Junior Science manual for Class VII-VIII

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Filed under: Downloads

Shape of the beast: Conversations with Arundhati Roy

Now in our Library

Call No.: 828  ARU-S

Over a decade after the extraordinary success of The God of Small Things, and somewhere before the publication of what will only be her second book of fiction, comes The Shape of the Beast. This collection of fourteen interview transcripts chart Arundhati Roy’s career as a political activist from between 2001 and the present, and thus comes almost as an exercise in taking stock, in looking both backwards and forwards. Its insight into the mind of one of our foremost public intellectuals is valuable.

In many ways, this is an extremely deliberate book, clearly seeking to fashion an arc of evolution with its snapshots of Roy’s opinions at particular points. Fortunately, it is largely devoid of the egotism one might expect from any such venture by a similarly larger-than-life celebrity. The hero of The Shape of the Beast is undeniably Roy – but her choice to speak for many is by far its central focus.

The Beast in question is, naturally, a political animal. In these interviews, Roy takes on, in her penetratingly poetic manner, the hegemonies of state, religion, imperialism, corporate entities and social constructs. All of them have been published before, so in themselves they say nothing new. But collected together they shed light not so much on the nature of the Beasts that democracy, egalitarianism and sheer goodness are up against, but on the woman who dares to outline their shapes.

What we get then are interviews which seek to understand where Roy’s perspectives come from, how her upbringing and life prior to and since fame shaped the logic behind her activism. The dialogues segue easily from the political to the personal, exploring the relationship between her background and belief system. Whether discussing American imperialism, Maoist insurgency, Narmada Bachao Andolan or Kashmir, the connection to Roy’s fundamental principles is laid bare. Unpopular as her views have been in some circles, both her stunning clarity of thought and refusal to be ignored are evident in these interviews. The Shape of the Beast thus functions convincingly on two levels: as a comprehensive source of the opinions to date of our most beloved and beleaguered activist, and, simply, as fodder for fans.

The most revealing interview of all is the final one, conducted in March 2008, in which Roy speaks about herself as a person, a writer and a celebrity and the private and public negotiations of these selves and projections. The political weight of the other conversations is absent here, and because of this it knits together the two Roys who have inhabited our common consciousness since 1997 – the glimmering, melancholic writer who gave us The God of Small Things and the fierce, incisive activist we have seen since then.

The book’s success lies primarily in the fact that it is neither mere defense for a decade of what some have seen as incidental activism, nor an exercise in self-congratulatory vanity. There is certainly some amount of careful persona distillation here, but hers is a voice that represents in equal measure both the disenfranchised and the simply far less eloquent. And for this, one remains grateful.

“I insist on the right to be emotional, to be sentimental, to be passionate,” says Roy in one of the interviews. This is exactly the kind of statement that does not endear her to her detractors, but it is also the reason why the rest of us remain so enamoured. She dares to be a subjective voice speaking on objective things, an anomaly in an arena of clichéd catchphrases and the politically fashionable, if not politically correct. Love her or loathe her, we need Roy. And this book, in a nutshell, is why.

Reviewed by Sharanya Manivannan

Courtesy: The New Sunday Express, May 18, 2008

We.

A documentary featuring the words of Arundhati Roy

Filed under: Book of the week, Arundhati Roy, Shape of the beast

Independance Day Book Exhibition

Book Exhibition

Theme: Freedom struggle and the fighters

Date : 11-16 August, 2008

Venue : The Library

ALL ARE WELCOME

Filed under: Exhibitions,Displays, Displays, Exhibitions

Gandhiji said,

No man loses his freedom except through his own weakness

-Mahatma Gandhi

Filed under: Snippets, Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi

The child as witness

By MALINI SESHADRI (The Hindu)

Well, I’m very fond of daddy but he hasn’t time to play/And I’m very fond of mummy but she sometimes goes away”…run the opening lines of a rhyme by A.A. Milne in a series of books about growing up that appear to be light-hearted but are in fact extremely philosophical and serious. Written during a time when relationships between the generations was on a more predictable keel they carry a few ominous notes.

When it’s time to reassess the actions of adults, the child is the witness, and his testimony is the way he grows and the person he ultimately becomes. Why are so many children growing up with anger in their hearts, with barely —suppressed violence waiting for any excuse to break through? Is it possible that the origin of the dark journey of violence which more and more youngsters are embarking upon everywhere lies in the disappointment of the young who seek love and understanding but never receive enough of it but are instead pushed into a learning system that makes no sense to them except that it somehow pleases the adults in charge? And this at a time when they are powerless to decide how their day should unfold, let alone their lives!

What are we growing on our “success farms”?

Blame game Whenever something disturbing surfaces from our result-obsessed society, we eagerly look around for someone to blame. Children in their final years in school end up working two or even three shifts with school exams to get through and college to get into. Getting through the days like automatons, trying out stimulants to stay awake or even just to feel alive. Having no port to steer towards, either in the environment they inhabit or in the value system that inhabits them. Who’s to blame? Parents? Teachers? When all the finger-pointing is done and over with, where are we headed?

If we don’t stop and rethink now, we may push our children to self-destruct. Children with no time to play, to dream, to enter imaginary landscapes, to read and swap stories, to discover and grow in friendships and personal understanding …children who do not value either patience or sympathy—what kind of adults will they become?

In today’s blame-oriented, success-focused society, there is a great need for true leadership in schools, rooted in warmth of spirit and a commitment to promoting peace education through the curriculum.We cannot reverse the clock and go back to less competitive times nor can we stop the mega trends of the world, but there is one kind of person in the education industry whom we look to and from whom our children and our childrens’ children may expect some measure of emotional protection and peace during their years in school.That person is the head of a school, the principal. Her role is increasingly draining — legal expert, employment specialist, administrator, academic in charge, customer relations expert, psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor and in-loco parentis. She is the only person who can take a stand on the fact that a determined emphasis on pedagogy is unlikely to succeed without strong and sensitive relationships, and quality emotional networks. An emotional relief-cushion can be created and provided best by the school principal who lays out the template for the staff to work out a co-operative programme of parent-child-teacher synergy of inputs to provide the quality of emotional support that is essential in an increasingly dysfunctional world.

Email: minik@satyam.net.in

malini_seshadri@vsnl.net

Filed under: Article of the Week, child

Young World Quiz

QUESTIONS

1. Simple one to start with. The first human to set foot on moon celebrates his birthday on this date. Name the living legend.

2. For which 1908 novel is author Kenneth Graham best known?

3. The glamorous Hollywood actress born Norma Jeane Mortenson passed away on this date 46 years ago. How is she better known?

4. How are male and female squirrels referred to?

5. Which country’s territory is Territory of Christmas Island?

6. According to the nursery rhyme, where should one ‘Ride a cock horse…’ to?

7. With which Olympic sport would one associate feint, parry and thrust?

8. How many blue triangles are there on the Union Jack?

9. In which American State is the renowned Harvard University?

10. Which loveable character lives in ‘House-for-One’?

11. Who won six straight Wimbledon singles between 1982 and 1987?

12. Which ancient Wonder of the World was built by Nebuchadnezzar II?

13. In Greek myth, who was the twin brother of Artemis?

14. Rolihlahla is the middle name of which African Nobel Laureate?

15. The animal form of Vitamin A is called…?

Answers

1. Neil A. Armstrong.

2. ‘The Wind in the Willows’.

3. Marilyn Monroe.

4. Buck and doe.

5. Australia.

6. Banbury Cross.

7. Fencing.

8. Eight.

9. Massachusetts.

10. Noddy.

11. Martina Navratilova.

12. Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

13. Apollo.

14. Nelson Mandela.

15. Retinol.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Filed under: Young World Quiz

Cyber Quiz

Questions

1. Which recently launched search engine’s name comes from a Gaelic word for both knowledge and hazel?

2. Who makes the ‘Reader Digital Book’ e-book reader?

3. Name the Indian company that has been sued by Hasbro over ‘Scrabulous’, the popular Facebook application.

4. Name Microsoft’s online and Windows chief who has quit to become CEO at Juniper Networks.

5. Name Google’s new offering which it touts as an ‘authoritative article about a specific topic’.

6. Name the business rules management software maker acquired by IBM in a deal valued at $340 million.

7. What was co-founded by Stewart Butterfield and his wife Caterina Fake?

8. Name Microsoft’s globe-like surface computer that was unveiled to academics recently.

9. What was cited in a report, by antivirus vendor Sophos, as the No. 1 host for malware?

10. Name Google’s initiative that ‘helps non-profit and public benefit groups further their missions and raise awareness of their respective causes through the use of Google Earth’s mapping and visualisation technology’.

Answers

1. Cuil

2. Sony

3. RJ Softwares.

4. Kevin Johnson.

5. Knol

6. ILOG

7. Flickr

8. Sphere

9. Google’s Blogspot (Blogger).

10. Google Earth Outreach.

Courtesy

V.V.Ramanan, Business Line

Filed under: YW-Cyber Quiz

HP jackets-winning entries

Filed under: Reader's Club, Winners of library competitions, Book jacket, competitions, Harry Potter, library activity, school library

Book Selection Committee 2008-’09

Shift-I

1. Children’s Books : Mrs.G.S.Ranjini,PRT, Mrs.Manju Nair, PRT, Mrs.Sukumari Pillai, PRT and Mrs.Jalaja Kumari,PRT
2. English : M.rAshokan, PGT(Eng) and Mrs.Jayalakshmi, TGT(Eng)
3. Hindi & Sanskrit : Mrs.Chandrika kumari Amma, PGT(Hindi), Mrs.S.Muthulakshmi, TGT(Hindi) and Mr.N.Sadanandan,TGT(Skt)
4. Social Studies : Mr.Thomas,PGT(His),Mr.R.John, PGT(Comm)
5. Physics: Mr.Leena Mary,PGT(Phy),Mrs.G.Meera, PGT(Chem), Mrs.Asha Devi ,PGT(Bio)
6. Mathematics : Mrs. Shiji Natarajan, PGT(Maths),Mrs.Gracy Franklin, PGT(Maths)

Filed under: Book Selection Committee

Minutes of SLC Meeting

School Library Committee meeting held on 06 August 2008 at Principal’s chamber at 12.30 p.m.

All the members attended.

Minutes (shortened)

• Appraisal of new KV Library Policy
• Selection of Book selection committee members
• Strengthening of fiction section
• Purchase of Hindi books
• Reader’s corner in the Primary section
• Suggestion Box
• Library statistics
• Loan period of users(01 book/student for 02 weeks; maximum 05 books/staff member/month)
• Fine for overdue books
• Evaluation of other library activities

Filed under: School Library Committee