Reflections Newsletter Jan 2014

Reflections Jan 2014

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Volume 2

Reflections Area 33

November 2013

Issue 1 Desert Divas’ Desert Divas’

ReflectionsReflections

C l u b N o : 0 3 37 3 3 92

A re a 3 3 D i v i s i o n J

D i s t r i c t 2 0

Volume 2

January 2014


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Volume 2

Projects, competitions, exams and vacations ! A newsletter in the midst of

it all ? What can I say, the platter is brimming, threatening to overflow.

Apologies dear readers for a delay in the second issue itself. If you recall

I did mention in the last issue that we Divas are enthusiastically moving

forward, but on feet that are still a trifle unsteady.

As we continue on our journey of “Reflections” you are sure to catch

glimpses of our little triumphs, the first being our victory at the inter-club

debate competition held last December at the Skyline College Sharjah.

With the euphoria of our first ever win still in our hearts we are eagerly

participating in the club contests that have just begun.

Taking into account some valuable suggestions received, we have incorpo-

rated a few changes in the content of “Reflections”. This issue includes a

couple of articles meant exclusively for those aspiring to nurture their

speaking skills to become effective toastmasters.

“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling

to learn”, said Benjamin Franklin.

Desert Divas’ are willing learners but we need your suggestions, com-

ments and reviews to propel us forward.

From the Editor’s Desk

Sowmya Rangarajan

Cover Picture : Contributed by C. Sukumar

Challenge Contest Answers : 1. Storm in a teacup 2. A fish out of water 3.

Raining cats and dogs 4. Couch potato 5. Burning the candle at both ends.

Correct Answers given by : Shedly Patrick and Lalitha Sriram

Best Caption : “Can I watch TV pleeeeease“? By Lalitha Sriram

Click away with your cameras and send in your photographs. The best

picture will be selected for the cover of our next issue .

Puzzles have been marked for easy identification with Don’t forget to send

in your answers.

All feedback , answers to contests and photographs may be sent to

[email protected]

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/benjaminfr383680.html

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/benjaminfr383680.html

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/benjamin_franklin.html


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Volume 2

Contents President’s Message MTM Usha Mohan 4

Mentors and Sponsors 5

Excom Members 6

Mentor’s Message DTM Balaji Nagabhushanam 7

Potpourri - expat/local news Expo 2020 Dubai MTM Anita Sambhus 9

Potpourri - expat/local news ICDC 2013 MTM Usha Mohan 10

Wanderlust - travel feature on Udaipur MTM Radha 12

Panacea—health matters Caring for your voice MTM Ila Mohnot 14

Wealthy Wise - money matters Gold Discussion MTM Nina Gandhi 15

Myriad Musings - mixed bag of thoughts and

opinions Cleanliness is next to Godliness

MTM Lalitha Sriram 16


opinions Jewels in the Crown

MTM Deepa Umashankar 17


opinions Of Apples and Apple

MTM Vijaya Sukumar 18


opinions Change for the better

MTM Padma Ramji 19


opinions Poem Nature’s Gifts

Kaustubh Krishnan 21


opinions Poem The Creator

MTM Naheed Arshad Desai 2

Challenge Corner - Proverbs / Phrases 8

Landmark Quiz 11

Puzzling Cities 20


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Volume 2

Happy 2014 to all of you out there.

Congratulations Divas! Winning the ICDC cup was the cherry

on top of the icing, on the cake. The cake being the meta-

phor for the great year we have had. The last meeting we

had was a Speakathon! Having only heard of a marathon,

this was certainly unique and interesting. With eight Divas

speaking back to back, time just flew. At this point, I would

like to take the opportunity, to thank our mentors, MTM Mal-

lika Ramanathan, MTM Anupama Parkar, MTM Ranjani Jaidev

along with DTM N.Balaji for their continued support and mo-

tivation.

We march into this year with new found confidence and vig-

our. January is proving to be a busy month with members

gearing up for the club's first ever Speech Contest. Having

raised the bar for ourselves, I am confident of our ladies do-

ing extremely well in every category.

Prior to the chartering of our club when we were having trial

and mock meetings with our mentors, we would often hear

them talk about how by being a 'Toastmaster' you belong to

a fraternity, where competition is tough but there is no ani-

mosity or rancour, where you are part of a huge family

whose members are ready to help create a good learning

environment. I am proud to say, that this is indeed true.

So long Divas, do remember to bring your friends for our

meetings ! The more the merrier !

President’s Message

Usha Mohan

'It has been a hectic four months, since I assumed my

duty as President of Desert Divas TM Club!

What with two meetings a month, ICDC 2013, arranging

the first ever Speech Contest of the club & contributing this

article for our club's second newsletter! I look back and

marvel at the amount I have learned. My sincere

gratitude to the Toastmasters fraternity'.


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Volume 2

Toastmasters International Mission

We empower individuals to become more effective

communicators and leaders.

A mentor is

someone who

allows you to see

the hope inside

yourself -- Oprah

Winfrey

Mentors and Sponsors

Mallika Ramanathan Anupama Parkar

Sumita Narayan Ranjani Jaidev

http://www.doonething.org/heroes/winfrey.htm

http://www.doonething.org/heroes/winfrey.htm


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Volume 2

CLUB MISSION

We provide a

supportive and

positive learning

experience in which

members are

empowered to develop

communication and

leadership skills,

resulting in greater

self-confidence and

personal growth

EXCOM MEMBERS 2013-2014

Usha Mohan

President Vijaya Sukumar

VP Education

Sowmya Rangarajan

VP Public Relations

Radha Hari

VP Membership

Shedly Patrick

Sergeant At Arms

Anita Sambhus

Treasurer

Padma Ramji

Secretary


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Volume 2

How many times in the midst of

a serious conversation have you

felt disturbed by your body pos-

ture or style? Worse still, how

many times have you wondered

if you are the only one who is

standing straight while everyone

else is looking for support for

their body to lean against?

Don’t worry. This is normal. It is

said that non-verbal communi-

cation i.e. body language and

gestures contribute maximum to a speech.

When asked to deliver an address to an audi-

ence, most people either cross or fold their

hands or hold one palm with the other – sign of

nerves, maybe!!! There are still others who

have their hands in their pockets, fiddle with

their dress or fidget with some

item or the other in their hand.

The most common mannerisms

with legs are - crossing legs,

scratching the floor with nails,

trembling etc.

I too had this problem whenever I was asked to

speak to an audience during my school and col-

lege days and even during training sessions

which I conducted after I was employed. But all

this changed when I joined Toastmasters in the

year 1998.

Initially when I went through the Competent

Toastmasters manual ( CC was

CTM then), I was shocked at the

demands – organize your speech,

show what you mean, use your

voice, use simple words…. My

God, will I ever be able to do all of

this, I wondered. I did not fear

and took the plunge.

The first project – my Icebreaker was delivered

from behind the lectern and with the entire

speech written – half of the speech was read

out. The second speech was

about Organizing, with an

opening, body and conclu-

sion. I did fairly better this

time coming away from the

lectern, but, the paper still in

my hand and worried about

what the audience was

thinking of me. The third

was even better and this

time, I won the Best Speaker

Award – reason I won was, I

put away the paper and

spoke from my heart. That is

when I took the actual chal-

lenge in life.

I wrote project 4, “Show

what you mean”, from my heart. I practiced in

front of a mirror as well as in the presence of

some friends. At the end of the rehearsals, I felt

at ease because I had tried my best to coordi-

nate my arms, legs and other body movements.

Believe it or not, I won again and this time, I

won because the Body Language was in perfect

tandem with the speech.

How could I do it? Can you do it? WHY NOT?

Here are some simple steps from my personal

experience with which I think you can master

this technique.

1.Understand the occasion where you are deliv-

ering your address and also the topic in case it is

already decided – if not develop a topic based on

the occasion.

2. Try to gather some information about the type

of audience and the auditorium / venue.

3. Get to know the total time for which you need

to deliver your address.

4. Prepare a draft version of the address keeping

in mind that a total of 100 words can be spoken

per minute – so if you are delivering an address

for five minutes, speech length should be for a

Mentor’s Message - Getting

your body and mind ready DTM Balaji Nagabhushanam


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Volume 2

maximum of 500 words.

5.Go through the draft once, twice and probably a

third time – you will get better ideas and eventually

change the speech to the final script – but it does

not end here.

6. Start rehearsing the speech with-

out any body movements – i.e. read

it out loud with the paper or the lap-

top or IPad in your hand – do not

forget to time your speech at this

juncture.

7.You will most probably identify that you are either

well ahead of time or past the time depending on

how you went through reading your speech – if you

are just one minute ahead, do not worry but if you

are past one minute, there is a problem.

8.Do not change your speech – but rehearse it part

by part – i.e., the first five lines, then the next, then

the next etc., without the paper or laptop or IPad in

hand – do not time yourself during this exercise.

9.You will slowly realise that you are comfortable

with some parts of the speech which you can readily

remember but some never come to mind; continue

rehearsing those difficult parts.

10.Next, rehearse the entire speech without your

notes or laptop and time yourself.

11.By the time you complete your third rehearsal,

you will find that you not only remember 75% of

your speech but are within your time limit as well.

12.Believe it or not, by this time, unconsciously your

body (gestures) would have co-related with

your speech – you will be wonderstruck when

you realise that in a total of five or six re-

hearsals, your verbal and non-verbal move-

ments have co-related automatically.

13.Just go through one more rehearsal in the

presence of your children, life partner or close

friends – request them to watch your body

movements and the delivery of your speech –

they need not worry about the time or the

quality of content.

14.Incorporate the feedback received and re-

hearse your speech one last time – YOU WILL

BE THE BEST SPEAKER IN TERMS OF GES-

TURES AND BODY LANGUAGE.

Though there are 14 steps listed above, the

entire exercise will just take you some three

or four hours divided between two or three

days. Once you adopt this exercise, it will be

very difficult for you to separate your Verbal

and Non Verbal Communication whenever you

are asked to speak to an audience.

Want to give it a try? Why not do it for your

next Toastmasters project – regardless of

whether it is an Ice breaker

or an Advance speech?

Good luck.

Challenge Corner Identify the 2 proverbs / phrases from the given clues.

1. Apt words for a pep talk, this proverb indicates that there is hope even in the

worst of circumstances. Known to have been used first by English historian

and theologist Thomas Fuller.

2. This refers to an open display of feelings for everyone to see. Used first by

Shakespeare in Othello.


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Volume 2

Expo 2020 Dubai UAE Anita Sambhus

Potpourri

Wednesday 27th November

2013 will remain in the

memory of Dubai

residents for a long time.

Many of us including me

were anxious the whole

day. As the voting began,

most of the Dubai

residents started following

each development closely. UAE sailed through the

1st round easily and one competitor was eliminated.

In the 2nd round of voting, Dubai got enough votes

to proceed to the final round. Another competitor

was eliminated. Now the competition was between

Dubai and another city. Tension was building all

over the city. We were counting seconds as the final

voting was under way.

Seeing a helicopter circling around the Burj Khalifa,

we wondered why. I have never listened to the

radio with so much bated breath in my life. And

soon I heard a Dubai correspondent relaying the

news from Paris say,” We did it “. I jumped with

joy and conveyed the news to my family. In no time

Burj Khalifa erupted in festive colors to inform all of

Dubai that yes, we made it. Now, Dubai is a

Candidate city, most proud and very much capable

of hosting Expo 2020.

World Expo is a trade exhibition in which various

countries participate and showcase their products

and services. This exhibition lasts for 6 months and

is held every 5 years in different parts of the world.

This Expo is a very prestigious event for the host

country. Dubai expects to benefit in a big way in

terms of increased visitors, increased trade and

commerce, long term relations with various business

partners.

Over the last 3-4 years Dubai has been working

tirelessly to project itself on the global stage as a

futuristic city, a city that cares, a city with most

modern infrastructure, a city home to 200

nationalities, and a city most suitable to host Expo

2020. Its theme “Connecting minds and creating

the future” is very impressive and inclusive.

Dubai also has a very robust action plan on

how to actually go about hosting the high

profile event. It is based on the concept of

sustainability, mobility and opportunity.

Multimedia expressions of this theme are very

eye catching and very interesting. Videos and

pictures on the Expo 2020 can be seen on the

website. expo2020dubai.ae/

Dubai is the 1st city in the Arab world to host

such an event. Dubai has achieved this glory

solely because of the great leadership of

Sheikh

Mohammed bin

Rashid al

Maktoum, Ruler

of Dubai and Vice

President of UAE.

He has said that

Dubai’s limits

start from the

sky. With

leaders like him, Dubai will scale further

summits hitherto not envisaged by anybody.

Dubai will continue to dazzle the world.

Dubai expects to receive more than 25 million

tourists in the year 2020. Now Dubai will add

even more impressive elements to its

infrastructure to get ready for the big day and

to execute a spectacular event. This will bring

in its wake huge business opportunities and

hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created.

I am a proud resident of this beautiful city and

am really lucky to witness this outstanding

achievement.

Anita is a long time

Dubai resident who has

just recently discovered

the joys of being in a

Toastmasters Club.


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Volume 2

With our hearts beating like drums of a tribal clan,

we entered the venue for the ICDC 2013. The

Skyline College, Sharjah is a sprawling campus,

which was very daunting to us Divas, as we hold

our meetings in a cosy party hall in a residential

building. The huge group gathered there, didn't do

much for our nerves as well. Twenty of the best

clubs, pitted against each other added to our

nervousness. To make matters more

frightening......we were going to open! Debating

against the three man army from the HSBC

Corporate club. The topic being ' Freedom for an

individual in today's world is a myth ' and we were

debating for it.

Taking one look at the three very visibly nervous

ladies, the three man army, smirked and thought

this was going to be easy ! Never take your

opponents for granted, I say, especially harmless

looking, women next door types. The Divas just

took the round with their well-prepared opening,

rebuttal and summarizing.

Semifinals! We never planned to be there! Being a

new club, we were just getting to learn to

communicate and do our Icebreakers! And here

we were in the semifinal round, competing against

another all women team from the Our Own School.

After the initial bout of nerves, our team members

were easing into their roles with precision and

calm. The topic this time was '

Superman, Batman, Spider-

Man, Super Heroes or misleading idols'. It was

a piece of cake for our ladies speaking against

the topic. Speaking with conviction and

honesty, their opponents, were no match for

them.

Finals! Driving to the venue that morning with

this very nervous team of ladies, who would

have thought that would reach this far! I must

confess here that, I did! The day before the

contest I told our team that we would win! Call

it premonition or whatever; I did have this

very strong feeling.

The toughest part was yet to come....the topic

' Sachin Tendulkar, first Indian sportsman to

be awarded the Bharat Ratna, did he deserve

it?' The team we were up against, The Lagoon

TM club. The very experienced men looked as

tough as nails! Adding to the confusion, our

ladies though being a fan of the sport didn't

have much on the cricketer.

Speaking for the topic, our opening by Bindu

Krishnan was honest and from the heart. The

men from Lagoon were out to get our jugular!

Very scary, their rebuttal was fierce. Then

entered our lioness Sowmya! She is August

born and a true Leo, she doesn't give up

without a fight. It was a treat to the ears to

hear her speak

with so much

confidence,

emphasizing on

the opponent's

negative points.

Then came

Vijaya, who

summarized the

entire debate

with such panache, the entire auditorium

roared!

The final moment was here! We waited with

bated breath. In third place was the Dubai

Triumph at ICDC 2013 Usha Mohan

Potpourri


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Volume 2

Potpourri Advanced Speakers. In second place were

the toastmasters from Star of Arabia Club. .

The winners of the ICDC - 2013 are.......any

guesses? Yes, you are right “Desert Divas”!! It

was surreal! Euphoric was putting it mildly.......the

feeling was unexplainable. With the prestigious cup

in our hands and the entire TM community's eyes

on us, we had set the bar high for all, including

ourselves. Driving back home with the winning

team, is a scene that, I will cherish for years to

come.

Come to think of it, Sachin Tendulkar is God to

Indians the world over. You can't lose debating for

him!

Usha is an amateur artist with a keen

interest in charcoal sketching. She loves

travelling and exploring new places.

Landmark Quiz

Identify these famous landmarks

1 2

3

4


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Volume 2

31st May, 2013 –

an unforgettable

date in my life ! I

was chosen as the

mega winner of

Club Mahindra Re-

sorts which entitled

our family to a free

stay for a week at

one of their re-

sorts. I was ecstat-

ic when I heard the

news as I had nev-

er won anything in

my life! I have always loved to travel… In fact, it

is my dream to explore the many exquisite plac-

es in India!

After a detailed survey, we chose Udaipur as our

holiday destination. Often referred to as the

‘Venice of the East’, Udaipur is also known as

the ‘City of Lakes’ and is one of the most fre-

quented tourist destinations of India.

Our trip started off with a 11 hour long train

journey from Mumbai to Udaipur. After checking

into the

resort, we

decided to

go sight-

seeing. We

had hired

a car and

our driver

was a local

person

who knew

every nook and corner of Udaipur.

Our first visit was to Maharana Pratap Museum.

I have read tales extolling this great Rajput rul-

er’s chivalry and courage and so was totally en-

amoured by the gallery inside the Udaipur City

Palace devoted to this legendary warrior and his

horse Chetak. The museum displays a lot of old

sculptures and inscriptions and antique paintings

of Mewar. It is a perfect treat to lovers of art!!!

As Udaipur is known for its beautiful lakes we

wanted to visit at least one of the lakes on the

first day itself. Lake Pichola was on the top of our

itinerary. A

boat ride on

this exotic

lake took us

to the famous

‘Jag Mandir’.

We enjoyed it

more as we

were taking a

boat ride after

ages. This is

situated on an island in the middle of the lake

and over the years has become the most sought

after venue for the big fat weddings. In fact the

best part of our boat ride was hearing our driver

relating his experiences of the rich and famous

weddings that he had attended till then.

‘Saheliyon ka Baari ‘which means ‘Garden of

maids’ was

our first

place of visit

on the sec-

ond day. This

was built in

the 18th cen-

tury by Ma-

harana San-

gram Singh,

supposedly

for the royal

ladies. It was beautiful with a lotus pool, marbled

elephants sprinkling water and fountains. It was

very picturesque and that gave us ample oppor-

tunities to click loads of pictures!

A visit to Udaipur is incomplete without a visit to

Wanderlust

Radha Hari

Udaipur – A perfect blend of history,

heritage and beauty


13

Volume 2

the famous Sreenathji Temple at Nathdwara . Fre-

quently visited by Hindu pilgrims, this place tends to

get over crowded. The nearest railway station is

Mawli Junction which is about 30kms from Nathdwa-

ra.

‘Shop till you drop’ is the slogan tourists adopt when

they visit Udaipur. We also did the same thing. From

vegetable dyed bed sheets to Rajasthani dress mate-

rials and artefacts to beautiful jewelry, Udaipur has it

all, it truly is a shopper’s paradise!

After a tiring day of shopping, we were glad to get

into a restaurant to get a taste of lip smacking Raja-

sthan cuisine. We noticed that though there were

several vegetarian restaurants “Dal Baati Churma”,

remained the most popular dish in most of them.

More than the taste of the cuisine what we really

loved was the variety and the way food was served to

us! We were treated like royalty in all the restaurants

and we enjoyed the attention thoroughly.

The Udaipur trip remains one of my most memorable

trips and I strongly recommend that everyone visit

this wonderful historic place at least once in their life-

time!

Udaipur Trivia

1. Udaipur Airport namely Maharana Pratap

Airport is located near Dabok at a

distance of 22 kms from the city of

Udaipur. Many domestic airlines connect

the city to all the major cities of India

including Jaipur, Mumbai, Delhi, Mumbai

and Kolkata. Regular air services are

available for Delhi and Mumbai.

2.

Udaipur Railway Station is located at a

comfortable distance from the city of

Udaipur. Rajasthan Railways connects

Udaipur station with all the other cities of

Rajasthan as well as India. There are

frequent trains which run to and from

Udaipur connecting Jaipur, Mumbai and

Delhi. One can also travel to this beautiful

city by the luxurious Palace on Wheels

3. Udaipur is well connected by a brilliant

road network to major cities in India.

This mode of commuting is both easy and

economical. Udaipur Bus Stand has

regular bus services, connecting Udaipur

with nearby cities including Delhi, Jaipur,

Chittorgarh, Indore, Kota, Ajmer,

Ahmedabad and Mt. Abu. Rajasthan

Roadways provides the facility of Deluxe

Buses and AC coaches for the

convenience of passengers. One can also

hire taxis and cars to reach Udaipur by

road.

Radha is a homemaker, extremely passionate about music and quizzing.

People usually get an adrenaline rush on a roller coaster or while doing

para gliding but she gets the same feeling while watching a quiz show,

especially when the contestant is close to winning the jackpot!

http://www.thepalaceonwheels.org.uk/palace-on-wheels-tour/udaipur.html


14

Volume 2

It is not necessary that you take care of your voice

only if you are a singer or wish to become one. A

pleasant voice is a treat to the ears; the listener

should wish that you would speak on forever. The

vocal cord in our body is very tiny. It is only

somewhere between 18 to 23 millimeters in size

and lies within the larynx. One will be surprised to

know that when we speak the vocal cord vibrates

a 100 times per second. So if one continuously

misuses it, it can get damaged permanently.

Here are a few tips to keep the vocal cords

healthy.

1. Exercise them. Breathing exercise is the best

exercise for vocal cords. Vocal cords are muscles.

They need to be warmed up. A simple warm up

exercise involves humming. Lips should be

touching, teeth slightly separated. Feel the buzzing

sensation when humming. Proper breathing also

helps in maintaining a good voice. Put your hands

on the stomach. When you inhale the belly should

bulge as it is taking air inside and when you exhale

the stomach should come to the original position.

2. Keep drinking water. This keeps the cords wet

and they function well. If you do not drink

adequate water the cords can get dehydrated.

3. Do not shout or strain your voice.

4. The whole body supports the voice. So keep the

whole body toned. Eat healthy and eat a balanced

diet of fruits veggies grains nuts and legumes.

Spicy and fried foods can cause acid reflux and

damaged the vocal cords.

5. Avoid cold or very hot liquids. If one has

sore throat then take warm liquids, gargle with

Salt water, take warm soups.

6. Do not smoke. Smoking dries out the cords.

Ila is a qualified

naturopathist and an

accomplished classical

dancer.

X

X X

Caring for your Voice Panacea Ila Mohnot


15

Volume 2

Gold...the very name brings up images of bril-

liance and luster! It is a metal that has enchant-

ed civilizations from times immemorial. Labelled

'tears of the Sun' by the Incas probably due to

the wars and destruction caused by the greed

and lust for it, the power and lure of gold is un-

debatable.

Several civilizations have gone to great lengths in

their quest for gold, be it the Egyp-

tians, the Lydians, the Greek, Chi-

nese, Indians or Americans. Gold

has always has had a great value

for humans. The desire for gold led

Spain to attack Inca and conquer it.

The first use of gold as money oc-

curred around 700 B.C., when Lydi-

an merchants produced the first

coins. Gold mining as a science was

given a boost during the Roman

Empire. During the Classic period

of Greek and Roman rule in the

western world, gold and silver both

flowed to India for spices, and to China for silk.

Gold in the form of standardized coins gradually

replaced the barter system making trading easi-

er. As a monetary standard began setting in a

world economy became viable. World economies

were able to grow and prosper due to the con-

cept of money in the form of gold and silver in

standard weight and fineness coins. At the be-

ginning of the 20th century, gold was the base of

the monetary system. In the 21st century, gold

has been demonetized and is just another scarce

commodity.

Every Nation holds a gold reserve, intended as a

store of value and as a guarantee to redeem

promises to pay depositors, note holders, or

trading peers, or to secure a currency. Preserving

the gold reserves is of intrinsic value to nations

and therefore highly relevant in contexts of crisis

and war. India is the world’s 11th largest player

in terms of gold reserves with the country’s cen-

tral bank.

The place we all live in Dubai, is fondly called the

'City of Gold'. The ongoing DSF has goaded us all

to buy gold, with the temp-

tation that we may end up

winning 1Kg gold.

The question that arises is, 'Is Gold a wise in-

vestment?' Gold, if bought in a physical form

does not earn us any interest. But then again,

look at the history of increase in the price of

gold in say, last 42 years. Take for example in

India, the price of gold in 1971

per 10 gms was around Rs 193/

- as against the price of gold in

2013 which was around Rs

30,000/per 10 gms !!!!! Won-

der which investment can give

this kind of returns!

Presently, we can invest not

just in physical gold but also in

gold exchange-traded funds or

ETFs, which have given consid-

erable returns in the last couple

of years. Many banks like SBI,

HDFC CANARA BANK and industrial houses like

BIRLA, RELIANCE, KOTAK etc. have introduced

gold ETF MUTUAL FUNDS, which too have given

good returns.

Another option is investing in E-gold. E-gold, an

electronic way to buy the yellow metal , gives

better returns than gold ETFs. In 2012, it re-

turned over 16 per cent compared to the 11 per

cent average return given by gold ETFs. Experts

say e-gold will always beat gold ETFs in returns.

By the way what do you think will be the ap-

proximate value of all the Gold in the world to-

day ???

$ 6,414,733,707,086

Yes - That's trillions

Based on current gold price of $ 1,241.00

(Figures from on-

lygold.com)

Gold - The Mesmerizing Metal Wealthy Wise Nina Gandhi

Nina is an avid reader

and a keen learner. She

is happiest spending

time with her family.


16

Volume 2

Cleanliness is next to Godliness Lalita Sriram

Picture a scene – you ring

the door bell and the door

opens to showcase an

untidy and unorganized

room. What is the first

thought that would enter

your mind – “These are not

very clean people”.

Yes, it’s true – a clean and

organized abode reflects a

person’s character. The

home need not be aesthetically decorated but one

that has been set up with functional logic reveals

to the eye a systematic mind.

This concept can be extended to a ladies handbag,

a man’s office desk, a woman’s kitchen and a

child’s cupboard. They speak out loud our capacity

to organize our thoughts and our lives.

Even fashion and beauty specialists have

emphasized the need for clean hair and clear skin

which are easily achieved by following a sensible

diet and lifestyle. We are all aware that cleanliness

has visible benefits scientifically –it keeps us

disease free, but what may not be evident is that

there is a spiritual aspect to it too.

Esoteric sciences speak of “chi” – the universal

energy that permeates everything around us- and

its flow in our body and in the environment we

stay in whether at office or at home. They reveal

the importance of having free-flowing chi. Objects

that are loved, used and appreciated have a

strong, vibrant, joyous energy around them. In

contrast anything neglected, forgotten, unwanted,

unloved, or unused will cause the energy in our

home to slow down and stagnate. It is thus

imperative that we take efforts to keep our

environment clutter free. Innumerable small tasks

from our end can help us achieve this. Check your

wardrobes and

closets on a regular

basis, “decide” on

those things you

really do not require

– no point storing

stuff that we have not

been using or even

thought of in the past

year. Every time you

buy new clothes give

away a few old ones

(for charity). Put the

3 R’s into practice – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

You’ll soon find changes in your home and in

your life.

As per the “Bagua Map” - a very basic tool used

in Feng shui, different areas of our home are

connected to different aspects of our life. As we

clear the clutter at home we

release the obstacles to

facilitate free flow of chi into

those aspects of our life.

Taking stock of your

cupboards indirectly

translates to taking stock of

your life.

So, go ahead and pull out

those suitcases that decently

camouflage the clutter. Release clutter from your

home and from your life.

Lalitha is a homemaker who

loves to read, cook and sing. She

is happiest when she sees her

family happy and smiling.


17

Volume 2

I have always

maintained that the

Queen’s language

is sacrosanct and

every other form is

a spin-off. The re-

cently concluded

Australian Open

has been an eye-opener of sorts, though. I

would, earlier, cringe at the way the average

Indian would speak in English- in fact would

dread listening into the local Hindi Radio stations

where the callers and respondents would insist

on always answering the RJs in what they imag-

ined was the English language.

My earlier interactions with native English

speakers would leave me feeling like Naseerud-

din Shah or Om Puri (crossover Indian actors) in

a Merchant-Ivory Production on the Raj. It

would sound so flat and ‘oh- so- Indian.’ Not

that any effort was made to mask it, yet what

was presumed to be a neutral accent (from a

purely Indian stand point, of course) would ex-

asperate my own home acritical ears.

But watching these players from various parts of

the world drove n undeniable truth. That lan-

guage is for communication. Mastery is the bas-

tion of a privileged few. How effectively we are

able to translate our thoughts to words and pre-

sent the message is often more important than

faking an accent.

Li Na’s victory speech with its witticisms was de-

livered in an unmistakable Chinese lilt- the

words simply bounced off the enamel of her

teeth. Still, it held the audience’s attention and

drew plenty of chuckles. Cibulkova’s Slovak in-

duced diction, Nadal’s flamenco in English,

Wawrinka’s throaty take on the language and

Sania’s nasal yet cracker of an interview all

proved one point- the Queen’s language by de-

fault, has become the link language the world

over. We speak it in our own manner

and style- after all we have resilient and

nuanced native languages that strongly influence

our language traditions and metaphors.

So the next time you hear phrases like, ‘kindly do

the needful’, ‘please revert’, ‘prepone your ticket’,

‘take your seat’, ‘passing out’, ‘all of you’ll’ or ‘I

am thinking in my mind’- simply grit your teeth,

square your shoulders and smile from your ‘liver’

as Elizabeth Gilbert would say and carry on. That

should bother the grammarians of the world- we

are cheekily hungover by the Jewel in the Crown...

Deepa Umashankar

Myriad Musings

Deepa is a freelance

journalist, dedicated

mother and an

enthusiastic

toastmaster.

Jewels in the Crown


18

Volume 2

As a young girl growing up in one of the

smaller cities in India the only varieties of ap-

ples that I was aware of were the red apple,

Kashmiri apple and the Custard apple. It was

only after coming to Dubai

that I got to know the vari-

ety of apples grown

across the world ranging

from Gran- ny Smith, Gala,

Golden De- licious to Fuji

and many more. I never really cared for ap-

ples as a kid but then as I tried out the differ-

ent kinds available here I started relishing a

few of them. At last my mother was happy

that I was now paying heed to the adage- “An

apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Needless

to say the added lure that the apple had was

the fact that it kept not on-

ly the hunger pangs away

but also those dreaded

inches that seemed to pile

on my waistline with una-

bashed ease.

Each time I was tempted by a plate of spicy

hot fritters I kept thinking of all the antioxi-

dants, minerals and vitamins that I would get

if I ate an apple instead. In this fashion ap-

ples soon became a priority item on my gro-

cery list. Having become a dedicated apple

lover I soon tried to entice the hubby and kids

onto the apple wagon. Was

I success- ful??? You bet I

was…apple with chaat masa-

la, apples in salads, fresh ap-

ple juice and apple crumble

soon became the order

of the day. To put it in a

nutshell Ap- ples truly be-

came ‘The apple of our eyes”!

Life was all hunky dory until a few years ago

when a new variety of Apple came into the

market that upset my applecart. Apples till

then could do no harm I had thought and in-

nocuously welcomed this new species into my

house. Hubby dearest could not stop raving

about it and spent hours reading up about it.

I too fell in love with it, as it was the easiest

way to listen to music as I moved around

busy with my daily chores. Apple and music…

one may ask?

This particular apple did not grow in an orchard

but was introduced to the world by Steve Jobs

and his company APPLE INC - the iPod. Suddenly

everyone was up in arms to get his or her hands

onto the iPod. So hubby soon ended up buying

an iPod Touch too, which just resulted in two from

a family of four at any given point of

time being closet- ed up in a room

oblivious to the rest, lost in the

world of music of their choice!

Even as I enjoyed listening to my

iPod I felt the first pangs of fear

creeping up for suddenly kids and

hubby could only speak about Apple and its prod-

ucts. My fears were soon realized as within 2

years my house was invaded with Apple products

from an iPad, MacBook Pro, iPhone (right from

3GS to 5C) to an iMac. An ardent fan of every-

thing Apple my husband even got an Apple TV.

No other brand comes into our house….all four of

us only have iPhones; reasoning being …. “We

can all be connected through the iCloud “, says

hubby who is definitely on Cloud Nine!! All I can

say now is that Apple

seems to have clouded

his thinking, day in and

out he waxes eloquent on

the innumerable benefits

and advantages of Apple

products. Either he is

talking about Apple prod-

ucts or using one of

them. Apples, which

were once the priority on

my shopping list; suddenly seemed to dominate

our lives.

One by one every family member fell prey to the

addictive Apple devices resulting in me often find-

ing myself all alone. Apples today are no longer

‘The apple of my eye’. In fact I’m forced to coin a

new adage – AN APPLE EVERY DAY KEEPS THE

FAMILY AWAY!

OF APPLES AND APPLE!! Vijaya Sukumar

Vijaya is a fun loving person

always on the quest for an

adventure or a new experience.


19

Volume 2

Getting an opportunity to pen down my thoughts

is something that I never thought I would ever

come across, especially at this stage of life. Wait,

what is this strange feeling that I get? I feel that I

have lost my identity

as an individual.

Education, marriage,

my teaching jobs

and parenting have

all been taking up

my time; so much so

that I have ceased

to think for myself

or about myself.

Children come in to our life and make so much

noise for the first seventeen years of their life

that we can hardly stand that noise. Then they

step out of our house to pursue their education,

leaving behind so much silence that it drives you

mad. Letting our children move out of our

thoughtfully built home may be a rewarding

experience for them, but it is an agonizing

experience for us. Coming back to my point,

where has it left me?

Birth, growing up and marriage has taken

me through various roles that I have rendered

to the best of my ability. I don’t think I have even

had any thought of venturing beyond the L O C

that has been laid by my mind on behalf of my

family. But I must say my mind has been

tarnished, going through the monotonous chores

of life. I definitely needed a WD 40 to remove the

rust that had accumulated.

Fortunately I did find my WD 40! Want to know

where I found it? In our "Desert Divas"! As a

forum, it has given me

the platform to think for

myself, express my views

and to bring about my

individuality to be seen by

the people who matter to

me. No wonder I have

grabbed this opportunity

to write. I feel my forties

are my new twenties. A song from the Hindi

movie "Three idiots" comes to my mind,

Give me some sunshine

give me some rain

give me another chance

I wanna grow up once again

I'm sure many of us want

to do that once again, if

only there was a rewind

button in our life or a

time machine that could

take us back in time!

Nevertheless I still feel

that there is not much to

lose. I can start afresh,

all over again. The only

difference now is that I'm

more inspired by youngsters who by age are a

generation behind but by thoughts are a

generation ahead.

How fearless are their minds?

How seamless are their thoughts?

They live their life to the fullest. There is so much

to learn from them if we leave our egos behind

have always loved being with young individuals.

They have this vibrant energy around, which is so

infectious. With them around, we tend to forget

the teeny-weeny worries that look monstrous

otherwise.

Coming back to getting over the fear of losing my

identity, I want to change for the better! If the

history of the world can be written in one world,

the word is "Change ".I want to take that first

step of making that change, to move ahead and

change for the better. I want each and every act

of mine to take me near my dream. I have to

move ahead with time lest I'm left behind as a

thing of the past.

CHANGE, for the better! Padma Ramji


20

Volume 2

Have you heard the success story?

What is the secret of success? asked the Sphinx

Push said the button

Never be led said the pencil

Always keep cool said the ice

Be up to date said the calendar.

Never lose your head said the barrel

Make a light of everything said the fire

Do a driving business said the hammer

Be sharp in all your dealings said the knife

Find a good thing and stick to it said the glue

So how about being inspired by the success stories of all

the above and putting them together to bring about that

change? I would on a closing note, like to quote

Gandhiji.

"You must be the change that you wish to see

in the world”

Padma is an optimist who

loves to be amongst people

with a lot of positive attitude

towards life.

Tease your vocabulary and identify each “CITY”

Examples:

A. Not complicated, making easy - Simplicity

B. A form of unseen energy that is dangerous, yet

useful at homes and to work high-powered machines. Electricity

Clues

1. The quality of being bold and impudent

2. The quality of being genuine

3. The quality of being heinous, cruel or wicked

4. The maximum amount something can hold in it

5. The quality of being if not actually mad, at least funny and

peculiar

6. A very small quantity

7. In short supply

8. The quality of being savage and cruel, found in wild animals

9. To let everyone know, to advertise

10. Insincerity of conduct – double-faced behaviour

Puzzling Cities ??


21

Volume 2

He moulded us from the dust of clay,

Filled in breath to live and stay

He gave us eyes to see the light,

Mind to think and heart to win

and love to do ,tongue to hold and lips to

speak the truth

Hands to lend and feet to move,

in the path which is best for you

He commands the sun to rise

and moon to hide

and rains to please you

rivers with water and trees with fruit

are all his gifts for you

Birds that sing ; during the spring

are in love with you

and we human beings are lost in our worldly

dues and forget the creator who created me

and you.

The Creator

Naheed Arshad Desai

Naheed’s simple

philosophy of life is

‘ live to be loved and

love to be liked’

I move slowly through the forest,

past the streams

There I feel the cool breeze

T'is like I am in a trance, feel

my body beginning to advance.

There I see the magnificent hills

and yonder the vales

As I slowly lie on the grass

the sun sets behind the mountains great.

I feel so relaxed, that all sorrow vanishes

away into thin air.

I realize that Nature has a way

to make us feel joyful and gay

Nature gives us quiet and peace

colourful bliss with utmost ease

Better than noise and worldly things

are birds that soar with immense wings

I pray for more of nature's gifts

In today's times of fights and rifts

Thank you lord for Nature's grace

Each time I see an open space

Nature’s Gifts Kaustubh Krishnan

The son of MTM Bindu

Krishnan, Kaustubh is a 13

year old 8th grader who is

very fond of writing.

Reflections Newsletter Jan 2014

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Transcript of Reflections Newsletter Jan 2014