Morris Plaintain Fruit Tissue Culture

 

Morris Plaintain Fruit Tissue Culture 

Our own product

Cultivated at our garden

Thiruvananthapuram 

Kerala

India

Evana Three years

 Evana  Three years

Flowers in our nam ke vaste garden

 Hibiscus - Shoe Flower

 

10 mani poovu

Flowers that bloom at 10 o'clock in the morning

C.A.CHACKO Former Mechanical Foreman - B Covenented Official KDHPCo Munnar Kerala India

 C.A.CHACKO Former Mechanical Foreman - B Covenented Official  KDHPCo Munnar Kerala India

It's 13 years

Left us  on 5th April 2008 at the age of 91 years 2 months and 4 days.

Led a many splendoured life

They say a cat has 9 lives

But he had  lived through the Second World War where Bombs and Bullets reigned

Never knew he would survive the present moment

Overcame Japanese invasion and occupation

Jack of all trades

Master in everything 

A fighter

RISK AVERSION

 

RISK AVERSION

We protect our children as they are precious to us. We place them in the protective mode.  Biologists call it the ‘shield tendency’. Parents are worried about their little ones getting hurt playing sport, going on adventure or climbing trees, they impose strict control upon them to prevent the occurrence any unfortunate mishaps.  They are forced to confine themselves to their studies. The parents are after their children to make it good in the world as they delineate. But there are risks if you are over protective. Kids lose their sense of adventure, their spirits, their resilience, their sense of humour and their joy. Eventually they lose their way as they grow up. Do not structure them. Do not think for them. Do not force risk aversion upon them. Let them speak. Let them think. Let them fall and get up. Let them act. Let them laugh. Let them take reasonable risks. Let them grow up as the finest individuals they ever can be.  

DRAWING A LEAF FROM OUR OWN FAMILY

 

DRAWING A LEAF FROM OUR OWN FAMILY

We had put both of our sons at the Christ Nagar English Medium High School for their schooling from the fifth standard.  It wasn’t co-ed at that time. I was happy they were in a premium English Medium School. I knew my failings, studying in a Malayalam medium Government High School. Though I had been a good student, though I had good teachers, though I had an exceptionally commendable result at the SSLC, though I could easily garner admission at the UCCollege, Aluva, a premium institution, I had been all at sea in the College atmosphere. I was lost. The abrupt shift from the Malayalam medium to the English medium had damaged my intellect and my career beyond redemption. I could not communicate well in English. I could not understand the nuances of the language. The deficiency had played havoc with my career too as I had found it difficult to land a job and finally my functioning when I had a job. I was happy my children would not have the hard grind I had. But it was not to be. They still do suffer from the Christ Nagar branded English medium.

‘SPEAK ENGLISH’, the School had written everywhere. But no one spoke English there.  The teachers communicated in Malayalam.

I found the going pathetic. I told my sons to speak in English at least when they were at home. I said their mother. PG in English, degree in English, (both from Women’s College), Pre-degree at All Saints College, and Schooling in Holy Angels was the apt person to bring them up in an English medium environment. But all the three were diffident. They confined themselves to Malayalam with a vengeance putting to naught my pleadings.

I did not let go. I asked a classmate of my elder son at the degree level whether he was well conversant in English. He said he was not. I asked him again whether he wished to acquire the skill. He said yes. I had asked him to bring a few of his friends if they were interested.

We had around ten young men at home. I invited my sons and my wife to join the group. I had been very concerned about my younger son who had been insecure to the core.

Well, the activity began.

I said each one had to speak. There would be a topic they themselves would choose the previous week. One person would speak on the topic for fifteen minutes in English. They would have to stand and speak and there would be no allowance on the fifteen minutes criteria. Once the speech was delivered, the rest had to do a critique. They should not speak in any other language than English, once session was on.

The young men took up the challenge sportingly. The improvement was clearly visible as time progressed.

After a while the sessions could not be continued.

One day, I and my wife were strolling on the road adjacent to the Secretariat. We saw someone riding pillion on a Scooter and waving.  They stopped the Scooter. It was one of the participants in our sessions along with his mother. As we stood there waiting both of them ran back to reach us. The youngster introduced us to his mother and said, ”Amma, these are the people who have made me what I am.”

We felt fulfilled.

I narrated the story solely to suggest we can extend the activity anywhere.. The participants would be better off if we do this. If feasible, the modality could be worked out. My only suggestion is the sessions should be confined to one hour with groups of ten students each, once or twice a week, monitored by  those who are well conversant in English.

I remember the words of the CSI Moderator while attending a Governing Council meeting of the KUT Seminary, Kannammoola, Thiruvananthapuram, “The graduates from KUTS should have the ability to lead Worship in English and deliver messages in English, just as they develop the proficiency in Malayalam or their mother tongue.”

DELIVERING UNDER PRESSURE

 

DELIVERING UNDER PRESSURE

 

Success and failure are very much dependent on the paradoxes of the mind.

 

There had been an experiment with two groups of people.

 

The first group was given a task to find a solution to a problem. They were given sufficient time to deliberate. They were not saddled with anything else or any distraction during the period.

 

Though they had finally submitted their solution, it was found to be wrong.

 

The second group was given the same task. However the group was saddled with distractions during the whole period. They did not have any free moment to think at all. They could not deliberate freely like the other group. They had the same time the other group had.

 

Finally when they came up with the solution it was found to be correct.

 

The findings were both emphatic and paradoxical. Those who had enough time failed in picking the right solution whereas the distractions had improved the performance of the second group manifold.

 

Thinking too much was the curse for the first group. Their conscious deliberations finally made them reach the wrong end.

 

For the second group the conscious mind was distracted. They were forced to rely on memory as they could not freely deliberate at all. It enabled the subconscious mind to come up with the right solution.

 

The author focuses on the penalty shootout in a football match. Unless the penalty taker could free his mind of emotions that swell within and could keep the mind blank the lonely walk from the middle of the ground to the penalty spot would play havoc with his chances to score.

 

My own experiences reveal the same. When I had to write an examination or face an interview, it was imperative I had to prepare well to succeed. However I did not succeed whenever I had failed to keep my mind blank for a short while   preceding the examination or the interview.

I had seen my son succeeding in his attempts when he had adopted the tactic.

 

Courtesy THE GREATEST, Matthew Syed