He has his humour as well

The Dalai Lama weaved in humour and light heartedness during his speech, which kept the crowd attentive and amused throughout the programme.

While conveying that material possession does not give inner peace, he recollected an incident with an Archbishop, who would make others kiss his diamond ring. The Dalai Lama asked the Archbishop whether the ring ever returned him the affection. He could rather show this love to a pet which could at least lick him back and reciprocate the love. Upon hearing this remark the Archbishop called him “The mischievous Dalai Lama.”

Shedding light on why he called himself ‘the son of India ‘, he stated, “Physically I am Tibetan, but mentally every particle of my brain is filled with Indian culture, which is given to me by India daal and rice.”

He addressed all the young girls in the audience and told them the importance of inner beauty. He said that while testing this premise, he once told his friend that his wife was not very good looking. His friend replied that he cared not about her outer appearance, but her inner beauty. “I could argue no further,” he said.

- Yangzom, I M S Com

Campus rises to the occasion to welcome the seer

The campus rose to the occasion to welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama who came to take part in the Josephite Summit here on Sunday. A group of Tibetan students worked relentlessly giving attention to minute details.

The Dalai Lama was offered a traditional welcome in the form of a folk dance which was followed by the symbolic ceremony of lighting the lamp. The four constituents of SJC- the management, the staff, the alumni and the students honoured the Dalai Lama in their own way.

Welcoming the Dalai Lama Fr Abrose Pinto, the Principal called the event an historic occasion. “The father of our nation was assassinated on January 30, 1948. Sixty two years later we have with us his holiness the Dalai Lama who galvanises the stand for the same cause. He is the universal Mahatma who embodies the struggle against repression,” he said.

In preparation for the event, appropriate security measures were put in place. Journalists and press persons of varied media houses of the city pooled in to cover the historic event.

Faculty members, alumni and students, along with their families, thronged the event to catch a glimpse of the great spiritual leader. “I have waited all my life to see the Dalai Lama. My husband has had a chance to meet him, but I have never had the opportunity to do so until today,” Tenzing Doma, the mother of a student who attended the event, said.

“This is the chance of the life time. Seeing His Holiness gave me the motivation and strength to deal with the daily struggles,” said Mary P of Central College.

- Parinitha and Shoaib, I M S Com

The monk who wakes up at 3.30 a.m.

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama responded to the queries of the audience in an interactive session. Among the pool of questions that were asked he answered a few in his inimitable style.

When asked about the interrelation between Science and Buddhism, he called upon people to accept facts after analysing them rather than accepting on their face value. “Buddhism literature imbibes in itself scientific facts and also includes streams like Cosmology, Neuro-biology, Quantum Physics and Psychology as the four corners of religion. Internal Science comes from tradition,” he said.

Enlightening the crowd on ways of controlling anger His Holiness said, “It takes long time to control anger, but the intensity can be reduced.” He further added, “A long lasting anger results in hatred and ill feeling.”

One of the questions was how he spent his personal time. He mentioned elaborately about his daily course and his duties as a monk. The audience indeed was enthused to hear that he got up as early as 3.30 in the morning and took a heavy breakfast. “This is because I do not take my dinner,” he said with a toothy smile.

When questioned on the materialistic West influencing the young and ways to overcome it, he said that materialistic gain was just an illusion and would not give people the inner peace they desired. He added, “We must take a holistic view of life and not give priorities to materialistic aspects.”

Answering the question about broken families and the effect on children, the spiritual leader raised concerns about the growing number of divorces in the world, particularly in the West. Though it was a tough situation for the young minds to overcome, “sadness should give the victim inner strength,” he said.

- Jennifer, I M S Com

Dalai Lam graces Josephite Summit

He is acknowledged to be the universal apostle of peace and compassion. He calls himself a simple monk, but his ideologies and teachings are anything but simple. Addressing a gathering of over 3000 eager people at the SJC College grounds, His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama of Tibet, imparted his experiences about peace and harmony as the honoured chief guest at the Josephite Summit held on Sunday.

The Dalai Lama touched upon a wide spectrum of topics that centred on humanity. His speech was punctuated with a sense of humour, in addition to providing an in depth insight into the human condition. Speaking foremost about the contemporary times, he stated that the 20^th century had witnessed more than 200 million people being massacred through violence. “Highly advanced technology was used for destruction rather than to fix human problems. Whether the 21^st century is more peaceful, compassionate and constructive or repeats the mistakes of the previous century is a responsibility that rests on the shoulders of today’s youth,” he said.

Urging the young students to carry the fragile mantle of the future forward, he mentioned the tenets that are essential for this purpose. “Inner strength and self confidence are the qualities that every individual must possess. In order to achieve these two, one must have the basics of honesty, truth and will power.” He further said, “If a person is self-centric, he cannot have true concern for the well being of others.”

Reflecting on the importance of education in modern context, he said, “The very purpose of education is to reduce the gap between appearance and reality. According to Buddhist perspective, ignorance is the root of all misery.” He added, “Knowledge exists in three levels. Firstly, learning from others, followed by self-analysis and introspection and lastly, conviction to what is learnt. This knowledge should be applied in a holistic way in order to create a happier and more meaningful society.”

Calling himself a “son of India”, he shed light on the country that had paved the way for the existence of multiple religions. “For virtues of ahimsa and religious harmony, India is the best example for the rest of the world,” he added.

Speaking to the Tibetan student community in particular, he encouraged them to keep the spirit of the Tibetan struggle alive, and said, “Practice self-discipline. Be aware not only of your immediate surroundings, but the larger picture as a whole”

- Parinitha and Shoaib, I M S Com

Jan 22 exams postponed

The exams which were supposed to be held on Saturday, January 22, will now be held on Thursday January 27. The College management has taken this decision following the State bundh declared by the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday.

However, the exams which are to be held on Monday and Tuesday (Jan 24-25) will be conducted as usual.

- College News

Dalai Lama in campus

St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Bangalore

Rector, Principal, Staff, Students and the Alumni

Cordially invite you to the

JOSEPHITE SUMMIT

on Sunday 30^th January 2011

at 9.30 a.m. on the College grounds.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

will be our most honoured guest

Dr. (Fr.) Vijayakumar Prabhu SJ, Rector

Dr. (Fr.) Ambrose Pinto SJ, Principal

Sri Laxminarayan IAS, President- Alumni

(Participants are expected to be seated by 9.00 a.m. All participants are expected to have a Pass. If you are a former student and need a free Pass kindly contact Fr. Melwyn Pinto SJ, Director of the Alumni Association. )

Programme: 09. 30 a.m. Arrival of His Holiness

09. 35 a.m. Welcome Dance/College Anthem

09.40 a.m. Lighting of the Lamp

09.45 a.m. Welcome Speech

09.50 a.m. Felicitation to His Holiness

09.55 a.m. Address by the Principal

10.05 a.m. Address of His Holiness Dalai Lama

10. 50 a.m. Questions and Answers

11.30 a.m. Vote of Thanks

National Anthem

His Holiness leaves

A 30 minute cultural programme with Tibetans, North-East & other dances

Book on environment economics released

A book that provides a comprehensive discussion on environmental economics called ‘Economics of Environment’ was released here on Monday. Dr Subhashani Muthukrishnan, professor of Economics has authored the book.

Dr Chandrakant, professor and university head of Agriculture Economics and leader of the Centre of Excellence in Natural Resources at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore released the book.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Chandrakant said, “It is not easy to write a book like this. The important issue here is that the book is written by an Indian and has been written in an Indian language that will help students to understand these environmental issues.”

“This book focuses on the welfare of the environment. It understands poverty and the environment and how people misuse resources at times,” he added.

The book deals with various aspects such as population and environment, market and environmental resources, degradation of the environment, sustainable development and various other environmental issues. It also deals with national and international environmental issues and legislations.

Making a presentation of the contents of the book, Dr Muthukrishanan, the author, said that the book discussed in detail the issue of market failure externality and welfare with regard to the environment. “The book has a detailed bibliography which encourages students to continue reading for the understanding of this subject. This book is for undergraduate and postgraduate students of economics.”

- Ainsly and Sarita, I M S Com

He has become a celebrity, at least for now

The sudden rise to celebrity status is putting Keshav Krishnamurthy, otherwise sedate studious student of III HEP, into an uneasy situation. His phone has not stopped ringing from the time people came to know about his rare feat of scoring 99.96 per cent in the Common Admission test (CAT).“Thankfully I had a breather of sorts today and I hope I will be left to myself,” said Keshav with a grin.

He was born in Bhubaneshwar, the capital city of Orrisa and moved to Bangalore with his family soon after his 12th class. “My father works in a software company and my mother is a teacher. We are all surprised over my result, because I had not really expected to score this much. I studied the last minute but I did take mock tests now and then which have probably been a lot of help,” said Keshav.

Maintaining a sense of calm over his recent success and the attention it has garnered, he said, “I am in a strange situation since. I am overwhelmed by everyone walking up to me with a warm smile and congratulating me. There is one more round of test left after which the admission procedure takes place.”

With the reporter

Speaking about Keshav’s Achievement, Vinay S S of III EPS said, “He is a very studious person. I see him always talking to teachers. He even has a good hold on English language. He has set an example for us. I am going to follow his footsteps and work harder from now on.”

“I knew very well, he had the potential to do well in life, but it was a surprise to see it happen so early. He would always ask good questions in class and involve actively in activities. I am very impressed with him,” said Dr P E Somaiah, lecturer of Political Science department.

The other teachers also seemed elated at his rare feat. “I knew he had to write CAT this year. He is a well read student and very curious to know about the text background. It was great news for the whole college,” said Dr Lata Radhakrishnan of Economics department.

- Raheeba, I M S Com

Students taste traditional cuisines at Ahara Mela ‘10

In a world that thrives on fast food, the Kannada Sangha of SJC brought back the taste of traditional cuisine at a food fest held here on Thursday. Ahara Mela’ 10, as it was titled, the fest was full of mouth watering home made food items that were sold in record time.

There were nine teams who took part in the fest, and they brought food items cooked from home. Jolada roti, akki shavige, chandrahara, maddhur vade, vangibath were some of the items that were displayed. “This is organised every year, but this time we are conducting it in a bigger way and it’s our first step towards our mega fest Kanasu,” said Ravikiran, president of Kannada Sangha.

The food fest was conducted during the lunch hour and one could witness large number of students rushing in to savour their favourite dishes. There were also lots of traditional games such as kuntebille, chowkebara, pagadeyaata arranged to entertain the students.

“It’s nice to have food fests like this, as they bring in a lot of traditional culture to the limelight and my favourite is joladha roti with brinjal curry,” said Dr Beatrice, HOD of Microbiology department.

The most interesting part of the food fest was the exhibition of different models that depicted the everyday life of village people. Earthen vessels (mud toys) like grinder, stove, idli maker etc were showcased to give a glimpse of the traditional forms of cooking.

This fest is excellent and I’m very delighted to be part of it. All the food items are cooked exceedingly well by the students and I feel as if I am in my home town, having my granny’s preparations. Today’s generation forgets the traditional food and prefer fast food; so this is a nice way to bring students back to home made delicacies,” said Dr Poornima, lecturer of Kannada department.

- Maria Loveena, I M S Com

Students walk backwards for AIDS

Around 100 students from various departments and student associations such as National Social Service Scheme (NSS) and Josephs Aids Awareness Movement (JAAM) took part in the ‘AIDS awareness backwards march’ organised by JAAM. The march began from the campus and moved all the way till St Josephs Pre University College (SJPUC) on Residency Road.

“This has been the third consecutive year that this event is taking place. It was a very beautiful way in which this rally was executed in memory of Mrs Barbara Naidu who was the founder of JAAM. May her soul rest in peace,” said Dr Betty Daniel, department of Botany.

Students finally gathered at the SJPUC campus, formed a circle and sang melodious songs such as “Heal the world” and “We shall overcome”, along with a moment of silent prayer.

The organisers held that the backwards march signified the resolve that people must not show their backs to other people who are HIV positive.

Students held several placards which included slogans such as “AIDS is just a disease, not a curse” and “Let our motto be challenging, not escaping”.

The coordinator of the event, Renee D’Souza, from the department of Mathematics said, “So many students are now aware of AIDS and as they go out, they will spread the word and create more awareness.”

- Madhumita, I M S Com

Students exhibit innovative models at social-science fest

Ever thought of growing mushrooms in your backyard in a stack of hay, using helmets with LED lights, using your ordinary camera for high definition photography or visualising our city in the next ten years. These were some of the innovative ideas that the students demonstrated in campus at the Social and Science exhibition here on Monday. The two-day fest which began on Monday witnessed many participants with over 130 exhibits from the natural science and physical science departments, humanities section and the Hindi department.

One of the exhibits ‘ethno cultural plants from the North East’ had a variety of medicinal plants found in the North East region of the country. “We got the plants from our place and had a little difficulty in preserving them as they do not get adjusted to the Bangalore weather very easily,” said Thomas Tulgnung of II CBBT.

“Many people are not aware of our culture and traditions. By putting up an apparel stall we want the students to identify our culture and traditions. Apparel is a way for people recognise others and their cultures,” said Sonam, II BSW who was part of the Tibetan and North East apparel stall.

The exhibition showcased some very unique ideas like growing mushrooms in your garden, high definition photography, G-MET stall which showed how to connect your helmet to a global positioning system (GPS).

“It was very pleasant to see students putting in so much of effort and come up with so many innovative ideas. Even though their ideas may not work in the long run, to see students work so hard is very pleasing,” said Dr Koppikar, department of Chemistry.

- SANDRA AND LETITIA, I M S Com