DOCUMENTARY ON KABIRDAS

The documentary on Kabirdas was really good. Atleast at some point, in some parts of India,  people come together to bring Kabir’s teaching in their own life. Kabir has certainly influenced their lives. His teachings were simple, “Be united, forget about caste, religion, see how you can improve yourself and make aconnection with the Almighty”.

Today, it is exactly the opposite that is happening. The whole world runs behind money. There is great need for self analysis at this point to see where we stand. For this,  Kabir’s teachings play e very important role. Today,  only if we stand together as he wished we stand a chance to save ourselves from all the troubling issues like terrorism, recession etc. Thus we need to put higher emphasis on his teachings.

Anagha P Kanav, Member, Prerana

LEAPS AND BOUNDS

With the markets still recuperating from the after shock of global meltdown, it had been praying for a miracle to set the pace going again and it seems to be, that those prayers might just have been answered.

India’s largest Telco Bharti Airtel on Monday said it is in talks to acquire a 49% stake in Africa’s largest Telco MTN to create an entity stretching from the Cape of Good Hope across the African continent, West Asia and the Indian Subcontinent with revenues of about $20 billion and over 200 million subscribers. The combined entity will be amongst the top five operators globally. With this deal, the new entity will cover almost 24 countries, most of them categorized under high-growth geographies. Since there is a synergy between the strategic intent of Bharti and MTN, hence they will complement each other in achieving the necessary mandate.
According to sources: The South African Telco will get a 36% economic interest in Bharti in return for offloading the minority stake. The deal size is estimated to be worth over $23 billion.

This proposed merger with Africa’s MTN group will create a telecom giant, fourth largest in terms of subscribers, among the global telecom companies.
Recently, Bharti Airtel announced that its mobile phone subscriber base had crossed the 100 million mark, making the company world’s third largest single country service provider. Little did the world know that in one big leap, the telecom giant would consider doubling the subscriber base with a merger.

With this deal showing signs of near completion. The newly merged companies can divide their growth strategies with MTN pursuing expansion over Africa and the Middle East; bharti airtel can drive growth in Asia and India.

According to sources it is said that  Standard Chartered is advising Bharti while Bank of America ,Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank are advising MTN.The merger will be India’s biggest-cross border deal, eclipsing Tata Steel’ acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steel major Corus for $12.2 billion in 2006.
Bharti and MTN have agreed to hold exclusive talks with each other till July 31, 2009. As per Bharti’s disclosure to the stock exchange MTN would hold 25% in the Indian Telco after the deal, while the re-mainder would be held directly by MTN shareholders.

With this deal having hit the rocks before due to differences in thinking0, here’s hoping for a breakthrough between these telecom giants which will not only help invigorate the sluggish Indian market but will also have a positive impact on the world market as well.

Noorie Fathima, Student Representative, Colossus

COLOSSUS INAUGURATION

The colossus inauguration that was held on 24 June, 2009 was a smashing hit thanks to the efforts put in by the commerce department and all the students involved. It was an event that not only inspired the students but also gave them something to look forward to. The event gave the students an insight into the various competitions and activities that will be held in the course of the year which helped the students gear up for the coming future. what also helped the students further, were  the encouraging words and experiences shared by the senior members of colossus which helped them connect to their own confused selves making them less uncertain about what they want to do and all the more positive.

The event was a brilliant one but, thanks to the magnetic presence of Mr.Janardhan Subramanian, it was made an unforgettable one.

Mr.Janardhan Subramanian is the Registrar of Christ University and the Dean of faculty of commerce and management. He is a man with tons of experience behind him in varied fields. He has 30 years of industrial experience in not only marketing and management but also banking and law; he was also the Managing Director of a petroleum company in East Africa.

His experience in the field of commerce was definitely a tool in enlightening the students about the ways of the trade.  He stressed on the need for commerce and the potential that us, the commerce students had in an ever growing society and this helped the students to become more confident and certain about their future.

Finally, the event came to an end leaving the students heady with anticipation and rearing to go! Most importantly it left them with the hope to look forward to a future that is bright with numerous possibilities. A dream that could come true.

Noorie Fathima, Student Representative, Colossus

Proceedings of the Science Forum

This year, the activities of Science Forum commemorate the Year of Astrobiology – highlighting the contributions of two pioneers in science – Galileo and Darwin. The proceedings for this special year was flagged off by a very special person, scientist and administrator par excellence – Mr. Madhavan Nair. Mr. Nair is currently the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization entrusted with the responsibility of development of space technology and its applications to solve the problems of man & society in India.

The programme started off with a theatre presentation titled “Astronomy – Evolution – Society”, highlighting the year of Astrobiology. In his inaugural address, he spoke about space science and India’s contribution to it in general and the role of ISRO in particular. He also participated in the interactive session, where he answered questions posed by the student fraternity.

The event culminated with the inauguration of the exhibits displayed by ISRO in the college quadrangle.

Sneha A Motwani, Science Forum Representative

Rewind

The previous Friday and Saturday Pierian Spring conducted a workshop on ‘Radio Scripting’. We weren’t just taught about preparing a good script, Ms. Geetanjali from Decibel, the Christ University radio station also gave us an insight into the working of a radio station.

The polished script we hear, is delivered to us by the RJ. But the RJ alone does not constitute the whole radio station. We were made familiar with the roles of a music manager, producer, editer, etc.

Those who like to stay innocuous or those who like to remain behind the scenes, but yet have an inclination to radio, were shown the beacon of light they’d have to follow. All the future RJs were shown the method of preparing an “air” worthy script with its logs, links, etc. Many of them tried their hand at this and were given tips so as to improve its “air” worthiness.

All in all, two good days of work.

Due to popular demand, Pierian Spring will be taking students to the Decibel radio station. This first hand experience of the working of a radio station will help compliment the knowledge already gained.

Along with this small activity, Pierian Spring will conduct the much anticipated and much awaited contest to determine who will be making the trip to Radio Indigo.

Ritvik Pai, Student Representative, Pierian Spring

Science Forum – A Great Beginning

The day will dawn soon and that day will be written in the pages of history as we prepare to welcome the activities of Science Forum this year. This  year, 2009,  commemorates two important subjects, astronomy and biology. Each of these has its share of relevance for 2009.

Science Forum will commence its activities with the inauguration on June 23, 2009 at 10:00 am in the Auditorium. The chief guest for the occasion is Mr. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO, Bangalore.

ACC Inauguration

The Association of Christian Christites (ACC) of CJC welcomes you to its inaugural function on June 20, 2009, Saturday at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram (DVK) Prayer Hall between 1.00 – 4:00 pm.

Joel D’Souza, Student Representative, ACC

‘Sedes Minerva’?

Hey everyone! This is the Quiz Club Speaking!

Now we all know that the CJC quiz club is called Sedes Minerva, but I’ve always wondered what the name meant. The first thing that popped into my mind when I heard the name was this really old Polish punk band called Sedes that’s almost 29 years old!

After a little more of looking into, I came across this Portugese  Association, which formed at around 1970 called SEDES, which was one of Portugal’s earliest think tanks. The members of this association were brought together by great desire for change and to establish a diverse social activism: academic associations, a practice of political opposition against the system of the Estado Novo regime that ruled Portugal since the 1920’s.

What’s fascinating is that they organized themselves into working groups, facilitated debates on various locations of Portugal, was the first Portuguese organization to proclaim the advantages of a rapprochement with the European Community.

Certainly an apt name for an organization of experimental thinkers such as ourselves!

And the second part of the name, ‘Minerva’, brought to my mind Harry Potter’s transfiguration teacher’s name, Minerva McGonagall and few of us, who have read the ‘Unofficial Guide to Harry Potter’  know that every name in J.K. Rowling’s books have some back ground;

Minerva was the Roman goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom and commerce.. She is often depicted with an owl, the creature of wisdom, and hence the phrase, ‘as wise as an owl’!

Minerva frequently features in statuary, as an image on seals, and in other forms, at educational establishments such as the Columbia University, the University of Proto and so on..

It is also interesting to note that Minerva is displayed on the Medal of Honour, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government!

And thus I conclude this entry with a quote by the American essayist and naturalist Henry David Thoreau,

“True friendship can afford true knowledge. It does not depend on darkness and ignorance”.

Did you know that in 1844, Thoreau and a friend of his accidentally set the Concord woods in Massachusetts on fire??

Bhargava, Student Representative, Sedes Minerva, The Quiz Club

INDIA – AN ACTIVE CONTRIBUTOR to IYA 2009

India National Node

India is also a very active contributor to the International Year of Astronomy. India hosts over two hundred scientists, who are pursuing front-line research in Astronomy and Astrophysics in several research institutes and universities. These academic centers regularly conduct astronomy popularization programs such as workshops, lecture series, sky watch demonstrations etc. There are organizations, which administers science centers/museums/planetaria spread all over India and undertakes national level science popularization programmes. To promote science at local level, several other science centres exists which are funded by the state governments or private organizations. Amateur astronomy clubs (mostly in the cities) also play an important role in bringing astronomy to the general public.

In Bangalore, Indian Institute of Space Research (ISRO), Indian Institute of Astrophysics and Jawarlal Nehru Planetarium are hosting a number of activities to increase awareness about astronomy.

Sneha A Motwani, Student Representative, Science Forum

II ‘B’ PROUDLY PRESENTS …

NANOCREATIONS

II ‘B’ is conducting “Nanocreations”, a unique competition that gives you the freedom to create an item based on nanotechnology. Here’s the twist : you got to create the item using scrap … assuming the scrap as nanoparticles. Scrap could include anything from nails to plastic containers ….

C’ mon … get your scientific spirit and creative juices together … and give “Nanocreations” a try …

Venue : II PCMB “B” classroom 312

Date : 20 June 2009 … this Saturday !!

Time : 12 :00 pm – 1:00 pm

Members per team : 2

PS :   1) Registrations open till Friday, 19th June 3:00 pm.

2) Please get your own material including the scrap you want to use.

NANOHUNT

If you are a personwho loves to solve mysteries and hunt for treasure then NANOHUNT is made just for you. Enter the world full of mystries where every minute is a step closer or farther from your destiny.

Venue : Quadrangle

Date : 20 June 2009 … this Saturday !!

Time : 12 :00 pm – 1:00 pm

Members per team : 3

Intstructions:

Baseline: Quadrangle.

Registrations open till Friday, 19th June 3:00pm

BE THERE !!!