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EastErn Mirror wEEkEnd supplEMEntEvEry saturday dEcEMbEr 29, 2012

em images/sorei mahong

photo speak

As somebody would call him the original artist and the Bob Dylan of Nagaland, the legendary composer, singer and musician had

long become a household name for being a trendsetter in the field that many considered (and still consider) not worth living for. The man in ques-tion may not have had the privilege of studying, owing to a fall in his child-hood that eventually left a permanent scar on his back but he has definitely proved to the world, his zeal for living that can be unmistakably translated from the music he makes.

The 58 year old musician who spent over four decades of his life composing, singing and performing, started with no music infrastructure in place and absolutely no formal training but created his own industry with such zeal and passion, that he is so rightly called a common Naga heritage.

Clearly Methaneilie did not just sing for the sake of music but the self-taught Artiste definitely cared for the Naga society, which is often reflected in his matter-of-fact lyrics. To think that somebody who did not have any-body to teach him how to sing or play

a musical instrument could actually create his own drum and guitar is also truly praiseworthy.

Forty years of music and he has, to his credit a total of 25 albums, record-ing over 200 songs. Deservingly, he was also awarded the Man of the Year Award by Ura Academy and Man of the Year Award by T.Khel Students’ Union both in 1989. He is also the recipient of the Classic Club Award in 1999 and further received the Gover-nor’s Award for excellence in Music during 2003.

For what is worth, he continues to sing and has performed in 100 concerts over the past few years. Not surprisingly, he has a great following of fans from all age groups. Just as a mother in Pfütsero town prepared to gift him a basket of vegetables, precisely cabbage and potato which the town is more known for, during his recent concert organized by the group, Zawe Thra, he is also flattered to learn of a grandmother in Kohima whose last wish on her dying bed was to meet him.

Such instances are not rare for somebody like him but the legendary musician is firmly grounded to his roots and is barely moved by fame. A

man of very few words, he says it more with the music and lyrics he produces. The magic with which it comes is the fact that the so-ciety can truly relate to his music because it speaks of familiar things, people and places, whereby, he also confesses that he is inspired by the beauty of the place that is Nagaland.

A stall vendor at the ongoing Christmas mela, near New Dhansiri Bridge, Burma Camp sells gas filled colorful plastic toys to a customer (not seen)

Ever been chided for doing something you know isn’t wrong? Your brother-in-law insists that guacamole is made only with lemon—never lime—and that you’ve ruined it with your tiny green citrus. His mama taught him to make it with lemon, and he doesn’t care how much you cite Alton Brown.

The same goes when you’re writing at work. Although modern grammar-ians and reference books firmly assert that all five of the “rules” I’m going to give you are baseless, they’ve been taught as law in many schools—especially to people old enough to be your boss.So read up. Be informed. Know they are myths—and follow them in your writing at work anyway. Believe me, it makes life easier.

1. “Data” Can Only Be PluralIn Latin, “data” is the plural of “datum.” Therefore, some people insist that “data” can only be plural in English (“the data are here,” not “the data is here”). Now, these same people would never ask you to send them the meeting “agendum,” even though the “agenda/agendum” pair is just like “data/datum.” And that’s because English is a rogue and has no problem giving a makeover to words it takes from other languages.Nevertheless, you’re safest keeping “data” plural. If it sounds weird to you, use a different word, such as “information” or “results.”Don’t: This quarter’s data is going to get us fired.Do: This quarter’s results are going to get us fired.

2. never SPlit an infinitiveYou split an infinitive when you put an adverb between “to” and a verb—for example, “to boldly go.”The rule against splitting infinitives was made up by a few fellows in the mid-1800s, and even they weren’t that adamant about it. They generally thought it was better to avoid splitting infinitives, but they didn’t say that splitting was the unforgivable sin that some people seem to think it is today.Even though splitting isn’t wrong, moving the adverb rarely changes the meaning of your sentence. Just do it.Don’t: She wanted to loudly tell her boss to pound sand.Do: She wanted to tell her boss loudly to pound sand.

3. DOn’t enD a SentenCe With a PrePOSitiOnThis “rule” was made up in 1672 by John Dryden—a writer so famous in his time that some refer to the years of his prime as the Age of Dryden. His influence assured that the rule made it into schoolbooks, and it’s been widely taught ever since. Nevertheless, there’s no logical basis for the rule, and modern language experts have fought back in force.The only reason you’ll find in most current language books for avoiding an ending preposition is to save you from offending someone who still thinks it’s wrong. But, in the workplace, that’s actually not a bad reason.Don’t: Now that’s something I hadn’t thought of.Do: Now that’s something I hadn’t considered.

4. “SlOW” iS never an aDverBFussbudgets will tell you that signs shouldn’t say “drive slow”—they should say “drive slowly.” The bearers of this news ignore the existence of flat adverbs (those that don’t end in -ly). Even William Strunk Jr., of Elements of Style fame, used them: Co-author E.B. White reported that Strunk often told students, “If you don’t know how to pronounce a word, say it loud.”Still, the belief that flat adverbs are wrong is so widespread, it’s safer to use the non-flat adverb form.Don’t: He talks so loud we can hear him three cubes down.Do: He talks so loudly we can hear him three cubes down.

5. Only fOOD iS DOne; PrOjeCtS are finiSheDYou’ve probably been chided by someone at the dinner table for say-ing you’re “done” instead of “finished,” but that aunt or grandfather was holding on to a belief that doesn’t make any sense. This “rule” surfaced in the early 1900s, but the style guide that started it gave no reason. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage speculates that the advice was based on bias against the usage’s “Irish, Scots, and U.S.” origin.You can argue the point with Aunt Millie, but at work, there’s no harm in sticking with “finished.”Don’t: I’m done with this project.Do: I’m finished with this project.In the workplace, it’s not always about what’s right and wrong—it’s about how you play the game. And yes, that includes grammar.

Five Stupid Grammar Myths (and Why You Should Follow

Them at Work)

Vishü Rita Krocha | EM News Network

Nagaland may be fond of mu-sic but one could not possibly imagine pursuing it as a pro-fession, especially not in the seventies. This story, however, ran differently for Methaneilie Solo who started composing songs from his early teenage years in the 1970s and has ever since loved and lived music.Methaneilie performing at world

disability day at Kisama

The old mud house from where inspiration for composing songs came

With Prime Minister AB Vajpayee and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on 15th Aug 2003 (receiving Governor’s Award in Music)

Mirror Plus2 Eastern Mirror | dimapursaturday | december 29 | 2012

“It interested him that from behind Airport Road, only the smoke plumes of Annawadi’s cooking fires could now be seen. The airport people had erected tall, gleaning aluminum fences on the side of the slum that most driv-

ers passed before turning into the international terminal. Drivers approaching the terminal from the other direction would see only a concrete wall covered with sunshine-yellow advertisements. The ads were for Italianate floor tiles, and the corporate slogan ran the wall’s length: BEAUTIFUL FOR-EVER BEAUTIFUL FOREVER BEAUTIFUL FOREVER” - Page 37, Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

Katherine Boo spent three and a half years observing life in Annawadi, a small Indian slum near the Mumbai airport. From countless interviews, videos and document research, she wrote Behind the Beautiful Forevers, which focuses on the lives of a handful of Annawadi residents from 2007 to 2011 and uses the trial of a garbage sorter who is falsely ac-cused of murder as an underlying narrative.

Early reviews and back cover blurbs touted that Behind the Beautiful Forevers read like a novel, but I was only expecting this to be somewhat true. I’ve heard the same said of Erik Larson’s books, such as In the Garden of Beasts, but I’ve only found his books to be as novel-like as possible for accurate historical writing. They are not actually as riveting as novels since he can’t get inside the characters’ heads. Boo’s book is. In fact, I was surprised how often the writing was “inside characters’ heads,” and my main complaint about the book was that I wondered how she could actually know what these people were thinking and feeling. The novel-like quality of the book made me skeptical about its accuracy; however, the “Author’s Note” following the text increased my confidence in Boo’s reporting, and helped me appreciate the book more.

Indeed, I wanted more of Boo’s insight and personal story, which we glimpse in the “Author’s Note.” I understand why she did not include herself in the narrative, and I think that was a good choice; however, Abdul and others became even more real for me when I read about some of her interactions with them, and reading Boo’s questions and interpretations of events helped frame the story for me.

Toward the end of the “Author’s Note,” Boo writes about the callous behavior between neighbors in the slum and says,”What appeared to be indifference to other people’s suffering had little to do with reincarnation, and less to do with being born brutish. I believe it had a good deal to do with conditions that had sabotaged their innate capac-ity for moral action. In places where government priorities and market imperatives create a world so capricious that to help a neighbor is to risk your ability to feed your family, and sometimes even your own liberty, the idea of a mutu-ally supportive poor community is demolished” (254). This insight truly enhanced the narrative, and made me want to hear more from Boo not only as an observer, but also as an interpreter of events.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers does not provide answers or generalizations. It tells a story. I think, though, that is why it is so powerful. It is heartbreaking, but real. It does not read like an oversimplification or stereotyped idea. The people are complex and human. It is a story that will make you think and feel.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo was pub-lished in February 2012

Publisher: Random House

256 Pages

‘Behind the Beautiful Forevers’

by Katherine Boo

story teller

On the Tracks of a Drug Peddler

- by longrangty longchar

per piece?” The women were nervous and refused our price. Another cus-tomer also came into the abandoned compound and bought some more cap-sules, and I clicked some more photo-graphs without his knowledge.

James whispered that we have to move out since the women were saying that there are ULFA cadres in the vicin-ity and that they had heard gunshots. (I strongly suspect now that the ped-dlers thought that we were ULFA cad-res since the women also mentioned something about ULFA in their unintel-ligible dialects and the ULFA was their torment).

We quickly moved to the tracks. We saw two youths at a distance, both of them walking in an inebriated state and one was pouring water on the head of the other. James said that he had been shot by a cadre in the ear, but I could see no blood or tension in the area. An unarmed IRB jawan was seen walking up the tracks, and James told me that the jawan was coming down for inspec-tion. Though it was hard to believe, I had to, this was James’ ‘area’.

As we walked up, we saw a local man wearing black goggles (he had conjunctivitis) trying to make a joint of Brown Sugar. He was unkempt, and I easily got into a friendly conversation with him. He told me that he used to come down everyday, sit there smoking a joint. He said that his car was in the highway and that his children were in hostels. While I surreptitiously tried to take his picture, he shouted in perfect English, “Hi! Are you from the media? If you publish my picture then I will bash you up.” (Those are the kind of threats which I am sure, every media person dreads at first, until it becomes a rou-tine and not-so-spicy part of journal-ism).

“No, I am not from the media,” I lied without compunction. It was a situation where if you chose to be truthful, you invite the possibility of not only getting bashed up, but the chance of killing a good story; so I chose to be more clev-er and tell a lie and finish my job. “I am from the church and we are trying to help out people who are hooked to sub-stance,” I lied again. My friend went for

another shot again; he held the lighted match-stick below the thin aluminum foil which held the Brown Sugar. As the smoke emanated from the heated foil, my goggled friend inhaled it though a pipe in his mouth. He was getting high.

Meanwhile, some of James’ ac-quaintances came on the scene and asked us where we got the substance; James directed them to the old house, which by all means seemed free of any human presence. They went down there and within minutes they came back to the same spot where we were. They hurriedly tried to make a joint of Brown Sugar. Unlike my friend with conjuncti-vitis, these two addicts rolled up their drug in small bidis and smoked them like having Marijuana.

I asked my ‘friend’ with the con-junctivitis how he feels when he inhaled the smoke, and surprisingly he replied that he feels only pain and that the drug gives him only temporary relief. I liked his reply and now acted as if I were re-ally a counselor. I encouraged him not to lose courage saying that God is there for everyone, the Bible verse John 3:16 came to my mind. “See it is said in John 3:16, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (it was only after I reached office and while I recollected the day’s incident that I realized that the Bible verse was miserably misquoted). However, my short counseling surely had little effect on my friend since at one time he said, “You from the church should also buy some brown sugar for us sometimes.” I did not know what to say except than to say that I have no money with me.

Meanwhile, James was jokingly tak-ing some pictures of his acquaintances despite their mild protest (his photo-graph weren’t that good though).

It was time to go, and the story that I would be writing went about my head over and over again, but first I had to talk with the police at the check gate. While we were still on the tracks, I asked James what would happen if his friends knew that we had published their pictures. He replied in the same who-the-cares attitude and said that his friends would never know since they don’t even know what ABC is, for-

get about reading a newspaper.We interviewed one police person-

nel who obligingly disclosed that every day the youths from Dimapur pass through the gate ‘like flocks of birds’ and that the police can do nothing since Lahorijan falls under the jurisdiction of Assam.

The story appeared the next day; I made it into two stories as directed by my Boss. The effect was quite instant; the police at the check gate called me up and demanded that I give a clarifica-tion that the opinions mentioned in the news were the opinions of former per-sonnel at the gate and not the present ones. My Boss would not agree to it, and I told them so. Some appreciation did reach my ears too.

Soon after, James went away and I could not contact him or talk to him for a long time. It was only last Decem-ber I met him in Mokokchung with his little daughter. He was still the same but a little more unkempt. He said that he was returning home after taking his daughter to the dentist. Of course, I had heard that he has two daughters from an earlier marriage, and as I looked at his daughter, I guessed that her mother must be very pretty.

Anyhow, after a very long time since I wrote the story, I took an intern (who came to work in The Morung Express and who had expressed an interested in crime reporting) to the same place. While I narrated the incident to her, I casually asked one non-local bystander on the tracks for SP capsules. “We don’t sell such things here,” he said and hur-ried off.

Still undeterred, I asked another woman where we could find Brown Sugar. The woman said that such sub-stances are not sold in the area now and warned that if we go about asking such thing in the area then we would be bashed up. It was only after some-time that we learnt from one Assamese Policeman patrolling in the area (who noted down our identification in a note-book) that the Khatkati Police Station personnel had cracked down on the drug peddlers and that the area was now clean of illicit drug trafficking and peddling. It was encouraging news and as I listened to the chugging of a train in the distance, I felt happy that it was now moving on ‘clean’ tracks.

Concluded

Through this page, Eastern Mirror aims to provide a platform for Naga writers

to exhibit as well as hone their writing skills. Let the readers be provoked

through your art of story telling. Interested writers can send their

materials to easternmirrorplus@gmail.com

...continued from previos issue

“So, do you still do it these days?” It was rather a statement than a question and I waited for hist reply.

“No,” he said, “Otherwise I won’t be bringing you here. I’ve given up drugs and such kind of activities three years back.” I looked into his eyes, it was convincing and somehow I felt safe that I could go back to the tracks and take more photo-graphs with more confidence. He talked for about half an hour and I listened, sur-prisingly without feeling bored. His light brown eyes gleamed with a certain mis-chief while he narrated in his thin high-pitched soprano voice about the route of the drugs (I ignored them as fast as I could since my mind was occupied with what I should try to find out in the tracks and also his words were not official and therefore unreliable). He was somewhat a good looking guy with four-day old stub-ble on his chin and finely combed hair. He was wearing a fine formal shirt and pants and he looked like an academician and I, his chauffeur. It was time to go back now. My mind more focused now.

To my utter disappointment, the tracks which were earlier full of people, was deserted except for one or two peo-ple squatting on the sides near a house fence. We walked on, and James took me to one house, it was half burnt and he said that it was the house where the old man (his friend) lived. James said that the house was burnt down by the cadres of ULFA who had evicted the peddler a few years back. There was one person (I cannot remember whether it was a man or woman) from whom James enquired about the old man saying that they knew each other very well. Suddenly out of no-where, two or three Bengali women came to the house with a lot of SP capsules. One was even carrying a child. James asked me to take his photograph while he tried to bargain with the peddlers.

“What? 35 Rupees? We used to buy it for Rs 25,” I heard him saying.

“Hoi, hoilebi aji kali daam uthisheto (yes, but prices have risen these days),” the peddler reasoned. During that inter-action, I clicked as many photographs as possible (I put the camera on No Flash mode). At one point, one woman asked James whether I was taking photographs, so to put her off, I put the camera to my ears and acted as if I was talking on the phone. Taking the cue, James said that I was talking on the phone, and I corrobo-rated him and said that it was an N93 cell phone.

“Boss! They are charging Rs 35. What shall we do?” I talked into the camera (its slimness and the short lens did help a lot). “Look here,” said James to the peddler, “unlike others we are not going to buy in tens or twenties, but in terms of hun-dreds, so tell me, will you give for Rs 20

Bli

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arry

Blis

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mirror time passAcross5. A language of Palestine during the

life of Christ8. Ark builder9. Eight people were saved from a

flood in one of these10. The person whom Paul called “my

true child in faith”12. Lenient or compassionate treatment14. The Jordan is one of these17. Jesus told a parable about ten fool-

ish virgins who did not have enough of this for their lamps

19. Egypt’s most-famous river21. David once hid from King Saul in

one of these24. The name of the queen whom

Esther replaced25. The “Great Dragon” of the Book of

Revelation26. Abraham placed his son Isaac on

one of these to offer him to God27. He sold his birthright to his brother

Jacob28. Wicked husband of Abigail who

refused to help David and his men30. Ephesians 4:4 tells us that there is

just one ___ (church)31. Some of these were considered by

the Jews to be unclean34. Wood used to build the ark of the

covenant36. Captain of King Saul’s army37. You are not to muzzle me when I

work38. Rachel’s sister39. Aaron’s ___ budded

Down1. A man by the name of Asaph wrote

many of these2. The occupation of one of the two

men who were in prison with Joseph3. In John 17, Jesus prayed for this to

prevail among His followers4. The Old ___ was nailed to Christ’s

cross6. Christians wear this spiritual gar-

ment for protection against the devil7. Book in the New Testament that

records the beginning of the church11. Roman official who sentenced Christ

to die on the cross13. Another word for “the skull,” desig-

nating where Christ was crucified14. The ____ man and Lazarus15. On the last day, when the Lord

returns, every ___ will see Him

16. Elijah stopped this from falling from the sky

18. Joseph, as a boy, was thrown into this by his older brothers

20. “He who has an ____ to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

22. James 1:27 admon-ishes Christians to “___ the fatherless and widows”

23. John the immerser once said upon see-ing Jesus, “Behold, the ___ of God”

25. During one O.T. battle, God caused this to stay in the sky longer than normal

29. The first man

31. The mother of Jesus

32. He was mur-dered by his brother Cain

33. Abraham’s wife35. A “god” made

by men’s

hands36. Tool used to

chop down trees; the prophet Elisha caused the head of one to float on water

Answer in next issue of mirror Plus lAsT week’s Answers

shopping AT The MAll

STORESmALLSALE

GALLERIACLOTHESJEWELRY

BOuTIquEKIOSK

ESCALATORSHOPPING

BAGSfOuNTAIN

fOOD COuRTBOOKSTORE

BARGAINRESTAuRANT

WALKINGPEOPLE WATCHING

fASHIONPRICES

RETAILERGIfT CERTIfICATE

PARKINGOuTLET

Trivia: According to the Guinness Book of World records, this department store, located in herald square, new York, is the biggest department store in the world.

Answer: __________________________________

To answer the trivia question, look for a word or phrase that is hidden in the puzzle, but not in the word list.

comic fun

... that crazy beat! “I’ve seen better metaphors in my litter box.”

BOOK REVIEW

Mirror Plus 3Eastern Mirror | dimapursaturday | december 29 | 2012

• Pheochromocytoma (an adrenaline secreting tumour of the adrenal gland)

In humans, high blood pressure is fre-quently considered “primary” meaning there is no underlying disease causing it. In animals, primary hypertension is unusual; there almost always is an-other disease causing it and if routine screening does not identify the prob-lem, more tests may be in order.hOW iS hiGh BlOOD PreSSure iDentifieD?In human medicine, high blood pres-sure is called “the silent killer” because most people have no reason to think they might be hypertensive. To find high blood pressure in people, we screen for it. This means that virtually any time you see a doctor of any kind, a nurse will take your blood pressure. Similarly, in pets, a great deal of high blood pressure is identified by screen-ing for it. If a pet has one of the above diseases conditions, blood pressure is generally checked. It has recently been recommended that older pets have their blood pressure checked when-ever they have a physical examination. There is some disagreement among experts as to which patients should be screened. Because of inherent inac-curacy in the equipment commonly used in veterinary practice, not every pet should be screened. Certainly, any pet with a predisposing condition such as one of those listed above should be screened. Ask your veterinarian if your senior pet should get a blood pressure measurement.

The other time high blood pressure

is discovered is when it makes its pres-ence known. This usually means some degree of blindness or some other obvious eye problem. The retina of a hypertensive patient develops tortu-ous looking retinal blood vessels. Some vessels may even have broken showing smudges of blood on the retinal sur-face. Some areas of the retina simply detach. Sometimes the entire retina detaches. With early identification, some vision may be restored. Do not let minor vision changes go unreport-ed. let your veterinarian know if you think your pet’s vision is not normal.What treatMent iS availaBle fOr hyPertenSiOn?When ocular disease is present, special eye drops may be required depending on how much bleeding is present in the eye and whether or not return of vision is likely.

When hypertension is identified, a search for the underlying cause is indicated. It may be that controlling the underlying disease totally reverses the hypertension. (especially true for hyperthyroid cats).

Beyond these methods, as with people, medication to actually lower blood pressure is often in order. This typically involves some type of pill that dilates peripheral blood vessels, effectively making them larger so as to accommodate the high pressure blood flow going through them.

(Dr Michael Imti Imchen can be contacted for pet and animal care related queries and

concerns at mikeimchen@yahoo.co.inMobile-09436072892)

High blood pressure is an extremely important concern in human medi-cine. High stress lifestyle, smoking, and high salt

diet all contribute to this potentially dangerous condition and virtually everyone knows how serious it can be. But what about our pets? They don’t smoke or worry about the mortgage and they don’t deposit cholesterol in their blood vessels. They do, however, get high blood pressure especially in age and here is what you probably should know.What DOeS hiGh BlOOD PreS-Sure DO?Problems from high blood pressure arise when a blood vessel gets too small for the high pressure flow going through it. Imagine attaching a gar-den hose to a fire hydrant. The pres-sure would cause the garden hose to explode and that is what happens to a blood vessel too small for the pressure going through it. Instead of water go-ing everywhere, as in the garden hose analogy, bleeding results. Since the affected vessels are small, the bleed-ing may not be noticeable but a lot of little bleeds and a lot of blood vessel destruction can create big problems over time.

The retina of the eye is especially at risk, with blindness (either sudden or gradual) often being the first sign of latent high blood pressure. The kid-ney also is a target as it relies on tiny vessels to filter toxins from the blood-stream. Kidney disease is an important cause of high blood pressure and also

progresses far more rapidly in the pres-ence of high blood pressure.High blood pressure also increases the risk of “embolism:” the formation of tiny blood clots that form when blood flow is abnormal. These clots can lodge in an assortment of inopportune loca-tions including the brain.What CauSeS hiGh BlOOD PreS-Sure in PetS?There are numerous diseases in pets that are associated with high blood pressure:• Chronic renal failure - In one

study, 93% of dogs with chronic renal failure and 61% of cats with chronic renal failure also had sys-temic hypertension. More recent studies suggest this may be an over-estimation but the percentages are still significant.

• hyperthyroidism - In one study, 87% of cats with untreated hyper-thyroidism had systemic hyperten-sion. (Note: hyperthyroidism is a fe-line disease; dogs are not affected.)

• Glomerular Disease (a disease of the kidney filtration system)

Whereby protein is lost in urine. It is important to screen pets with high blood pressure for urinary protein as control of protein loss is impor-tant to survival time.

• Cushing’s Disease (an adrenal corti-sone excess)

• Diabetes Mellitus (inability to prop-erly reduce blood sugar)

• acromegaly (growth hormone ex-cess)

• Polycythemia (an excess in red blood cells)

Dear inquisitive, animated young collegians. We dedicate this space for you, young minds to share thoughts and outlook on life on campus. Be it about your education, studies, love, life, sports, about teachers, your angst, heartbeats or even a poem or a footnote you scribbled during a boring lecture in the classroom…share. Also get to know what your friends in different colleges across the State experience and create a vibe. Or simply dedicate your fond thoughts of that someone, somewhere through this page! E-mail us at easternmirrorplus@gmail.com

campus Beat

Pass rates for the national eligibility test are rising, but how good is the test in itself, ask professors.

Hundreds of candidates, who took the National Eligibility Test (NET) in a city recently, are eagerly anticipating its results, which are due on Friday.

Over the last few years, the number of persons clearing the NET has in-creased, but the performance of Tamil Nadu has been dismal with less than four per cent of the candidates making it through the test.

The NET, conducted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) determines eligibility to the post of lecturer in colleges across the country. It is also taken into consideration in the awarding of junior research fellowships, and is meant to ensure minimum standards for the entrants into the teaching profession and in research. It is conducted in June and December every year, and is notoriously hard to clear.

Recently, there have been reports of the UGC withdrawing its decision to increase the cut-off marks to pass the NET, following a recent Supreme Court order. This has increased the hopes of many candidates who have been taking NET for several years now. Professors however say this decision will only dilute the quality of the test further.

Senthil Kumar, president, NET/ State-level Eligibility Test (SLET) association said “We are doubtful about these reports, as this is a vacation period for the Court. There is no report of such a ruling in the Supreme Court’s website,” he said.

The association is planning to file a petition in the apex court to challenging the exist-ing pattern of the NET.

Recently, the UGC increased the eligibility score by 15 per cent without any notice to aspirants.

For the first time in June this year, NET was conducted in an objective mode in two ses-sions. The candidates learnt about the changes only when the UGC announced it after the results were announced in September.

The candidates blamed the UGC for coming out with a last-minute specification that an aggregate of 65 per cent in three papers was necessary to qualify, for general category candidates. The qualifying minimum was fixed at 60 and 55 per cent for OBC and SC/ST/visually challenged/physically challenged categories. The pattern also evoked strong opposi-tion from college professors.

“It was no different from other competitive exams. It demonstrated the non-application of the mind of UGC, because for most of the subjects, the syllabus for paper 2 and paper 3 is the same. When UGC converted the test’s format from descriptive to objective, they did not even think about changing the syllabus, said S. Swaminathan, a senior professor.

It was now very clear that there was a deliberate effort to manipulate the test’s results and increase them, said N. Sailapathy, another professor.

“The UGC always claimed that it would evaluate the objective exam papers (paper 1 and paper 2) electronically, and only those who pass the cut-off in this evaluation, will have their subjective paper (paper 3) evaluated by experts. Paper 3 usually decides the overall rank. Recently, many attempts have been made to deliberately increase the passing criteria, which will only discourage meritorious aspirants. The NET/ SLET association has appealed to the UGC to follow the same guidelines as in the UGC CSIR examination, which follows negative marking system in order to avoid passing the exam by means of luck. But UGC does not take this into account when converting the examination from descriptive to objec-tive,” Prof. Sailapathy said.

“However, the UGC has not listened to our appeal. What we are worried about is the number of attempts made to dilute the exam in every possible way. The pass statistics of the last few years clearly show this trend,” added Mr. Senthil Kumar.

Sourced from the Internet

Is the NET failing our education system?

T he word depressed in common usage means sad, rusted, fed up, bored up and pessimistic. The mood of a depressed person is much lower at his or her best moments than the mood of the normal person is much lower at his or her best moments than the mood of

the normal person at his or her worst. Depression is a state of mind. It is specially a mental disorder characterized by a lowering of the individual’s vitality, his mood, desires, hopes, aspirations and of his self-esteem.

Depression arising out of environmental factors is called reac-tive depression whereas depression arising out of some biochemical changes in the brain is called endogenous depression. If depression is mild or moderate and if the individual is in touch with his sur-roundings, it is known as neurotic depression. If the individual is severely disturbed and is not able to comprehend what is happen-ing around, such a state is called psychotic depression.

Old age is one of the stages of human development, where a person attains wisdom, maturity, social and economic stability with social recognition and emotional fulfillment. Generally, societies show a great respect and consideration for the aged. In ancient times old people were considered as the guiding stars in Indian families, since they were symbols of tradition, respect, wisdom and experience. In primitive, ancient and medieval cultures, old persons had a recognized social role. They were of great value because they could impart knowledge and skill to youngsters. The old people were considered as repositories of wisdom and traditions and were not perceived as problems.

At present, social structures and values are undergoing trans-formation from traditional to modern. There is a rapid stride in urbanization and industrializations leading to the breaking up of joint families and property. This has ultimately weakened the tra-ditional families, social position and status of the aged in the aged in the family. from time to time changes in the instructions of mar-riage and family have diminished the control of parents over their children. It has increased the freedom of children and they view

the aged as a useless and non-productive entity. modernization has eventually led to the degradation of their status and authority. Consequently the integrity of the family are being uprooted. The importance of their functional positions thus declines and conse-quently their authority and much of the respect and prestige that they enjoyed earlier get faded. These changes generally bring about depression in older people.

As old age advances events at home may also contribute more to their problems. The “empty nest” feeling arising as a result of the grown up children leaving the home, daughters departing as a result of wedlock and sons leaving station in pursuit of higher education or jobs may make the aged more lonely. The loneliness also arises because of premature loss of spouse. This would deprive the person of a long standing emotional bond that had provided plenty of emotional succor and security. The loss wherever it might occur in the later years leaves the individual terribly lonely and at the mercy of the daughters-in-law. Added to these the increas-ing gap and interactional stress and strain in the family may leave the elderly without peace of mind. The elderly as a result of these developments feel marginalized, alienated and left out of the main stream. The foregoing are the common problems faced by most of the elderly. These either directly or indirectly lead to a state of depression and make ageing for many an unwanted and unpleasant event to be abhorred.

usually, the mild depression which is caused due to environ-ment factors is temporary. The person reconciles within a short time and tries to forget the loss. Kind words and timely support of friends, relatives and family members help one recover from depres-sion.

Thank You

Yours TrulymANN VAm DE1st the invaders

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This Zephyr…

Peeling off a looped grey cashmere scarf and tightly fitting blackroll neck, Gok Wan logs the details of his fifth outfit of the day on his computer.

He then takes out another ensemble from his colour coordinated wardrobe, ready for morning. Tomorrow’s dark grey sheer-knit sweater and black skinny jeans have been selected to match his black Mercedes convertible he wears mostly dark colours for this reason. Such was the routine for 38-year-old Gok as he battled with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Until a special lady came into his life – his French bulldog, Dolly Albertine Dishcloth.

Dolly is the unlikely saviour of the style guru, who believes she has helped cure his addiction to order by messing up his plush apartment.

“She’s changed my life,” he says, proudly. “I’ve learnt to relax.”Dolly has really helped me it’s amaz-ing what she can do. “Now there’s dog hair every-where. I could never have done it years ago; it just wouldn’t have been an option.”

Previously, his disorder was not just a fashion fetish which saw him constantly changing outfits, it also prevented him letting friends visit him in his own home.

Leicester-born Gok says: “I suffered quite severely with it when I was younger. “It was a labour of love, because even though I hated it, I sort of enjoyed being OCD. “Hygiene was a massive problem. It was difficult to have people round because of causing mess, sitting on the sofa and stuff like that.

Born to English mother Myra, and Chinese father, chef John Tung Shing, Gok has previously credited an eagerness to provide for his parents as a driving force behind his ambitious nature. The couple helped him through his struggle with obesity as a teenager, when Gok ballooned to 21 stone.

Meanwhile as thanks Gok Wan treats his pooch to epic levels of pampering. He says: “She’s literally the most spoilt canine in the world.

“She’s got a doggy passport, a doggy wardrobe and more toys than I ever could imagine. “Where I live, there is a dog boutique – every time I go for a walk I lose a few hundred quid.”

The 37-year-old actress wed Ned RocknRoll in a private cer-emony in New

York earlier this week, and the newlyweds will celebrate their union with the extraordinary two-hour flight into orbit courtesy of Ned’s uncle, Sir Richard Branson, according to The Sun newspaper.

Ned, 34, works part-time for Richard’s space flights venture, Virgin Galactic, which aims to offer commercial flights above Earth’s atmosphere from next year, and suggested the gift to the billionaire tycoon, who offered a trip to his nephew and his new bride for free. Tickets for the space journey cost a whop-ping £124,000, and have been snapped up already by the likes of actor Ashton Kutcher and comedian Russell Brand.

The couple will fly a dizzying 60 miles above the planet, where they will experience weight-

lessness and see the Earth’s curve. Kate has previously expressed her desire of an astronomi-cal trip. Richard revealed in September: “She wants to go into space. I’m not sure she wants to go on a one-way trip to Mars, but she wants to go into space.”

Kate - who has daughter Mia, 12, with first husband Jim Threapleton and son Joe, nine, with second spouse Sam Mendes - met Ned in August 2011 while on holiday in Necker Island which is owned by Richard. The actress saved Richard’s 90-year-old mother, guiding her to safety after her home was struck by lightning. Kate and Ned exchanged £250,000 wed-ding rings in an intimate ceremony, but will invite all of their family and friends to celebrate with them in Necker Island next year.

A source said: “They’re having a belated celebration so everyone’s really happy and excited for them.”

While the rock superstar admits he thinks about retiring every year, he just can’t resist the high of performing in front of a

crowd.The 50-year-old Living on a Prayer

hitmaker is set to play Slane Castle next summer with his Bon Jovi bandmates and it is in no way a farewell tour.

Speaking about his love of touring and performing live, Jon said: ‘’I can’t see in front of this tour. It’d be looking at my dad and saying, ‘You’re going on tour.’ But then who’d have thought I’d be 50 and in my prime.

“I lie down every year and I think I’m going to start slowing down, but I can’t help myself, so we just go with it. We’re lucky we’ve got all generations, we’ve got kids to teenagers to people in their 60s!

“That’s what I always hoped to do, like the Rolling Stones.’’

Jon says the reason he and his band-mates are still successful is because they respect their fans and always give them a show to remember.

He said: ‘’The secret of our success is hard work, good luck and being true, and we never disappoint live so that people will come back. They know they’ll get their money’s worth. We won’t play for 40 minutes then throw a tantrum!’’

A source close to the 50-year-old actor told People.com, “He’s sin-gle and will be talking to women, all of whom

he won’t be instantly dating.”The insider also played down

reports last week that he was romancing Cynthia Jorge, a 26-year-old manager of the Lower East Side restaurant Beauty & Essex, after they were spotted dancing together at New York nightclub Le Baron.

A source said, “Cynthia told me they went out for drinks and

it was nothing, but a casual night out. She said he’s a nice guy.”

Friends close to the beautiful restauranteur also told the New York Post newspaper that she was simply “showing Tom some of the city’s hotspots” and that she and Tom are “just friends”.

Earlier this month, reports indicated Tom was dating Jenni-fer Akerman, whose sister is his Rock Of Ages co-star Malin Aker-man, after they were spotted chatting at a party in Stockholm and were even thought to have left together.

A source previously said, “They already knew of each oth-er from Malin being in Rock Of Ages, so they didn’t need much of an introduction. Even though Tom was working the room, once they got chatting they were locked in. They seemed very natural in each other’s company for most of the night and at the afterparty at the Rose club. Then all of a sudden they were gone...”

He was also spotted out with a mystery brunette earlier this month.

The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star chose a section of Little Hall’s Pond in the Bahamas to

be named in honour of his new girlfriend - who he has dated since splitting from Vanessa Paradis after 14 years in June - as a Christ-mas present.

A source told: ‘Johnny knows about romance after

having been with a French woman all those years.

‘He is now spending time with Amber in the Bahamas and presented her with her own beach as a Christmas gift.’

Johnny, 49, is said to have named the beach Am-ber’s Cove after noticing it looked like her hip when viewed on a map.

The pair are said to

have initially got together this summer after meeting on the set of 2011 film ‘The Rum Diary’.

However, Amber, 26, initially ended their ro-mance after deciding she wanted to be single, but Johnny decided not to give up on the actress and sent her a personally-penned poem and a bouquet of roses every day throughout September to convince her to give him another chance. His plan eventually worked and she flew out to the Bahamas.

A source said at the time: ‘Johnny didn’t give up - he missed her so much over the summer. They both love literature and the way he tried to win her back totally worked.

‘Once they flew for a romantic break, they were back on as a couple. Johnny’s the type to fall hard and he’s vowed not to let a girl like Amber, who’s beautiful and intelligent, slip through his fingers.’

“Every moth-er should teach her son to respect

every girl. That is where it (the change) will start. If he says something (wrong) about a girl, then she should slap him. Then we will learn,” the 36-year-old said on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai.

“ think women can protect women in the future, the greatest service by instilling in their children, brothers and husbands, the right values for women. Respect for women is not an

option, it is a necessity,”he added. He was speaking in connection with the brutal gang-rape of a Delhi girl on December 16, who is now fighting for life in a Singa-pore hospital. The case has led to a large number of pro-tests countrywide demand-ing strict actions.

Vivek is worried that public rage and excitement fizzles out too soon. So, he says the need of the hour is a channelised way of agita-tion.

“here is a larger issue at hand and, unfortunately, we Indians have a short-term memory problem. We

get very excited, take out candlelight vigils and in the end we forget,” Vivek said.

Meanwhile, Hollywood actress Naomi Watts has written an appreciation let-ter to Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi for his contribution towards rehabilitating Tsu-nami hit families in Indian sub-continent.

Vivek had adopted a vil-lage in Tamil Nadu named Thevanapattinam in 2004. Watts, who portrays the role of a Tsunami survivor in her latest film The Impossible, was deeply moved when she heard about Vivek’s involve-ment in providing welfare

for these families.In the letter, Watts wrote,

“Words really fail to express how touched I am to see the work you have done for the rehabilitation of the Tsunami-hit families in The-vanapattinam, Tamil Nadu. It takes a lot of courage and immense devotion to be able to take up such a responsi-bility on one’s shoulders.

“As a celebrity it is important for us to realize that we can act as catalysts for change but unfortunately few take any real measures. Your effort to bridge this gap deserves appreciation from all quarters,” Watts said.

Mirror wEEk-EntCMYK

CMYK

4 Eastern Mirror | dimapursaturday | december 29 | 2012

Mirror Plus, the Eastern Mirror weekend supplement Sub-Editors: Imti Longchar; Vishü Rita Krocha; Layout Designer: Viketu Atubu Liegise

E-MAIL: easternmirrorplus@gmail.com Ph NoS: KohIMA 0370-2291977 DIMAPuR 03862-246001

Gok Wan on how a pet

changed his life

Kate Winslet’s husband gifts

her trip to space

Jon Bon Jovi nowhere near retiring

Depp names beach after girlfriend

Tom Cruise not yetready to settle down again

Women can help protect women: Vivek Oberoi

His condition forced him to select around 20 outfits every Sunday for the week ahead and some days he changed clothes five times

Kate Winslet’s new husband has given her a trip to space as a wedding gift.

The Jack Reacher star, who split from Katie Hol-mes (33) in June after six years of marriage with whom he shares a daughter Suri (6), has been spotted chatting up multiple women in recent weeks, but sources close to the actor insist he is still single and has no plans to make any of them his girlfriend anytime soon.

Johnny Depp has reportedly named a beach on his private island after Amber Heard.

Actor Vivek Oberoi believes that crimes against women can only stop when women start to sensi-tise the men in their family towards the opposite sex.

em images/vishü rita krocha

Special songs being presented during the golden jubilee celebration of the Mima Students’ Union at Mima Village on Thursday.