A brief history of Kashmir!

Recently read a few scholarly and a few “not so” scholarly articles on the Kashmir issue. In the “not so” scholarly articles and across the web there are several articles that contradict each other a lot. These prompted me to write this blog.

A clarity that has to be brought to this issue is that Kashmir was not part of India in 1947, as it was not part of British India. Maharaja Hari Singh, the then monarch of Kashmir, to escape the atrocities of Pathans requested India to interfere through a Letter to Lord Mountbatten, the Governor General of that time. You can find that letter here. When Mountbatten used that opportunity to demand the Maharaja to annex Kashmir to the Indian Union (letter here), the then Indian Prime Minister, left it to the people of Kashmir to decide (letter here) and till date they are undecided. You can find a lot of transcripts in this website and in this page.

After the war in 1947 that lasted for just 3 months, in which the Indian troops drove away the Pathans (supported by Pak army), India requested UN’s intervention and the world community to understand the ulterior motives of the then leaders of our neighborhood country and help to establish peace in Kashmir. This is re-iterated in this letter to the Security Council. So India never had an intention to bring Kashmir into Indian Union by force. The question that lingers in most of the Indian minds is resonated in this article in Quora.com - Why did India gave back POK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) even after winning the war with Pakistan? You can read various perceptions in these answers, if you ignore some silly ones. In multiple wars that followed, we kept the promise of respecting peace in the valley and we do so even now, by conducting fair (?) elections. 

Unfortunately no other country in the world had really had any interest, neither in the peace of Kashmir valley nor in respecting the sovereignty of that princely state. Whether this first war in 1947 or the subsequent wars, we always respected the sovereignty of the Kashmir state and expected same from the international forces of that time and the UNO. However they did not think in the same way. Read this account of an American on the 1965 war and the comment by Roger at the bottom. An interesting read.

Personally, I really don’t bother whether Kashmir is in India or stays independent. It’s up to the people of Kashmir to decide and the world should respect that decision. It can be a Switzerland of Asia, if the neighborhood nations cooperate and the people of Kashmir have the ability and courage to decide.

Teach Maths the right way - II (Fractions, decimals and Percentage)

 Past week has been a real nightmare for me. Guess what? I was trying to teach fractions, decimals and percentages to my 5th grade son. Hope it the same with many other parents. 'Maths for Mums and Dads' book came to my rescue again. I just flipped through the pages but devised more ideas of my own and got few from my sister who is a Maths teacher.

Problem lies with parents. We always teach Maths only with the text book in hand and make children work out Maths with a paper and pen. Isn't it boring for children? Be it any word problem, the first thing that springs up in a child's mind is to think of whether the numbers have to be added, subtracted or multiplied without thinking of a logical solution. He does not understand 50% of 120 is just 60 and ends up with a tedious calculation of 50/100 * 120 .

Yesterday, my son added 1290 and 158.56 and gave the result as 171.46. As there was no decimal place in 1290 , he just kept a decimal point after 2 digits and added it up. If he had thought logically as to how could addition yield a smaller result, he would not have given such an answer. Paper and pen cripples the child's thought process.
Unlike other subjects, Maths is part of our daily life. We use Maths while cooking, shopping, dining outside, playing, partying and even when we travel. Then why teach it separately? Let Children learn Maths in a fun way.

Teach fractions through food. When distributing a chocolate bar among family members, ask the child what is his share. For ex. if a chocolate bar has 12 pieces and there are 12 people, the child would be able to tell that each one's share is one twelfth, i.e 1/12. So she understands fraction is nothing but division. If the same chocolate bar has to be distributed to 15 people, then it becomes 1/15. Hence the understanding that 1/15 is less than 1/12 automatically creeps up in his mind, as she gets less share than before.

When walking to a shop, ask the distance of the shop with reference to the bus stop. Suppose, bus stop is 3 kms from your house and the shop is 1 km from your house, then the shop is in 1/3rd distance with reference to the bus stop. So it is 1/3 of 3 kms , which is 1 Km. Understanding concepts will remain in their memory forever rather than practicing more exercise problems. However large numbers have to be worked out but it becomes easier if the underlying concept is clear.

Once the child understands fractions, then decimals is like a cake walk. Decimals is nothing but place value which is 1/10th, 1/100th etc. So, as in the example of adding a whole number with decimal number, a child would not get confused with 10th and 1/10th position. Allowing the child to go for small shopping and to ask him to get the correct change would also help in learning decimals. If an egg costs 3.5 , what is the cost of 8 eggs?

Teaching Percentage is a real challenge. Though in curriculum, a child learns percentage in grade 5, it starts from the stage when the child scores marks for his class test. If he gets 5 on 10, he gets 50%. He also knows 50% is nothing but 1/2. Whenever your daughter comes up with her test results, ask her for her percentage. So it would not be anything new, when she comes across it in her subject. Best way to teach percentage is while buying clothes at a discounted price. A shirt costs Rs.800, there is discount of 20% , what is the shirt cost? You can even promise to buy him the shirt if he tells the correct price :-). He can always relate this example, when he has to do complex problems.

Eating out? A percentage of it gets added to the bill. Ask your son to tell the bill amount with the tax added. By the way, they also get to know that there is something called tax that is added to whatever things we buy or eat.

If you start thinking, you will get lot more real time problems.

My son did his math to tell me the bill price , when we ordered Pizza online. This time he came out with the correct answer, as he enjoyed doing it. If you like your son/daughter to enjoy it the same way, then teach maths the right way !!!

A breathtaking trip to Kolli hills

Are you a person who is fascinated by the thrilling, terrific rides in amusement parks? Then travel to Kolli hills is the right choice for you. With 70 hairpin bends to reach the hill top, the experience is nothing short of the giant roller coaster rides. Of course, the duration is longer, lasting 45 to 60 minutes.

Kolli hills is a small mountain range located in Namakkal district of Central Tamil Nadu. It is around 350 km from Chennai and 65 Km from Salem. Planning for a 2 days vacation getaway to a serene location that is not much commercialised by tourists , we started to Kolli hills from Chennai on a Friday morning by car. Though much smaller than Ooty/Kodaikanal , the winding ride to the mountain could evoke dizziness and nausea for anyone. Better to be prepared with some fizzy drinks/lemon. We reached the hill top around 1 pm and took rest for few hours after taking lunch in the restaurant attached to the resort. We started for sightseeing after sipping our evening tea enjoying the scenic beauty around.

Scenic View of Kolli from View Point

The Kolli View point is at few km distance from the resort. As it was almost twilight, we could get only glimpse of the wading sun beside the mountain. We felt as if the sun was red hot with anger and it tried to hide its face, as we got late. However, the misty mountains engulfed in canopy of green trees was a picturesque one. To get a better view of the never ending beauty of the towering mountains, we climbed on the watch tower. As darkness engulfed us, we returned back to the resort brimming with energy, capturing the scenery in both our eye and camera lens.

There are only a handful of resorts in kolli , as tourism has just picked up. We stayed in Nallathambi resort, which is ideal for a family stay. Though not a Posh one, it has all the basic facilities and is clean. Powered by solar water heaters, there is 24 hrs hot water supply.

Jack fruits 

You can wake up to see Jack fruits hanging, pepper climbers and red hibiscus and other beautiful flowers greeting u a good morning. What more is required than having a meals with home made touch in an open to sky environment with cool breeze and mild sun? As it is December., we expected the weather to be cold and packed up our winter clothes but the weather was neither cold nor hot but very pleasant.

The next day, we woke  up early and started for Arappaleeswarar temple, which is around 12 kms from the resort, It is an ancient small temple believed to have been built by Valvil Ori in the 1st or 2nd century. Though there has been lot of renovations since the time it was built , it did not lose its heritage and ancient glory. We could sense it as we stood in the main Karpagriha to pray the lord.

Agaya Ganga from a distance

Agaya Ganga

With blessings of lord Shiva, we proceeded to the majestic Agaya Ganga waterfalls. It is just a stone throw away from the temple. With full of energy to see the falls, we climbed down the 1000 steps. At about half the distance, we can hear the giant roar of the waterfall. Nearing the falls, you are sure to feel that it is worth the effort. With its rapid speed and height, it gives a feel of water falling from the sky justifying its name. But we cannot get closer to the fall as we get wet by the fall shower few metres before. It is nearly comparable to the famous Kutralam in Thenkasi. The view of Agaya Ganga amidst the mountain range and greeneries is breathtaking. It turned out to be actually breathtaking for me as I nearly passed out while climbing back. Probably, it is either because of the low oxygen levels at high altitude or because I climbed in empty stomach. So, make sure that you are in good health and carry essential glucose drinks to visit this majestic waterfall.

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Don't be disappointed that you could not take bath in Agaya Ganga. There are many other waterfalls in Kolli hills, among which is Masila falls.As Masila falls is wide and the water pace is relatively low, we can take bath in this fall. Hats off to Tamil Nadu tourism department , there are toilets, waiting rooms and children's play area in all the locations. There are also many temples in Kolli but as were short of time, we returned to the resort for lunch after visiting and worshiping Ettukai Amman temple.

Pepper Climber

Post lunch, we went to boat house. Pepper climbers lined up all through the way embracing the trees like lovers hugging each other closely. The boat house is small , yet it is very scenic with ferns and evergreen trees lining up its shore. Pedaling the boat, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery with cool breeze embracing us. There is also a children's park adjacent to the boat house.
We got refreshed to drive back to Chennai.

As Kolli hills is not commercialized like other hill stations, it still retains its natural beauty.  But in spite of the several sign boards, we could see plastics and bottles littered in some places threatening the survival of forest animals. Isn't it human beings' duty to preserve God's creations?

Encompassing magnificent waterfalls, ancient temples, boat house, botanical gardens, Kolli hills is a perfect hill station. No wonder, it is the top choice for nature lovers, trekking enthusiasts and meditation practitioners.