PICTURE THIS!!!

Photo courtesy- AJU ABRAHAM,  2nd MASLP

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!!!

The arrival of cold weather is the first thing, out of the many, that sparks the Christmas spirit. The smell of cookies baking in the oven, the presence of family, town centres  & shops decorated with coloured lights & artificial snow; they all trigger the magical feelings of the   holiday season.  From November onwards, it's IMPOSSIBLE to forget that Christmas is coming!!!

 Christmas Parties, Christmas candles, Christmas ornaments, Christmas recipes, Christmas gifts and Christmas cards - all of these combine to give a touch of liveliness and harmony to the season of celebrations. No matter which part of the world you are in, the tradition of Christmas blossoms with fun & celebration; and carries along with it faith, hope and love.

 People celebrate Christmas because it's the anniversary of the birth of Jesus. It’s the story of the divine Lord divesting himself of his glory and subjecting himself to the life of a man in order to rescue us from our sinful, self-destructive rebellion. This love for undeserving creatures is above and beyond the call of duty, which makes Him the ultimate definition of Humility; and we gain a better understanding of His humility, greatness, and love by understanding the biblical facts of His death. Jesus was crucified on the cross so that we could receive salvation and God’s gift of eternal life.

Christians across the world mark the birth of Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas Day by participating in special masses organized in churches; they celebrate it with great pomp, gaiety and devotion. People love everything about this day- the nativity scene, scripture reading, carols, and the cakes. Spending Christmas with the family is very important. The holiday customs also include gift giving, an exchange of Christmas cards and the Christmas meal. The feast is started off with drinks and music, followed by a procession of the food. Once everyone is seated, the food is served and eaten, after dessert, people drink and dance. Some of the food that are generally served include: beef, meat pies, roasted duck, plumb porridge, fancy cakes,and sweets.

 All in all, the spirit of Christmas isn't only about gifts, decoration, lights, but it's more about love, because the biggest celebrations are the most personal ones, spent with people whose company we love. Christmas is about showing and sharing love for those dear to our hearts.

Christmas is a also a fun time that can consists of a child's homemade card for his mother, a unexpected kiss on the cheek to your beloved, a phone call to a friend or relative who is alone, or any number of things that can make others happy and content. 

Despite the wars we live through everyday, Christmas helps us find goodness, peace and a sense of belonging in the littlest of ways.   

What a wonderful opportunity to share laughs with the ones you care about; so while you're waiting for Santa Claus to fill your Christmas sock, don't forget to make beautiful memories for you to cherish for your tomorrow's.

 Make sure to have the best Christmas ever :-)

 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

                                                                                                                  - FARZANA

                                                                                                                    BOT (1)

WISHING ALL THE READERS A MERRY CHRISTMAS WITH A BUNCH OF LOVE AND PRAYERS.

  SEASONS GREETINGS,

  TEAM ED-BOARD :)

Christmas Special!!!

“Jingle bell jingle bell jingle all the way santa clause is coming along riding on the sleigh…”

This melodius tune is usually sung during mid-winter when Christmas arrives. 

From tiny-tots to adolescents, everyone eagerly waits for 25^th of December, The Christmas Day. 
They keep waiting as to when  Santa Claus will come and load their stockings with goodies, toys and sweets.

Do you know who is original Santa Claus???

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Saint Nicholas who was born in the third century. Due to sudden demise of his parents in an epidemic of plague, at a very young age, he started his service for God.  
Saint Nicholas was known for his gift-giving, but he always wanted to be secretive due to his shyness and to save the pride of those he helped.

But since childhood the Santa we knew is a jolly,  chubby man with a white beard and red suit carrying his red sac loaded with goodies and toys. He comes during Christmas all the way from North Pole pulling his sleigh through the snow with the help of flying reindeers.

SECRET  SANTA

         

It is western Christmas tradition. It’s a game played between families or friends. 

Names of participants are written on the chits and placed in a hat and each one has to draw one chit and then buy a gift for the person whose name is in the chit. Each participant may also submit a shortlist of items he/she wants from his/her Secret Santa.  Then these gifts or presents are exchanged anonymously. People can also create special ways to make themselves known.

This is a gift especially for you,

I’m your secret santa, you can’t guess who.

Spread holiday cheer to family and friends,

Because the joy of Christmas never ends!!

                        This is a special gift just for you,

Hope you’l enjoy it whole year through.

As chistmas approaches you’l find out who,

None other than your secret santa who bought it for you!!

You’re now a secret santa with plenty to do,

Choose gifts wisely for whose name you draw.

Be covert and very sneaky too,

So that you’re not discovered a moment too soon!!

-
                                     ARYA SALGAONKAR
                 BPT (1)

BOOK REVIEW- A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’, the New York Times #1 best-seller, is a story about the women in Afghanistan.

37 million copies of ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ along with The Kite Runner (another best-seller by Khalled Hosseini) have been sold.

The story begins with Mariam who is an illegitimate child of a wealthy businessman in Herat, Afghanistan. She lives with her mother Nana. When mariam is 15 , Nana commits suicide. Given the circumstances, Jalil, her father, takes Mariam home with him and soon marries her off to a 40-year old shoe-maker Rasheed.

 Rasheed’s only desire is to have a male child. Mariam’s 1^st pregnancy brings joy to their lives but she suffers a miscarriage. After a series of miscarriages, Rasheed realises Mariam cannot give him a child and he starts harassing her. Life turns hell for Mariam.

The second protagonist, Laila has an open-minded school teacher as her father and a cheerful mother. During the war Laila’s house is hit by a rocket and she loses her parents. Laila is rescued by Rasheed from the debris of her house. He brings her home and after a few days asks 14 yr old Laila to marry him without even consulting Mariam. Laila realises by then that she is pregnant and that the baby’s father, Tariq, the love of ther life, may be dead. Given the circumstances she decides to accept Rasheed’s proposal. Laila gets Rasheed’s love but has to bare Mariam’s hatered. Laila’s child turns out to be a daughter who is named Aziza meaning the cherished one.

Aziza’s birth brings Mariam and Laila close as even Mariam can’t not love Aziza. At the same time Rasheed, unhappy whith Aziza begins to torture Laila as well. But now Mariam and Laila have united. Mariam becomes like a second mother and at the same time like a best friend to Laila. This strong bond succeeds in all the tests of fate and proves to be the most superior one.

‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ is a must read for those who wish to understand the modern history (1964 - 2003) of Afghanistan, which is told eloquently through the eyes of Laila and Mariam.

Life is an unending search for love, family, home, acceptance, a healthy society, and a promising future. 

You can go home again, even if "home" has evolved and been transformed. As home is transformed, one adapts and maintains what one can of tradition. 

The dying words of Laila's father, killed by a bomb while in the seeming safety of their home, quote lines from a 17th Century poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi in praise of Kabul: 

"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."

It shows how "love manifests itself in even more various shapes, be it romantic love, . . . or love for family, home, country, God.

 It is ultimately love that draws characters out of their isolation, that gives them the strength to transcend their own limitations, to expose their vulnerabilities, and to perform devastating acts of self-sacrifice."

           This heart-breaking and nerve-wrenching novel would make you weep, would make you smile and would open your eyes and tell you about the condition of women, the wreckage that Taliban has created and prove the love that can supersede it all.

NIRAJA KAPLAY

BPT (1)

THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON TODAY’S YOUTH

Let us face it – Social media is everywhere.

 People talk the “social media tongue” without even knowing it these days. 

Man made social networking sites and technically he should be changing it according to his needs but the youth today change according to the social networking site. Our world revolves around Facebook, Twitter and sites like that. Like every coin has two sides even this has its own pro’s and con’s.

So the question arises of “Social Networking sites- A boon or A bane?” but no answer. 

Our elders say a bane, because it has pulled most of the youth away from responsibilities and into the virtual world.  The youngsters say it is a boon because it has kept friends in different parts of the world in touch with each other. It is true that social networking sites are of great advantage to all of us but a boon becomes a bane when it is overused and that is what we need to understand. We cannot orbit around social networks, we need to prioritize and that is what we don’t do.

 Also, it is not only the youth forgetting the responsibilities there are several other problems that we face but cannot recognize yet. As students we rely too much on the information on the social media due to which we have reduced use of our thinking abilities, this may not affect us so much now but later on when we have to do research studies and cannot rely on these networks, this is the exact time when we will face the major difficulties.

The most common way we students make use of our time is by multi-tasking- writing an assignment on one hand and checking notifications on Facebook on the other or following someone on twitter, the only one who is harmed in such a situation is the student because he may be doing his work but without maximum understanding which in turn will lead to decreased academic performance.

 Now , we have to think who is at loss here. It is definitely not the creators of the social networking sites or the teachers and professors or our parents.

Additionally, being a social networking individual may make us an introvert because we reduce our comfort zone to making friends virtually and when it comes to interacting with someone in a social setup we do not know what to say and how to begin a conversation, which leads to us becoming antisocial and in the chain of events even depressed. 

The old saying’s always hold true in such cases “ Too much of anything is bad.”

  

Guest blogger - Saniya Nadkarni

        B.O.T

          2^nd Year

MCOAHS ESTABLISHMENT DAY!!!

Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences strives to train and develop healthcare professionals who teach differently-abled people how to tread through life.

 We form an essential part of the backbone of any medical institution. 

When MCOAHS was first established on 4th December, 1998, it was under KMC, and not present as an independent college. After about 6 to 7 years of its existence and continuous excellent work, it was declared as an independent college, adding a new member to the ever growing Manipal family. 

Dr. B. Rajashekhar was the appointed Dean, and under him and his group of teachers the college continued to flourish and soar higher, as it still does.

     We celebrated our Establishment Day on 6th December. The institute has been up and running for many years, but this was the first time it was celebrated by us, thanks to the hard work of the Student Council and the Editorial Board, as declared by Dr. Arun Maiya.

The programme began by welcoming the Chief Guest, Dr.B. Rajashekhar and Dr. Arun Maiya. 

Our beloved faculty members, Mr. Ganesh, Dr. John and Mr. Sridhar were also present .

Dr. Rajashekhar's inaugural speech was quite enlightening, telling us about the history of  MCOAHS and the leaps and bounds it has taken over the years.

 It was surprising and quite delightful to hear that Dr. Sridhar designed our college logo.

The Student Council and the Editorial Board had organized a Spot Phtography and an Essay Writing Competition, which were open to all students. 

The theme for spot photography was "SPIRIT OF MCOAHS".

 It was an apt topic, guiding the budding photographers to capture the very beauty and essence of MCOAHS.

The topic for the essay writing competition was " TEAM WORK IN HEALTH CARE".

 It was an interesting topic, making the participants pause for a while and ponder. It helped them picturize how they themselves will be a part of the very same "team" in the future and the life they have chosen and will lead.

 Aarsha of BOT II won the spot photography contest while Nirja of BPT I bagged the prize for best essay.

     

Another event that marked the 13th college establishment day of our college was the Blood Donation Camp organized by the Student Council in the New Trauma Centre. 

The event got quite a positive response with lots of students and teachers showing up to donate blood. Initially all the donors underwent screening and the ones who cleared the tests were allowed to donate. 

The success of this event is a great example of what team work can achieve. 

An idea born in an individual's mind, nurtured by another, modified and executed by team work lead to a very successful and the most memorable Establishment Day in the history of MCOAHS till date. 

-FARZANA BOT (1)
SPECIAL THANKS TO- RIDHIMA BPT (1)