Several organizations like the IYCN (Indian Youth Climate Network), NGOs like Spoorthi and service organizations like Helping Hands for All and COVA (Confederation of Voluntary Associations), the Rotary Clubs and the Rotaract Clubs of various colleges joined hands towards a common motive to spread awareness among the general public and minimize the use of plastic bags. Swetha, Anil, Bharat and Ranga Prasad from IYCN, Mahesh and Bhargav Raju from Spoorthi, Sampath from Holy Mary and Vyshnavi from Human Resource and Development College were the brains and the back stage workers behind the event.

The entire General Bazaar comes to a standstill and is completely bowled over by these environment enthusiasts! Credits: Candy Floss

A whopping total of 200 youngsters had gathered at the Parking lot of the Sanjeevaiah Park at 12 pm to discuss the strategy of the programme and to prepare banners and posters. A total of about 150 banners and placards were prepared with the centre of attraction being the huge ‘Plastic Man’ and ‘Cloth Man’. The Rotaract Club of St. Ann’s College, the JNTU College of Architecture, St. Francis College, Holy Mary College, the Human Resource and Development College along with the Andhra Pradesh Environment Connect (APEC) contributed a great deal towards the success of the rally. The actual rally began at 3 P.M. when this huge group of youngsters started off from the Mahatma Gandhi statue at General Bazaar. The participants were divided into many groups and had their respective team leaders leading them.

These budding environmentalists marched through Park Lane, taking a left at the traffic signal from where they took a left at the Paradise junction. On their way back, they came to a halt at two or three shopping complexes and gave the public a ‘flash mob rally’. All through the rally, there were slogans like “No fun with plastic, more fun without plastic!”, “Chodo chodo plastic bags, lao lao cloth bags” high up in the air. “Participants turned out in such large numbers that we, the organizers, were taken aback! In fact, as the rally gained momentum, many passersby and NCC cadets also joined us. Mahesh and I had to run around the Superintendent of Police and the local traffic police to grant us permission to allow the rally to proceed”, says an enthusiastic Anil.

The cops find it difficult to control these spirited youngsters! Credits: Candy Floss

“It was mast to see such a long queue in rows of two, all dressed in white, marching all across the streets of Secunderabad an being the cynosure of all eyes! I’m sure we even caught the eagles’ eye!” chuckles Mahender from Helping Hands for All. Meanwhile Bung Bung from Manipur representing another organization called Green peace, proudly shows off his signature white T-shirt, which reads, “Green your machine, the youth awakens to make India a better nation!”

The entire event was covered by the print and the electronic media alike. A live footage was covered by local news channels like HmTV, ATV and Zee News while a detailed report was given in all the leading newspapers like the Times of India, the Hindu, Eenadu, Deccan Chronicle and Sakshi, the next morning. “I’m extremely glad Swetha, Ranga Prasad, Sujatha, Naresh and all the other event managers put in their best efforts to make this rally such a phenomenal success! I really appreciate the team work of all the participants. Some of them had come from towns as far as Ongole, Karimnagar and Tirupathi to join this rally. The rally has caused quite a stir among the public, which would make them think twice before polluting our environment further. It is heartening to learn that just 20% of the world’s population today, uses cloth bags. Climate change and Global Warming have begun to take their toll. Hence a global campaign, called 350 is going to be held on the 24^th of October, 2009, the ‘International Day of Climate Action’, wherein an alarming number of 110 countries are coming together and hosting innovative and creative events to check climate crisis.

The Cloth Man Vs the Plastic Man! The ultimate war won by the Cloth Man! Credits: Candy Floss

The natives of Maldives are hosting scuba diving events wherein they would form a figure of the digits, 350 underwater! The Climate Network in India is also aiming at forming a similar figure close to the Mt. Everest that day!” informs K. Chaitanya Kumar, the National Convener of IYCN. “We also tried to highlight this day of Global Action through our rally. We’re really satisfied that we could draw the attention of one and all just by yelling out slogans, distributing cloth bags and stealing away all the limelight! We could notice that all the onlookers were aghast by the goings- on”, seconds a cheerful Ranga Prasad, who stepped into the shoes of the Plastic Man!

“The educated people are aware of this. The problem, especially in India, lies in the fact that nobody is willing to take the initiative and lead the way. I’m relieved that he masses are waking up to such social and environmental concerns, thanks to the Gen X, who have created a ripple this way”, opines Mr. Raghuveer, an Indian Forest Services Officer.

In another interview with the HmTV, Mrs. Ram Lakshmi, another IFS Officer stated, “Pollution because of plastics is like a price tag put on the earth. The plastics lead to clogging of drains and also choke some cattle to death, when consumed. Plastics contain some carcinogenous chemicals which in turn affect the milk from such cattle. So it is hazardous all the way”. “Plastics, in general contain certain crystals of crude oil called Nuggets, which are obviously imported. So it is yet another way by which we are contributing to the revenue to other countries. On the other hand, cloth and cotton bags are completely Hindustani so they make us feel patriotic too”, says Swetha, the secretary of the Rotaract Club of Secunderabad Sunrise.

HmTV interviews Mrs. Ram Lakshmi Ma'am, an IFS Officer! Credits: Candy Floss

The cloth bags prepared by the volunteers and distributed to the shopkeepers! Credits: Ranga Prasad

One eye - catchy placard! - Advocating 'No plastic bags'. Credits: Candy Floss

The entire rally came to an end at around 5 pm with Mr. Jay Prakash and Mr. Vijay Bhaskar, from a Software Company called Premalayam, which also manufactures paper bags, distributing their produce to all the participants. The participants, then went to reach out to the shopkeepers in the Bazaar to encourage them to replace cloth bags with plastic bags. They enlightened them about the ‘Carrot Mob’ competition, which was a contest for the shopkeepers on who gives away the most number of paper bags and uses minimum number of plastic bags. The incentive to the winner being, total media glare and publicity for his shop.

For all the environment lovers, who would love to contribute their bit, they can get registered with IYCN. Contact Mr. Chaitanya Kumar on 9849016371 or register online on www.350.org , www.iycn_hyd@googlegroups.com or on www.carrotmob.org. After all, planet Earth will continue to sustain life only if we ‘Go the green way and chuck plastic everyday!’

The picture says it all! - A shopkeeper inspired by the rally contributes his bit! Credits: Mahender

Mr. Vijay Bhaskar's daughter, the youngest participant, distributes paper bags! Credits: Candy Floss

A detailed report on the rally published in the Hindu, the next day! Credits: www.thehindu.com

The Rotaract Club of St. Ann’s College is comprised of students from various disciplines with a zeal to make a difference! 33,000 Rotaract Clubs are present in more than 200 countries worldwide, with more than 1.2 million members which are for young Rotaractors in the age group of 18 – 30 years. They work under the supervision of their parent club – Rotary International, headquartered at Lincolnwood, Illinois, USA. The current President of Rotary International is Dong Kurn Lee from China. Rotarians are the members of the club, who are above 30 years of age. Female Rotarians are referred to as Inner Wheel Members. Irrespective of the age, both the clubs with a motto, “Heart to God, hand to man” have gone out of their way to reach out to the needy and the unprivileged. “The Club also aims at professional development, leadership qualities, confidence building, multitasking, decision making, empowerment and improvement of one’s communication skills”, beams Vibhooti, the President of the Club.

The Zilla Parishad School at Bakaram that the Rotary Club of Hyderabad Central had adopted! Credits: Candy Floss

Mrs. Maya, a senior Rotarian encouraging the 5th graders at the Zilla Parishad School! Credits: Candy Floss

The Presidential Citation Award that the Rotaract Club of At. Ann's was awarded 3 times in a row! Credits: Candy Floss

The Rotary Club of Hyderabad Central, District 3150, headed by Mr. Ashok Chandwani as their President, adopted a Zilla Parishad School at Bakaram village, 60 kms away from the city. Every year, on Independence Day, a few Rotaractors from St. Ann’s College and a few Rotarians visit the school, interact with the little angels and give them gifts. This year, The Rotaractors conducted various competitions for the kids and the most talented of them were were awarded special prizes. “I’ve been here earlier and I’m surprised to learn that these kids recognize me very well! This year was special since we showed these tiny tots a presentation on ‘Swine Flu’, the latest epidemic since these kids have no access to the television, the newspaper or the internet. But surprisingly, some smart kids knew some of the homely remedies for the viral infection”, gushes an amused Anagha, a final year Genetics student. “This is the first time I’ve come along and it is one fantabulous experience! It feels great to see the joy on their beautiful faces when we gift them books and stationery and these kids are undoubtedly multifaceted!” opines Swathi, a second year Microbiology student.

The teachers at the Government School! Credits: Candy Floss

The Rotaract Club has an official Instillation ceremony every year, wherein the cabinet members – the President, the Vice President, the Secretary,  the International Services Director, the Professional Development Director, the Community Services and Club Services Directors, the Treasurer and their second-in-powers are elected. Apart from these posts, excelling Rotaractors are presented with the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) and the Paul Harris Fellowships, named after the founder of the Clubs. “All of us come together as one team and work hand in hand, organizing fund raising programmes like the Green Greeting Programme – gifting saplings to friends on Friendships’ Day instead of the monotonous friendship bands and gifts, Flood Relief Programmes, Pulse Polio Campaigns, Awareness walks and DJ Nights, the profits of which would be given as charity”, recalls Anusha, an active Rotaractor.

“We are really excited that all these bhaiyyas and didis are visiting our school every year. They are coming here again on Teachers’ Day and donating some benches to our school. We’ll really miss them after they leave”, says Nikitha, a 9^th grader, nearly in tears. Well, this is the impact that the Rotaract Club has while fulfilling it’s duties – spreading love and compassion all around!

Anybody, who would like to contribute their bit and make a difference to a million lives could register at http://www.rotary3150.org. Afterall, “Hands that help are holier than lips that pray”, aren’t they?

Hepatitis B is a disease caused by the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), which results in the inflammation of the liver in humans, called Hepatitis. This acute illness causes liver inflammation, vomiting, jaundice and may lead to even death! The other types of Hepatitis diseases are Hepatitis A, C, D, E, F,G, of which Hepatitis B is the most common. The Hepatitis B Virus is a Hepadnavirus. The vaccinations are given in 3 doses for children – 2 or 3 days after the birth of a child, when the child is 6 – 18 months of age and when he is 2 – 5 years old or given as booster doses in case of adults.

Enthusiastic participants during the Awareness Rally, walking past Hyderabad Central! Credits: Tulsi

On this occasion, our very own Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), located at Punjagutta, came up with some really interesting activities for school and college students of the twin cities to spread awareness regarding the disease. The Institute, with the help of its esteemed faculty, students and dedicated doctors, came out with exciting poster and seminar presentation contests. In addition to it, there was a panel discussion for these students with a distinguished team Gastroenterologists from across the state and an awareness walk by all the students from the Institute to the Khairtabad X Roads to enlighten people about the pathogen city of such diseases.

The participants left no stone unturned to make their posters a success! Credits: Priti

Chandana at her creative best! Credits: Priti

The next session was that of the poster and seminar presentation. A total of a 34 groups from various science and nursing colleges presented their models and posters, some of which were extremely vibrant and colorful. The panel of judges comprisedof Microbiology lecturers from various colleges, around 20 doctors from NIMS, headed by Dr. Suresh and Dr. Venugopal Rao and Dr. Nageshwar Reddy and the Director of the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology. They had a tough time choosing the best 3 models. The first prize was bagged by St. Ann’s College, the second prize by Bhavan’s College and the third by Aurora College. The winners were given certificates, mementos and cash awards as tokens of appreciation and encouragement. “This was indeed a great learning experience for all of us. At this level, we require exposure to boost our confidence levels and NIMS has done the same!” opines Pavani from St. Ann’s, one of the winners. “Not only have we learnt a lot about this viral infection but we also got to experience the true spirit of competition and realised the value of team work”, says Vipul, a biotechnology student from Aurora.

The eye-catchy prize winning poster! Credits: Pavani

The final session of the programme was the round of Panel Discussion wherein the best gastroentrologists from the state answered numerous queries posed by the general public, the patients and the students. The various methods to prevent Hepatitis B, like the injection of drugs into one’s body, avoiding alcohol, proper and careful transfusions of blood and other body fluids, taking 3 doses of the vaccination, sterilizing the blood samples and syringes while working in the Pathology Laboratory etc. were put forward and discussed. “The discussion was definitely an eye opener for the layman. In spite of us being biology students, we’ve realized that what we know is just the tip of the ice berg!”, chuckles Meghali, a participant from St. Ann’s who found the discussion extremely informative.

This eventful programme came to an end with the injection of free dosages of vaccinations to all the poor patients, who could not afford the same in a bid to eradicate the Hepatitis Virus completely from the face of this earth!

After a few minutes, they started this amusing exercise again! They were in splits of laughter, all of a sudden. No prizes for guessing – these people were from a Laughter Club. They were a part of the ABC – Always Be Cheerful Laughter Club, which was founded about 12 years ago by Dr. Madan Kataria. It was coincidentally  the INTERNATIONAL HAPPINESS DAY! July 10th is celebrated as the International Happiness Day every year in a bid to spread joy and warmth around the globe.

The members of the ABC Laughter Club making merry! Credit: Candy Floss

Interestingly, St.Ann’s degree college for women, has a dress code on the occasion of this special day. So everyone was spotted in bright yellow dresses that day. The college’s Department of Psychology, headed by Dr. Mrs. Latha Subramanyam, organized a workshop on Hasya Yoga or the Laughter Therapy by a prominent Laughter Club in town, ABC Laughter club.  These men and women, who practice their laughter at JVN Park every morning, performed this Hasya Yoga demonstration. Needless to say, they rocked! Their programme was so full of fun and colour that made Annites proud of their college.

All they did was stood quiet, as they watched all the students and burst into ripples of laughter, at the drop of a hat, flinging their hands high up in the air! Watching them, the lady ‘Hitler’ of the college, whom everybody dreads, also couldn’t help but bursting out! They taught them various kinds of laughter like the Lion Laughter, which they are into most of the time, startling all curious onlookers, the various pitches in which a person can laugh. Silent laughter, shameful laughter, clappy laughter and naughty or sarcastic laughter. All through the show, there were slogans like “Ek, do, teen, chaar, khulke hasiye baar baar!”, “Hoo hoo - ha ha ha”, high up in the air. While they were enacting the shameful kind of laughter, there was one guy in his mid thirties, who was hugging the pillar and giving his best! One couldn’t take their eyes off him!

The posters on the smile-o-meter put up on the college notice board! Credit: Candy Floss

On the informative end, Shireen Panjwani, the President of the ABC Club declared, “Laughter is indeed the tonic, the relief and the surcease for a pain”. “I’m glad that the World Health Organization has come up with an International Happiness Day and we’re all a part of the celebrations! Such a day should definitely be red marked on the calendars and should be celebrated with as much pomp and splendor as the Friendship Day, Mothers’ Day or Valentine’s Day!” adds Deeksha, one of the students, who attended the workshop and benefited from it thoroughly!

Special gifts of appreciation in the form of ‘Laughing Buddhas’ were given to all the members of the Club, which happened to have many youngsters too! Ask Nisha, a final year student pursuing her Biotechnology course, if she is really impressed by the activities of this Club and pat comes the reply, “Ofcourse! I’m totally fida over these guys and would immediately sign up for the Club. Afterall, life is to be lived KING SIZE!”

Such clubs are on the rise worldwide since they are the only solutions to the various predicaments of life. Laughter relaxes the mind, body and soul and makes us leave all our tensions and stress filled lives behind. Such clubs attract people of all age groups and are a hit, especially with the youngsters since GenY these days have a hectic life balancing their academics, part time jobs, careers and relationships! Dr. G. Prasad Rao, M.D (Psychiatry), FIPS, FIASP, a leading Consultant Neuro Psychiatrist in the city quips, “Patients visit my clinic due to various kinds of depressions arising from the ongoing recession, peer pressure, competition, monotonous and westernized lifestyle and the best advice that I give them is to be content and cheerful in life which can be achieved by practicing Pranayama and meditation, rendering one’s physical and mental well being”.

A Laughing Buddha to tickle your funny bone! Credit: Candy Floss

No wonder girls are instantly smitten and go ga-ga over guys having a very good sense of humor! Point to be noted guys!  The very reason why comedy shows like F.R.I.E.N.D.S., The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and The Great Indian Laughter Champions are a rage among the audiences and keep making comebacks is reason enough to state that humor plays an integral part of our lives. Well, it’s another issue that most of us continue to watch cartoons like Tom and Jerry and read comics like Calvin and Hobbes and Garfield, even till date! While talking about humor and laughter, it would almost be impossible to keep comedy greats like Charlie Chaplin, Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) and Johnny Lever at bay! Comedy kings like Charlie Chaplin, who once rightly quoted, “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long shot!” and Brahmanandam, who holds various Guinness World Records for their comedy timing and splendid performances definitely deserve a thunderous applause and a special mention. Many of the recent flicks have also adopted comedy as a genre and the actors have also stood out in spite of some of them being newcomers – be it Saif Ali Khan of Dil Chahtha Hai or Kal Ho Naa Ho, Vinay Pathak of Bheja Fry, Govinda of Partner and Bhagam Bhag, Paresh Rawal of Hera Pheri, Akshay Kumar of Singh is Kinng, Venkatesh of Malleshwari or even Nikhil of Happy Days – they all have managed to steal the show and leave the audiences craving for more!

After the workshop,  with refreshed minds, students of St. Ann’s decided that they would add ‘laughter’ to be one of the important components of their life and pledged that they would definitely spread joy and love around them and brighten up others’ lives. Afterall, “A smile is a curve that sets things straight”, isn’t it? At the end of the day, they all went home happy!

St. Ann’s College for Women, Mehdipatnam, with an NAAC Accreditation of A Grade is a premier institute for the all round development of the girl child in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Established in 1983, with the motto – ‘The Light of Life’ and having celebrated its Silver Jubilee last year, this institute has carved a niche for itself and has also produced students, who have excelled in all walks of life.

From fashion designers to entrepreneurs, RJs, to even badminton champs like Saina Nehwal, the college has produced them all! You’ll be surprised to learn that as soon as you switch on your television sets while sipping your morning tea, you’ll have Smriti Rao reporting for you, who incidentally happens to be a product of St. Ann’s! And I’m sure that many other Annites would add more feathers to the already colourful hat of  St. Ann’s and they’ll be the ‘torch bearers’ to the ‘Light of Life’ which has been glowing brightly! On one hand, if the Annites are stealing away all the limelight, on the other, all the lecturers who have moulded the young minds and encouraged them, definitely deserve a special mention!

The Sciences Block at St. Ann’s comprises of a host of departments like the Departments of Microbiology, Nutrition, Genetics, Botany, Zoology, Chemistry , Biotechnology and Biochemistry which are the frontier sciences under the Life Sciences category and the Departments of Mathematics, Statistics, Electronics, Physics and Computer Sciences under the Mathematical Sciences category. All the Heads of these Departments namely, Dr. Mrs. Sneha Gogte, Mrs. Meena Kumari, Dr. Mrs. Elizabeth Margaret, Dr. Mrs. Priyamvada Devi, Dr. Mrs. Radha, Dr. Mrs. Angela, Dr. Mrs. Mrudula Rao and Mrs. P. Nirmala Xavier, Mrs. Lakshmi Rajgopal and Dr. Mrs. Swarna Kumari, respectively, all hold qualifications and experience of the highest order. The laboratories here provide all the necessary equipment for the students to grow into research scholars. To add to the icing on the cake, educational trips to prominent centres for Research like the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) etc. are conducted periodically to enable the students to have a first hand feel of the industry outside and to expose them to a whole new world of limitless opportunities. The projects taken up by the students with the leading Corporate giants like Shantha BioTech, GVK Bio, Reddy Labs, not only decorate their resume but also contribute greatly to their personality development. No wonder Annites are champs in their own league!

In addition to these, the various departments also offer diploma and certificate courses in advanced sciences like the Department of Genetics conducts courses in Bioinformatics , Forensic Sciences and PCR Technology, the Department of Nutrition spreads awareness by establishing Diet Counselling Cells in the college and giving presentations and conducting seminars on Weight Management and workshops on Bakery for the students. The Department of Botany conducts afforestation drives and sustains the interest of the students in the subject by organising classes on Bonsai Techniques, Vegetable Carving and Horticulture. The Department of Zoology has come up with exciting workshops on Wildlife Photography which have managed to draw huge crowds from the Arts and Commerce students as well! The Department of Mathematics organises special classes on Vedic Mathematics which are a rage among the Non-Maths students. The Department of Electronics and Physics conducts exhibitions which showcases different mechanisms used in devices like the Burglar alarm, automatic street lamps, locker safety alarm, water sensors, auto pump-on, mini radio station etc. Every year, on the 1st of December, World Aid’s Day, the Department of Microbiology comes up with an exhibition completely handled by the students. The final year students make interesting presentations and enlighten the students and lecturers on the importance and scope of Microbiology, the contributions of various scientists and the future prospects of the subject. Interestingly, every year, the Chief Guest of the programme is a French research scholar since France is known for producing many Microbiologists!

Annites are not bookworms in any sense and have their share of fun too. The various departments celebrate ‘their’ day to honour a Nobel Laureate or a scientist who had contributed immensely to the subject. The students get to organise everything from scratch and all this improves their managerial and organisational skills and brings them together as one team!