SASHINI MANIKANDAN

This is my second poem in my mother tongue, Tamil, about my motherland-India. It's not very perfect, but I am proud of it! நான் எங்கு சென்றாலும் அழகைப் பார்க்கிறேன் நான் எங்கு சென்றாலும், நான் தெய்வீகத்தைக் காண்கிறேன் நான் எங்கு சென்றாலும் உண்மையைக் காண்கிறேன் இது என் இந்தியா, என் கனவுகளின் இந்தியா நான் என் தாய்நாட்டை வாழ்த்துகிறேன், நமது மண்ணின் மகத்தான சுதந்திரப் போராட்ட வீரர்களுக்கு நான் தலை வணங்குகிறேன் சுதந்திரத்திற்காக சிந்திய இரத்தத்திற்கு தலை வணங்குகிறேன் நம் நாட்டின் இறையாண்மைக்காக அழுத கண்ணீரை வணங்குகிறேன் இது என் இந்தியா, என் கனவுகளின் இந்தியா ஒவ்வொரு துறையின் முன்னேற்றத்திற்கும் நான் தலை வணங்குகிறேன் நம் நாட்டு இளைஞர்களுக்கு நான் தலை வணங்குகிறேன் படைத்த ஒவ்வொரு ஆண்களுக்கும் பெண்களுக்கும் நான் தலை வணங்குகிறேன் என் இந்தியா, என் கனவுகளின் இந்தியா ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION:  Nāṉ eṅku ceṉṟālum aḻakaip pārkkiṟēṉ nāṉ eṅku ceṉṟālum, nāṉ teyvīkattaik kāṇkiṟēṉ nāṉ eṅku ceṉṟālum uṇmaiyaik kāṇkiṟēṉ itu eṉ intiyā, eṉ kaṉavukaḷiṉ intiyā nāṉ eṉ tāynāṭṭai vāḻttukiṟēṉ, namatu maṇṇiṉ makat...

 As a student representative at DPS, I had the privilege to attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 held at the Brilliant Convention Centre, Indore, Madhya Pradesh during the month of January. This initiative by the Government of India aimed to bring the Indian Diaspora together to strengthen the bond between the NRIs and their motherland, India. We got an opportunity to interact with the Cabinet ministers, including Dr. S.Jaishankar and Hon'ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan. We got to meet Hon'ble Prime Minister of India- Shri Narendra Modi and Hon'ble President of India- Smt. Droupadi Murmu.  But aside that, here is my experience of the PBD 2023. Beside being away from UAE for almost a week, there were a plenty of obstacles, that we as young students had to overcome. It's a pretty long list, but read until the end, if you want to know how exhilirating the experience was! I- Hectic Flight Schedule You won't believe me if I tell you th...

 The book of Answers Dear readers, Today I bring you a very interesting literary endeavour by Carol Bolt. Yes, you might have guessed it, the BOOK OF ANSWERS. This is a favourite decision making tool of mine/ divination tool (if you are a PotterHead, or an astrology freak you know what I mean). This book is exceptionally innovative and if you ask me a honest opinion, it's amazing! This book gives you an answer (almost every time!) to any dilemma you may face.  How does it work? (Trust me after reading this, you are going to fall in love with this book! I did and many of my close ones did and that's proof for you!) Think of your question or dilemma for some time in your mind (about 10-15 seconds) and run your hand over this book gently.  After deliberating over your question, open the book at a random, and voila! You will find an answer over there! And 99% it makes sense.  If you ask the same question over and over again, sometimes you may get negative sometimes posit...

According to Donald Rumsfeld there are four situations which can explain our response or reflex to a situation, namely 1) Known-Known 2) Known-Unknown 3) Unknown-Known 4) Unknown-Known (At first glance all of them seem nonsensical, but let me explain further :D) Known-Known You know the fact that you know. You are able to produce the same results over and over again. Known-Unknown  You know the fact that you don't know or don't understand. You jump from one field to a completely different field and your mind is just....BLANK... Unknown-Known You yourself are not aware of the fact that you know. Maybe this makes you surprise yourself now and then, but be careful to outsiders you might seem like a person connected to the supernatural...  Unknown-Unknown This is the most weirdest thing of all, you are not aware of the fact that you do not know!  Example- (Uhh I can't think of any, can you ? 😐😐) Next post, I will try my best and come up with one of my favorite psychological...

 Thai manne Vanakkam! An amazing show, coordinated  by Sashini Manikandan, put up by the talented girls of Grade 9, to fascinate these words, was well received by the audience. The show started off with our Tamil compere, Sameeha and English compere, Hiba welcoming the audience. Our students served the trademark filter coffee of TN to our audience, relishing which the audience enjoyed the show. The performance began with a stunning visual treat of the oldest classical dance, Bharatnatyam by our Bharatnatyam exponent, Harsha. It was succeeded by a beautiful rendition of the Vara Veena by lead Sashini, Adhwaitha and Meenakshi. Succeeding which, a nail-biting gripping fight between our born warriors in traditional silambam fight, Thanaa and Sarah. A beautiful skit showcasing the best of the Southern state, Tamil Nadu was role played and progressed on to the beautiful folk dance of Kummi. An expressive semi-classical dance of Kannodu Kanbathellam was performed by Sriya and Adhwait...

  AR Rahman. I am quite sure; you all know him very well. The famous music director, world acclaimed and gifted musician. Now you go to him and hand him a cricket bat and tell him to play for India. Even if he has cricket as a hobby, he is not a professional. He will not be able to win. In a similar way, if Sachin Tendulkar is made to conduct an orchestra, he will not be able to do so. You may wonder where I am going with this. I will come back to that a little later. Who loves mangoes ? Silly me, the question should rather be, Who doesn’t love mangoes ? But we all know mangoes don’t grow in desert. Yet we get ripe mangoes in the markets in UAE. How? Using advanced technologies of course. We human beings are very impatient, and no one can dispute that so, we add fertilizers to speed up the process of growing. To keep the pests at bay, we use inorganic pesticides and insecticides. And what do we get ? Fresh ripe mangoes. What else ? Chronic health issues, and unhealthy salinized s...

  Just today morning, I received a message from my grandma on Instagram about a new Yoga routine. Even better my great grandma enquired about my health and sent me a new crocheting video through Facebook. My cousin, just born yesterday, is already going viral on TikTok. Nowadays, from a small child to old grandmas, everyone knows how to use a mobile phone and moreover are on social media. Not a day begins without scrolling through the top Instagram Posts. Daily WhatsApp status updates, Facebook stories. Even Prime Ministers and Presidents connect with the public through social media. Virtual birthday gatherings, Virtual classes, and even Virtual weddings through social media. Wow!! That’s quite a lot!! What comes to our mind when we think of social media ? Perhaps platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And even WhatsApp. Social Media has become the center of attraction these days. More than our name, our social media username has garnered more importance. Earlier when fin...