CHILDREN

Jog Falls in India

In our series famous waterfalls in the world today let us focus on the Jog Falls in India.

Jog Falls, created by the Sharavathi River falling from a height of 253 meters (829 ft) is the highest plunge waterfall in India. Located in the Shimoga District of Karnataka State, these segmented falls are a major tourist attraction. It is also called by alternative names of Gerusoppe falls, Gersoppa Falls and Jogada Gundi.

River Sharavathi splits up into four different tracks which are named in accordance with their perceived trajectories. Going from left to right respectively in the picture, the names and the reasons for naming are:

Raja (King): Named so because of its apparently ‘dignified’ and ‘serene’ fall.

Roarer: This stream appears out of a mass of rocks, making a tremendous amount of noise.

Rocket: Consists of a large volume of water streaming out of a small opening at a very high speed.

Rani (Queen), also called Lady: The stream has a winding, twisting trajectory, said to resemble the movements of a female dancer. Associated with the waterfall is the nearby Linganmakki Dam across the Sharavathi River, and the hydro-electric power station that it serves.

The power station has been operational since 1949, and is, at 1200 MW capacity, one of the largest hydro-electric stations in India and a significant source of electric power for Karnataka.

The power station was previously named Krishna Rajendra hydro-electric project, after the King of Mysore at that time. The name was later changed to Mahatma Gandhi Hydro-Electric Project.

Watch your diet

Dear Children,

We are still recovering from the melamine scare which affected our selection of food items. But now we are faced with another issue namely the threat of unhygienic food outlets which have mushroomed in the suburban areas. It is a bitter truth that most of the school children patronise these questionable food outlets.

Children prefer to eat canteen junk food which are generally oily food items sometimes disregarding the clean and nutritious food which they bring to school. According to medical sources children should eat nutritious food like Kadala, Green gram and Kavpi. It is also good to add green and yellow vegetables with your rice preferably red rice.

It is very risky to eat pineapple, mango, ambarella and apple achcharu from street vendors although we are tempted to taste these very often. As you can see Achcharu containers are not properly covered from the dust and most of the vendors do not wash these fruits properly.

Generally we tend to check the prices of biscuits, yoghurt, milk packets, chocolates etc. but we simply pay no attention to the expiry date of them. Due to this lack of awareness or ignorance sometimes we are likely to eat outdated food items which can be disastrous to our health.

When you buy ice cream try to purchase them from a recognised outlet only and not from small carts and bicycle vendors.

As the saying goes, ‘Health is Wealth’ it is important that children take a nutritious and balanced meal for their physical and intellectual growth.

Children, please look after your health. Bye for now.

Aunt Anji

A trip to Kitulgala

Recently we went to Kitulgala. My father, mother and sisters went on the trip. We left home at about 7 a.m. We had breakfast on the way. We reached there about 9 a.m. There we played on the swing, see-saw. Then we bathed in the river and went in a boat. We had lunch at 12.30 p.m. We also went to see the bridge which was in the film Bridge On The River Kwai. We came home at about 6 p.m. We had a very enjoyable time.

Varnavi Perera Grade 4 K, Musaeus College, Colombo 7

Advantages and disadvantages in advertising

Advertisements tell us what the product is and its cost and advantages of the product. Usually advertisements are printed in newspapers and magazines. Nowadays everyone wants to advertise their product on TV or radio, because it’s popularised among people.

It is not possible to think of the present world without advertisements. It is one of the fundamental elements in the business world. Advertising can be applicable to the world of politics and religion as to that of business and trade. However nowadays, advertisements are more commonly used in the corporate as it is a effective way of informing the public of novel ideas on products introduce by the business.

Advertising is an effectual approach in bringing new products to the knowledge of their prospective customers. This is also useful in promoting a company’s sales revenue and increasing its market share. Some advertisements have proved to be educative to the public as well.

Problems crop up when advertising is misused. In today’s competitive world, you can find a range of advertisements. Mostly which are exaggerated and that carry untrue information about product and services.

This dishonest claims are made by the manufacturers for their selfish gains. As a result the public is misled, who are of the view that whatever comes in the media is true.

All in all, advertising can have its pros and cons, but it is our responsibility to use it in the proper manner in order to yield fruitful results. It is an effective tool in attracting to people to purchase but manufacturer should also consider about public welfare.

Ashili Sadurdeen Grade 12 Sailan International School Negombo

My trip to Udawalawe

I got up at 2.30 in the morning to be at school by 3.30 a.m. while my mother prepared our morning meal and some shorteats to share among everybody who went on the trip. My father loaded all the picnic items like mats, banana leaves to eat ‘Pol and Del’, caps and water for drinking. By 3.15 a.m. we hopped into our car and went to the school where the bus was already waiting for us.

My teacher with their families gathered there. It was my school’s staff trip and I was one of the lucky children - who were privileged to join the trip with their parents.

There were adults and 7 children. We got into the bus and started our journey at 4.30 a.m. It was so exciting as my best friend Ammar was also there. All my teachers started to sing and Ammar and I clapped, laughed and jumped about. Standing in the moving bus was fun. We saw everything out of the shutter was moving fast. It was nice and cool in the morning. By 6.30 a.m. we were in Udawalawe.

There were three jeeps awaiting us at the junction. The bus stopped and my mother who is the directress and principal of our school asked all of us to get into jeeps. We did it soon. We also loaded our picnic items into the jeep. We parked the bus at the vehicle park and Uncle Nishantha who was in-charge of the jeeps took us to the park’s entrance to buy the tickets. There we saw many pictures at the little museum. It was amasing to see how the hearts of the elephants, mouse and humans beat at different rhythms.

Soon after that we started our adventurous safari by 7.00 a.m. the 3 jeeps moved along the untarred, uneven earthen path into the wild at moderate speed.

I removed my overcoat and put on my hat, so did my friend Ammar. I got such a fabulous feeling as our jeep moved down the mud holes and up the mounds of earth. The smell of air was fresh and cool. Suddenly our jeep came to a halt and other two jeeps coming behind ours too stopped. The driver stopped the engine and we could hear the birds singing and the sound of the morning cool breeze.

Our trekker asked us not to make a sound. There we saw a cow elephant, a bull elephant and another baby elephant, all crossing the road. My mom and dad were in the second jeep and I was with Ammar and friends in the first jeep.

Many of our teachers, and our Deputy Principal took photos of the little family crossing the road. After the elephants left, we moved forward standing in the jeep with an open hood. We saw eagles, pelicans, peacocks, deer and even flamingoes taking flight. That was such a beautiful sight in the sky.

In large ponds there were buffaloes and crocodiles too! I saw a monkey sitting on a branch looking hard at me. I waved my hand, but it did not wave back.

After sometime we became very hungry. The drivers of the three jeeps took us to a beautiful place to eat our breakfast. I wanted my mother.

Our jeeps stopped and my mother helped me down the jeep. We all washed our hand with the water we took in our cans and sat in the specially made huts for visitors to eat our breakfast. My mother gave me ‘Del and Pol’ on a banana leaf together with some sandwiches. Both Ammar and I enjoyed it all.

There was too much of food. Many teachers gave many things for us to eat. I ate a lot as they were very tasty. We also fed a ‘Dandu Lena’ that came to our eating place. We gave her cutlets, corn flakes and part of everything we ate. I think she also enjoyed herself that day. I touched her furry tail before we all got back into our jeeps.

Our next item in the agenda was to see the baby elephants being fed with milk. We came back to the park’s entrance and got into our bus. Our mother collected the lunch from Uncle Nishantha. By 12.00 noon we were at the place to see these baby elephants. I saw them from quite a distance but it was fine. After sometime we got into our bus to find a good place to have lunch. We started to sing and clap until the bus stopped again.

Then the bus stopped at a temple and we all had our lunch there. On our way back we stopped at the ‘Blow Hole’ in Dickwella. My father bought tickets for all of us and we went climbing up the rocks. There we saw how the water gushed between two large rocks like a water fountain. It was such a beautiful scenery to watch.

I felt happy when my mother said it was time to go home as I could tell everyone about my wonderful trip to Udawalawe which I can never forget in my life.

Abdullah bin Wazeer P II, Brilliant Stars International College Matara

The sneeze does it!

Part - 14

By Uncle Sachi and Aunt Ruwi

Pramodaka did not know long he had remained crouching behind the flower pot. It felt like ages since Ruwi left.

He had watched the pixie knocking on the wooden door of the cottage and had caught a glimpse of the old woman as she had let Ruwi in. He wished he could have joined his friend indoors and taken a look inside the house instead of larking behind a rather dusty; cracked, moss covered an old pot which had only weeds sprouting from every nook and corner.

A daughter of a witch? Does that mean Maggie is a witch too? He thought witches and wizards existed only in fairytales and ‘Harry Potter’ books but the figure that had appeared at the doorway did not exactly fit in the image of a witch he had in mind. Why did they portray witches in long, black robes, pointed hats, perched on broomsticks and with black cats by their side?

Slowly his mind wandered back to his brothers and sister. For what seemed like the hundredth time since the events unravelled, he wondered whether he was dreaming and would wake up any minute by Scooby’s nudge.

He would rub his eyes and find the dog staring at him ready to be let out and it will be time to get ready for school… Or maybe he will wake up on the first day of the holiday and find all of them safely back in their tent, ready to explore the woods with their parents. He could tell Nalaka about his dream and maybe Chinthaka, Champika and their parents after the holiday is over.

So engaged was he in his thoughts that he did not hear the front door opening and the old woman approaching until she was just a few feet from his hideout.

Pramodaka just had time to duck behind the pot while catching his breath as the old woman came closer. She paused at the other side of the pot, frowning. Pramodaka held his breath, his heart racing. It was beating so loud that he was afraid that if the woman stepped closer she would surely hear the sound, but, much to his relief, swept past him and trotted towards the well.

Pramodaka craned his neck for a better view. With some luck he might see her performing a magical spell. In his excitement his hand brushed across the surface of the pot and a speck of dirt tumbled down to land squarely on his nose.

He couldn’t help himself. The action was unexpected and so was the reaction. The sneeze was sudden and too loud for him to pass it up. Maggie who had been standing on top of the rim of the well jumped at the loud noise coming from behind her. Pramodaka watched in horror as she toppled over into the well with a terrified scream.
 

Little Stars In Action 2008

‘Little Stars in Action 2008’ presented by the children of SLAF International Pre-school, Colombo was held at the Carey College auditorium on November 22. Chairperson of the SLAF Seva Vanitha Unit Nelun Goonetileke graced the occasion as the chief guest.

Scouts oath taking ceremony at Homagama Army School

The contingent of Homagama Army School Scouts(cubs) at their oath taking ceremony held at the school recently. Homagama Assistant District Commissioner Lasantha Sanjeewa, Principal Thilakaratne Hettiarachchi, Vice Principal T. N. Perera and Head Girl Guide Sagarika Kaluarachchi are also in the picture.(Above) One of the scouts(cubs) lighting the oil lamp.