlotte and Milwaukee

7. Belize

8. Doomsday

9. Glenn McGrath

10. Dog; 11. Norse

12. Raising water

13. Hamelin

14. Jyestha

15.Super Mario series

Filed under: Young World Quiz, The Hindu, Young World Quiz

Ask the CBSE

 

Ask the CBSE

I am a Class X student. In the recent Pre-Board Mathematics examination, only three internal choices were given, but in the CBSE sample papers on the Internet, six internal choices are provided. What will be the pattern in the board examination? Are the questions in the Maths paper only NCERT book-oriented? In Social Sciences and Science textbooks, a lot of information is given in red boxes. Are they required for the examinations?

(Sriram Rajaram)

For the pattern of the question paper, please follow CBSE sample question papers. In the Maths Class X paper, there will be six internal choices. It is advisable to prepare thoroughly from the prescribed NCERT textbooks. If you have finished the NCERT books, you can practise from other reference books. The information in boxes with red border is non-evaluative and meant for your enrichment only.

What is the format for writing articles, speeches and reports? (Pooma, Kerala)

Though it is advisable to follow the formats given in the Main Course Book for articles, messages, letters, telegrams and so on, you should not unduly worry about it as you can follow either the traditional or the modern formats so long as you maintain it consistently throughout the answer. Do not mix the formats.

I am in Class X. I usually score good marks in Maths. I heard that the examinations will be tough this year. Will there be questions outside the syllabus and those involving methods and formulas not given in the textbooks? (K. Anitha)

All questions will be based on the prescribed CBSE syllabus. A few questions testing application-understanding invariably involve unfamiliar situations and may not be directly found in the prescribed textbooks but will definitely be from the syllabus. It is not true that the Maths paper will be tough this time.

I am in Class XII. I feel that the miscellaneous questions in Maths and the textbook exercise questions in Physics are highly difficult. Is it necessary to be thorough with such questions? (L. Suvasini, Chennai)

Mathematics and Physics papers will have some questions to test application and understanding. They will be of a higher level than those testing knowledge. So you should devise an effective strategy of preparation that equips you to answer questions of different levels.

I am a Class X student. The Science book has a lot of mistakes. In condensation polymers, the large polymer molecule is incomplete and the reaction is `unbalanced’. For this, it should end with COOH and OH groups. Can we modify the content of our NCERT book and give the right answers?

(B. Ananda Narayanan)

You are required to give the correct answer in the exam. Hence you can modify the answers.

I am a Class XII student (Commerce) with Informatics as an optional subject. In the recent sample papers issued by the CBSE, there were many questions from the Class XI portions. Which portions should I focus on? I am following a book written by Sumita Arora.

(Kurien Joseph, Ernakulam)

The question papers will be based on the Class XII syllabus. If you have thoroughly worked out one textbook, you can refer to other books also.

I can work out Maths problems from course and reference books. But, when I get the same or similar questions in examinations, I am able to recollect the method, but lack confidence. So, I take more time than required to solve a particular question.

(V.R. Resbi, Korba)

There is no problem with you. What you need is confidence and self-belief that you can do it. Just practise maths with fun. Focus and relax when you are solving problems. When you know the method, you can definitely excel in the examination.

I am in Class XII. I have been told that in the Physics and Chemistry papers there will be internal choices for all five-mark questions. But it was not so in our APSC examinations. Has the question paper format changed?

(R. Chella Govinda Rajan)

The APSC people may be unaware of the recent changes made in the Class XII Physics and Chemistry papers. There will be internal choices for all five-mark questions in Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

I am a student of Class X. Do I have to study what is not mentioned in the NCERT book? We are asked to study additional content, especially in Social Sciences. We are asked to study diagrams from a supplementary book (S. Chand) for Science. Is this necessary?

(Student of Class X, Kollam)

CBSE prescribes only NCERT textbooks for Class X and the questions in the examination will be based on the CBSE curriculum. However, to enhance your application and understanding skills, you may refer to other books.

It is always better to stick to one book only for Class X except in Mathematics. Is the Hindi Course A grammar included in Hindi course B grammar portions?

(Veera Raghavan)

Please refer to the Secondary School Curriculum 2005 Vol. I.

I am in Class X. I want to know whether for 5-mark, 8-mark and 10-mark questions in English, the words are counted approximately or accurately for evaluation.

(Jinto James)

Please do not worry unduly about the word limit in English. No marks will be deducted if you exceed the word limit by a reasonable margin except in questions on telegrams.

I am a student of Class X. I have heard from my teachers that there are possibilities for asking general questions in Social Studies which are outside the NCERT textbook for the 2005 board examinations. Is it true?

(Thariq, Thrissur)

By the time this answer appears in print, the Social Studies examination would have been over. Questions in the Board examinations are based on the CBSE curriculum. NCERT books which are prescribed, cover most of the curriculum; however, once you have thoroughly studied NCERT books, you may also refer to other books for your enrichment. Do not have unnecessary fear about examinations.

I am a Class XII student. My teachers say that at least 5 marks for the board examination in Class XII will be from Class XI portions. Is this true? Is it enough that I am thorough with the NCERT textbook for the public examination? Could you please give me some tips for effective learning of Chemistry. Also, the exercise at the end of a chapter seems to be difficult. Will this type of questions find a place in the public question paper? How much per cent will there be for application level in Physics and Chemistry? What is the weightage of numericals in Physics and Chemistry?

(Joseph Chitilapilly, Cochin)

Questions in the Board examinations are based on the prescribed Class XII syllabus. After completing the NCERT book, you may refer to other recommended books in the subject. You can refer to the CBSE sample question paper to know the design of the question paper; 20 per cent of the questions in Physics and Chemistry will be application based. The weightage of numericals in Physics is of 15-18 marks out of 70 marks and 12 marks in Chemistry.

I am in Class XII. Some teachers say that in Business Studies, marks will be given only for points given in the NCERT textbook.

(Kumar G.)

The marking scheme developed for each subject is based on the correctness of the answers rather than any information given in a particular book. Especially for Class XII, the Board recommends other books besides those of NCERT. Please rest assured that full credit will be given to all correct answers.

I am in Class X. All I have received from my school is two sample papers and 10 practice papers on Social Sciences. Last week, you have answered that it is enough if I study the maps given in the sample papers. Is it enough if I study only these 12 papers for map work? Also, please clarify whether the Board has compiled and issued any books other than the sample papers sent to the school.

(Ben Kuruvila)

Apart from sample question papers the Board has not published any other compilation. For map work you can practise all the topics given in the sample question paper under the heading `List of Items for map work’ as well as those in the book.

For the Mathematics examination, is it sufficient to solve CBSE guess papers or should I refer to some other books?

(Mary Abraham)

CBSE does not publish any guess papers. You may practise solving as many problems as you can without overstraining yourself to score well in examinations.

I am a Class X student. I want to know if: 1. For History map, questions relating to only identification will be asked or marking in the map itself will also appear? 2. In postcard writing, is the date written on the right or above the salutation? 3. In Hindi, there are 24 `jeevanies’ and it is said that from these only one `jeevani’ of 3 marks will be asked. Is it true? If yes what should I do? 4. In Science, along with the scientist’s name should I learn about the year also?

(B. Mangalambika)

You may have to locate and label features, places, etc., in map work in History.

You can follow the conventional or the modern format in letter writing as long as you are consistent.

You will not be tested on names and dates of scientists.

I am in Class X. In Science papers, especially Biology, can we use colour pencil for diagrams to make concepts clearer?

(Shubhnagi Gupta)

Yes, you can use colour pencils for drawing diagrams in Biology.

I am a Class X student. The X standard NCERT Science text book `Science & Technology’ has given some extra information about selected topics in two types of boxes. One is an orange shaded box and the other an orange bordered box. I want to know whether information from both the boxes will be tested or not. If only information from one kind of box is tested, please indicate the box.

(Maria Kurian, Oman)

The preface to the Science & Technology Textbook clearly states that the content given in boxes with red border only is non-evaluative and hence will not be tested.

My sister will be writing her Class XII examinations. In her Class 10 certificate, her date of birth was wrongly printed. We contacted the regional office at Allahabad, but got a delayed response. Recently, we were told by the office that as it has been more than a year, the matter can only be taken up with the central office in New Delhi. What is the expected time by which we can get the correct certificate as she will be applying for various professional courses and want the Class X certificate for proof of age? She had to submit this wrong date of birth for her Class XII also. Can she apply for colleges with her true date of birth? Is there provision for an ad-hoc certificate indicating the correct date of birth?

(Chandan, IIT-Kanpur)

Application for correction in date of birth duly forwarded by the Head of School with required documents shall be entertained by the Board within two years of the date of declaration of Class X examination. You are advised to send copies of earlier correspondence to the Public Relations Officer, Central Board of Secondary Education, 2, Community Centre, Preet Vihar, Delhi-110 092 for further action.

I am a Class X Matriculation student. I am going to do Class XI in a CBSE school. Will I be able to cope with the CBSE syllabus?

(Vaishali)

Before making up your mind, do study the CBSE curriculum for Plus-Two. You may also refer to some of the textbooks in the subjects you plan to take up. Also talk to the teachers of the school in which you are planning to take admission.

Above all, it is your intrinsic motivation that counts in such matters. Consider all issues and take your own decision. However, remember that nothing is impossible.

I am a Class X student. My second language is Sanskrit. From this year, we are supposed to write the Sanskrit examination in a separate answer sheet. As the answers are either one word or one sentence in the form of fill-ups, do we have to re-write the questions fully or can we write the answers alone?

(Shwetha, Chennai)

You don’t need to copy the entire question. It is enough to write just the answer.

However, remember to indicate the correct question number against the answer.

I am in Class X. In the chapter `Archaeological Heritage’ in Social Science, is it necessary to learn to draw the plans of stupas, temples, churches and mosques? Should the questions in Social Science be answered only in points or are we allowed to write in paragraph(s)?

(V. Ajay, Chennai)

No, it is not necessary to learn to draw the features of stupas, etc., in Archaeological Heritage. However, you should learn to describe the features if asked. You can write in paragraphs also.

I am in Class X. Is it necessary to study the extra riders other than the riders in the text for the numerical and application-based problems?

(Deepan Karthik, Chennai)

No, for all such clarifications, please read sample question papers and the syllabus particularly for weightage of marks for various units.

Do I have to study the exact numbers (like the total number of newspapers published in India) given in our NCERT text books?

(Christo George)

Do not skip any information. Read the textbooks thoroughly.

Will I get marks for unbalanced chemical equations?

(Anoop R. Santhosh, Vaikom)

Marks are awarded in accordance with the value points of the expected answer. You are likely to get partial marks for correct unbalanced chemical equations.

Will all the questions be from the syllabus prescribed (that is, from the NCERT books for Class X), or are students expected to read up all the subjects of Class VIII and Class IX also?

(R. Vishakan)

The question papers will be based on the syllabus prescribed by the Board as printed in the Secondary and Senior Secondary School Curriculum document of the CBSE. For Class X, the questions will be only from the Class X syllabus. However, you should know that learning is a continuous process and cannot be compartmentalised into years.

We, parents of CBSE Class X students, are confused over the style/basis of correction of the English paper. Could you tell us which is the right way for students to answer for Reading and Writing sections? Does the Board expect students to use more idiomatic phrases, proverbs, captions, high language and so on for Section B, especially for letter writing and speech writing? Because, most of the students get only 4 or 5 marks out of 10. Could you give us some tips for Class X students to score high in English?

(Thavamony Raman, principal, Raman Kalvi Nilayam)

Evaluation is based on detailed and well-defined marking schemes. The CBSE publishes these marking schemes for different subjects with the objective of making the system more transparent and to help students and teachers in their preparation for the examinations. Studying the pattern of marking schemes will greatly help students in writing the answers along the right lines. First of all, as parents, you may impress upon your children to read the questions properly and understand them so that they will know what is expected as answers. It is not only language but also content and organisation that are taken into account for awarding marks. Use of direct and simple language and short sentences is desirable, though appropriate vocabulary enhances the effectiveness of the answer. However, verbose and ornamental ‘high language’, as you may call it, will not be desirable because in their attempt to use proverbs, idiomatic phrases and so on, students tend to make errors and this will make them lose marks. As for the Reading section, marks are not deducted for errors in spelling and grammar. However, students should read and comprehend passages/poems and write accurate answers as per the instructions contained in the question paper. Extensive practice of such reading exercises will surely help students score full marks in the Reading section. Writing section has two 5-mark questions, which are based on short text types such as telegram, notice, message or short postcard. Answers to these two questions should be written in about 50 words each. Weightage is given to format and content. A maximum of one mark is deducted for language errors. The other two questions in the Writing section require longer answers in response to visual and verbal stimuli. Weightage is given to content, fluency (organisation) and accuracy (language). Creativity, correct and appropriate value points, the use of proper lay out/format and lucid organisation, are the features the students should focus on. As language competence is skill-oriented; only by actually practising the language skills will students be able to score high marks. So, as parents, encourage your children to practise answering as many questions as they can, besides reading the lessons in the literature reader with comprehension and understanding.

I am in Class XII. I am also preparing for the PMT examinations. It has been difficult to manage both courses, that is, Class XII and the competitive examinations. I have not even read all chapters of English and PE and some of Biology. What shall I do?

(Gaurav Kayal, Indore)

The most important thing is not to panic. There is still ample time for you to address the gaps in your preparation for the Board examination. It is quite natural to feel a little anxious about your preparedness, especially when you are paying attention to the AIPMT and the Class XII Board examination simultaneously. From what you have stated it is clear that you are aware of the areas that need your focussed attention at this stage and it is a big plus for you. All you need now is a workable plan for time management. You must firmly decide that you will give your undivided attention to the Class XII Board examinations. Then prepare a work schedule giving priority to lessons in different subjects that you have not yet prepared. As you read them, make notes in writing — which will help enormously in retaining the concepts in your memory and for recapitulation later. Allot time in your work schedule on the basis of your priorities. Try to follow your schedule and set aside about an hour each day to make up for any shortfall in meeting the requirements of your work schedule. Re-visit the lessons you have already learnt and revise them in a phased manner. Be positive and spend some time articulating the concepts you have learnt with your friends or teachers. It will help in reinforcement and concept clarification. Also remember that all work and no play leads to boredom and monotony. Go for evening walks and spend some time in the mornings for mild exercises and meditation. The CBSE wishes you good luck in your preparation for Class XII Board examination.

What is the syllabus from the chapter ‘Universe’ for Class X examinations? Are the topics given in the red-border boxes in the NCERT science books evaluative for the board examinations?

(Kumar Abhishek)

Refer to ‘Secondary School Curriculum 2007, Volume I’, for the syllabus for the March 2007 examinations. The entire content of the NCERT textbook does not form the syllabus. As stated in the preface to the NCERT textbook, the content included in red-border boxes is non-evaluative.

I would like to know the number of face cards to be taken in Class X examinations in problems of probability in Mathematics. In some NCERT books the number given is 16, and in some it is 12.

(Sayan Dey, Delhi Public School, Dhanbad)

It should be taken as 12.

What are the deleted portions in Science for Class X?

(Amit Maheshwari, New Delhi)

You may refer to the Board’s document ‘Secondary School Curriculum 2007, Volume I’ for the exact syllabus for the March 2007 examination.

How far will the valuation be based on the handwriting? Is it necessary that a student should write as in printed text? Or is it enough to write in such a manner that the people who correct it are able to understand, so long as the answers are correct?

Clear and legible handwriting is desired. Print-like handwriting is not expected. You should know that no additional weightage is given to handwriting in the Board’s examinations. However, neat and systematic presentation is always appreciated by examiners.

In the Lesson ‘Carbon Compounds’, will questions from the portion of ‘Synthetic Polymers’ and ‘Soaps & Detergents’ be included? Is it included in the syllabus? Also, are there any omitted portions?

(Sreevatsan, Class X)

Some deletions have been made in the syllabus as compared to the syllabus for the preceding year. The above two portions have been deleted. You may refer to the document ‘Secondary School Curriculum 2007, Volume I’, for the exact syllabus.

Will questions on National Incomes (statement question) be included in the Class XII Economics examination? If they will be included, how do we answer them? For example: Question: Whether the following is included in national income or not? Give reason. 1. Salary paid to a Russian working in the Indian Embassy in Russia. 2. Profit earned by a foreign company in India. 3. Profit earned by a foreign company in India owned by non-resident… I am confused whether the above examples are included in national income or domestic income.

(Abhishek Singla, D.A.V. Public School)

Such questions on national income are often included in the question paper in Economics, Class XII. You may refer to previous years’ question papers for the same. The answers to such questions should be complete, giving the reasons. National income equals to Domestic Product + net factor income from abroad. An item will be included in domestic product if it has been earned in the domestic territory of that country. Similarly, income earned by residents of India will be included in India’s national income. In Item 1 as cited, salary paid to a Russian working in the Indian Embassy in Russia will be included in the Domestic Factor Income of India but not in National Income of India. It is because the Indian Embassy in Russia is a part of the domestic territory of India; hence it is the Domestic Factor Income of India. But since the income is not earned by a resident of India, it will not be included in national income of India. In Item 2, profits earned by a foreign company in India is part of India’s domestic factor income as it is earned in the domestic territory. But it is not part of its national income because it is not earned by an Indian resident. In Item 3, the answer will be the same as that of Item 2.

What is the difference between forest area and forest cover?

(Durga Nagpal)

There is a difference between forest area and forest cover. Geographical area recorded as forests in government records is forest area. It is also referred to as recorded forest area. All lands, more than one hectare in area with a tree canopy density of more than 10 per cent is called forest cover. Such lands may not be statutorily notified as forest area. For example, the total forest area in India is about 23.3 per cent of the total geographical area. It includes such areas also without forest cover. Areas actually covered with forests are 19.4 per cent of the total geographical area.

Will the map pointing question come only from the list given at the http://www.cbse.nic.in website? Are the points from the Reader alone sufficient to get good marks? Or should we use the guide?

(J. Roopchand)

The questions requiring students to identify or locate features/places on the political outline maps of India are based on the list of items for map work prescribed by the Board. The list is given in the sample question papers in Social Science published by the Board. You should refer to the prescribed textbooks in Social Science published by the NCERT and the CBSE, and no other guidebook should be made the basis for answering the question.

I would like to know the syllabus for the Class XII Board examination to be conducted in 2008.

(Radhika Menon)

The CBSE has brought out a publication titled ‘Senior School Curriculum 2008’, which contains the syllabus in various subjects for the Class XII Board examination to be held in 2008. It is available in the bookstore at the CBSE headquarters as well as in the regional offices. You may also download it from the CBSE website: http://www.cbse.nic.in.

Is the CBSE Board examination paper strictly in accordance with the design and blueprint of the sample papers?

(Celestine Preetham, Class X, St. John’s, Besant Nagar, Chennai)

The Board examination question papers are based on the design and blueprint of the sample question papers published by the CBSE in terms of the type and number of questions, allotment of marks for different units/lessons, internal choices and distribution of questions to test knowledge, understanding, application and skills.

I am a Class X student and I have a doubt regarding the Chemistry syllabus. Is ‘IUPAC names’ included for the examinations?

(Dennis Alex)

Please refer to the Board’s syllabus ‘Secondary School Curriculum 2007, Volume I.’ ‘IUPAC names’ does not form part of the syllabus.

I am a Class X student in Kerala. The syllabus I downloaded from the Net does not tally with the one the CBSE sent to the school. Please publish the original syllabus on the Net. Also, I would like to know whether the information given in the boxes with red border need to be studied.

(Nithin V. Nath)

You may consult the Board’s document ‘Secondary School Curriculum 2007, Volume I’ for the exact syllabus. As mentioned in the preface to the NCERT textbook, the matter enclosed in red border boxes in the book is non-evaluative.

I am a Class X student in Chennai. In my school I have been told that certain sections of chapters have been deleted for the 2007 Board examinations in Science and Social Science. I am not sure as to what to include and what to omit in my preparation because only certain parts of some chapters have been deleted. Please provide a list of the omitted topics.

(Tarunay Roy)

You should refer to the Board’s document ‘Secondary School Curriculum 2007, Volume I’ for the exact syllabus. All the content in the NCERT textbook does not form part of the syllabus.

My ward is appearing for his Class X examinations in March. He is dyslexic, and we had applied for a special permission, with necessary documentation, for the facilities provided to such children. We have not heard from the CBSE till now about the sanction. The school authorities are also not aware as to when the permission will be obtained. Whether my ward will sit for the examinations will depend on whether such permission is forthcoming. I do not know whom to approach. Could you please guide me?

(Sundarrajan Mukund)

The CBSE provides a number of concessions and facilities to challenged candidates appearing in its examinations. If you have already applied with the necessary documents through the school in which your ward is studying, the Board will soon be communicating the details of examination centre, instruction for extension of special facilities to the candidate, and so on. You may request the principal of the school in which your ward is studying to talk to the CBSE Regional Officer concerned immediately to obtain the necessary information.

Does the CBSE have in the curriculum the time to be allocated by the teachers for subject portions to be covered in the class? Has the CBSE verified how far portions are left not covered or partially left out due to short of time? How many teaching hours are allocated for an academic portion in each subject, with break-ups, lesson-wise? Are we not loading students with data, treating them like computers, without focusing on improving and strengthening their minds for analysis? Is the CBSE getting feedback regarding time allocated by the faculty for the subjects? Does the CBSE have a chart flow of time management to be followed by schools? Have newly introduced subjects such as Economics and Computer Science been properly blended with previously followed subjects such as English, Language, Science, Social Studies, Maths? Does the CBSE try to find out if the faculty is running out of time to teach? Does the CBSE ask, through a questionnaire, faculty members if they can justify the time allocation on each subject? Do students really benefit by learning, and being evaluated for, Economics (of course, the basics) at the Class X level? Has the CBSE ever wondered if it is seeking to make students ‘Jack of all and master of none’? Do not allow politics in what should be added in History or what should be deleted in History. Blend History (learning from the past), Economics (learning of the future), Computer (learning of today), and Science (to know human and human ideas) — all in the right proportion.

(Pradeep Chordia)

Your queries and suggestions are well taken. There is a split-up syllabus and apportioning of time for teaching different components/topics in the syllabus which is expected to be followed in schools.

The CBSE publishes Secondary School Curriculum and Senior School Curriculum every year.

Besides the syllabus and examination specifications of various subjects for Classes IX to XII, these documents also specify the split-up of syllabus with time allocated for each unit/lesson in terms of number of teaching periods. The CBSE keeps sending guidelines and instructions to its affiliated schools from time to time about proper curriculum organisation and efficient time management. Your suggestion for inter-disciplinary and cross-curricular learning is indeed welcome and the new NCERT Curriculum Framework 2005 has taken this into account by providing linkages between different components in Science and Social Science. Languages are already cross-curricular in nature and when teachers adopt appropriate techniques, they will make students sensitive to the inter-disciplinary nature of knowledge and skills. The CBSE’s curricular innovations like Education in Life Skills, Mathematics Laboratory and greater weightage to hands-on experience are intended to, besides other things, promote learning across the curriculum. As for your reference to ‘Jack of all and master of none’, you should know that up to the secondary level our country follows general education and it is only from senior secondary level some specialisation is introduced on the basis of each learner’s aptitude and interest. Nevertheless, every learner can aspire for expert learning at any level. Learning has no boundaries.

My son had been studying in Kendriya Vidyalaya IIT Bombay for the last eight years. Now we have shifted to Bangalore and he is studying in Class XI in one of the KVs. Will my son be eligible to appear for CET in Bangalore/Karnataka after Class XII? I await your reply anxiously.

(Anuradha Mitra)

Yes, your son can choose Bangalore as a centre for the AIPMT/AIEEE conducted by CBSE. For CET, you need to contact the local State authority.

I am appearing for the Class XII examinations in 2007. Is it compulsory to answer the questions in the order in which they appear, that is, serially? Or can we answer in the order of our personal choice or preference?

You may write answers in any order. It is not compulsory to write answers to questions in the same order as they appear in the question paper. However, ensure that you indicate the correct question number against each of your answers.

A Board examination question reads as follows: “An object is placed at a distance of 12 cm in front of a concave mirror. It forms a real image four times larger than the object. Calculate the distance of the image from the mirror.” In the key, the answer was v = -48 cm, taking that m = -4. But in the question, it is stated that the image is four times larger than the object, which implies that the image is five times the size of the object, which implies that m = -5, which implies that v = -60 cm. How are we to interpret this question, m = -4 or m = -5 and why?

(Vicky Iyer)

The question is to be interpreted as m = -4. Hence the answer given in the key is correct.

As a Class X student, I would like to know the format for notice, message and letter writing as different books provide different formats.

(Manjari Shankar)

The format for short writing tasks like notice, message, post card and telegram is given in different units of the Main Course Book as well as the Work Book of Class IX and X English Communicative. Follow the standard format given in the MCB and Work Book.

I am a Class X student, session 2006-2007. I need the latest syllabus for Physics and the details of what topics have been deleted from the syllabus for session 2005-2006.

(Richa Goyal)

You may refer to the Board’s document ‘Secondary School Curriculum 2007, Volume I’. There are no further changes or deletions in the syllabus.

In the Class X NCERT Science text, the escape velocity of a rocket is given as 8 km/second. But the correct answer is 11.2 km/s (Chapter: Universe). How should I handle this while answering for the examination? Will questions be asked on the information in the red boxes in Science and Social Science NCERT textbooks? I want to know the chapter-wise weightage of marks in science. (syllabus of Class X).

(Shashi Rekha)

The accepted correct value of escape velocity on earth is 11.2 km/s. As mentioned in the preface to the NCERT textbook, the matter in red border boxes in the book is non-evaluative. The chapter-wise weightage to different units of the syllabus is given in the document ‘Secondary School Curriculum 2007, Volume I’. Please refer to the same.

Filed under: Ask the CBSE, Ask CBSE, CBSE, Question papers

Book of the week

 

Without Fear:the life and trial of Bhagat Singh

By

Kuldeep Nayar

(Available in the Library  Call No:923.254  BHA-K)

  Kuldip Nayar is a prolific scribe. His syndicated columns are widely published in India and

South Asia. With the spread of our diaspora, his writings have journeyed with them to distant

lands where his column gets published in several non-Indian language papers. I have seen for

 myself how much his views are respected even by those who may be averse to India’s foreign

 policies or its cultural philosophies.

Apart from his columns, he is the author of several books on different subjects. But he is no ivory tower intellectual; he travels widely both at home and abroad to meet people and policymakers in his quest for authenticity. He is one of our few intellectuals who have shrunk the distance between his writings and beliefs. A crusader for secularism and the rule of law, he is a one-man NGO, writing neither for financial gains nor to court the persons or parties in power. When the Emergency was imposed, Kuldip was one of the few who stood up to be counted. When Punjab was in the throes of divisive militancies, he fearlessly exposed those who had misused their official positions for narrow gains. Amongst his icons is Bhagat Singh. While writing his biography, The Martyr Bhagat Singh—Experiments in Revolution, he realised he needed to do more research. His second book narrates the histories of various mass movements and peasant struggles that had conditioned the thoughts of an entire generation, including Bhagat Singh’s ancestors. The book tells the story of the ship Koma Gata Maru, and the heroes of the Gadar movement, who formed the vanguard of the anti-colonial surges of the 19th century. Amongst its leading lights were Bhagat Singh’s father, Kishan Singh, and uncle, Ajeet Singh. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre had roused widespread protests in the country. Lala Lajpat Rai’s martyrdom at the hands of a British police officer had added to the public outrage. These incidents deeply impressed Ajeet Singh and Kishan Singh. Kuldip Nayar’s book graphically narrates the details of this widespread turbulence that went well beyond its epicentre to reach even the remote villages of Jhelum.

It also gives us an insight into the mind of the self-professed “political leper”, Hans Raj Vohra. Kuldip has meticulously pieced together the life of this quiet and committed revolutionary youth who later turned approver for the government. After the trial, the British whisked Vohra off to the UK, where he joined London University, and later helped him find a job in several newspapers, including The Statesman, The Times of India and Deccan Herald.. After a life of being shunned by everyone, he died unnoticed and unwept in Washington. Just before his death, he composed a poem on himself, which Kuldip quotes in his epilogue: Once I had a friend, A leper friend was he Could you shake him by the hand, Chorus: Oh,No. Could you look him in the eye, Chorus: Oh,No. Could you sleep with him, Chorus: Oh No, No. The annexures also include two philosophical treatises by Bhagat Singh that I hadn’t read before. One was his views on Gandhi’s non-violence, The Philosophy of the Bomb, and the other, Why I Am An Atheist. The book also highlights a letter from Sukhdev’s brother that gives embarrassing details of how national leaders had shut their doors on him. It is inspiring to know how the revolutionaries fought the campaign to denigrate them even while facing day-to-day court prosecution.  Reviewed by I K Gujral Courtesy:OUTLOOK

Filed under: Book of the week, Bhagat Singh, IK Gujral, Kuldeep Nayar, Without Fear

Snippets

A New Kind of Science Author Pays Brainy Undergrad $25,000 for Identifying Simplest Computer

By JR Minkel

SIX SIMPLE RULES:

Wolfram Research, the company founded by A New Kind of Science author Stephen Wolfram, has awarded $25,000 to an undergraduate for proving that a simple model called a 2,3 Turing machine, visualized in action here, can perform any conceivable computation. The machine scans the boxes in each row and applies one of six rules to generate the row underneath.

Filed under: Snippets, Snippets

Quotation of the week

 

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.

Abraham Lincoln

Filed under: Snippets, Lincoln

Author of the week

Ruskin Bond 

Books in the Library

CALL NO.	TITLE
808.068  BON-G	Gretting Granny’s glasses
808.068  BON-W	Who’s who at the zoo
820.8  BON-B	Best of Ruskin Bond: Delhi is not far
823  BON-F	Friends in small places
823  BON-F	Flight of pigeons
823  BON-I	Island of trees
823  BON-L	Landour days: A writer;s journal
823  BON-T	Tales of the open road
823.01  BON-P	Puffin book of classic school stories
823.01  BON-T	Tales and legends from India
928.28  BON-L	Lamp is lit: Leaves from a journal

Better perceived as the Indian ‘William Wordsworth’, Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli in the then Punjab Province in the year 1934. Born to a first generation British migrant, Bond spent most of his childhood in amidst Himalayas. He was brought up at different places that included Jamnagar, Dehradun and Shimla. As customary in that period he went to England for his primary studies. Although Bond was studying in England, his mind rested in India. He had forged an intimate relationship with the Himalayas and longed for it.

Bond started displaying his literary talent in England. He wrote his first novel named ‘Room On The Roof’ when he was all of 17 years. The book made him win prestigious ‘John Llewellyn Rhys’ Prize that is awarded to British Commonwealth Writers who are under the age of 30. The book was primarily based in and around Himalayas and was successful in capturing its beauty and ethos in a manner that was never tried before. Its sequel named ‘Vagrants in the Valley’ followed it. Riding on the success of these two novels, Ruskin took the journey back home. Ruskin Bond has now been writing for more than 5 decades. He has stressed more on the local elements of Himalayas in his writings. His writing style is distinct in a way that it tries to make reader understand the landscape and ethos through carefully mastered words. His writings have won him both tremendous critical acclaim as well as a long list of fans through out the literary world. Replete with unassuming humor and quiet wisdom, his stories manifest a deep love for nature and people. His mesmerizing descriptions about the flora and fauna of Himalayas can not be missed in his 100 something short stories, essays, novels, and more than thirty books of children that he has written.

His works has inspired several generations of writers, authors and scriptwriters. His novel named ‘The Flight of Pigeons’ has been adapted into the acclaimed Merchant Ivory film Junoon. Another less known novel named ‘The Room on the Roof’ has been adapted in to a BBC produced TV series. Nevertheless his greatest achievement comes from the fact that several of his short stories from his collections have been incorporated in the school curriculum all over India. It includes jewels such as The Night Train at Deoli, Time Stops at Shamli and Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. In spite of all these successes, Bond can be concluded today as a media-shy and reclusive literary genius. He spends his days with his adopted family at a place close to Dehradun. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award for English writing in India for ‘Our Trees Still grows in Dehra’ in 1992. He has also been conferred with Padma Shri, one of the most prestigious civil awards in India.

Filed under: Author of the week, Ruskin Bond

Article of the Week

 

This bin ain’t laden

“The lifespan of a computer has come down from seven-eight years to about five now. PCs sold today will be obsolete five years down the line.”

This is one waste generation and disposal problem that is sure to raise a stench! At a time when PC sales have touched 6.34 million units in FY07, and explosive growth in cell-phones has pushed subscriber levels beyond the 170-million mark (2007-end), the extent of the ‘e-waste’ challenge facing India is becoming more and more evident.

And while the issue and its various aspects have grabbed headlines time and again, the industry has now released the first-of-its-kind report that not only inventorises e-waste in India — throwing-up some hard statistics that quantify the enormity of the issue — but also offers interesting insights into the e-waste disposal behaviour amongst households and businesses in the country, and the current recycling practices.

The study, released by hardware association MAIT and the GTZ, reveals that as much as 3.30 lakh tonnes of e-waste is generated annually in India, while an additional 50,000 tonnes is estimated to be illegally imported into the country. What’s even more shocking is that e-waste generation in India is slated to hit 4.7 lakh tonnes by 2011. And that, mind you, is only mobiles, desktops, notebooks and TVs!

The ‘build-up’

Electronic waste or ‘e-waste’ or ‘Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment’ (WEEE) is defined as waste material consisting of broken or unwanted electrical or electronic appliances.

IT and telecom equipment, household appliances, consumer and lighting equipment, electrical and electronic tools, medical devices, monitoring and control instruments, are some sources of e-waste.

At present, India has about 20 million computers and the number is expected to grow to 75 million by 2010. Moreover, the massive growth of the telecom industry has led to an unprecedented acceleration in India’s mobile handset sales. The handset market touched revenues of Rs 21,434 crore in the year 2006-07. Mobile handset sales — including new users and replacements — in India surged 26 per cent to 93 million units in 2007. Colour TV market sales, on the other hand, stood at 15 million units in 2007, growing at 22 per cent CAGR.

This phenomenal boom in India’s electronics production and consumption is leading to increasing obsolescence rates (an estimated 2.2 million computers will become obsolete this year and around 14 million mobile handsets will be replaced by new ones) and, in turn, a higher e-waste stockpile. The issue is being further compounded by dumping from developed nations.

Inefficient collection system

“In developed countries, it is expensive to recycle discarded electronics items. Availability of cheap labour, along with the absence of import regulations, has made India a favoured destination for dumping of e-Waste from developed markets. Since it is illegal to import the e-waste, these products are being imported in a clandestine manner, mostly under misleading titles such as charity or scrap,” says Vinnie Mehta, executive director of MAIT.

According to MAIT, of the total e-waste generated, Western India accounts for the largest chunk (35 per cent), followed by the South (30 per cent). North and Eastern India contribute 21 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. Interestingly, almost 70 per cent of the total e-waste comes to Delhi for processing.

The study observes that of the total e-waste, only about 40 per cent finds its way into the recycling pool, while the rest remains in warehouses due to an inefficient collection system. A significant proportion of the waste that finds its way into the recycling pool, especially televisions and mobile handsets, is refurbished and resold. Only about 19,000 tonnes, representing just 5 per cent of the total e-waste, is processed.

What’s even more alarming is that in the next five years, India would have to deal with an estimated 1.31 lakh tonnes of potential annual e-waste from desktops; 3.28 lakh tonnes for TVs, 6,670 tonnes for mobiles. At present, of the total annual e-waste, computers account for 56,324 tonnes, TVs 2.75 lakh tonnes and mobile phones 1,655 tonnes.

“Computers are undoubtedly amongst the fastest growing e-waste segment, as the obsolescence rates also tend to be higher in this industry compared to other sectors such as white goods. The lifespan of a computer has come down from seven-eight years to about five years, now. The enormity of the problem can be gauged from the fact that PCs sold today (over six million units) will be obsolete five years down the line,” points out Rajoo Goel, Secretary-General, ELCINA.

Disposal practices in businesses, households

Most organisations appear to be replacing less than 10 per cent of the computers each year. The replacement levels are higher in services organisations than in the manufacturing sector — close to 10 per cent of services organisations that were surveyed replaced over 40 per cent of their PCs, annually. In case of businesses, incompatibility with latest technology was cited as the most important factor for the replacement of computers.

“Almost 80 per cent of the replaced computers directly enter the e-Waste stream either through scrap dealers or through second-hand markets and exchange or buy-back schemes, implying that the first step of managing e-Waste is to come up with a proper collection system involving the intermediaries of the second-hand market and then take action towards the environment-friendly disposal of that material,” feels Mehta of MAIT.

Even more shocking was the fact that an estimated 94 per cent of the organisations did not have any policies on disposal of IT products. Though a lot of business organisations were ‘aware’ about e-Waste, the ‘knowledge’ was certainly lacking.

In the case of households, almost all the computers, televisions and mobiles replaced were given in the family, friends or neighbourhood for further use. About 3 per cent of mobiles replaced were directly entering the municipal waste. Over 25 per cent of the electronic products directly entered the e-Waste market, through second-hand or scrap market or through exchanges, in case of households.

Recycling and challenges

The recycling practices in India are currently being handled by two segments: Formal recyclers (who undertake processes in closed chambers and do not use chemicals or incinerations) and Informal recyclers, who handle almost 95 per cent of India’s recycled e-waste. Formal recyclers, the likes of Trishyiraya and EParisara, only handle 5 per cent of the e-waste that is recycled.

“Right from the sourcing stage, the formal recyclers face daunting challenges. As there are no legislations in most of the organisations for disposal of electronic waste, the users are not particularly worried about the method of disposal. The only concern for these organisations is the value they get for their scrap,” says Mehta. Above all, reaching out to the customers requires a huge investment on the part of formal recyclers. As far as processing is concerned, there are no smelting units in India, and hence these recyclers are left with no option but to send the crushed mixture to other countries for the recovery of precious metals.

“The cost of transportation and getting the mixture smelted comes out to be quite high. For the Precious metal mixture sent to refineries (out of which 99-99.5 per cent of metals are recovered), recyclers receive only that value that is decided by the refineries,” the study notes. In addition to absence of legislation, lack of awareness among consumers is a huge challenge for formal recyclers.

The way ahead: Recommendations

The industry agrees that the issue can be tackled through an inclusive model where informal recyclers are also included as stakeholders. “The policy that comes into force has to specify the range of activity that can be taken up by the informal sector so that they can remain in the value chain. Meanwhile, the hazardous work involving treatment of chemicals and disposal in an environment-friendly manner needs to be done by the formal sector,” says Goel of ELCINA. The industry is also seeking legislations that would ensure that institutional buyers of IT products are required to include method of disposal of computers in their IT policy document. Further it should be mandatory for institutional users to declare their annual procurement and disposal of computers, in annual reports, they say.

Other measures that have been mooted include Government push for developing recycling capabilities in India, especially in North India. “In European nations, municipal agencies collect electronic waste once a week, and those found disposing electronic items carelessly are liable to be penalised. In India too, we could look at special bins for safe disposal of electrical waste,” says George Paul, Executive Vice-President, HCL Infosystems, a leading Indian PC manufacturer.

Manufacturers and vendors, on their part, can do their bit for safe disposal of electronic products by entering into tie-ups with dealers or retailers for buy-back schemes, and establish dropping centres for their customers.

“Customer education is really important when we talk of e-waste issue. HCL has set up collection points across the country where consumers can return the electronic product, which then gets into the recycling system,” he points out.

By

Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee

moumita@thehindu.co.in

Filed under: Article of the Week, e-waste

Cyber Quiz

 

Questions

1. Name the online magazine, primarily for a black audience, introduced by Washington Post on January 28.

2. According to top polling company Nielsen Online, which is the ‘most popular online buy’?

3. Name the private company, funded by Google and co-founded by the wife of Sergey Brin, which offers Web-based DNA testing?

4. Who are called ‘Xooglers’?

5. What is the name of the products launched by Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Bono to help eliminate AIDS in Africa?

6. Who is the chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft?

7. Which now popular American online series was created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick?

8. According to sales figures, which was last year’s biggest selling game?

9. Which product released in 2007 holds the record for most money earned in a day by an entertainment product?

10. What is ‘Transfer Jet’ and who makes it?

Answers 1. The Root@www.theroot.com

2. Books

3. 23andMe

4. Ex-Google employees.

5. Dell (PRODUCT) RED products.

6. Craig Mundie.

7. Quarterlife

8. Call of Duty 4.

9. Halo 3.

10. A system, in the field of personal networks, to transfer bursts of data between devices in ultra close proximity. It is made by Sony.

Filed under: YW-Cyber Quiz, business line, Cyber Quiz, Quest