Children of today - An insight into the Parent's Circle- Do's and Don't of being a Modern Day Parent!

Happy Childrens Day to all the amazing young souls of this world...and to every child living within you as you grow older, wiser and smarter!     Every parent was once a child.   Every child will one day become an adult...may be a parent too.    It is important on this children's day to look into what it takes to make or break your role as Modern Day Parent!   Honestly, it is not easy any longer.  Gone are the day when parents can be dictators, authoritative, commanding and expecting.  Today, the expectation of the children are different.  The needs are much more vast and complex.   Life is no longer simpler.  Thanks to to the modern day distractors of the changing digital world.  Thanks to the overwhelming information overflow and accessibility to everything and anything that is killing the innocence of the children.    The curiosity is high, the restlessness is more and expectations are quite dangerous.   They are pushed into the rat-race and the skills expected are so different, dynamic and relatively complex.   So it is the time, parent understands the children.. more attentively, deeply and closely...not to lose them to depression,  care-free attitude and become losers in life!

Do's of Being a Modern Day Parent!

• Be a Observer .  Watch them closely and listen to every sign and speech attentively.   In this rat-race of the world,  and highly demanding careers is not an excuse for parents to be non-hearing to their children.  
• Be a friend -   Try to understand the interests of the children today.  Learn whats changing in the world they are growing in.   Pace with the changes.   That's what can make you relate to what they are going through.
• Be a parent -  Set some ground rules.  Being a friend doesn't mean  you give up being a parent.   Define the expectations..explain to them and talk it out openly.  Don't discipline them in old ways but teach them the consequences of certain actions 
• Encourage creativity-    Let them dream their own dreams.  Don't push your unfinished dreams/ goals/ tasks on them.  It is their individual life.  What you could not achieve, don't push on them and kill their space.   Let them be creative
• Let them take risks -  Encourage them to try new things.  Guide them and support them but don't overwhelm them.   Tell them to take calculated risks and face changes.  
• Let them fail -   It is OK to make mistakes and learn by themselves.   Let them fail early and get over it.   The survival of the fittest is an old wine in new bottle.   
• Do what you want to teach them -  Be a role model, set an example.   The words you speak, the routines you make,  footprints you leave, remember they are watching you and will follow you.  Be careful of your own actions for they are following you.  
• Teach them that food is never free.   There is nothing like free food in this world.  Tell them it is not swiggy or uber eats that bring them food.  It is the hardwork of farmers..back breaking hardwork of parents that earn them the food.  Warn them that if something is offered free, there will be a big hidden price to pay
• Start Savings very young.   Buy them kiddy-banks.. Give them a small monthly allowance and teach them to save out of it.  Savings is a big habit that them long way into handling finances in life.   Teach them to give 10% of their earning to charity always.  
• Encourage Talking and Socializing -  Modern children are so stuck to the gadgets that they are no longer able to communicate and socialize with strangers.  some within their own families and friends and become introvert.   Take them out without gadgets.  Introduce them to relatives and family friends.  Make them part of religious and social events
• Let them chase their dreams and think out of the box.  Encourage them to share ideas, come up with small tasks at home,  give them responsibilities to clean up the house,  put up a painting, cook for a evening, make tea,  put up a task list / planner for the day and tick it off when done.   This makes them more organized, responsible and accountable.  Treat them with small gifts when work done well
• Take family time and vacations and travel.    No other riches give them the experience that travel gives.   Take small vacations often.  Budget-friendly, Eco-friendly, nature, mountains, waterfalls, forests, animals and birds, new food, new culture and clothing, new lifestyles that they see in travel gives them the knowledge that no academic pursuits can give.  So plan and spend every year on your travel goals.   Don't carry work when you are on travel with your children.   
• Prayers/ Faith / Respect -   Teach them basic prayers to do every day.  Meditate for 10 minutes.  Walk for 30 mins.   Greet elders with folded hands and touching feet.  The blessings you get doing this alters  your ego.   It is uplifts your soul. Makes them humble,  trust-able.  Teach them seeking blessings on birthdays from elders is not a ritual but brings in positive vibrations in life.   
• Be attentive -   Watch their actions, who their friends are.  Keep a tab on their digital usage and tell them the difference between good and bad.   Explain to them the realities and atrocities of the world.   Teach them to be gender-neutral.  Respect the other gender.  

Don't of the Modern Day Parent!

• Don't provoke -   Keep your radical ideas to yourself.  Already the children are overwhelmed with the digital information overflow.  So don't share any things or thoughts that would provoke them to be rebellious
• Don't show your frustrations on them -   Learn to control your anger, share expectations with proper voice modulation.  Don't physically abuse them and push them to hit back or shout back and lose your respect
• Don't tell them you are busy-  They will stop coming to you when they need you.  What ever may be the busy schedules, keep a small amount of time reserved to talk to them every day as a routine, just when they come back from school, call them and ask what happened.  This sharing will give you a perspective on whats happening to their lives 
• Don't set wrong precedents.   Tell them smoking is injurious to health and drinking can be dangerous.   Do it in private if you need to.  When you are find that they are getting into the habits that concern you,  talk to them softly and tell them the consequences.  Don't confront
• Don't take loans and show them it is ok.  Teach them to manage their ends within the means.  It is not ok to take loans and do big things.   Tell them taking and giving money between friends actually spoil friendships and relationships
• Don't stick to your dream -  let them build their own careers.   Don't push your ideas or unfulfilled dreams on to them and burden them
• Don't leave your parents in oldage homes.    Take care of them abundantly with care and affection.   This will teach your children to respect grand parents and learn from them. It is not ok to abandon oldage elders what may come.   
• Don't intrude into their privacy.  Children today want to be more independent.  So talk to them friendly way and let them share their tiny secrets.  Don't fiddle with their phones and break their trust in you.   It is ok to let them have their own space.   If you are open enough and approachable, they will reach out to you 
• Don't tell anything that will burden their future or scare them off.   Don't keep on whining if you have quit your job to take care of them, or had to take loans to fund education.  They have not asked you to sacrifice anything for them.  So don't make them feel guilty for your pains and burdens.   
• Don't do anything that you were not comfortable when you were a child.   Teach them to understand bad touch and good touch.   Not to even trust and get closer physically to the closest of relatives for that is the first treat for sexual exploitation of children.  

Being a modern day parent is not only challenging but also very complex role to play.  Few things reflecting on how we were as children and how we have to be as parents will go a long way in shaping up the future of our children.  Let them live their lives and dream big and chase their own lives.   Who knows... there may be a Dr.Kalam waiting in your child to explore and become one.   

Enjoy being a modern day parent.   Parenting is a huge and divine responsibility.  Enjoy the same to the fullest.   Our children will grow faster and make our homes empty-nests sooner than we can even think of.   So spend as much time as you can with them, when it is not too late.  Love and celebrate every day of life passionately and with a penultimate purpose of being happy.   Success, Wealth, Fame,  and rest will automatically follow

God bless you all!

An Arangetram with Passion and Perfection by Young Bharatanatyam Dancer Shradha Anand

 Dancing is like dreaming with your feet.  For every Bharatanatyam artist, Arangetram is a celebration of the art, trained over several years.

It is the public graduation of art and the artist.  Acceptance of the audience towards more professional aspirations.  Dance is one of the most beautiful forms of expression, inspiration, focus and perfection.  It needs a strong devotion and commitment to the art.  Focus on the intricacies of the art to the minute details.  It is a collaboration of the training from Guru, music that encompasses itself with the dance, the percussion that supports the rhythm on the stage, the sounds and lighting, the very stage of performance and catching the attention of the audience.  

Shradha Anand

Any Arangetram for that matter would be a successful one only when this collaboration is coupled with ardent love for art, support from family and friends, a perfect understanding between the guru and sishya, and selection of the right theme for dance that suits the dancer who is to perform.  When all of this come together with the blessings of Lord Nataraja coupled with songs of Thyagaraja, Annamacharya and many other musical gods, and full support of parents, mentoring every moment and supporting the artist to accomplish, the end result can only be a marvelous performance that is lauded by everyone. 

Yes, we are here talking about one such amazing arangetram showcasing the talents of SHRADHA ANAND,  disciple of Parvati Ravi Ghantasala and also daughter of devoted and amazing parents Mrs Geetha and Mr. Anand, student of Kala Pradarshini.   An summer evening, on a Saturday, 24 May 2014, Shradha astonished the audience with her enthralling performance of Bharathanatyam, at Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Mylapore, Chennai.

Smt Kalyani Rajaram started with a wonderful narration of the dance programme coupled with Nattuvangam by Smt. Parvati Ravi Ghantasala assisted by her accomplished disciple Divya Suresh.   Vocal by Sri Koushik Champakesan was an added bliss to the evening making it a memorable combination of dance and music.  Kesavan’s  mridangam and Kalaiarasan violin and and flute artist were pushing the audience to an transitional form of music.  We should give credit to makeup artist Sri Murugan who did an amazing appearance of Shrada and costumes were designed and made by one other than Shradha’s mother Geetha painfully and patiently over the last 3 years.   Capturing every moment of this ecstasy by photographer Dhilip and videography by Ayyapan and design by Vinayaka made the performance complete. 

Guru Parvati Ravi Ghantasala

The words of chief guest Sri. K.N.Ramaswami, Director of Bharathiya Vidhya Bhavan and Smt. Prema Satish of Natyanjali, only made it a blissful acceptance of Shradha’s perfection of the art and her focus both in arts and academics.   Her whole family was there and friends jumped in joy watching her performing the toughest of dance moves with ease, thanks to her yoga guru who made her so flexible

Now let me write a bit about the evening that mesmerized for full 3 hours with her beautiful and electrifying performance.   Starting with Natrajar Anajali , Adi Talam, with Nattai ragam with a traditional compostion, Shradha started with her beautiful performance.  She looked bit nervous on the first song, however, as she started to perform Murugar Kauthuvam in Shanmughapriya ragam with adi talam, composed by Gangaimuthu nattuvnar, she was taking the stage and audience under her control.   The posture of muruga really made us for a minute raise in devotion to the Lord himself.   Then came the beautiful tanjore quartered composition in vasantha ragam with rupakam talam presenting Jathiswaram.    The best of the best was Amma Anandadayini  varanam with gambheeranattai ragam in adi talam composed by none other than the leend Dr Balamuralikrisna.  For a minute, as Koushik kept singing, I felt that Dr Balamurali himself is singing …and reminding us of the 3 beautiful hours of Balamurali we experienced in LA.   

The vibrant kalaingnarthanam made the audience not to blink even for a second, in a view not to miss the moments of joy that is displayed on the stage.  .  Sahana ragam bhajan on Sri Rama by Saint Thyagaraja brought the audience to a feeling of trance with her dance.   Shradha was felicitated by one and all along with her guru Parvati and parents.   Sri Muralidharan’s composition of punnagavareli ragam padam made Shradha dance in her beautiful peacock costume made by her mother specially for the occasion.   The last but not the least Thillana performace in Nattabhairavi ragam and adi talam composed by Veenai Krishnamachari was a perfect end to the blissful evening.  Shradha’s slowly but satisfyingly ended the arangetram by paying her due respects to Lord Natarajar,  her Guru Paravati Ravi Ghansala, her  stage and audience and to her parents.  

A standard tenth student of PSBBM Gerugambakkam with a score of 10CGPA, Shradha proved a talented youngster in both academics and arts.    Her parents ran from pillar to post to ensure that every single person in the audience is received and entertained with respect and thanks.   The Programme ended with a beautiful and mouth-watering food spread to the people whose hearts were already filled with joy watching young Shradha and not to forget the beautiful bags her mother made as mementoes to all with invitation and also the goodie bags with traditional coconuts and blouses.  It was so grand like a wedding with passion.  This wedding is between an artist and art in its purest form.

To us personally, it was an evening of bliss, happiness and joy as Shradha happens to be my daughter’s best friend as well.   We wished her with whole heart that she should achieve all her dreams and make her parents and family proud.   She is definitely a wonderful person with a great attitude and respect to elders and for sure will shine in life for the best of herself.   Love you Shradha and all the very best dear!

Do we need a special day to celebrate love universally? Is it not a daily thing?

Amused by the newspapers and TV ads focusing on the Valentine Day special, I could not stop from pondering over the necessity of this day in our life.   Is love not a daily thing?   When some one mentioned that we have inherited this culture from West, I could not stop laughing.  I haven't seen this craze of this day after living some years in US.   

We are a culture that is so open today, that we think everything that is new and interesting is inherited from the other side of the planet.   When some claim that this is a hyped marketing strategy aiming at immature teens and youth,  some debate what is wrong in having a special day to celebrate love?   

India from times immemorial have accepted love of all forms.  The universal love of Radha-Krishna,  started centuries before other cultures even emerged.   Love is a very vast subject to debate and debate.  To those in love, it is a blind faith, it is amazement, it is a chronic belongingness to the other person, it is a virtually oneness with the person they are in love.  But for those who look from outside, it looks like silly way of celebrating love.  I am not immune to these feelings, nor do I stop being in love.  I am blessed with a husband who is an ardent lover, who is my best caretaker and my best friend.  

So what is that I am trying to tell here?

First time lovers get carried away, infatuations dream special things on this day.  Love that is cross continental, that is beyond boundaries of caste, religion and national boundaries, take this day for celebration.  Love that is not accepted, that is either pushed or forced to be stopped finds all ways to express the same on this day creating pain to themselves and to those others involved in their lives.   It is a universal feeling of happiness, care and belonging.  Had it not been for love, there is no human race!

However, we do not need special days to celebrate this feeling of heart.   The drum sounds that get louder when you hear the first ring or the first whispers of your love in your ears for the sentence with a three letter words 'I Love you' is always special.  In families, where children are grown with adequate freedom,  liberty for thinking,  sharing of life's ups and downs and are treated as friends, these children can handle their emotions pretty well than others, who are raised in the parental boundaries of control, coercion, debates and questions of WHY phenomenon.  That's when we hear stories of tragedies related to love.

Our history has given enough stories of love..where mostly men were victims...and women move on.  Equally there are instances where people forget their first love and move on with life that time provides them.   No one need to be blamed in this paradigm shift of thoughts.  However, respecting the feelings of each other towards a goodness of minds in the long run will create happy families.  

There is no age limit at when one will fall in love.  Today's newspapers carried a news of a 17 year old boy falling in love with a 50 years old woman with couple of children.   We have seen movies like Chinni Kum, where a young girls falls in love with a person of her father's age.   The great Mumtaz Mahal married Shahjahan as his 14th wife.   Honestly, love is blind.  Love is pain if not handled with care.  Love is a tragedy if not the feelings are let to open up and time will heal all wounds.   Falling in love is not a crime.  However, falling for the right person makes sense.  For that we don't need a marketing strategically created Feb 14 as lovers day.

How many of us know the story of Valentine who died on this day?  Did our children see him?  Is he part of our history books and stories.  To many of us Valentine is just a name.  A name synonym to love today.  Why have we forgotten our own Lord Krishna who was the best lover in our history books.  

The other side of this interesting day, is many people confuse love and lust.  Lot many people think that being in love is only for wanting of sex.   Sex is honestly a biological need of all living mammals and is a necessity to create future generations.   Our temples from ancient times did not stop showcasing statues of  love making...  Our country produced the epic of Kamasutra as a gift to the world of sex.  However, love is feeling of heart, a togetherness of thoughts where as sheer lust is just an urge of the body.  It necessarily may or may not need love in it.        

But love needs compassion, warmth, friendship, sharing, caring, understanding, a genuine feelings of consideration,  mutual giving and taking of things in life, balancing the oneness of the soul and it is more powerful than anything else.  Stop making love and lust synonyms.

If love is universal, love is internal and love is a collaboration of two minds, hearts and life's it will emulate into a life long bonding and decent relationship.   Then in that case, they don't need a special day.  Those who can understand the concept of love, will respect the feeling of it and will move on.  

Love will not become a tragedy if it is true and not forced by circumstances.  Love will remain the same even after the other person's death.  For it will not have anything to do with the physical existence.  But if you cannot reach the other person through your thoughts, if you do not have the same vibrations, if you are not able to get a matching wave length, then it is not real love, it is just an infatuation that you have to leave behind and move on!

Let the love of this universe shine not just today but everyday, creating peace and harmony.  Making love a strong bonding between relationships and unconditional acceptance of each other with their own imperfections and limitations.  Love is not trying to be 100% perfect in a relationship, it is trying to be 100% truthful to the feeling of oneness of the soul.   May all people in love have not just today, but ever lasting happy days! 

    

Hindu Women Performing Final Rites of Parents and Relatives- Why this is still a taboo in our society?

22 long years slipped into the history since a 15 year old girl took the courage to carry the funeral pyre in her hands to full-fill her father's last wish,  to be brave to do what all a son would do, to be emotionally strong to tell it to her relatives and neighbors on her decision and to convince her family to allow her to break the norms of Hindu Rituals and formalities during a person's final journey. 

That day she did not know what is being a change agent is;  she was not aware that the memory of the winter morning when she took the dip in the river after lighting the pyre fire would stay in her memory for ever;  she did not expect that what she did that day would be the news of the town and would be remember for years to come.   The young girl did not know if it is right or wrong.  She did as what her father murmured in the last hour of his life.  She embraced the act with courage to stand strong and do what even men would tremble to do.   Tears were locked behind the eyelids...words were few to share; hunger and anger both came no where.   She walked in front of the final journey carrying her deceased father, whose face still looked like a smile in his sleep. 

Hundreds of men and women followed to see the event that was unfolding; which never happened before nor would happen again in near future.   As the girl went around 3 times with the pot of water, tapped trice to final break it to pieces before the camphor and wood covered her dad's remains, she remained absolutely silent and calm.  Her uncles and friends who were with her advised her not to look back once the pyre fire was lit....after walking 10 feet, she forced herself and looked back, just to see the pyre fire engulfing up above  and that memory remained fresh for her life time.  Yes, that's the end of a wonderful father who was just cremated by her beloved daughter whom he raised almost like a son!

Now, the question is 'Does Hindu Religion allow or disallow girls / women from performing the final rites?'  No where in the Vedas - there is a description of women being disallowed to perform such acts, but mostly it is written time and again that men are to follow certain rituals and it is their responsibility to do the final rites.   It also states that when male heirs perform the last rites, parents soul will reach the gates of the heaven!  For those who don't have sons; a son-in-law , a male grand child or a close male relative performs these rites.  For them, they may not be understanding the person, have lived with them, would not have experienced the ups and down and then why the hell they should do this alone and girl children be abandoned from doing this pious act.

Once way I look at this, is that emotional aspects of a women.  When men perform these rites as their duty,  very soon they will come out of it.  But when it is women who involved in this,  this will be in their memory throughout their lives...and time is only the healer in both the cases.  What time it takes for a man compared to women to come out of such memories is questionable.  What has religion, caste or rituals got to do with human emotions that are so different between women and men.

Every tradition is changed as the times changes,  people's mind-sets and perceptions change.  Life-style changes,  world become a smaller stage to play, people are now welcoming any changes that suit their conveniences.  Every tradition had its birth based on people's necessity and this is not immune to this paradigm.  

There are certain rituals that are not followed when women perform these rites, like wearing the scared thread to do the mantras reading,  tonsuring of  the head, staying indoors all the 10-16 days till the ceremonies are completed etc.  Which again is an alignment to the way it can be done.   Systems are created to the convenience of man kind and they keep changing as needed. But like any change that will have its own resistance, it takes long time for the same to be accepted by the larger sections of the society.  

When this very Hindu society could abolish Sati, and allow widow re-marriages and today with the increasing onset of fight against dowry harassment, illegal sex, alarming rise of divorces, women are more and more aware of their rights and responsibilities.  Women are today prepared to do what ever they feel is right.  As long as it is not imposed on them in the name of formality, women today are ready to go above their emotional limitations towards what their hearts say is right and what their thoughts guide them to do. 

After 20 years since the 15 year old lit the pyre fire, this is one aspect that is still not largely accepted as a permissible ritual in the society. Many women have come forward and are joining the funeral possessions and not limiting themselves till the gates of their homes.  However, this is one aspect that is not widely debated, not openly accepted and not many women have the courage to do what their brothers and fathers do.   Girl children need to be brave, demand this as their right., stand up and be brave to do what their loved one's wish for than leave these responsibilities to some person who is just related by blood and caste and have no real emotions for the deceased.  It is time for a new call of duty which we women can definitely do

Now,  the 15 year girl old in the society is the writer of this post.  Yes,  on 10th Jan 1992, I braved to follow my heart,  full-fill my dad's last wish,  felt it right to do it as my responsibility and felt relieved for my family and friends did not object but stood by me and walked with me to the cremation ground and strangely I did not cry till I saw the ashes on the 3rd day.....probably I don't have that kind of courage now as a woman, but that's how our father raised us, all his three girls, equally in par with boys...We learnt to handle any thing and everything in life.  My mom stood as the biggest strength ever since he disappeared on that winter morning on 9th Jan , leaving behind his dream for us to achieve, his blessings that silently shower on us all the time., his foot prints that we don't miss to walk in and his aspirations and goodness that guide us unlimited.  

Miss you Dad.  Years may go, but your thoughts will be always there to aspire, your dreams for us to achieve more, Gone too soon, but never forgotten.  

Love You-   Umasree Sampath Kumar aka Umasree Raghunath .
With S. Yamini Krishnan and Jayanthi .S. Vimal

 

SAY NO TO CHILD LABOUR- World Day against Child Labour- June 12, 2013

As the world today is celebrating ‘No Child Labour Day’ , the sound of the shrill call from a elite friend of the past resonanced in my ears loudly again-   “Rama-   Ekkada chachavey”….meaning Rama, where the hell have you died….

The just 10+ year old child ran to her ‘Madam’ side in a less than a minute and this fabulous rich civilized woman creature gave her a kick in her pit saying that she should stay in her sight all the time.  The little girl was embarrassed for I was there watching this happen …and as I tried stopping this so called friend.   The Madam gave the instructions to Rama to start pressing her legs as she stretched them on the coffee table from the sofa.  I felt like pushing her sofa upside down.. The poor little girl started to obey her silently for everything she was instructed to!.  

This is just one of the millions Rama’s who silently endure the pain of a heavy childhood, not see a penny of their earning which get sent to their parents in the villages,  fed on the leftovers and let to sleep on the floor even in chill winter nights.  These children help in domestic chores of cleaning, cooking and washing.  Few help the elders run errands for them.  Few are destined to be baby sitting all the times as mothers keep busy with kitty party’s and clubs and sometime genuine work schedules.   

Children working as child sex workers silently, not knowing of pregnancy and child birth, and subsequent consequences are another side of this sad story.  Children trafficked to other countries as domestic help and baby sitters, forbid of their rightful education and growing up years of childhood to enjoy, the poverty of the parents push them to the chores beyond their age. 

Millions of children work in remote villages in farms, silently inside the rooms of the factories,  do demeaning chores hidden inside the industries and sadly in the red light areas of the country doing jobs beyond their age and understanding.  

Construction laborers’, hotel waiters and cleaners, domestic helpers, courier boys, news paper boys, car cleaners,  workers in quarries and as wood cutters, cobblers, painters and potters.  These children do not know what is it like having a four square meal, a good night  comfortable sleep,  education and alphabets,  money and savings and no dreams of a sustainable future.  They get for the day, they eat and sleep what ever is possible and carry on with their lives.   By the time, they realize what they lost, they can never get back -  the precious childhood and hopes of education

 Thanks to the night schools and no child left behind campaigns, the children today are getting the required awareness and attention.  However, there is yet a larger segment of the society that is not careful of this menace between us.   Thoughtlessly employing children at any form of work is made illegal in most part of the world, but the law remained in the books far away from action. 

Time to say NO to Child Labour and put a strong end to this in our country.   Every child need to be set free to dream and dare to move in their lives with confidence and choice than be pushed to labour and burdened childhood.

Atomic Model of Silver

After spending hours of a weekend to come up with my daugther's school project- to create a Atomic Model of Silver, I thought this would be helpful to lot more mothers out there looking for some ideas to create any such model

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Introduction:

Silver is a metallic chemical elements found by man in the ancient civilization. The discovery year and location are unknown as it is ancient to mankind. The name originates from the old English word seolfor (silver) and symbol from the Latin word argentums (silver) . Silver is widely used as jewelry, in photography and as an electrical conductor. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal. The metal occurs naturally in its pure, free form (native silver), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and Chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a by-product of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.

Basic Information- Atomic Model of Silver

 Chemical Symbol: Ag

 Atomic Number: 47

 Atomic Weight/Mass: 107.8682 amu

 Standard State: Solid, at 298 Degrees Kelvin ( 77 degrees Fahrenheit )

 CAS ID: 7440-22-4

 Group Number: 11

 Class: Metal, Transition

 Melting Point of Silver: 961.93 °C

 Boiling Point of Silver: 2,212.0 °C

Atomic Structure of Silver

 Number of Protons & Electrons: 47

 Number of Neutrons: 61

 Crystal Structure of Silver: Cubic ( face-centered )

 Density @ 293 K: 10.5 g/cm3

 Atomization: 284.09 kJ mol-1

 Fusion: 11.3 kJ mol-1

 Vaporization: 257.7 kJ mol-1

 Molar volume: 10.335 cm3 mol-1

 Electrical resistivity: 1.59 µ-ohms/cm

 Thermal conductivity: 429.0 W / m / K

 Mass magnetic susceptibility: -2.27e-9

 Number of Energy Levels/Valence Shells: 5

 Ground state electron configuration: 4d10 5s1

Silver Atom and its orbits

The silver atom has 5 electron orbits (energy levels) with a total of 47 electrons. Beginning with the orbit closest to the nucleus and working outward, the number of electrons per orbit should be: 2, 8, 18, 18, 1. Of course, the nucleus contains 47 protons and 61 neutrons.

Silver Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ( Nuclide 107 ): Frequency: 4.046 MHz ( Ag+ )

Silver Incompatibilities:

Acetylene, Ammonia, Hydrogen Peroxide, Bromoazide, Chlorine Trifluoride, Ethyleneimine, Oxalic Acid, Tartaric Acid

Conclusion:

Silver has long been valued as a precious metal, and it is used to make ornaments, jewelry, high-value tableware, utensils (hence the term silverware), and currency coins. Today, silver metal is also used in electrical contacts and conductors, in mirrors and in catalysis of chemical reactions. Its compounds are used in photographic film and dilute silver nitrate solutions and other silver compounds are used as disinfectants and micro biocides. While many medical antimicrobial uses of silver have been supplanted by antibiotics, further research into clinical potential continues.

****Now comes the Process for Making Atomic Model of Silver ******

1) Make the inner circle of by bending the wire (about 5 inches Diameter). Connect the wire ends together to complete the circle with small piece of wire. Best is to get a metal circle available in the market.

2) Count out 47 of the silver beads and set aside.
3) Next make the 5 outer circles or orbits as they are called. (Or you can buy an circled object as shown in the picture)

4) You will need one of each of the following diameters 6 inch, 7 inch, 8 inch, 9 inch, 10 inch. Don’t tape the ends together yet to complete the circles. Just bend them for now to make the basic circle size.
5) String 2 sliver beads on the 5 inch circle (First Energy Level) and tape ends together. String 8 sliver beads on the 6 inch circle (Second Energy Level) and tape ends together. String 18 sliver beads on the 7 inch circle (Third Energy level) and tape ends together. String 18 sliver beads on the 8 inch circle (Fourth Energy Level) and tape ends together. String 1 sliver bead on the 9 inch circle and tape ends together.

6) Doing one circle at a time, arrange the beads in pairs of 2 and spread out along the wire circles. Tie the beads in place so the sticks to the wire. Give one last check to make sure the beads and grouped and spread like the in picture

7) After the beads are stuck in place, you need to use some more wire to connect the orbital circles together if they are not already connected. Cut three straight wires slightly over 1 inch for each circle. Make sure the straight wires are the same size!

8) Starting with the center 5 inch inner circle, use a small strip of the silver or black duct tape to connect the 5 inch circle to the 6 inch circle using three straight pieces of wire (stagger them to make is stable).

9) Repeat the connecting process of the other rings.

10) After all the rings are attached. Use a sharpie or small bottle of model paint to mark a negative sign “-“ on each bead as in the picture. These 47 beads are negatively charged electrons!

11) Take the center of the circles with a circle object and insert 47 same color beads for Protons and 61 same color beads for Neutrons and connect it to the 5 orbits or to the stand of the atomic model.
12) Attach some strings for hanging and place the object on the stand as shown in the picture.

Honour Killing is a disgrace to humanity

We are living in a world which is a global village. Yet, we are so influenced by the so called social imagery that we do not realize that the world around us has move ahead of the 21st century. Let me put it with a right example. The minute you travel to the other side of the planet, what happens, is the fact that you are identified as an Asian First (Based on the continent and color). The minute they realize that you are from South Asia, you are regarded with your country….here all Indians Unite…we look for Indian neighborhoods’, search for temple, look for cultural associations and good schools….here what matters the bonding is ‘Indian-ness’. Then, people speaking one language unite over the social events, calling themselves as Telugu Associations, Tamil Sangam’s, Bengali Unions, Gujarati Temples… and then we bring in the divide which we had back home in India…yet there is unity. Here the language unites.

Over the borders, and besides the transformation, the identity in the name of Religion and Caste fades away. Slowly even this generation of regional identity is ignored, and the communities based on professions emerge…like doctors club, engineer’s wing and auditors lounge… so there is no time or reason to keep up the fake social image any longer based on caste or religion.

As such the world is getting divided in the name of Religion to a greater extent influencing in all wrong reasons possible. This honour killing is just a fancy term eating away the fruitful younger generations. Every adult have a right to marry or love the person of his or her choice and fundamental rights of India, provide freedom in all means possible to its citizens. In the name of fake prestige, honour and caste, we are killing the very fabric of secularism. Do the relatives or the society around such orthodox parents have time and thought to worry about this issue when there thousand other things to take care of. Society should come out of the rigid and useless sentiments in the name of caste and community. The real honour lies in acceptance of a person from a totally different religion, faith, community with warm hands to welcome and bond with tolerance and consideration, to bring in a fruitful society.

Killing people in the name of honour is just a media –fiasco and more and more people want to get into a limelight making this a new social issue. The humiliation will end to those victims with death, but to the parents and families, the trauma is for lifetime. For media, it is yet another breaking news, so the best way is ignore it and bring in a amendment to laws that would punish people involved in such incidents and do not give it a national coverage. Stringent laws and implementation of those laws, and providing protection to those who seek the help of law and order, would end this menace very soon. It is not just a disgrace but it is beyond comprehension to kill our own kith and kin in the name of social prestige. It is the time to think beyond and look at the longer horizons of truth and end this unnecessary social evil.

Awareness about Character Building

“Character maketh a man”. We have been growing all these years hearing this adage, and all the moral values that our long heritage and traditions have taught us. Despite all the upbringing, the big bad world out there is easy to provoke us towards an easy character assassination and many times, people get succumbed to it even without realizing it. Many of the people who lost social respect, self-esteem, confidence and bigger goals, are those who first failed in their character.

Is character just a social image? It was. It is no longer a social image, but an inner discipline that guides us and leads us through a virtuous path of living. Character is not built in a day. It is like building a city. It takes years, and also a long effort to maintain it. It takes years to build a process of self-discipline and it just takes one stray incident, one vulnerable moment and one odd circumstance to ruin it.

Character building begins at home. It begins with every mother. The very way, how we act, behave and endure certain things over certain period of time, influence our children without saying. As elders, we have the utmost responsibility to maintain ourselves in such a fashion that children, will learn from us, and would be following us. Then comes our teachers, society and the people around at large who could influence. Limiting the time and programmes of what children watch and keeping a guard on their activities on internet, brings in a sense of security in children though they may find it frustrating at the beginning.

 

Character essentially does not mean to follow sentiments and orthodox ways of living. It has to be a right blend of modern thoughts, dreams of future, a focused path of growth and a guided faith. Here the faith is in the future of the upcoming generations; generations free of doubt, fear and intimidation and filled with truth and real moral fiber built with right attitudes and respectful character personalities. Let us rebuild our societies with good moral values, human virtues of friendship, tolerance, care and concern and empathy…to bring in a world of peace, harmony and brotherhood…ending wars of Nations, religions and materialistic greed.

Watching B.R.Chopra's Mahabharat ....after close to 15 years again

Last few holidays, I spent my time watching B.R.Chopra's Mahabharat...in fact showing it to my child who was curious to know the characters of the great epic.  I probably could not explain to lot of her questions and found it more interesting and easy to make her watch "Mahabharat" on YouTube.   Believe me, the television scenes that I watched almost 15 years ago were so fresh and alive in front of me, and  it is not about a sharp memory, but the kind of involvement we had those days to this great serial of all times in the history of Indian Television.   As a strong believer, that "Kalachakram" will have answers to all questions, every time I saw the same repeatedly saying how the Past and our own destiny will impact our very future, is in fact a strong lesson to many of us as grown up adults today.

The epic with its poise and grandeur have every thing that no management institution can explain, it has every political angle of administration that no parliament today could adapt every bit of "Rajanithi" proclaimed years and years ago.  

The most important takeaways any day of this great epic would be

• Dharmam (Justice)
• Honesty
• Integrity
• Trust
• Passion and Love
• Determination
• Truthfulness
• Tolerance
• Acceptance
• Perfection
• Timelessness
• Priceless
• Abundance
• Honour and Self-Respect
• Relationships
• Emotions
• People
• Borders and Wars

As a parent, I thought it is my responsibility to introduce this great epic to my child, for few reasons.

1.  Indian History is not only the most ancient but also the most tolerant and politically strong heritage

2.  Every problem will have a solution, and Mahabharat teaches you to think from all angles

3.  Be it your relation, friend, or a teacher, if for Justice, it is right to fight against them.  This is a very big lesson that today's world of selfish and greedily attitudes should learn from this beautiful history of all times

4.  Truth alone wins.  What ever may be the battles of life, stand by truth and it wins

5.  Lot of lessons to handle relationships, emotions, patriotic feelings, war with wisdom and integrity to the land and the people, friendship and sacrifice, secrets and mazes of life, unwind at ease in Mahabharat, which will be difficult to explain to our modern day kids. 

I have grown up watching this great epic, and I strongly believe that lot of my actions and judgements are purely driven by self-conscious effort of what I learnt from this great television serial.  To us, it wasn't a serial, it was a visual way of teaching what no historical books or reading could have done.   Swami Vedanta tries to explain "Bhagavat Geeta" in all his lectures.  BR.Chopra ever lasting Mahabharat should be retelecasted for generations and generations for it is the core of Indian Heritage that all children should be exposed to.   It is an immense treasure of knowledge that every parent should pass on to the children.  For what stands as a testimony to the truth of life, is not the wealth but the wisdom we pass on to our generations to come.  I would request all my friends and readers of this blog to attempt the same, for our children will find direction, a sense of responsibility, an understanding to the lives realities, and a sharp thinking capability to handle any life's given situation.   With all gratitude to the whole team of Mahabharat who are for ever green in the Indian Television history, I end...

Is Jaundice Life Threatening?

Today is one of the disturbing days...hearing the news of a 28 year old colleague in HP, Karthick Sitaraman's death.   Getting succumbed to acute jaundice.  What a unfortunate event leaving behind a young bride of 2 years and a 8 month old daughter.   A very talented software professional, revered to be calm and friendly to his colleagues, with good health habits meeting with this tragedy.  Unbelievable.  

People may jump to conclusions that our stress and lifestyles are the reason behind the health taking a toss.  Most of us in our quest for achievements,  work hard day and night, eating at odd times, sleeping at unearthly hours and keeping life on toes.  Such incidents give it a halt with a jerk.   Since last few years, I have been witnessing such tragedies more,  Radhika,  my friend who died at the age of 28 to Dengue fever,  Sowmya, another colleague at 28, died on diwali night last year with high BP,  Prabhu at the age of 30, passed away with acute ulcer and now Karthick... too tragic for the families and friends.

Coming to Jaundice...today Jaundice have vaccines for our future generations to be prevented from this disease.  Drinking more water and liquids and fruit juices will prevent trouble to the most delicate organ- Liver.  Having been a victim to this very disease during my college days, my mom took me to a "traditional jaundice healer" in Triplicane Chennai.  You have to go to this  doctor early in the morning without food and he would give you the medicine for few days that would heal you.  I remember getting this medication as serial injections, but believe me, it cured the most acute form of illness I suffered...,,which in fact antibiotics could not make me recover.  I think it is Zohari Madani Hospital now, which is at 58 Triplicane High Road, Chennai.    Alternative medicine always had its importance and can be recommended if found appropriate.

Few Precautions that all of us need to know and watch out:-)
1.  Liver is a critical and delicate organ- so watch out your eating habits .  drink lot of fluids
2.  Do not abuse your organs by alcohol abuse or drugs intake
3.  Do not drink sugar cane juices and other drinks sold road side or aerated drinks where the source of water is not good  for they carry the hepatitis virus more
4. Drug metabolism of liver is faster, so use drugs only on prescription and from low doses on recommendation of doctors
5. Please go to doctor immediately when fallen sick and take appropriate steps not to lose the most precious life due to carelessness and negligence.
6. Look at the genetic history of the family and schedule periodic health checkups

I am sure, people died young would not have thought about it at all, they also would have had dreams and aspirations like any of us,  have families and children dependent on them, have colleagues and friends who respected them and miss them and above all, parents who are so unfortunate to witness their beloved one's early passing away.  To all of us, this is again a lesson, to take "STOP" signals like at the every end of a road , and watch out and proceed in life.  The things to watch out are clearly our sleeping patterns, work-life balance, eating habits and lifestyle.  Respect the life that god blessed us with and live it to the fullest with health, happiness and security to our families. 

The Stigma of being barren or unethical practices of Fertility clinics? Growing Menace!

The Stigma of being barren or unethical practices of Fertility clinics? Growing Menace!

Every woman dreams to be a mother at some point of time in life. That makes their life complete, purposeful and more meaningful. It is a pleasure of motherhood that brings in a delight in a woman’s life as she carries her first child. Every woman is physically and mentally in need of this best part of life and more so, for her social needs in countries like India, where women who are barren are looked with a stigma.

Though the country is advancing towards lot of things and scientific fronts, this superstitious unsaid practice of avoiding married women without children to social events, and keeping them in the last of any invitation list and avoiding their participation in any special occasions, besides the parent’s pressure to have a child is still a biggest stigma. The thought of having no one to look after in old age, the thought of being ignored, the thought of being barren is becoming a much worried phenomenon to lot of women who are not blessed naturally to bear children, or driven by circumstances to have later marriages or postponing children to later date giving importance to career, acceptance of family and readiness to take the responsibility of children at young age. Readily available contraception, misconceptions of raising kids, expectations to settle first and coupled with medical issues, infertility issues and economic issues somehow do not make lot of women take right decisions at right time.

People today think it is not too late for anything in life. So for Parenthood too. Coupled with growing infertility centers making exaggerated promises and minting money from the desperate families, end up providing all wrong choices to the women in late forties and beyond. What they fail to understand here is that parenthood is a beautiful responsibility. It is a lifetime bonding. You are responsible for the child’s well being, growth and economic and social survival. The quest of motherhood should not alone being a choice to have kids using any of the infertility centers promoted techniques including IVF, test tube babies and egg donations. The growing trend of new mothers at the age of 50, 60, 70, is now throwing biggest challenges to the medical fraternity. Is it ethical to do or even support such a quest of families?

Unless you are affected by these circumstances, you will not be able to justify the same, but however, there are few things that strongly should be considered by every doctor who encourages his patient couple to go through this process. Their ability to take care of the child at a very late age in life. The oldest new mother in the world is said to be slowly dying at the age of 72 after having given birth to a baby girl when she was 70 years old. Does her responsibility ends by bringing in a child to this world and leaving it at the mercy of her relatives when she is no more physically capable of managing a 2 year old girl. Does the little one not need her parents at least till she is of certain age to handle herself?. What is the guarantee that her so called relatives will take care of the child.

The economic well being itself is not an end to this situation, what the child needs is a lasting parental care during the growing years. Will the doctors ensure that it is there, if by any reasons, the parents pass away? Why should even couples wait till they are that old to have children? Why can’t they adopt a child when they are in middle age and know that they may not have children in the natural way? A growing number of people who are already parents are coming forward these days to adopt another child into the family. Why this mindset is not instigated into desperate couples and gives them a guidance to go about it instead of spending all their life’s earning on an infertility centre that does not bring out to them the reality.

It is unfortunate that I have this very issue in my extended family, but am not able to voice out my opinion strongly and oppose their quest of having child after crossing 50, yet only wish at least the doctors would be sensible to advice them to focus on things that are more practical and real, than giving them false hopes even after 25 years of expectations, heartthrobs, fertility treatments and what not. In today’s world, no one can be guaranteed to be taken care by our children in old age, giving the circumstances of global employments, nuclear families and different situations. So, having children at old age only to wipe out the social stigma really makes no sense.

Infertility is no longer a social taboo or a divine curse. Handling it scientifically, by all means is a blessing to couples who want to be parents.  Only wish, they take the decision at the right time in life, keeping into consideration the well being of the child, health of the mother and socio-economic conditions.  This will help the close to 15% of Indian Population suffering from various infertility problems and provide a solace instead of making this scientific advanced procedures a growing menace in the society.