My Best Memory - dedicated to my Ronnie

I truly believe…. We were meant to be

the moment I held you

I knew it was you, I sought…

tiny and cuddly

like any other baby…but even if you were not

it was you I sought…

you grew big and strong

but for me you remained

the tiny little thing which once clung on to me

you barked at strangers and growled at pigeons

but looked at me like a puppy waiting for a cuddle..

followed me around

and waited for hours

only looking for those little moments of joy..

you wagged your tail and jumped with glee

every time you saw a glimpse of me…

now you are gone

and I have nothing waiting for me…

Hoping to catch a glimpse of you

I look behind and find a lonely me

You loved me for me

And gave me more than a lick on my cheek…

you left me memories

that I cherish

you will remain as the sweetest memory

Now I know, we were meant to be…

You came and left

But you will always remain a part of me

Missed and remembered for the time you gave,

the love you showered and the joy you spread

I’ll cry no more

Even though the grief of loss tears me apart

A loss of me…

A wonderful part of me

But I know you left for a better life

To fill someone else’s world with love and smile

An angel you will remain

In hearts of many..

My wonderful little friend

We were meant to be…

We were meant to meet

And meant to part…..

R.I.P my baby, my happiness and more…

My little Ronnie, you will always remain as my best memory…!!!

The dilemma over the Ground Zero Mosque

‘Ground Zero Mosque’ is a plan to build a mosque and Islamic cultural centre two blocks away from the site where once the World Trade Centre stood. This issue has generated a heated debate among the people of America.

The idea of building a mosque was initiated to improve the much deteriorated Muslim-West relations. The supporters believe, this will become a symbol of tolerance, condemning the 9/11 attacks. The 19 fanatics who flew planes into the twin towers have generated fear and distrust in the world. Because of a few extremists the whole religion has been stereotyped. Building an Islamic cultural centre could be seen as a collaboration of the moderate Muslims and the West to combat terrorism together. It will become a symbol of religious tolerance and secularism.

On the other hand, the majority of the people are opposing the idea of building the Islamic cultural centre, especially so close to the attacked area. It is seen as an intolerable gesture for the families of the victims, constantly reminding them of the dreadful attack. The opposition has been strongly protesting and manoeuvring anti-Islam feelings in the people which is bound to worsen the situation. The plan of burning the holy book, Quran, is just another example of rising intolerance among Americans. Some people are of the opinion that building a mosque some other place would be a better idea rather than building it near ground zero. Considering the huge opposition by the public, building it near the attacked site would aggravate the situation.

A better solution would be to build a multicultural community centre in the memory of the victims of the attack. Unity among world communities is the only way to combat terrorism!

Anti-cow slaughter bill in undemocratic

In a multi-religious society faith of one community over shadows the rest and further enforces policies to dictate terms. This would seem like an anarchic system but we proudly call it democracy. One of the many examples of this is Anti-cow slaughter Bill which was passed by the Karnataka government even after numerous protests by religious minorities, civil society, dalit groups and farmers groups.

In reality, the anti cow slaughter bill has hidden agenda and a motive of exploitation behind it. Beef is a cheapest form of meat available in India which is consumed not only by the Muslims and the Christians but also a majority of Hindus and dalits. Only a small percentage of people believe that eating beef is a taboo. And these people are imposing their belief on the rest of the population by passing this Bill which is another way of dividing people.

None of the Hindu scripture, including the Ramayana, Mahabharata or the Upanishads, hold that consumption of beef is prohibited in Hinduism but still it has been preached and imposed. Then, based on what has the government banned beef is an unjustifiable argument. Banning of beef will affect the farmers, as most of them rare cows for a living. When the cow has passed its productive years, then it is sold for its meat and in this way farmers earn their living. In most villages, the ox is sold for its meat, as tractors have replaced them in the fields and they are not productive. The bill extends the prevention of slaughter to cow, calf, bull, bullock, buffalo (male and female).

After passing anti-cow slaughter bill the burden of taking care of the cattle falls on the poor farmer who can neither sell the cow/ox nor maintain it. This would discourage the farmers from rearing cattle which ultimately lead to shortage of milk. The bill equated killing of a cow to murder of a human being and offenders may be imprisoned up to 7 years and fine up to one lakh.

The bill is against the secular character of our constitution and is a fundamentalist propaganda to dominate and impose their beliefs on the people.

Beckoning Mullayangiri hills

Chikmagalur is a popular tourist destination located about 250 kms from Bangalore. It is described as a perfect weekend getaway with cool climate and lots of greenery. After researching about what we could do or see there on the internet, we decided to take our much needed family vacation in June. So in went our warmest clothes to ward off the apparently cold weather there and left hot and sweaty Bangalore.

We initially decided to drive up to the place but finally ended up taking a cab after a fight over who was going to drive. It took us around five hours to reach and felt Chilmagalur is an over glorified place, because to us it was no different from Bangalore. It had the same weather if not hotter, crazy drivers and worse roads. This was not anywhere close to what we imagined Chikmagalur to be. Well its climate change we figured or global warming that had changed the place to what it is now.

We found out about surrounding places and decided to visit Mullayangiri, Kemmangundi, Habbe falls and the Bhadra wildlife sanctuary. All these places were astounding but one place which is a must see is Mullayangiri Hills.

We started off almost at daybreak with bottled water, fruits and some snacks as we were told no refreshments were available anywhere on the hills. The drive to Mullayngiri was pleasant and smooth and as we got closer to our destination the weather got cooler and windier. We could finally feel the fresh cool air as the sun slowly disappeared into the clouds.

The view was what one would call a perfect painting. The mountains look like someone has unwearyingly covered every bit of them with beautiful lush green carpet and the clouds were perfectly placed on the tip of them to enhance the picturesque view. This is only the beginning of the soul stirring experience which we felt on the way to the beautiful hills on Mullayangiri.

Looking around at the place, no one would ever imagine that this was our very own Karnataka. The Mullayangiri hills are located 25 kms away from Chikmagalur. The hills are surrounded by the Baba Budan Giri Range of thick forests of the Western Ghats.

Mullayangiri is one of the tallest peaks in the vicinity and is a dream for most trekkers with evenly laid out grasslands covering the hills and the breathtaking panorama around. For others who just want to enjoy the scenic view can drive on the smooth roads to the place.

We drove almost to the top and were informed that there is a tiny temple right on the top of the hill. Neither the stairs nor the temple was visible as the thick white clouds had swathed the whole hill. And as we started climbing we could feel the clouds moving towards us and an overwhelming feeling of awe took over the fatigue we felt climbing the stairs.

Soon, we were over the top and on cloud 9, literally. We finally had reached on top of the highest peak of Karnataka and the view is to die for. A small idol of Nandi is sheltered by a concrete hut on the edge of the hill which completes the spectacle. The temple on top is a small one but the view is indomitable with pure white clouds passing by, a cool breeze blowing around and the fresh pure air enveloping us.

The experience of visiting the Mullayangiri hills is definitely a memory we will treasure for a lifetime. The place is untouched by the outside world which is rare in our over polluted cities. Highly recommended, take some time to visit the place, if you are a nature lover and even if you are not you should still visit, because you will become one, overnight.

have a Humane face, N Ram tells media students

Editor-in-Chief, N. Ram called upon media students to always have a humane face both as journalists and human beings.

He was delivering the key-note address at the UGC sponsored seminar on ‘The Emergence of New Media: Opportunities and challenges’, organised by the department of Communication in association with The Hindu.

“There is no use going for academic excellence unless you put in the centre the values of social justice, equity and caring for all human kind,” Mr Ram said.

Mr Ram highlighted his reflections on Indian Media growth trends, its quality issues and the ethical challenges of the same. He questions the term ‘New Media’ as media were always evolving and what was new today would be old tomorrow.

Talking about the state of the mediaduring recession, Mr Ram said, “Journalism is in crises across developed countries. There is a gloom in most developed countries over the future of newspapers and broadcast.New York Times, the world leader of print industry was in major crises and had to take a loan of $250 million during recession. Circulation and readership is declining and the impact of internet and new media has accelerated the downfall.”

He further raised the issue of newspapers losing readership due to the newly developed e-paper, that most popular newspapers had introduced on their websites ed on their websites which attracted a wide global audience. However he said that though internet use and broadband access were growing rapidly across developing countries, traditional media still held importance.

Mr Ram opined that the media had three basic roles to fulfill. Firstly, he said that all media should aim to be credible with respect to the information it disseminates. Secondly, it should be analytical, critical and investigative and thirdly he said that the media had a big role to play in education. He said that it was through the media that masses could be educated about science, technology, history, medicine etc. “Every country which values press and media has broadcast law to govern it. But India does not have any such rules for media. There is no framework of regulatory mechanism,” said Mr Ram commenting on media ethics.

Divya, I year Mass Communication Student from Mahaveer Jain College said, “Mr Ram’s speech was very informative and inspiring. He explicitly brought out the ethics of media which every journalist should follow and practice. As future journalists it was very helpful.”

Kannada Sangha

It was an important day for the members of the Kannada Sangha of SJC as the Sangha was inaugurated on Friday. Kannada Infomedia, the portal, and the new venture, Cycle Day, were also kickstarted at the function.

Fr Ambrose Pinto, the Principal, said, “I have been observing the Kannada Sangha since it was started and I am very glad to see it progress. Every year it has been improving and has organised many cultural programmes like Dollukunita and Natakas.”

Fr Pinto also expressed his concern about the fading Kannada culture. “ Majority of our students don’t have the interest to learn Kannada. People prefer English language to our regional language. Our culture and language should become our pride and we should try and spread the language. The Sangha is trying to do that and I hope they organise more activities like this,” he added.

Mr Vijay Ragavan, HOD of the Kannada Department and the Staff Coordinator of the Sangha said, “This Association is a student initiative and I am only guiding them. We are inaugurating ‘the Cycle Day’ today and every Friday we will celebrate it in the Campus.”

Bharti S of III PMC, the Vice-President of the Association, said, “We have planned to organise a photo exhibition, games like Kunte bille, Gilli Dandu and Janapada.”

Ravikiran of III PEM, President of the Sangha, spoke on the Association’s aim and said, “Kannada Sangha is not only to promote Kannada language but it is a platform for different cultures. We are planning to organise kite flying competition, photo exhibition etc.”

College cricket team gets a renowned coach

The College has appointed a new coach for the boys’ cricket team.

He has already become one among the favourites for the students. Popularly known as Baba Sir, he has coached some of the country’s best cricketers like Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath, Robin Uttappa, Venkatesh Prasad, among others. Baba Sir has been coaching for the past 25 years and thinks that cricket is his religion and a way of life.

“I have been a Josephite throughout my student life and now have come back to be of some use to the College,” he says with glee.

He further says, “I am a service oriented, action oriented and result oriented person. I am coaching the lads, but I am still learning and I don’t consider myself as a Guru.”

When asked about the College cricket team and his expectations, he said, “They are a promising and an enthusiastic team, but still there is always scope for improvement. It’s been only three days since I’ve come and I still have to get to know their potential.”