Arnab discovered the Power right around the same time he had decided to become a doctor. He had been in class seven, his voice cracking and squeaking, a mind all it’s own—small curly whips of hair just beginning to appear on his chest, when he suddenly became ill one day, with a temperature so high that his pediatrician had insisted he be hospitalized. It was a cold, gray December day, in Kolkata when his mother had bundled him up, packed him into the car, and brought him to the emergency room, where he had a seizure in the waiting room.

The next thing he remembered was waking up alone in a hospital room, confused and disoriented. He had felt his nose running, and saw the box of tissues on the table beside the bed, but had been too weak to lift his arm to reach for one. He just sat there, staring at the box, when suddenly the tissue lifted up into the air on its own and floated over to his nose.

Later, he was told that he had contracted pneumococcus meningitis. The doctors had said that his chance of survival was less than fifty percent. But he did survive, and made a complete recovery.

At first he thought that the episode with the tissue was part of a dream brought on by fever, but when he returned home he found that the Power, as he came to call it, was real. He went to several local libraries and read everything he could find on parapsychology and telekinesis, which was very little. His best subject in school was always Science, and he set up multiple experiments to test his abilities.

In the end, he discovered he could move anything that he could visualize in his mind. It could be hidden from view, but he had to have a clear idea of what it looked like for the Power to work. No matter how hard he concentrated he couldn’t move anything that weighed over about five pounds, or that was more than thirty yards away. “Exercising” his Power did not result in any improvements. He would picture an object in his mind, “will” it to move, and it would—except that it required intense concentration, and resulted in a migraine headache that would often last the rest of the day. Therefore, he didn’t use the Power often, and he decided not to tell anyone about his unusual skill. Even at fourteen-years-old he knew that his life would change forever if his secret were revealed.

Those three weeks in the hospital had a profound effect on him. He decided that he wanted to devote his life to medicine. He started taking school more seriously, and his grades improved dramatically. He graduated from high school third in his class, and now, as a senior in college, was on the honor roll and in the top ten percent of his class. He was determined to reach his goal, and had essentially devoted his life to his studies.

He was coming home late from the library tonight. He had been up since five in the morning, and was exhausted. He turned the corner and started across the Ultadanga Bridge when a man wielding a huge knife suddenly confronted him.

“Give me your purse! Now!” the man shouted.

“I don’t have a purse,” Arnab said, “Or any money with me either.”

“Aaga! I’ll slit your throat and take it myself if you don’t give it to me!”

Arnab concentrated on the knife. He tried to visualize it twisting out of his attacker’s hand. His Power wasn’t strong enough to actually remove the knife from his hand, but the man could feel it moving on its own. He kept looking back and forth—first at the knife, then at Arnab, then at the knife again.

“What the hell?” the stranger said, then suddenly he charged at Arnab. As he came forward he tripped and fell headfirst into the bridge’s metal railing, knocking himself unconscious. Arnab ran the rest of the way home.

His heart was pounding fiercely as he entered the apartment, finally safe. His roommate wasn’t home, but the mail from earlier in the day was on the kitchen table. Right on top were letters from two medical schools. He had been accepted to both.

To be continued…

There is no set answer to this one. But in my mind, the issue boils down to two particular aspects: Identification and Fascination. When you come across a character that has shades of your own personality, your own attitudes to life, you tend to be drawn inexorably to them. Similarly if a character compels you to see life through a new perspective, if they hold you in their thrall, make you wish you could be more like them, they wield a magical power over you, bringing your senses alive. Implicit in all this is the writer’s ability to make their characters real, imbuing them with depth, meaning and feeling, making their souls sing to you as you skim the pages.

Purely personally speaking, a delightful mix of identification and fascination is Bathsheba from Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Maddening Crowd. The funny part of is that I didn’t enjoy this book all that much. Perhaps because it was in our syllabus at school! But Bathsheba! She has remained a revelation to me. Even when I was 16, I could see shades of my emergent personality in her character, her mien, her approach to the mundane, the innate strength of her spirit.

And as I grew older, her fallibility, foolhardiness and utter lack of judgement about people also found echo in my life! Bathsheba is a character that I can fully comprehend, identify with, but as a woman, the author spins a mental image of her that fills one with a sort of wonder. Like I said earlier, I’m not a huge Hardy fan, but I thank him for letting me get to know Bathsheba! And what of my other favourites? There are many…Howard Roark from The Fountainhead, Scarlett O’ Hara from Gone with the Wind, Jenny Cavilleri from Love Story, Karna from the Mahabharata. And here’s one more: Asterix, the indomitable Gaul.

About the Author: This is a guest post by Sandhya. Sandhya is an alumnus of the Manipal Institute of Jewellery Management, Manipal.

Fernando Alonso, a student who resides in Udupi, was alloted a room in 13th Block Girls’ Hostel even though he didn’t apply for any room. He was surprised when his friends broke the news to him. Many of them asked Alonso to give his new room to them but he didn’t give them any assurance.

“My friends are after me now to get that room… ha ha ha… Why would I give it to them? That’s like a dream coming true for me. Now it’s only a matter of convincing my parents on some pretext and shift to my new room,” he said with glee.

Some students see it as a bait to bring back students to hostels who moved out citing lack of bus service in the campus. “Allotting such rooms to the students who are staying outside…this must surely be a bait to fill up the hostels,” said a student speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Initially thought of by everyone as a computer glitch, people just made fun of the incident until many other similar incidents came to light.

A male student, Maha Kaurav, who completed his course last month and has already left Manipal, was allotted a room in 9th Block Boys’ Hostel along with a girl and one more guy in ‘double room’. He brought this to Student Council‘s notice on Facebook Page. He was apparently unhappy for not being able to accept the gift bestowed upon him by the college.

Speaking to ManipalBlog, he said, “It is too late….but well, I will try taking spot admission in M.Tech and try to accept the gift from my beloved MIGHTY MIGHT MIT. If I can’t get admission in M.Tech now, I will auction the room on Manipal Market Facebook Group and make some quick buck.I am already flooded with open offers on Student Council Page… ha ha ha.”

A third student, Dev Misla, was allotted the First Block, along with two girls! However, this news remained unconfirmed till this article was published.

Many MIT guys we spoke to are almost unanimous when it comes to favoring unisex hostels. In case of girls, they responded tersely by saying “not really” when we asked them if they favor such hostels.

At the time of writing this, we don’t have any concrete information about MIT management deliberately trying this concept of Unisex Hostels. As per one insider in Student Council, this goof-up must have happened because of students playing pranks and nothing else. But he admitted he was personally in favor of having unisex hostels.

For more latest developments visit this link.

P.S.: All facts mentioned in this article are Fiction. 
But we guess, you already knew that. Didn't you?

I am a sentimental old fool. That is why I stared with disbelief at the news that the postal department was closing the Telegram service. They cannot do that I thought with resentment never mind that I have not used that service for more than a decade and a half.

The young generation may not be aware of the prime position it held in our childhood days. Telegrams were like villains in a movie. They were not benign like a Mogambo or a Dr. Dang. I would liken it more to the blood chilling Hannibal Lecter of the ‘silence of the lambs’.
My mother’s hands would start trembling when the Postman announced that we have received a telegram. “ Now who?” My mother would worry. Most of the times people used a telegram only to inform about the death of a close relative.

But some telegrams were of the Shakti Kapoor variety too. I had a very absent minded uncle who would suddenly remember that he must inform the host of his imminent arrival. So he always sent a telegram instead of the customary Inland letter. Imagine our amusement when the telegram arrived while our uncle was freshly showered, sharing a warm and delightful lunch and regaling with his funny anecdotes. Uncle was family. So no one was embarrassed!

We realised the importance of telegrams in a student’s life only when we reached the college. Apart from the mandatory ‘ send money urgently’ , the students realised that the telegrams were more potent than any two pages long application for explaining the short attendance or reaching for the vivas ill prepared. A ‘ grandmother expired’ melted the heart of even the cruelest of professors.

But telegrams were not just the harbingers of bad news. Companies used it to inform the successful candidates of their selection bringing a lot of joy in the house.

Internet and the mobiles have made the postal services redundant ,at least in the urban areas. More than the telegrams, I miss the letters.

Written in long hand, they carried a warmth and affection which sadly is missing in the SMS and the emails. But I cannot underestimate the mobiles and the emails either. I cannot live without both of them.

Change is imminent and one should be smart enough to adapt. But you can do nothing about nostalgia. These days I hardly watch any movies.

Hell, I miss the mothers of the old era who were always ready with a plate full of Gajar ka Halwa, never mind what time of the day or night it was. “ Beta maine tere liye Gajar ka halwa banaya hai.” To hell with calories, Beta , hog it. Now even a twelve year old Tanmay is chided by his mother. “ No sweets. Mota ho jayega”

But we have to accept it . The communications mosaic is changing. Each day the communications are getting faster. So it is only natural that Charles Darwin’s theory stand vindicated.

But as I said in the beginning, I am an old sentimental fool.

Good Bye Telegram. You will be missed.

Family: When I was growing up, it was the one constant in my life. My amma, appa and my grandparents. Bullies at school, unpleasant neighbours… none of it mattered because the home was a sanctuary. It was an edifice I took for granted. And drew upon for support and strength time and time again.

Now I’m a mother, and have my own family. I can’t give my two-year-old daughter the valuable gift of grandparents living at home with her; so she is denied much of what I had access to while growing up. Like mythological tales, family anecdotes, love and tenderness that a parent often forgets to give a small child, caught up in the daily grind. We try and visit both sets of grandparents often, and have them over. I show her pictures of them all, tell her things about them. But it’s not the same.

We all lose out in this breakdown of the age-old joint family system. Sure there is no interference, no ego clashes, but there is no feeling of community either in a nuclear family. The learning of valuable traits like adjustment and adaptation is lost. As is an appreciation for one’s heritage, elders, mores and customs. And joint families aren’t as retrograde as they’re made out to be either. Having one’s in-laws living with you means young mothers, in fact, can go to work earlier, not having to worry about unknown babysitters and childcare issues.

But the changing nature of today’s world and the natural progression of society have made joint families a rare sight nowadays. It’s a little sad. Whenever I think about it, I hug Karuna, my daughter, a little closer. And think of my father in the back of the car.

About the Author: This is a guest post by Sandhya. Sandhya is an alumni of the Manipal Institute of Jewellery Management, Manipal.

Yes, it’s a commercial best seller, even made into a movie. Yes, it’s a short little book that will never be hailed as a literary classic, written by a man whose recent works are vapid at best. But Love Story, to me, is THE book. Two reasons, both simple. And important. First, this book taught me what kind of writer I wanted to me. By the time I read this, writing was already developing from being a skill to a passion with me. Segal’s prose, so terse, simple, yet meaningful struck a deep chord within me. Intensity and emotion conveyed with an economy of word that astounded me. And consciously or otherwise, I have always emulated his style. It has made me a better writer, capable of getting to the point, crisply yet passionately.

The second reason this book means what it does: It taught me about love. The uncertainties, hesitations, agonies and ecstasies of falling in love, and staying in love. Wow. The love shared and revealed in the book taught me what love is, and should be all about. It helped me to make the right choices in my life, to separate the grain from the chaff, to learn that once ought to be forever. It happened for me.

Maybe that’s why I give this book to anyone who wants to be a writer. Or to fall in love!

A similar type of reflex occurs when one sneezes. The lining of the nose and the resonating cavities of the head, (the sinuses), send impulses to the medulla, but by different nerves depending on the site stimulated. A similar explosive expulsion of air occurs.

Large dust particles are filtered out of respired air by, in the first instance, the hairs at the end of the nose. Those that get past are very likely to impinge on the wall of the inside of the nose because their momentum is greater than that of the air which swirls round the turbinate bones in the nose. Turbinate bones are so-called because of the turbidity produced in the air flow. Smaller particles are able to penetrate further down the respiratory tree but only the very smallest, measuring perhaps a micron in diameter, get past the divisions of the bronchi and into the air sacs of the lung. These are too small to contain bacteria but not too small to contain viruses.

The cells lining the airways have hairs on their outer membrane called cilia. These minute cilia wave rhythmically, their main power thrust being to push particulate matter towards the throat where it can then be spat out or swallowed. In addition other cells, called goblet cells, secrete mucus which keeps the lining of the air passages moist.

Various facts arise because of the anatomy and physiological reactions of the airways. Should the cough reflex be interfered with, such as when assisted ventilation on a ventilator occurs, either with a tube inserted through the larynx or into the trachea, the cough mechanism is mechanically impaired and it is difficult for the patient to clear the bronchi and will necessitate mechanical aspiration of the secretions. Some medicines, especially the ACE inhibitors used for high blood pressure, can produce a dry cough as a side effect. Not all dust substances are equally effective in producing cough or sneeze reflexes, some such as pepper or riot control gases, are well known stimulators of sneezing and coughing. It is not necessarily externally applied substances which irritate the bronchi. Cancers of the lung can cause almost continuous cough reflex actions. Continual coughing can cause the windpipe to remain permanently V-shaped in cross-section – a scabbard deformity. Coughing is often due to excess nasal secretion (catarrh), impinging on the back of the throat – a condition called chronic post nasal drip.

The explosive force of a cough projects potentially infected secretions out as an aerosol. The larger droplets fall to the floor within a few metres where they dry out and can become infected dust particles. Medium sized particles can be inhaled by a second person and impinge on the membranes of their nose, throat and bronchi, causing airborne spread of infection. The smaller the particle the further down the bronchial tree the infected material can get. It is not only bad manners to sneeze or cough without trying to prevent the expelled particles becoming an infective aerosol, it can be lethal. Tuberculosis of the lung is becoming resistant to antibiotics, is increasing in frequency and is preventable. Coughing is one part of the body’s defence against infection. Suppressing a cough by medication can be wrong, though it is sometimes necessary to relieve distress.

Outsole

This part of the shoe is located on the bottom of the shoe. You will notice the quality of a shoe based on if the shoe has two layers or kinds of rubber on the outsole. The first kind is called a carbon rubber. The carbon rubber is tough and heavy. It acts as an overall covering for the bottom of the shoe. The second layer is called blown rubber. The blown rubber is much lighter in weight and stretches. The blown rubber is much more flexible and has cushion to protect the foot.

You will notice the quality of a running shoe if it has a flex groove and a split heel. Split heel allows both an outside and inside piece to insulate the outsole. These allows for better foot movement and space in the shoe. Flex grooves allows the foot more flexibility at the ball and move more naturally.

Midsole

The midsole is material that helps absorb the shock treatment between the outsole and the upper part of the shoe. This helps the running shoe to offer cushion and support for the foot. There are usually two forms of cushion within the midsole, EVA a lighter weight cushion, and Polyurethane which is a heavier material or cushion. When looking for the best midsole, you want a heavier or dense midsole. The midsole materials are located in the middle section of the shoe.

Upper

The upper part of the shoe is located on the outer body of the shoe. Materials in the upper part are made with a mixture of lightweight material called mesh and heavy leather. Both of these materials give stability and comfort for the foot, especially while running or walking. This part of the shoe also provides Achilles’ heel comfort.

The last attribute would be the overall shape of the shoe. This is important as well. Avoid wearing running shoes that are too narrow or have a very small toe box. Make sure you have at least an inch of space between your longest toe and the front of the shoe. Make sure there is a heel counter that enforces and stabilizes the heel, and that the Achilles notch has a groove.

About the Author: Relene Mac has written several career-related articles for various websites for more than seven years. She has worked as an Administrative Assistant for more than 15 years. For more information about buying comfortable shoes, click sanuk promo codes or yourpromocode.

It all started when Nawaz was at Bangalore airport and was flying to Mumbai. It was winter in India and the northern parts of the country were foggy. His incoming flight from Delhi was delayed by over 3 hours because of the fog all around. Needless to say, he was bored. While playing with his phone he wondered how great it would be if I could see people at the airport right now on my phone and pick people whom I want to talk to?

How great it would be if I could “shout” something like – “Anyone bored around and interested in #coffee?” and people could join me for a hangout? How great would it be if I could discover and connect to local people who like what I like and make new friends and expand my network?

As soon as Nawaz landed in Mumbai he contacted Anshal and Abdul with the Idea and we realized that we face such situation on a very frequent basis, yet there are no applications to connect us to interesting people and things happening around us in real time.

Microsoft Imagine Cup 2013: St Petersburg, Russia

Microsoft Imagine Cup is the most premier student technology competition, now in its 11^th year it’s the most expansive Imagine Cup ever with prize money upto 300,000$ and Microsoft grants of 3 Million USD. Imagine Cup is a global, yearlong competition that culminates in a Worldwide Finals event, to take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 8–11, 2013.

While we showcase our application “Zoik It” at the worldwide finals in St Petersburg this year we would be competing against the best student innovations from over 86 countries and competition which has seen a participation of 1.65 million students over 11 years.

Since the news of us being selected came out on 29^th of May, we have been fairly excited about the Russian Odyssey but we know the amount of hard work it has taken us to reach this stage and the amount of hard work it will take to win this Cup and get it to India.

The entire team is working very hard for the finals to be held in Russia, some of the key activities are :

1. We are working on polishing the application to remove bugs
2. Get the right sponsors associated with  our brand
3. Creating lucid posters, infographs and Marketing Material.
4. Improving the UI/UX of the application
5. Fine-Tuning the presentation

How is Our App Different

Even though there are so many social networking applications in the market like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare that helps us connect to people yet we find ourselves alone at times.

The application is powered by an intelligent algorithm which feeds in data from your social feeds, interests, your physical location and creates a unique social experience which resembles your personality. In short it is a dynamic, real-time and highly intelligent social networking tool. So what you see on your application screen are things you like and the people you would love to connect and hang out with.

Have you ever been a part of one or more of these scenarios?

• You wanted to go out for a recent “James Bond flick”, called up your friends and family, but they were too busy to go out for a movie?
• You were at the airport and your flight is delayed by 3 hours. You’re bored?
• You want to trek/hike, but none of your friends are actually interested in this activity.

With our Local Social Networking app “Zoik it”!  You can for example, share a status saying “I want to go #hiking at #4:00PM #tomorrow”.  We know that you’re going to hike tomorrow at 4:00PM because of the hash tags. We send out this notification to all of those users who love to trek, are in the same city and have some free time tomorrow at 4:00 PM. So the only people around you who are interested in hiking gets the notification are most welcomed to join you for a great meet up. We help you connect with real people at a real physical location easy and fast! Be it Hiking, Having a coffee at your local coffee store, grabbing a beer tonight, partying or even planning tennis – We connect you to people instantly who like what you like.

The Team : Y-Nots

Abdul, Nawaz and Anshal (From Left to Right)

We are a geographically distributed team with Nawaz and Abdul working out of Hyderabad and Anshal out of Bangalore. We have a great mentor on board Rainer Stropek from Austria, who helped us all through the way in developing the product with his invaluable guidance. Anshal and Nawaz met online when they were taking an online course on Technology Entrepreneurship by Stanford University in the summer of 2012 and roped in Abdul later to cater to the designing needs.

1. Anshal Anand – Manipal University, Bangalore
2. Nawaz Dhandala – Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad
3. Abdul Rahman Janoo – Deccan College Of Engineering And Technology, Hyderabad
4. Rainer Stropek – Mentor, Austria

Currently we are only on Windows Phone MarketPlace, but once we come back from Imagine Cup we would replicate the application on all the major platforms such as iOS, Android and Blackberry as well as create the Web Application for the same. We expect to be on all platforms by September but for that to happen we would be looking for investment to hire some of the smartest minds around.

Follow Zoik It on twitter!

About the Author: Anshal Anand is a graduate from Manipal University and co-founder of Zoik It! Ernst & Young Alumni, he works at Deloitte, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

It honestly amuses me to see how the very same parents who worry about the academic credentials and college rankings for other colleges, worry about the extraneous things when they discuss about Manipal. “ Sirji, kya yeh sach hai ki Manipal is dotted with pubs? “ I want to remind this gentleman that his son crossed at least three bars every day while reaching his school!

There are more myths propagated about Manipal than the twenty odd square kilometres deserve. I could name at least one myth per square kilometre of space. But as a gentle soul reminds KISS ( Keep it short , Stupid!)

1. MYTH #1 ( A LESSON IN GEOGRAPHY) – I have an inbuilt Robot inside my brain. It is so programmed that the moment someone mentions Manipal, I automatically blurt, ‘ No, it is not in the North East.’ The father or the mother stares at me with jaw open, ‘ Huh, but we didn’t ask’ Good for you. But not bad to remember it Mummy. You may need to repeat it a hundred times to the Chachas and Buas of the child who may feel that you have endangered the boy or girl’s life. The ULFA and other terrorists are in your brains, Morons. The only terror the kid will face is in the classroom.
2. MYTH #2 ( Grass is for Cows! Not really) – No, we are not talking about Wimbledon. The parents don’t really care if Federer wins or loses. In a hushed tone they ask about the drugs problem. “ We hear that everyone takes drugs all the time”  they ask in a hushed tone. I tell them “Sir,I have seen more drugs in the IITs . But if your son gets admission there, would you even bother to ask that. You would catch the first flight. Drugs may be an issue. But not THE issue. If I were a parent I would worry about other important issues like getting a good branch, decent accommodation and good food for my ward.” The father is satisfied but mother still has her furrows creased.

3. MYTH #3 ( Rich Brats, spoilt brats and pubs) – Again the hushed tones. This place is a haven for spoilt brats who have no interest in studies. They are wild and arrogant. They spoil the other boys too. The seedha sadha boys get spoilt and start drinking and smoking. Guys! They may be rich but they are certainly not dumb. Why would they waste their precious dollars only to see your seedha sadha son spoilt? Peer pressure?  Well there is only one way of saving your son from that. Keep him locked! Besides since when has being rich become a sin. Remember like you, their parents busted their asses to be where they are today only to see their son comfortable.

Luckily I did not go to Manipal with all such bags of prejudices. I found most of the boys and girls extremely charming and polite. Of course, they did play a prank or two. But come on. They are young.

4. MYTH #4 ( All Play and no work) : Next objection ‘that the focus is not much on studies’ but on other activities. But again that is what I love about Manipal. Come on parents! Education is not what your ward crams in the class. It is beyond that class room, in the real world. In fact, I would give more marks to Manipal for that. There are so many clubs, so many activities, the students are bubbling with confidence.

5. MYTH #5 ( There are more students in a pub than the library on weekends) By the time we reach this stage of discussion, I invariably remember an important piece of work and as much as I would like to help the parents, have to leave!

One thing I know for sure.  Students will come and go, the Myth of Manipal will keep perpetuating and proliferating.