Edition 25: Variety

Are Desis More Fluent In Queen’s Language?
Indian American Anamika Veeramani has won the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee crown to retain the honour for the ‘desis’ for the third year in a row. Anamika Veeramani, from North Royalton, claimed victory by correctly spelling the word stromuhr - a medical term.

She takes home $40,000 (£27,450) in cash and prizes, as well as the coveted championship title.

Anamika, who came joint fifth last year, was one of the favourites to win among the 273 spellers who took part in the three-day final in Washington. It is the third year in a row that an Indian-American has won the championship. namika's winning word, stromuhr, is the term for an instrument used to measure the velocity of blood flow.


The popularity of the spelling bee - a peculiarly American tradition - has grown greatly over the past decade, partly as a result of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Spellbound.

The successive triumph of Indian origin students in the competition has led to the muse whether we are more fluent in Queen’s language?




Peru’s Envoy Research in Adi Shankara
PTI
Attracted by the teachings of Adi Sankara, a Peruvian envoy in India has decided to undertake research on the eighth century philosopher of Vedanta at a university run by the Kanchi Kamakoti Trust. Carlos A Irigoyen Forno, Deputy Chief of Mission, Peruvian Embassy in New Delhi, who introduces himself as a descendent of Incas tribals of the South American nation, has applied for doing research on Adi Sankara at the Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya (CSVMV) in nearby Enathur.
Forno, who was here to visit the famous Kamakshi Amman temple yesterday, said he had been drawn to Adhisankara for over 42 years. When asked what inspired him, he said it was a tryst he made with Ved Vyas 42 years back, whose Mahabharatha he read in a French translation.
He was overwhelmed by the canvass and the thought, he said. The Incas, who are part of the tribal population of Peru, share many things in common with Hindus, he said, adding they have the same belief in Sun and Moon worship, besides worshipping Garuda and snake.


The Langur With A Govt Job!
Reuters
Many youths toil day and night and yet cannot take home a pay packet of Rs 10, 000 per month. However, a black-faced langur Mangal Singh has landed a job which earns him a package of Rs 1.2 lakh per annum!

The langur is hired by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) here as a 'guard' to keep common marauding monkeys at bay. Deputy Director of ESIC, Prabhat Sharma told HT, "The monkeys had made life miserable for the employees and those living on the campus. These monkeys had destroyed several important documents and other records with important financial details."

The marauders had also injured several employees. Sharma said that many times, he saw these monkeys 'reading' departmental files and then tearing them into shreds but he could not help save important data.

Sharma said the department tried contacting the Kanpur Zoo oficials and other departments concerned for check the monkey menace but all efforts proved futile. The zoo authorities installed a cage but only one monkey was caught in several months.

According to informed sources, a zoo official advised the ESIC officials to contact Mohd Fareed, a monkey trainer. Mohd Fareed also provides his services to the Rashtrapati Bhawan and several other government departments in Kanpur, Delhi and Lucknow.

Mangal Singh, the langur was deployed on the ESIC campus in October 2008 to chase monkeys away. Irfaan, the caretaker of the langur at ESIC said, "Red-faced monkeys fear black-faced langurs because they are mightier. Usually, after seeing the monkey with long tail and black face, the red-faced monkeys keep away."

Needless to state, the ESIC campus, full of greenery with hundreds of trees and plants, which once bustled with the roguish activities of red-face monkeys who stole clothes, food and other goods from houses and office, is quiet today.