YYEEAARR--EENNDD SSPPEECCIIAALL EEDDIITTIIOONN SINCE 2007 | NOT FOR SALEVOL 2 | ISSUE NO. 7 | DECEMBER 23, 2016

TM

INNOVATION LAB TAKES OFF

We’re very proud to be the first school to have been selected for this inspiring mission aimed atspreading Guru Kalam’s work. -- Fr Scaria Ethirett CMI, Principal, Placid Vidya Vihar

By Anupama Jaiswal

NNovemberhas alwaysbeen a

very special monthfor Team BillionBeats. It was inNovember 2007 inKarimnagar, GuruKalam launched

this e-initiative to inspire the studentcommunity and capture success sto-ries of unsung heroes. And, inNovember 2015, we relaunched BillionBeats in the presence of House ofKalam members in Chennai. Again, it’s just a rare coincidence thatthe Billion Beats Innovation Lab (BBIL)was born in Kerala on November 15this year. For Team Billion Beats, it was probablyone of the most inspiring events of theyear, when around 1,500 students ofPlacid Vidya Vihar Senior SecondarySchool in Changanassery, Kerala,joined the celebrations. Placid becamethe first educational institution to be

enrolled for BBIL. Mission BBIL is a joint initiative ofInspired Indian Foundation (IIF),Bengaluru, and Dr A P J Abdul KalamFoundation (AKIF), Rameswaram.Fr Scaria Ethirett CMI, Principal,Placid Vidya Vihar SeniorSecondary School,deserves credit as hepresented an eventthat stuck to sim-plicity and zerofanfare. Theschool honouredsome of itsunsung heroes onthe occasion.Exactly what GuruKalam wanted!“We’re very proud to bethe first school to have beenselected for this inspiring missionaimed at spreading Guru Kalam’swork. Students of Placid are lucky toget such a rare opportunity,” says FrScaria Ethirett CMI, Principal, PlacidVidya Vihar.

The event turned out to be a hugesuccess, thanks to the eye for detailFr Scaria had right from the word go.Students came to the venue holdingplacards with motivational messages.The proceedings began with students

planting the Guru KalamGyan Vriksha.

Guest speaker andBillion Beats EditorAnantha KrishnanM soon took theaudience on aspecial flightonboard histopic: An Ideacalled India.

“It was truly aunique experience for

students. They havenever heard something like

this. It was inspiring,” says TintuSebastian, PG Teacher, English,Placid.The special Children’s Day issue ofBillion Beats was released by DeviUnni Maya, a budding dancer of the

school. She is the recipient of theYouth Icon Award 2016, instituted byAKIF and IIF.The speaker ensured that every ques-tion was answered. Books on GuruKalam were gifted to students whoasked questions. Towards the end,tiny-tots from the kindergarten sec-tion put up some spirited perform-ances on national integration.

Expanding horizonsCome 2017, we are taking MissionBBIL to more schools across India.Schools keen on getting enrolled mayemail us (billionbeats@gmail.com).Billion Beats will soon have a dedi-cated website so that you can find allactivities of e-mission of Guru Kalamunder one roof. Regular updates willcontinue on our Facebook page andon IIF website.It has been a great year with BillionBeats spreading its wing. Wishingyou all an inspiring Year 2017! bb

�The writer is the National StudentCoordinator for Billion Beats.

billion beats is an e-paper published by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam International Foundation headquartered in Rameswaram. It is edited, designed and uplinked by a team from Inspired Indian Foundation (www.inspiredindianfoundation.org), Bengaluru. billion beats will hit the web every month and you are free to use thecontent by giving due credit to the publication. THE TEAM | Mentor: A P J M Maraikayar | Editorial Advisors from House of Kalam: Dr Naseema Maraikayar, A P J M Jainullabudeen, G K Moinudeen, A P J M J Sheik Saleem, A P J M J Sheik Dawood, A P J M S Nagoor Roja | Editor: Dr Anantha Krishnan M |

National Coordinator (IIF): Sindhu A | National Student Coordinator (Billion Beats): Anupama Jaiswal | Desk: Anil R. Nair, Vyasa | Design: Anup | Email: billionbeats@gmail.com | Twitter: @HouseOfKalam | FB: https://www.facebook.com/BillionBeatsOfficial/ | Phone: +91 77080 04744

2 DEC 23, 2016 ‘ Man needs his difficulties because they arenecessary to enjoy success. -- Guru Kalam

By Parimala Hariprasad

AAmer i c a nm e r i c a na u t h o rSeth Godin

once wrote,“Emotional labouris the hard work ofmaking art, pro-ducing generosityand exposing cre-

ativity. Working without a mapinvolves both vision and the willing-ness to do something about what yousee.” In the recent past, I metPerianna who expends emotionallabour at work. Perianna known as Thaatha is a

daily wager from Tirupattur. Hiswork has taken him to different partsof Tamil Nadu in the past. This timearound, work brought him toBengaluru, thanks to his contractor’snew work deal. My children and I feltgifted to have talks with him duringour evening walk.Perianna is very cheerful. There’s

not a single day when you won’t spothis smile. At first, you’ll wonderwhat work he can do in his early 60s.However, you’ll be amazed at thekind of hard work he does, and insome sense, hard workouts too!Perianna leaves his family behind

in Tirupattur while work takes him toplaces. He says he can’t afford tomove them around. He visits themonce in six weeks or so. In the current

place where he works, the houseowner requested him to stay back atthe site for a few weeks to guard theconstruction materials during nights.Without a second thought, he agreed. Perianna puts in a lot of hard work

during the day, but is not required todo anything during the nights. Yet,he wakes up at 4.30am, preparesbreakfast and then waters the thickconcrete walls of the building. Thiswas never part of his work, yet hedoes it with happiness. Over next fewdays of working at the new place, hestarted to do other extra tasks likeclearing sand/stones on the road toprevent riders/drivers from slipping,watching over steel material amongother things. I asked him, “Do youknow you won’t be paid extra forthis?” “Money can’t buy happiness.” Pat

comes reply. Perianna appears equally at ease

and jovial, be it with his peers, oldpeople or children. He inspires a lotof us, by his mere presence. ForPerianna, work is an emotionalinvestment. He believes in being fullypresent in the NOW and living life tothe fullest, RIGHT NOW.More power to people like Perianna

who go that extra mile to brighten upthe world. bb

HIS LIFE IS HIS MESSAGE

TTeeaamm BBiilllliioonn BBeeaattss wwiisshheess aallll rreeaaddeerrss aa vveerryy iinnssppiirriinngg NNeeww YYeeaarr..

Scope of NanotechnologyBy Gulaam Khwaja Moinudeen

Nanote-chnol-o g y

caught theimaginationof worldnations in late1990s. As thepromise was

high, USA announced a NationalNanotechnology Initiative in2000 with huge funds, which wasfollowed by other nations byinvesting substantial funds. As aresult, today, many noteworthyproducts have hit the market.Always termed as enabling

technology, nanotechnology hasentered many fields. Some excel-lent examples include nano prop-erties of silver and gold used forvarious applications. One suchexample is solar cells, which areenergy intensive and costly butcan be made cheaper and faster byprinting semiconductor nanopar-ticle solar cells. Nano paints andcorrosion resistant coatings aregaining momentum. An Indiancompany has been successful incommercializing nano paints andthey had success abroad as well.Scientists believe that the next

required breakthrough is in bat-tery technology. There has beensome success with replacing nor-mal electrode in lithium ion bat-tery with nanomaterials. Thoughwe have good research happen-ing in India, commercialization ofnanotechnology in the country isyet to pick up. We may have towait more to see if this technolo-gy is groundbreaking as prom-ised 15 years ago. bb

� The writer is grand nephew of GuruKalam and a trustee of Dr APJ Abdul

Kalam International Foundation.

TECH TRENDS

Emotional labor isthe hard work ofmaking art,

producing generosity,and exposing

creativity. Workingwithout a map

involves both visionand the willingness todo something about

what you see.– Seth Godin

By Harshitha Hariprasad

I’m an Indian and I love my country.However, there are things I do notlike about my country. For example, 1. We throw a lot of garbage in our

surroundings2. We use plastic bags adding

non-biodegradable waste to our envi-ronment3. We have too few trees, yet we

are cutting down many of them and not planting new ones4. There is a lot of pollution, the main ones being air and

water pollutionThese problems worry me as an Indian. But, I still love my

country and would like to do my bit along with my family andfriends. GGaarrbbaaggee CClleeaanniinngg DDrriivvee:: Some people say, ‘Cleanlinessbegins at home.’ I do my bit by keeping my room and myhouse clean. I throw litter in dustbins. Wet waste goes to wettrash bin and dry waste goes to the regular trash bin. If I findany waste paper, leaves from trees or dust, I take a broom and

sweep it off, to keep my house clean. Many local corporationshave now set up garbage clearing committees in urban andrural areas. As responsible citizens, we can deposit garbagein collection trucks, instead of throwing them on the roadside.People who throw garbage on roadsides and in others’ build-ings must be punished by people in that area and also by law.AAvvooiidd PPllaassttiicc BBaaggss:: The government has done its bit by ban-ning plastic bags. It’s now our turn to help make the city plas-tic-free. Everyone in my family carries one cloth bag each inhandbag/ schoolbag/office bag. When we buy something, weuse cloth bag. Cloth bags are a one-time investment; they lastlong and are easily reusable. This way, plastic bags can bereduced in usage and slowly, we can get rid of them com-pletely. Paper bags are also better, but paper again, comesfrom cutting tree, so that is not good. Cloth bags are a goodoption. Please encourage your friends and family to use clothbags for shopping.PPllaannttiinngg TTrreeeess:: My mother used to say that Bengaluru wasknown as Garden City. Today, there is so much garbage thatsome people say that it has become a Garbage City. It is a

shame that the place we live gives us so much, yet we don’tprotect it. Trees inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen which is

needed for human beings. Today, many trees are cut down tobuild more apartments and office complexes. So, there are afew trees that can take away carbon dioxide from our sur-roundings. This leads to air pollution. New Delhi, the capital ofIndia, is already suffering from air pollution as the governmentand people there failed to pay attention to planting saplings.One small way to start is to have a tiny garden in your house,

where you can grow plants, flowers or vegetables. This can beused for cooking or puja at home. I help my grandmother in hergardening work. She grows brinjal, coriander, greens, curryleaves and tulsi. We use tulsi as a medicinal herb when my sis-ter and I catch cold. Big things do not have to be done by big people alone. It can

be done by kids like us too. We can start in a small way withhelp from our parents and then help others do it as well.Mera Bharat Mahan! bb

DOODLE DELIGHT AJ

INDIA OF MY DREAMS

DDeeaarr SSoollddiieerr,,

You probablydon't knowme, and nei-

ther do I knowyou. And yet, you,my brother, sacri-fice so much forour well being. Wemay never evenmeet, so, I'd liketo take this oppor-

tunity to express my gratitude for yourselfless service and bravery.

We, the citizens of India, never paid forthe freedom we so enjoy, because youalready paid for it. Your families deservethe highest regards and respect. We aremighty proud of you!This is the least I could do for you, as

a student. So, my dear soldier, we, 1.2billion Indians are standing behind youthrough thick and thin.जय हिंद!! जय हिंद की सेना!!More Power to You! bb

� The writer is second year ComputerTechnology engineering student with

Yeshwantrao Chavan College ofEngineering, Nagpur.

LETTER TO SOLDIER

AAddiittii PPaattwwaarrddhhaann

UNSUNG HEROES

� The writer is an IT professional,and Volunteer-Cum-Programme

Coordinator for IIF.

� The writer is 5th standard student withAir Force School ASTE, Bangalore