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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Edition1: Children show way this Diwali


Children show the way this DiwaliThey say Adults have to show way to their children. Here is the cue what grown ups should take from Children. Children in Maharashtra have really made an impact. They have saved Rupees 65 Lakhs on crackers this year.
Andhashraddha Nirmulan samiti (ANS) an anti superstition body launched a cracker free Diwali concept. This movement was carried out from 25th Sep to 12 Oct this year in 12 districts of Maharashtra.
Crackers create many problems. They pollute air. Asthmatic people suffer due to air pollution. They create safety hazards. During this Diwali all over India at least 50 people lost lives mainly in tamilnadu, thane. In Delhi alone there were more than 50 reported fire cases of fire. Pune also had at least 10 reported injury cases of burns and several fire alarms. Not mentioning here numerable had burn cases and unreported fires and also count property loss. The noise effects on elderly, infants, patients and normal people are very serious. On one side there is no money for education but crores are spend on crackers. It’s public domain knowledge that there is rampant child labour exploitation in factories who
manufacture these crackers. Few of us realize that firecrackers are mostly made by very young children. Since, the substances being handled are
extremely toxic, many of these child labourers get sick and die in their early teenage years Education is basic right of these child labourers of which they are deprived of. But still we blast crackers. Does it sound crazy?
Someone had to do something. And children themselves in Maharashtra have responded this year.
ANS sent circulars mentioning all above points with an appeal to parents through the children. They also sent around 10 lakh resolutions to the children that they will spend cracker free Diwali. Around 70 Thousand children responsed with filled forms. Children claimed to save from Rs 20 to 1200 which they normally used to spend on crackers. Thats how the total was 65 lakhs. Some children donated saved money for school items to needy. The statistics say that around 400 crores are spent in our state every Diwali. ANS target is to save 50% of that in next 5 years.
With the firecrackers sellers
association in Pune mentioning a 30 per cent loss in business, asthmatics and doctors were happy. Chest medicine specialists say that in wake of H1N1 and the worsening air pollution levels in the city, the fate of asthmatics was really bleak.
The fact that the cracker business was less by 30 per cent is great news. What happens is that the air quality is already at its worst. That, along with Diwali pollution, could have triggered asthma attacks and such people are at a great risk of
contracting H1N1 and developing
complications.
According to figures obtained from the Maharashtra Pollution and
Control Board, the air quality in Pune worsens each year during the winter months, starting with Diwali. In some areas, the air pollution during Diwali is nearly twice the permissible limit.
Though we would have preferred that firecracker pollution be nil this time,
especially with H1N1 around, at least it’s heartening that there is some drop in
business.
Schools in Pune also had
appealed students to spend cracker free
diwali. Many children volunteered for this cause and have ensured reduction in
menace of crackers. My teacher has
explained how crackers are bad, I will never burst them say Riya student of
Abhinav.
There is a school of thoughts which feels that children should be given viable
option to express their happiness they get out of crackers. This option should be safe and eco friendly and creative. How about planting trees as a custom in Diwali…. Says Parth a symbiosis student.
Instead of burning crackers I would rather distribute sweets to the poor and needy children. The smiles on their faces will really make my Diwali, says Devik, a Sapling School student.

A remarkable feat indeed. Kids will learn fast. What about adults in the shops who know everything but still burst crackers? Hopefully we will have cracker free Diwali someday…

Edition1: Right to information act, consumer grievance


City Blog Forum
Cityblog is forum for all matters related to governance, consumer matters which a common citizen needs to take his voice across to right channels. We aim to be periodical with analysis as well as action.
Right to Information has an important economic dimension, as it embraces not only political freedom but also the
freedom to lead a life with dignity, unfettered by domination and discrimination.
CityBlog ‘s aim is to provide authentic and analytical help regarding Right to Information in India to Officers, Lawyers, Citizens, RTI Activist, Associations, & NGO's in Pune.
FAQ: How to apply for RTI
MAHARASHTRA RIGHT TO INFORMATION RULES 2005
1. APPLICATION: The rules provide for a format for
application under RTI Act called Annexture A which is
appended at column No.9 below.
2. FEES: A. Application fee: Rs.10/- to be paid by bank’s demand draft or banker’s cheque in favour of public
authority from whom information is sought or in cash at the concerned office against receipt or by affixing court fee stamp. Applicants holding BPL certificate need not pay any application fee. Court fee stamps are available with stamp vendors or advocates. Court fee stamp is the best way of paying application fee, unless you are filing from other state.
B. Other charges: Information in A-3 or A-4 size paper….Rs.2/- per page, Large size: actual cost,
publications: actual cost. CD Rs.50/- per CD. Postal charges are extra, unless collected in person. If govt has fixed charges for documents/maps etc, then such charges are payable.
Actual Inspection: Rs.5/- each 15 minutes or part thereof with first hour free.
Other charges are payable by bank’s demand draft or banker’s cheque or money order in favour of public authority from whom information is sought or in cash at the concerned office against receipt.
3. APPEALS: Rules provide for format for first appeal
[Annexture-B]. For second appeal/complaint annexture-C is prescribed. Appellant has to affix court fee stamp of Rs.20/- for first and second appeal or complaint. Formats for
appeals/complaints are available in English at
www.sic.maharashtra.gov.in under ‘mahiticha adhikar
adhiniyam-rajya niyam/adhiniyam’ [rti rules of state] or at
http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/webRing/pdf/GOMGAZZPart4.pdf
4. Address of MaharashtraState Information Commission:
State Chief Information Commissioner,
13th floor, New Administrative Bldg,
Madam Cama Road, Mumbai 400021
The commission has divisional offices at following places and various districts are allotted to each divisional office. Remaining districts are handled by Commission’s Mumbai office.
Pune:
4th floor, New administrative building, opp council hall, Pune-1: [020-26111239] covering districts of Pune,
Kolhapur, Solapur, Sangli and Satara.
5. Contact details of the commission at Mumbai :
Phone: 022-22022859/22856078
email: sureshjoshi_cic@hotmail.com
Website www.sic.maharashtra.gov.in
6. Present Chief Information Commissioner:
Dr. Suresh Joshi
7. Public Information Officer & FAA of Commission:
Mr. A.M. Ludbe, Desk Officer and Mr. S.D Sahastrabudhe, First Appellate Authority Shri V.V. Poreddiwar, Secretary
8. Activists in Maharashtra:
Avinash Mokashi, Pune. Cell: 09922099999.
Maj Gen Sudhir Jattar A 102 Neel Sadan 1426 Sadashiv Peth Pune - 411030 Maharashtra 020-24475366
9. FORMAT FOR RTI APPLN:
Annexure A Affix Court fee
(see rule 3) Stamp of Rs. 10/-
Application for obtaining information
under the Right To Information Act, 2005
To,
The State Public information Officer,
(Name of the Office with Address)
(1) Full name of Applicant:
(2) Full Address with phone No.:
(3) Particulars of the information required
(i) Subject matter of Information:
(ii) The period to which the information relates:
(iii) Description of the information required:
(iv)Whether the information is required by post or in person: (the actual postal charges shall be included in additional fees)
(v) In case by post (Ordinary, Registered or Speed):
(4) Whether the applicant is below poverty line
(if yes, attach the photocopy of the proof thereof.)
Place: Date: Signature of Applicant
CONSUMER GRIEVANCE

Tata Indicom Grievances
Dear Editor
We had two Tata Indicom broad band
connections at our old office in bavdhan. We applied to shift one connection to new
premises at Pashan prior to our shift to allow us to continue one line at old premises and help us start at new premises without any loss of time. We did that without issue.
Before activation for that they had asked us to pay the prepaid monthly amount upon which connection was started. Once we
actually shifted our office, we applied for shift of second line. As per process, they asked us to activate account by paying monthly prepaid cost. When we paid them, the local engineer explained that they did not have ports to give us the second line. We asked for refund, but they said it’s not the policy. Their call center is hopeless as there is no tracking of earlier complaints. It’s a loot of money. And no one cares about
customers.
P. Shaude
Net Android Solutions, Pashan Pune.

Edition 1: Editorial

Crisp Morning on a weekend, great tea, morning raga background and a crisp newspaper. What more you need in life. This is the feeling for most of us. A paper should inform, a paper should analyze, a paper should raise voice and a paper should entertain. Paper should be global and it should be local. These may sound one to many expectations from 10-15 pages. How many existing papers meet all these expectations? Maybe partially, to some extent can best describe the current scene?

I was tired of columnists who can be defined as elitist. They preach mere mortals. I am interested in knowing what others like me’ The mere mortals’ have to say. I am keen to also read newsmakers themselves rather than constructed common place words. I am keen to know issues, which are very local to me. In the times of net, I have access to happenings round a clock on globe, but I don’t know what happened at 1 pm on the road next to my house. As a businessman, I cannot afford ad rates; I need a forum to convey my business items to people within my budget. I have an issue like e.g. bad phone connection, and I want someone to follow it up with me. I will love to watch my almamater, college to be featured. I will look forward to tips from experts, which I can use in education, beauty, career. This is all about me, the reader. This is the flavor of Orange. This is a flavor close to “Me” First person singular. And this for all those “Me’s in and around. Wrong English. It’s all about us. We the people…..

About Orange
Orange Media Publications and Productions, is a young startup in media.
Cityblog is a weekly published by Orange Publications and Productions Pvt. Ltd. Team of Orange is the very strength of CityBlog. We are the people of Pune. We have entrepreneurs with IIT background; we are entrepreneurs from various and unrelated background like real estate, service industry, and manufacturing and yes public servants.
On our advisor panel we have politicians across the spectrum, RTI, consumer activists, PMC office bearers, journalists, educationists. Cityblog wants to be a movement rather than a paper. Of course you will appreciate our honesty that we are in business and we want to do it best. We promise to deliver results.

Why newspaper?
As a citizen and a reader, we were really tired of reading a paper, which has sold every inch to a commercial cause (that does not exclude so called news and editorial items)? We were also fed up with some political or economic agenda trust upon by media moguls? We were also tired of very highly moral journos ‘educating’ you? We felt a need for forum in Pune for people like you and me to be heard? We wanted to go beyond mouthpieces and commercially managed English media darlings. Here is a new weekly that we plan to bring to you, which can really add value to day-to-day life of common citizen of Pune.


Why Cityblog?
CityBlog will have what you need most. It will be voice of common citizens on current issues, a useful tip from experts in education, health, career etc (that’s our promise. We will have the most felt need to have some forum to solve issues. We will present citizen blog to express their views. Local issues, Colleges, Cinema, drama, etc will feature extensively. We will be online plus offline blog and aim to become official blog of Pune city.


We will start locally to western Pune to start with and will aim to cover all Pune city in near future.

Our website www.cityblogpune.com will have all blog capabilities for readers.


We will provide new platform for local businesses and listing online as well as offline with a great feasibility for their business. We promise to add value for everyone.

Youth will be the focus, with features on colleges and careers. Women will have dedicated section. Newsmakers, citizen blog, enterprise section will act as first person singular aspect of any blog. While lighter but yet very heartfelt aspects of life like cinema, parties, events will complete the total umbilical cord we have with common day-to-day life.

Why Orange

When one thinks of Orange, one can associate with it Healthy, tasty, tangy and fresh flavor. We wanted to add a flavor to news. When someone breaks his fast after long protest, they serve him orange to help him revive. Same is what we intend to do to readers who have been starved of what they need.

About you and me.

We recommend you to write to us newsdesk@cityblogpune on any matters you want us to highlight in relevant sections especially about news, citizen rights, consumer rights. You can also contribute as a citizen blogger, about any event, cinema. You can call us on 20- 25630209 or write to us on Orange Publication & Productions Pvt. Ltd.
52/A, Shivaji Housing Society, Off Senapati Bapat Road, Pune 411016


Please visit www.cityblogpune.com for comments on our news, features etc.


Hope you will find our efforts noteworthy and help us build a movement and forum for you and me…..


Editor

Edition1: Jeevanjyot school and about false role models


This week we had opportunity to have events at jeevanjyot school for mentally handicapped children. It was indeed a learning curve for us. The person behind the show undoubtedly deserved to be the first in our series to honor heroes within us.
It was the year 1980. The parents of a few mentally-challenged children came together to start a special school, and Meena Inamdar took the initiative to found the Jeevan Jyot Mandal, under which the Tarate Mukta Shala was established on Karve road. After Kamayani, this was the second school for mentally-challenged children in Pune and today has over 150 special children attending it. Recently honoured with the prestigious Baya Karve award from the Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Sanstha, Inamdar's contribution to the field of teaching mentally-challenged children has been enormous. Her grit in sustaining herself and other like-minded parents' ambitions is evident. "Initially, I had to struggle to acquire land and funds for the school. But the will power and enthusiasm of the other parents involved helped us achieve the objective of providing a facility, which would in turn help in the development of special children," says Inamdar. She trained herself as a special educator at Kamayani in order to groom her mentally challenged daughter, Sujata, at home. Initially, the Tarate school started as a series of classes for special children in an open plot of land on Karve Road, which housed a lone mango tree. Later, some cupboards, donated by well-wishers, began to occupy space around the children. At present, students in the age group of 4 to 18 and above are taught academics and given vocational training at the Tarate school. Ujwala Kulkarni, a former special educator of the school and parent of two mentally-challenged children who have been studying there, actively crusades for the well-being of the students. "Now, we can impart dance and music training to these children, besides grooming them academically. These creative activities are important to make them happy and sustain the joy they experience on the way," says Kulkarni. From candle-making, embroidery and sewing to chalk and garland-making, the students learn it all. "We also house mentally challenged individuals who are above 45 years of age," says Inamdar. In 1994, Jeevan Jyot set up a residential hostel for special children, which now houses 40 boys and girls.
Grooming the parents of such children has also been an integral part of Inamdar's work. Hence, there is a special counselling centre for parents at the school to address their grievances. "Some parents do not readily accept their children if they are born mentally-challenged. I try to highlight the similarities between normal kids and those who are mentally challenged. Both are equally inquisitive, sharp, have strong creative instincts and are willing to learn," she says. Sunanda Karange, a vocational trainer at the school, whose 30-year-old mentally-challenged daughter studies there, agrees with Inamdar. "My daughter learned to speak when she was seven years old. But, now, she loves to engross herself in vocational activities at school and also loves to do household chores. On the whole, parents have become more sensitive to such children," says Karange, who teaches crafts and embroidery.
And even though society remains inimical when faced with the mentally-challenged, Inamdar has always chosen to face reality with equanimity. "I am not bitter about people's reaction to these children, nor do I expect anything from society. The fact is that these children can only be brought up with abundant love and patience. More importantly, parents have to make a lifetime of investment money-wise, because these children have to be constantly taken care of," says Inamdar. "Do not pass on the responsibility of these special children to the next generation, because it is not fair," she says. "Parents have to find alternatives that can help nurture their children better." Besides the Tarate school and the hostel, Jeevan Jyot will be coming up with a residential school-cum-vocational training facility known as Jeevan Ashray, on a three-acre plot of land at village Daravali, some 22 km from Pune, within the next six to seven months. "We will start with 25 students," says Inamdar as her crusade begins a new chapter.

Half Boiled Eggs (false role models)

Surpised by the title? Cityblog does not allow devnagari as i would have written a phrase called as 'ardhya halkundane pivale' . If you literrally translate it, it would mean people turned yellow owing to half a stick of turmeric. It refers to that breed of people who are overrated by others for very mediocre achivements. Please note that, i believe that no one has any judgemental rights about anyone else's achievements and failures. But point to be noted mylord is that some people getting undue credit for unworthy achievements and glorified by media/public/society/friends/colleagues/family and self.Start with those goons called as politicians whose hoardings occupy our landscape and we see those horrifying faces being termed as upcoming leaders across political spectrums. what have they done? apart from hooliganism, being at forefront at some functions, crime, corruption so on.. Most of them are second generation politicians whose claim to fame is his surname. and they come in bunches. one can atleast understand elected representatives starting with corporators , mlas and mps , but the faces seem to come from nowhere.. Its my ambition one day that on one of my birthday i will put up a huge cutout of mine and putting encircled photos of Sonia, Advani, sharad pawar, Seniormost Thakre, Raj Thakrey, Mayawati, (have i left anyone across political spectrum atleast here in Pune). Noone will have any reason to object.Next comes those half celebrities on page3's and channels. Having featured in a half role for one of the umpteem soaps running on umpteen channels make them page3 and reality show regulars. Eg i dont know half the gang at big boss or 8 out of 10 jodis in nach baliye...IPL has opened up this cult status for local cricketers who were left with wilderness of Ranji circuit. So you will now find more IPL starts in media glare.Sania Mirza getting brand endorsements for winning one grandslam match 2 years back.Software engineers who fail at basic oops concept interview questions commanding X+ 2 L as paypacket . (X= no of yrs of exp). The BPO executives demanding perks for wiling away time on facebook, orkut...An IT evangelist attending page3 parties, an IT babu claiming to have brain behind supercomputer, Some bullshit novelist (international) asking for kashmir independance, average masala film lyricist, average secular film director having opinion on almost everything...Self proclaimed authors writing and publishing books for most ordinary or borrowed experiences and insights. (thats includes yours truly as well but blogs is for my own sake, its for reader to find its merit)List goes on an on:Time to salute real heroesBaba Aamtes of world, Abhay Bungs of world doing wonderful work in remotest areas, swaminathans of world, FC Kohlis of world who made Indian IT big, Narayanmurthys of world who positioned indian IT , Sam manekshaws, sam pitrodas, jawans and other police/military doing their duties amongst hardships , non corrupt officials doing duties honestly amidst corruptions, even politicians who contributed like rajeev gandhi for technology, Vajpayee/thackrey for roads, PV narshinarao/manmohan for Economy, profs at IITs /scientists who shy away from market riches for the cause of research out of choice, first gen entrepreuners trying to fight odds , volunteers doing traffic wardening, social servants doing honest and unpublicized efforts for various causes, our round tables building schools without much publicity, its for each of those who do their job honestly and with professional integrity to excel..Need a media to value them. maybe some of them of above list have got their dues, but its time to appreciate each of above list and maybe ones i have missed. I feel that by doing this and glorifying these people, we can create role models and thus can spread virtues more effectively in younger generation. With these common good traits, society will improve.It will do much better to stop glorifying these half boiled eggs...

Edition1: Nobel Prize Winners

Nobel Prize Winners
Physiology and Medicine for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"
Elizabeth H. Blackburn
Carol W. Greider
Jack W. Szostak
Chemistry for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome"
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
Thomas A. Steitz
Ada E. Yonath
Physics;for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication" "for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD sensor"
Charles K. Kao
Willard S. Boyle
George E. Smith

Edition1: Quiz

Diwali is festival of lights as we know in this section we would like to quiz you about festivals in India
Why is Ram Navami celebrated?
Choose one of the following:
It marks the birth of Lord Rama
It marks the return of Lord Rama after exile
It marks the beginning of the harvest season
It marks the marriage of Lord Rama
Why do we celebrate Easter?
Choose one of the following:
Christ rose from the dead on this day
Christ was born on this day
Christ died on this day
Christian new year

What does Good Friday symbolise?
Choose one of the following:
Festival of Jews
Beginning of Jewish new year
End of Spring
Death of Christ
Who founded Jainism?
Choose one of the following:
Buddha
Mahavir
Swami Shankaracharya
Swami Vivekanand
What is the significance of Mahavir Jayanti?
Choose one of the following:
It celebrates the birth of Jainism
It is the new year of the Jains
It celebrates the enlightenment of Mahavir
It celebrates the birth of Mahavir
Whose death is mourned on Muharram?
Choose one of the following:
Imam Hussain
Prophet Muhammad
Hazrat Bilal
Hazrat Umar
It's called Baisakhi in Punjab, Bohag Bihu in Assam and Varasha Porupu in Tamil Nadu. These are:
Choose one of the following:
Post-harvest festivals
Pre-harvest festivals
Festival of lights
Festival of colours
Why is Buddha Purnima important?
Choose one of the following:
Buddha attained enlightment
Buddha died on this day
Buddha was born on this day
All of the above
Who started Ganesh Festival
Mahatma Gandhi
Lala Lajpat Rai
Bankim Chandra Pal
Lokamanya Tilak

Who Killed Narkasura
Lord Krishna
Satyabhama
Durga
Shiva

Logic Puzzle

There are 5 girls in a long row in maths.
Each girl has a favourite chocolate bar, colour, pet, hobby, and would like to go on a certain holiday.
All the girls like different things.
Your task is to solve the following clues - "who owns the crocodile"
Jo likes the Wispa Bite
The person with the hamster likes swimming
Hannah eats Dairy Milk
Jessica is on the left of Georgina
Lucy is the first on the left
The first person on the right likes swimming
The person who eats Milky Bars owns a horse
The person in the middle eats Dairy Milk
Jessica likes green
The person on the left of the middle wants to go to Tobago
The person who wants to go to the Maldives likes lilac
The person who likes Wispa Bites sits next to the person who wants to go to Florida
The person who likes pink wants to go to Florida
the person who sits first on the left likes lilac
The girl that likes blue owns a puppy
The person who likes skiing sits next to the person who has a hamster
The girl on the right of the girl who likes tennis likes horse riding
The girl next to the girl who likes Milky Bars likes Boost
The girl who likes purple wants to got to Canada
The girl who likes Crunchies owns a rabbit
The girl who likes skiing sits next to the girl who plays ten-pin bowling
Jessica wants to go to Australia

Edition1: Arts and Craft

How to make wacky spiders
This is one of my favorite Halloween crafts for kids. It is quick and simple, can be done with a crowd if necessary, and is an excellent way to practice cutting and fine motor skills with younger children. Older kids can let their imaginations take over and create some really wacky spiders!
Instructions:
Cut a rectangle of paper approximately 3 inches by 3 1/2 inches. Fold the short side down about an inch to make a crease, then open up again.
Turn the paper so that the crease is horizontal, then cut the paper in 7 straight lines up to the crease to create eight spider's legs. For younger children, draw in the lines for them to practice cutting on. For older children, show them how to make the first cut in the middle, dividing the area below the crease into 2 halves. Then show them how to divide each half again to make quarters, then the quarters to make eighths. There is no need to be too accurate.
Now wrap the spider around the child's finger and fasten with sticky-tape or glue. Remove the spider again and decorate - either with scraps of paper or with googly eyes. Put back on the finger and bend the legs into shape or curl them around a pencil.
Variations:
Hang the spiders up! Simply cut a length of black yarn (wool) and attach inside the head of the spider with a small piece of sticky-tape.
Make smaller versions of these spiders to decorate the ends of Halloween pencils.
Wrap small spiders around straws to decorate your Halloween table! Make some bigger spiders and scatter them around the table as well.
Cut a small slit on either side of the spider's head and insert a name card to turn these spiders into spooky place markers!
Once the body of the spider has been made but before decorating, wrap a black pipe cleaner around the head of the spider to give a furry effect. The protruding end of the pipe cleaner can be curled into a hook shape, which makes the spider easy to suspend from shelves, the tops of doors, and other spooky places! Stick googly eyes on top of the pipe cleaner.

Editioon1: Letter to Parents

We at Orange felt need by Children to be involved in local current affairs and activities. But if they can achieve the same while having great fun is what we wanted to provide an option to them.

We will have a topic based quiz and a puzzle that needs to be solved by kids. They are open to take help from anyone at home. The issue of CityBlog will be distributed based on subscriptions that parents may opt.
The teacher will collect the correct completed sheets and we at cityblog will collect same.
Name of correct entries will be published with top 3 lucky winners will have a gift plus photo published. We will welcome more and more schools in Pune to participate

In addition there will be three questions asked on this page about news published in this edition. That will help kids read the current affairs. We have selected current affairs relevant to kids and living in this area.


Open Letter to Parents
Dear Parents
We know that in this age of competition, you want your child to excel in every field he or she undertakes. Apart from curricular and co curricular activities, you would appreciate that your child can grow up into responsible citizen tomorrow. Child should have update on latest in world, national and very local events. He/she should know impact of forum. He/She should be aware in latest in science, sports. Lastly we should have him/her get valuable tips from role models and from past successful people from competitive exams (which matter most now).
We at Orange felt the need for children to inculcate habit of reading about current affairs specifically about their immediate neighborhood, locality and city. As you are reading, we have launched a new clean family newspaper called CITYBLOG- Blog where the city meets. In addition to that we will let them have fun activities, games, knowledge, and events.
We will invite articles from kids as well publish school events of your school. The winners of quiz and puzzles will get special prizes and photo ops. You must have read the concise manner of our coverage across areas relevant to all-round growth of your child. We thank opportunity given by your school to introduce us to you. Assuring that your school and children will get special coverage here to participate.
The sections in the paper are aimed at the whole family ensuring parents know what their kids are reading while adding few insights and useful information for themselves.
The advanced countries like the US and UK have a lot of these kind of publications where the children can actually be allowed to read the whole newspaper and don’t have to be faced with politics, murder, rape and gruesome society ills every time they read a newspaper. Though we will be reporting society ills and breaking news, it will be our endeavor to report it responsibly, and sensitize children toward the issues.
We very passionately believe that our time has now arrived and India is poised to be a Global power and we need to equip and prepare the future of tomorrow i.e. our children who will be our bright and shining future.
The children and youth of today are more inclined towards a fast life, fast food and anything that provides instant gratification. Television and the internet are the preferred media for knowledge and entertainment. The pleasure of reading a good newspaper containing a mix of puzzles, games, stories, general knowledge, sections for the homemakers and sports and finance makes our weekly a perfect family read.
We will have various competitions inter and Intra School and the winners will have their photos published in the Cityblog. This system of rewards and recognition will encourage the children and their parents to spend some quality time with their children promoting family interaction and bonding.

Regards
NG Ashok
Editor (Have been a pune school child myself, and have been educated in IIT)
For your suggestions & questions about participations, please write us on newsdesk@cityblogpune.com

Edition1: Hair Care


Hair care for any women is important as hair can speak volumes about the way the hair is taken cared. Indian women have a slightly longer hair traditionally though women with shorter hair are also more common these days.
Here are some hair care tips for Indian women:
* An oil wrap:
An oil wrap with good massage would increase the blood supply to scalp. It could be relaxing and promotes better growth of hair. Indian women usually apply warm oil before bed time and washes hair next day morning. Although this is not a bad idea, allowing the oil to stay on hair for longer time helps better growth of hair.
* Shampoo:
Even though shampoos are much popular, herbal products and herbal shampoos are more popular and good for hair. They do not damage the hair, but cleanses the hair much more gently. Hair must be shampooed 2-3 times a week to avoid oily hair. Fenugreek paste can be used to treat dandruff and itchy scalp. Avoid frequent shampooing to avoid dry hair. Use a conditioner to avoid dry hair.
*Combing:
Always use a wide toothed comb to comb your hair. Never comb wet hair as it may cause damage to cuticle of hair causing broken hair strands. Brushing the hair daily with a brush can stimulate the scalp to cause better hair growth.
*Trim your hair:
A regular trim is essential for healthy growth of hair. Even in case of long hair, split ends can cause stunted growth of hair. Trimming hair once every 6 weeks can make hair look more healthier.
*For adding volume and shine to hair:
Using egg or plain white yogurt to wash hair can add volume to hair. Just apply egg or yogurt half an hour before washing your hair.
* Henna:
Indian hair care would be incomplete with out the mention of henna for hair. It is the most natural way to add shine and strength to hair strands. Also it can avoid tangling of hair. Using henna powder to make a henna paste. It can be made and applied to hair. Using henna once every 4-6 weeks for hair can be the best natural care.
* Diet:
A balanced diet with adequate nutrition is very essential for proper hair growth.A diet rich in Vitamin B-complex and proteins is very essential. Eggs and cabbage are good sources of Vitamin B.Protein rich sources as lean meat, nuts, milk, soy bean and sprouted beans should be included in daily diet. Supplements cannot be a substitute for a healthy diet.
Simple hair care tips would be just enough for healthy hair growth. Giving basic hair care isn't that difficult. Follow the simple tips given above to care the natural crown of your head!

Edition1: News




Nobel peace prize for Obama

The choice of President Barack Obama for the Nobel Peace Prize was cheered by a global chorus from European leaders to minibus passengers in Kenya — but it also elicited criticism over the decision to break with tradition and recognize hopeful promise over concrete achievement.
Obama is seen as having changed the direction of U.S. foreign policy, reversing many of his predecessor's unilateral policies and emphasizing the need for diplomacy, cooperation and mutual respect.
Last year's prize winner, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, said the Nobel committee wants to encourage Obama to push harder for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Of course, this puts pressure on Obama," he said. "The world expects that he will also achieve something."
Japan an emerging market for Indian IT
It is known fact that US and Western Europe constitutes largest percentage of Indian IT exports but japan is emerging hot destination for Indian IT exports.
Systems engineers from India are making their presence felt in Japan's information technology industry. Around 22,000 Indians are living in Japan at the end of 2008, nearly double the number a decade ago.
"India is already the international standard in the IT world," say leading Japanese IT experts.
Indian engineers are sent out to Japan after studying Japanese language for five months. In addition to operation and maintenance of financial information systems, they are in charge of systems development for computers and mobile phones.
"While the number of working people is decreasing in Japan, in India the number will continue to increase until 2040. Education levels are also high. It's important for Japanese industry to work together with India," Yoshida said
In Pune we have many companies like Vertex, Sutra, Fidel, Netandroid as few companies having significant client base in Japan.

Maharashtra Govt Formation
The issue of government formation was pending for almost 2-3 weeks and on Wednesday Governor S C Jamir asked the coalition partners Congress and NCP to honour the mandate of the people.
The Maharashtra election results were declared on October 22 in which the Congress-NCP was voted back to power for a third consecutive term but deadlock continued between the two coalition partners for the allocation of portfolios with NCP asking Congress to stick to the 1999 formula.
This is what respect for Public Mandate is? All ministries are equally important in terms of public service. Does that implicate wheels within the wheels to have ‘well oiled’ ministries.
We wish all the best for new government to regain sensibilities and perform up to expectations. And we also wish opposition to meaningfully be vigilant as a pillar in democracy.

Jaipur Fire
Devastating fire that broke out on October 29 at the IOC Jaipur [ terminal, a unit that is a large storage and distribution dump. The inferno claimed 12 lives.
It is neither a manufacturing unit nor does any transformational process take place at this terminal. All it does is receive parcels of petroleum products through a pipeline and loads it into wagons or trucks.
There can be no other reason for the fire but carelessness and a disregard for basic safety norms. Jaipur terminal did have the safety infrastructure to deal with a major/minor leakage. The problem is Lack of safety culture. Why there is no safety culture? Indifference towards safety procedures was not for any selfish gain. The main reason was that safety demanded hard work.
Health safety and Environment is the first priority for industries. Let’s hope we start building safety culture at Home and work.

Edition 1: My favorite Sportsman


Roger Federer (pronounced /ˈrɒdʒər ˈfɛdərər/[1]; born August 8, 1981) is a Swiss tennis professional, ranked World No. 1 since February 2, 2004, for a record 221 consecutive weeks.[2] Many tennis critics, past legends of the game, and his own peers consider him as having the potential to be the greatest player in history.[3] In 2008, he was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record fourth consecutive time.[4]
Federer has won twelve Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Open, five Wimbledon, four US Open), four Tennis Masters Cup titles, and fourteen ATP Masters Series titles. In addition to this, he holds many records in the game, including having appeared in ten consecutive Grand Slam men's singles finals (2005 Wimbledon Championships through to 2007 U.S. Open).
[edit] Personal life
Roger Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland,[5] to Swiss-German Robert Federer and South African Lynette Federer. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, ten minutes from Basel and close to the borders with France and Germany. As a boy, Federer was very emotional and was kicked off practice courts occasionally.[citation needed] Federer was also a talented football player[citation needed]. He had considered becoming a professional football player but instead decided to pursue tennis. He continues to support FC Basel, his hometown club and is a fan of Italian club AS Roma.[6][7] When he was younger, he liked to watch Marcelo Ríos in action.[8] Federer especially liked Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Marcelo Rios and has cited them as idols.[5]
Federer currently resides in Oberwil, Switzerland and is dating former WTA player and Slovakia-born Miroslava Vavrinec (Mirka), who retired from tennis in 2002 after a foot injury. The two met at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Federer launched a fragrance called RF Cosmetics in October 2003.[9] He considers Swiss German his first language, but also speaks German, French, and English fluently[6] and conducts press conferences in all three. His favorite vacation spots are Dubai, the Maldives and the Swiss mountains.[6] [10] He is also a good friend of golf superstar Tiger Woods. Federer is Roman Catholic, and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the Rome Masters in 2006.[11]
Roger Federer is highly involved in various charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports to young people. He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF from 2006. Since then, he has visited Tamil Nadu, one of the worst tsunami-affected areas in India, and South Africa. He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS.
[edit] Tennis career
Federer started playing tennis at the age of six.[12] He began participating in group lessons at the age of nine and began weekly private coaching when he was ten. He also played football until the age of twelve when he decided to focus solely on tennis.[13] At fourteen, he became the national champion of all groups in Switzerland and was chosen to train at the Swiss National Tennis Center in Ecublens. He joined the ITF junior tennis circuit in July 1996.[14] In 1998, his final year as a junior, Federer won the junior Wimbledon title and the prestigious year-ending Orange Bowl. He was recognized as the ITF World Junior Tennis champion of the year.[15] In July 1998, Federer joined the ATP tour at Gstaad. The following year he debuted for the Swiss Davis Cup team against Italy and finished the year as the youngest player (for the year) inside ATP's top 100 ranking. In 2000, Federer reached the semifinals at the Sydney Olympics and lost the bronze medal match to Arnaud di Pasquale of France. Federer reached his first final in Marseille which he lost to Marc Rosset and was also the runner-up in Basel. He failed to make an impression at Grand Slams and Masters Series tournaments, and ended the year ranked 29th.(All results and ranking history from ATP)[16]

[edit] Playing style
Federer has a versatile, all-court playing style and can hit all of the fundamental shots with a high degree of proficiency. He is an adept volleyer and an excellent baseliner who can dictate play with precise groundstrokes from both wings. He uses a modified eastern grip for both his forehand and backhand, allowing for either a flat or topspin shot. He hits through his forehand on a straighter plane and finishes his swing wrapped around his back.[49] He also can generate extreme top-spin with the shot, allowing him to open up cross-court angles while still hitting the ball with pace. David Foster Wallace has described the exceptional speed, fluidity and brute force of this forehand motion as "a great liquid whip",[50] while John McEnroe has referred to it as "the greatest shot in our sport" on numerous occasions.[51] Federer plays with a one-handed backhand, and has an excellent slice, and can also fire top-spin winning shots.[50] Federer tends to hit his groundstrokes early, while the ball is still on the rise, much like Andre Agassi did. While this requires excellent reactions and footwork, it means that Federer hits his groundstrokes closer to the net than most of his opponents. This reduces the reaction time of his opponents and allows him to hit the angled winners that are a trademark of his game.[50]
His serve is difficult to read because he tosses the ball in the same spot no matter where he intends to serve it and he turns his back to his opponents during his motion. His first serve is typically around 190 km/h (118 mph).[52] His second serve usually has a heavily kicked delivery. Federer generally serves with placement and precision, but on occasion he will hit a powerful serve to keep his opponents off balance. His footwork, balance, and court coverage are exceptional and he is considered to be one of the fastest movers in the game. Unlike most players who take many small steps when approaching the ball, like Jimmy Connors, Federer takes long fluid strides. He can hit a strong shot on the run or while backpedaling, allowing him to switch from defense to offense. Federer's relaxed, smooth playing style belies his aggressive and opportunistic tactics as he constructs points that allows him to hit winners with his powerful groundstrokes. Federer is capable of performing in high pressure situations, often saving break, set or match points during a match.
[edit] Equipment and apparel
Federer currently plays with a customized Wilson (K) Factor (K)Six-One Tour 90 Racquet,[53] which is characterised by its smaller hitting surface (90 square inch),[53] heavy weight (12.5 oz strung weight),[53] and thin beam (18 mm).[53] Federer strings his racquets at a 53-60 pounds tension (depending on his opponent and surface) with natural gut main strings (Wilson Natural Gut 16 String) and polyester cross strings (Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L String).[54] This allows him to hit balls at higher velocity with less effort but makes consistent accuracy more difficult.[citation needed] Federer also uses string savers to extend the life of the natural gut strings. Federer endorses Wilson tennis racquets and accessories and Nike footwear and apparel (he wears the Nike Air Vapor V and Nike Sphere Pinstripe Polo shirts).[55] For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike made a jacket that had a crest with three tennis racquets symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had won previously. This jacket was also updated for 2007, with four rackets.[56] He also has endorsement deals from various other companies, many of them being Swiss.[57] He also endorses Gillette with French football star Thierry Henry, American golfer Tiger Woods, and Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid.[58]

Edition 1: Sports




Tendulkar Magic
Sachin tendular has rated his dazzling 141-ball 175 in the fifth one-dayer against Australia as "one of his best" innings. While orchestrating a stiff chase of 351, Tendulkar looked on course to break the record for the highest individual score in an ODI innings but was undone by a slower ball from debutant Clint McKay in the 48th over, after which India ended four runs short.
"It was one of my best innings, I was striking the ball very well and we were chasing 351 so there was constant pressure," Tendulkar said. "We maintained the run rate and brought the game close, but in the end it was very disappointing."
After sliding to 162 for 4, India were put back on track for what would have been the second highest target achieved in one-dayers by a 137-run stand between Tendulkar and Suresh Raina. India were favourites after 42 overs, needing only 52 runs with a Powerplay still in hand and Raina and Tendulkar in top gear. However, a combination of clever bowling and tigerish fielding from Australia, and some inept running from India handed the visitors a 3-2 series lead.
Experts have compared this with his own innings at sharjah in 98, or 93 against Pakistan in worlcup 03, or with Kapil Dev’s 175 against Zimbabve in world cup 83. Which do you think is the best innings played by Indian batsmen in ODI?
Agassi Tainted
Andre Agassi's upcoming autobiography contains an admission he used crystal meth in 1997 and failed a drug test -- a result thrown out after he lied by saying he "unwittingly" took the substance.
According to an excerpt of the autobiography "Open" published Wednesday in The Times of London, the eight-time Grand Slam champion writes that he sent a letter to the ATP tour to explain the positive test, saying he accidentally drank from a soda spiked with meth by his assistant "Slim."
Agassi's first major championship came at Wimbledon in 1992, and he won a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. But by late 1997, he dropped to No. 141 in the rankings, and he was playing in tennis' equivalent of the minor leagues.
He resuscitated his career in 1998, making the biggest one-year jump into the top 10 in the history of the ATP rankings. The next season, he won the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, then added a second career U.S. Open title en route to finishing 1999 at No. 1.
He along with Roger Federer are the only players to have career grandslam after 1975.
Suddenly another star has fallen from the sky.
Soumya Vishwanathan
Soumya Swaminathan achieved what only five other Indians have achieved in world chess - she has won the World Junior girls chess championship at Puerto Madryn in Argentina.
In the thirteenth and final round, Soumya, defeated Kubra Ozturk of Turkey for a place in world history. She became the third Indian girl after Koneru Humpy (2002) and Dronavalli Harika (2008) to win the World Junior Girls championship. The World Junior title had been won by V Anand (1987), P Harikrishna (2004) and Abhijeet Gupta (2008) also. India has retained the girl’s title.
Soumya has won several national titles including the national U-17 in 2004, and the national Junior titles in 2005 and 2008. Her rating is 2297 and she played at 2433 Elo and would be gaining about ten Elo points from this event. Soumya won eight games, lost two to the two players she tied on points and drew three games for the title.The highest rated player she defeated was second seed Xiaowen Zhang of China. She did not face the top seed Mary Ann Gomes of Kolkata.
Soumya was born in Palakkad in 1989 and her family shifted to Pune. Chess administrator in Pune Joseph D'Souza said, "In her trip to Europe last year, she made five norms in one and a half months." Soumya is hard working and is a commerce student from the BMCC College .
The Pune District Chess Association (PDCA) day announced an award of Rs 10 lakh for the 20-year-old Soumya Swaminathan, the first girl from the city to win the junior world chess championship
Swaminathan has faced sponsorship problems in the past and this award will help her immensely. She had received a scholarship of Rs 5,000 for a period of three years from the Indian Oil Corporation but that was nowhere near what she required to play at her level.
Another star in Rising

Edition1 : Assembly Elections







Edition1: COEP


College of Engineering, Pune is one of the oldest institutions in India. In its glorious existence of over past 152 years, it has produced more than 50,000 engineers who have contributed immensely to the industry both in India and abroad. College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) is one of the most prestigious engineering colleges in India. Established in 1854, it is the third oldest engineering college in Asia, after the College of Engineering, Guindy (1794) and IIT Roorkee (1847). It is located in Pune (formerly Poona), Maharashtra. The students and alumni of COEP are colloquially referred to as COEPians.In 2004, the institute was granted complete autonomy by the state government, and declared a center for excellence in technical education. The institute now is an autonomous engineering school with permanent affiliation to the University of Pune.The college's study model referred to in the early 50s as the 'Poona Model' is highly respected by the industry and public works. The institute contends that its autonomy now grants it greater flexibility in dynamically changing its syllabus to suit the changing needs of the industry.
Events:
Regatta Boat Club event Starts On : 2010-03-23 Ends On : 2010-03-27
Zest Annual Gymkhana event Starts On : 2010-01-22 Ends On : 2010-01-26
Alumni Appeal
There are hundreds of alumni of this institution currently in the United States and all over the world. To bring these alumni together and enable them to interact with the alumni in India and to develop a network of these individuals towards establishing COEP as a premier engineering institute in India, a group of past alumni have founded and incorporated the COEP Alumni Association in the United States. The official name of this association is COEP Charitable Foundation. It has been registered in the State of California in Dec 2003 and has received the tax exemption from Federal as well as California Tax authorities.The main objectives of the COEP Charitable Foundation are:
Establish a strong network of COEP alumni in USA and around the world.
Promote the advancement of science and education at COEP
Ligher side of student life:
Modes of communication; It is said that COEP has all modes of transport running except air travel. NH4 divides the campus. There is a river for water transport and railway track runs adjacent.
Hostelites vs citilites: From ages there is a healthy competition between hostel residents and city resident in every field be it gathering, election, drama, acads, while each being envious of other . They say glass is always greener on other side.
Boat club: It’s the most happening katta. Entire college meets here on chai and snacks and backdrop of riverview. They say marriages are made in heaven but they need a place to meet and boat club is that chosen place.
PJs: If there is any competition of PJs, COEP is champion. Breaking a word into parts, and making a “koti’ is done most cleverly here.
Aarewah: if some team wins a trophy there is a chorus of arewaah, waah waah waah, waaaah…
Current Achievements
College won Purshottam karandak this year after almost 30 years
Bhau initiative to help enterpreuner alumni was inaugurated by Dr mashelkar.



Edition 1: Pataleshware and kas plateau








Pataleshwar Mandir

This small 8th century temple is located in the heart of the city at Shivaji Nagar at Jangali Maharaj Road . It is a perfect example of rock-cut architecture. This wonderful temple resembles the grand rock temple at Elephanta but unfortunately was never completed. The Pateleshwar temple includes a “cave” in its vicinity and thereby it is also known as, “Patleshwar Cave Temple”.
The rock-cut cave is actually a Shiva temple wherein most of the rocks date back to 700-800AD. The rock has been cut into pillars, seating areas and similar rooms. The temple is fairly simple with just a few ornate carvings on the black rock. The heart of the cave includes, a cube-shaped room about 3-4 meters on each side, which also includes a lingam. Along with lord Shiva there are statues of Sita, Rama and Laxmana. This makes this place visited by a large number of Hindu devotees, specially devotees of lord Shiva and his bull, Nandi.
Just near to Patleshwar Temple is Jangli
Maharja temple dedicated to Hindu ascetic who died here in 1818. There is also a museum which exhibits a grain of rice, with 5000 characters engraved, recorded in Guinness Book of World Records. The temple opens daily from 08:00am till 05:30pm. Many local rickshaws operating, are the easiest way reach Patleshwar Cave temple.

Valley of flowers in Maharashtra
Few sundays back we had inspiration and straightaway headed towards a destination very popularly known as maharshtra's valley of flowers. This Place is called Kas near satara. around 125km from Pune. My family shares my wanderlust so they jumped onto it. We had an inauspicious start with one of my tyres having six punctures. Thanks to tubeless technology we did not have to dirty our hands. Its been ages since i am hands on in every sense. I only manage... just joking as still i do prefer doing things hands on professionally. sorry for deviating.
It was sunny morning , but as we crossed shirval, it started raining and we could see clouds hanging around hills on the west. we knew we were destined for a monsoon drive...
After doing a bit search around for way in satara city, we reached the famous tunnel leading to sajjangad. we took right to the road climbing the hill . after turns and twists, we saw the greandeur of kas plateu. Its a flat hilltop plateau not very wide. On both sides you have valleys with big lakes. The weather was great with drizzle and clouds. Gentle but cool breeze to refresh. The flowers have just started blooming of various colors. we just lazed around. what more you need in life with such weather, great location, loved ones around, good music, good food packed, ....
We then started drive towrds kas lake. the road is great with thick forest, winding turns, ups and downs, small villages. We started climbing and entering thick fog. At one point it was almost zero visibility. There were very few vehicles operating with full lights on upper. We reached lake amidst fog. we could only see 6ft water ahead. and then suddenly it all changed. within 2 mins the
entire clouds evaporated (if i can use this word). and we could see lovely landscape, lake, forests all around and few other people also enjoying this show. We then drove to bamnoli on koyna backwaters . the road is amidst thick jungle and turns scary at a point. But
wonderful. weather added to the moment.
We returned back after enjoying numerous stream,
waterfalls aside the road. we had lunch at satara (guy took almost hr to prepare very good food).
Suddenly we had a brainwave to go to mahabaleshwar as we were out of stock of honey we use daily. They a call from
mahabaleshwar never can be avoided. we followed satara
mahabaleshwar route. its another great journey. ghat is very winding and narrow at some point. thankfully road is good. (only problem with stray dogs, hens, cows to be avoided).
Mahabi was great as usual with rains. its rains something there. crowd was sparse thanks to swine flu.
After refreshments and shopping at Mapro we reached back by twilight. one highlight or return journey was a semicircluar rainbow we saw. i have never seen such panorama before. as we left rainy satara district and entered sunny pune, we saw this. the colors the range , the size etc and the backdrop was awesome...hopefully you will like my first and maybe last attempt to pen travellogue. I myself find it bit cliche but when i comeup with original i will attempt again. They say picture says thousand words in prose. Here are the pics.
Author runs a blog http:\\nayakgiri.blogspot.com

Edition1: IIT Entrance Tips


Studying in one of the IITs is a much cherished dream of every student. And why not, IITs have produced some of the best engineers not only for India but also have successfully positioned itself as a much respected global Indian brand. Therefore it is a little surprise that every parent wants their child to study in IIT. It is a matter of pride indeed.
However, it is often found that a few of us get the wrong or incomplete idea of preparation for the entrance examination. Remember that it is not just the knowledge of the subject that matters, how effectively you prepare to deliver in the examination are of utmost importance. Whether it is the board examination or state level entrance examination or IIT JEE, the subject content is more or less similar. However, the examination patterns and the type of questions will differ vastly. Most of the students get a bit confused while studying the same subject matter but mentally preparing differently for different examinations. If you go through the question papers of IIT JEE carefully, you will observe that the stress is on fundamental concepts and its application rather than general knowledge of that subject. The latter is more prevalent in board examinations. In the next few sections I intend to provide some ideas, tips and tricks to perform better in IIT JEE.
Career Planning
Most of the students appear for various examinations because they heard about it or their friends and relatives are appearing for the same. That is not the right way to plan your career. It recommended that you study various options available to you and choose an optimal set of examinations that you want to appear for. If you prepare for too many engineering entrance exams of different patterns and syllabi your preparation may become ineffective. There is no harm appearing for as many examinations as possible and in fact you must take an optimal number of examinations, but do not overstress yourself and lose focus during preparation phase.
Studying
While studying Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics for IIT JEE, make sure you study the right set of books which focus more on concepts rather than making a long list of problems to solve. You can solve problems quicker if and only if your fundamental understanding is good. Studying some portions of Mathematics like Calculus in advance will tremendously help understanding Mechanics and other chapters of Physics in particular. Therefore if possible, try to complete Mathematics syllabi as quickly as you can. Calculus is easiest of all chapters in Mathematics syllabi, if you study it the right way and you need not wait till standard 12 to study the same. While studying Chemistry, focus on why things are the way they are rather than getting scared at the idea of memorizing so many equations. You will find a pattern to memorize them and then it will not be as scary as they may seem.
Problem Solving
Today it is very easy to find various books on IIT JEE which has huge number of sample problems and mock test papers for the students to prepare. You must solve as many problems as you can but keep note of the following
· You will often find that the books are flooded with similar problems or problems on the same concept. Solving all of these problems will not increase your effectiveness after a certain stage. This is why it is important to study from a book which focuses on concepts rather than listing huge number of sample questions.
· There is no one-size-fit-all. It means that no two students are same and therefore you yourself have to identify tricks or tips you learn and memorize while solving problems so that you can apply them later. You can’t find these in text books and only you can discover them while preparing.
· Often you see other students carrying books which you never saw and then you get impatient to study the same book in the fear of losing out. This actually doesn’t help. Every examination including IIT JEE, has a fixed syllabi and nobody knows which problems will appear in the forthcoming exam. Therefore obtain an optimal set of good books and focus on the same.
Preparing for the Exam
Preparing for any examination needs special attention over and above studying for the same. All of us consult previous years question papers, take mock examinations at home, time our speed of answering and the likes. These are time tested methods which have no alternatives. But remember that taking more and more mock examinations will not help after a certain stage and in fact it may reduce your effectiveness due to fatigue. If we keep doing the same thing over and over again, our effectiveness tends to increase at the beginning, and then remain flat for some time and then decreases due to fatigue. Therefore timing of these mock tests and preparation must be done while keeping the exam dates in mind with a view to attaining the peak at the right time.
Before the exam
Close to the exam dates don’t get to studying something which you haven’t studied before. That is because most probably you will not be able to reach the level of maturity to solve problems in that area. Don’t start taking more and more mock exams or burn midnight oil and get tired. Instead, revise the text books and the notes you have gathered during the preparation phase and review the solved problems. Remember, you are not going to the exam hall with a hope to see some previously solved problems, but to apply the concepts you have learnt to solve an unseen set of problems.
Tips, tricks and wishes for you
It is all fair to apply tricks while solving problems in the exam hall. This is especially true for multiple choice questions. Even if you can’t solve the problem in the classical way, you may find that you can eliminate all the choices but one or you can arrive at the final result by applies some tricks. Here are two examples for you.
Problem 1 : A railway bridge having mass M, length L KM, and width W meters is jolted in an earthquake and performs a Simple Harmonic Motion (ignore damping). The Young’s Modulus of the material of the bridge if Y. Which of the following is a possible time period of the motion of the bridge?
1. 2Ï€ Sqrt(Y)
2. 2Ï€ Sqrt(M/Y.L)
3. 2Ï€ Y/M
4. 2Ï€ Sqrt(Y/M.L.W)Note: these values are not actual values but chosen for illustration only.
Answer: Observe that the time period is a physical quantity having a dimension if Time. Only the 2nd choice has a dimension of time and therefore the other three can be eliminated. The actual calculation of the time period is a subject matter of Civil Engineering!
Problem 2: In a game of pulling ropes, N numbers of kids are positioned in the vertices of a regular polygon of N+ 1 vertex, one vertex being left out (Figure A). There is a pole at the center of the polygon and each of the kids are pulling rope normally outward with a force measuring F. Calculate the net force on the pole due to pulling by kids.


Answer: If you observe carefully, you can identify that if another kid joins the team at the unoccupied vertex and starts pulling the pole with force F outward, all the forces will cancel each other and the net result is zero. Therefore the answer should be – a force of magnitude F and directed as shown in Figure B, and this is independent of the value of N. From this you can also deduce that Cos Ѳ + Cos 2Ѳ + Cos 3Ѳ + … + Cos NѲ = 0 if Ѳ = 2Ï€/N because Cos nѲ represents the X component of the force applied by the nth kid, for a suitable choice of Ѳ. This holds for Sine function as well and you will learn these the hard way in Trigonometry.
It is also not necessary to solve the problems in the given sequence nor are you asked to attend Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry in a given order (unless there are specific instructions in the question papers). Therefore you should go by your favorite method that you have identified while taking mock tests. Even if you see a completely unforeseen pattern or unusually difficult problems, don’t panic. It is not the absolute score that matters; it is your relative score against others that counts. Therefore, everybody is on the same boat. Good luck!