Kisholoy is produced by youth members of Ananda Mandir The articles, drawing or photographs of this magazine are copyrighted and should not be reproduced in any other forms without the consents of the owners.
We would like to acknowledge the contributions of the followings:
Editorial: Dipak K. Sarkar, Utpal Sengupta, Sudipta Bhanja Choudhury
Magazine Composer: Dipak K. Sarkar
For information about the Kisholoy – contact Dipak K. Sarkar via email (Dipakksarkar@hotmail.com).
Earthquake
By- Anooshka Sen (age 8)
What is an earthquake?
An earthquake is a tremendous shaking of the earth’s surface. The earth’ surface is made of several tectonic plates. These tectonic plates rub against each other all the time. Normally we cannot feel the shaking from these movements because it’s very minor. However if the movement of the tectonic plates is greater, then we call it an earthquake.
How does an earthquake occur?
An earthquake occurs when two tectonic plates rub against each other forming pressure. That pressure turns into energy. This energy has nowhere to go, so it builds up, forming an earthquake.
What are the tools to measure an earthquake?
Seismographs are the instruments that scientists use to measure earthquake shocks. A seismograph measures tiny earth tremor thousands of miles away. The tremor shows as a wiggly line traced on a turning drum, the bigger the quake the bigger the line is.
The Richter scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake. A number on the Richter scale is 10 times bigger than the next lower number. The Richter scale has numbers from 1 to 10. The earthquake in Chile in 1960 was the strongest recorded earthquake measuring 9.5 on the Richter scale.
Scientists also use another scale to measure the effect of an earthquake. The Mercali Intensity Scale uses observation of the earthquake damage to rate it on a scale ranging from I, where the effects are scarcely noticeable to XII, where the damages is total and the ground heaves in waves.
What are some of the major earthquakes that have happened?
1906 - San Francisco, USA
1960 – Valdivia, Chile
1964 – Niigata, Japan
1964 - Anchorage, USA
1985 - Mexico City, Mexico
1989 - San Francisco, USA
What to do when there is an earthquake?
1. If you are in a house: Move all the beds away from windows. This decreases chances of getting hurt seriously from the breaking of windows.
2. If you are in a building: If you feel there is an earthquake, reassure others and don’t leave the building during an earthquake. Go under a table, drop cover and hold on. You need to drop right under the table and cover your head with one hand and hold the leg of the table with the other hand.
3. If you are outside: Don’t enter buildings. Tell others that there is an earthquake and move away from tall buildings, power lines and roads. Try to find a safe empty place and take shelter.
4. If you are near the shore: If you feel an earthquake somewhere near the water, take your things and move to higher land. An earthquake can trigger a tsunami. - The End –
Picture gallery
Drawing of Kavya Sarkar (age 5)
I want to walk on a big leaf just like ladybug is doing
Drawing of Arohee Dhora (age 6)
Drawing of Ritika Sarkar (age 7)
I want to dance on the stage. I don't like online dancing. I want to see all my friends running around the stage, people are watching, talking ,eating-I love to see that .
Drawing of Anooshka Sen (age 8)
Chitrokoot’s First Vacation
Anshini Biswas (age 11)
Just a few days back, one fine evening my parents came over to my room and told me that we were going on a vacation in spring break. I started dancing with joy! Even though we weren’t going that far away, and we’d only be there for four days, I was still so excited! I love going on vacations, so I’m always happy whenever we go on one. But since the pandemic started, we have not gone on any vacation in the last year, so I was extra happy! I immediately ran downstairs to Chitrokoot and told him, “We're going on a vacation!”
Chitrokoot looked a little bit confused and then he said “woof.”
I think he also got excited because this would be his first vacation ever! In case you have not figured it out yet, Chitrokoot is my pet dog.
The next few days I happily packed my bags, I even packed a secret bag of chocolate! My parents and I soon realized that we did not have enough things, so we went shopping and got some extra food, clothes, and a few other things. The night before, I couldn’t sleep in excitement. I kept checking my backpack to make sure I didn’t forget anything. Then finally the day came.
These days my parents worked from home, so they finished work and started loading the car with all of our bags. We fed Chitrokoot his dinner, and off we went! When we started driving, Chitrokoot was both calm and anxious at the same time. When we got to the highway, he got very excited because he has never been on a highway before. He was trying to jump on the window and look outside. We had to calm him down with music.
However, the real story started when we got there. You see, Chitrokoot only does his business on the grass in our backyard. However, the house we rented had only concrete in the backyard, and he refused to do his business there. Of course, we didn’t know all of this until we got there, so there was nothing we could do about it.
The next morning my dad gave Chitrokoot his normal food, but since he was not doing his business, he stopped eating. We tried to make him eat by putting treats into his food and giving him less kibble. My mom even tried to feed him with her hands, but nothing seemed to work. The morning soon went by and the evening came. I was expecting Chitrokoot would eat this time, but he still wouldn’t. At that point, we were getting worried. My parents were discussing if we should take him to the Vet but since it was a new place they did not think it would be a good idea to bring him to a new Vet.
That evening, I watched a movie and then got ready for bed. I turned off all the lights and fell asleep. Suddenly, I woke up and heard a rustling sound from downstairs. I curiously went downstairs and found Chitrakoot chewing trash! I was very tired so I decided to just bring him upstairs and put the gate up so he could not go back downstairs. I went back to sleep. After a little while, I woke up hearing a big bang. I jumped out of bed and woke up mom and dad because I was scared. I thought maybe someone broke into the house. We slowly crept towards the stairs and found Chitrokoot knocked down the gate! We picked the gate up and went back to sleep. For the rest of the night, he was silent.
The next day when I woke up and went downstairs, I saw vomit on the floor and my mom cleaning it. I was confused because Chitrokoot was not eating any food, so where did the vomit come from? Then I remembered that he was eating some trash last night.
My dad tried to make Chitrokoot do his business again in the backyard of the house, but he started refusing to do anything. However, after a little while, he did it! It appeared that him eating the trash really did the trick. When my dad brought him back into the house he jumped at his food and started eating as if he hasn’t eaten in a week. We sighed in relief. Finally the boy is back to eating his food again. He finished his food in less than a minute.
When he was done eating, I went over to him and whispered in his ear “Why weren’t you eating for the past 36 hours?”
He sniffed me a little bit and licked my cheek as if he was saying sorry. I gave him a tight hug and said, “let’s enjoy the rest of this vacation.”
He looked at me and said “woof”.
- The End –
The Effects of Community Efforts
By- Anirudh Sarkar
(age- 15)
This is a highly experimental article connecting 2 articles that share a common theme and how it can teach the readers and raise awareness about the effects of community efforts.
Customers might be one word and it might have one definition. But what they do is more than just shop. They help a business thrive and support the owners who put their back out into making it. As a matter of fact, it means a lot to the owners and it is a way of telling them you’re an essential factor in your community. The two texts from an article source provider (link below) both show examples of community supports and showing the true colors of what it means, how they do it, and their influential value. While both “Small Town, Big Hearts” and “There’s No Free Lunch...Except Here” developing the theme of generosity for customers can go a very long way for a store, it is evident that both texts establish this theme in different ways.
To highlight a few aspects, the text, “Small Town, Big Hearts” illustrates a community effort in a small town to assist an old store that had its big share of tough times. This passage suggested where there are big-box stores, there are an abundance of people who will bypass the local businesses to save a dollar. However, one man, Jim Black, decided it was time to say thank you to one local business for the “years of dedication to the community” suggesting that there are some consumers who are more concerned with the value behind small businesses. To add to that, the passage explained that the email, written by Jim Black to about 40 of his friends and family members, reached far more recipients. The result was a small business teeming with customers on the day set by Black. The large numbers of people who showed up to make purchases from the hardware store conveys the theme that generosity in customers has the potential to warm hearts for a store and what Jim Black had done was a deed long overdue for
that store. “Through the years, the store has seen its share of tough times. Road construction at the store's front door some years back crippled business for a time, and more recently, the weakened economy and the "big boxes" have reduced the flow of customers. On January 21, though, those storylines were forgotten.” This text from the article discloses that the store has been through struggles from the lack of customers to recessions to construction over the store. Since the store had experienced troubles throughout its existence, a community effort such as Jim Blacks, will revitalize the store’s previous condition.
In the second text, the Panera Bread industry has opened up free restaurants around their community that allow customers to choose their own price for the food they obtain.. Although many may oppose this thought, the store still keeps hope. The article states, “Whether the experimental enterprise will succeed, however, depends largely on whether customers will abide by the motto. It hangs above the café's counter: Take what you need, leave your fair share.” The motto that the shops have given to the customers had the potential to succeed with generosity, so this quote supports the theme. Additionally the article states, “Miller, the cashier, noticed that some customers paid half price or took a discount of a few dollars. But a majority of customers opted to pay full price for their meals. In fact, 33 percent of the café's customers contributed more than the suggested price.” This quote demonstrates that generosity from the customers is shown in the text because of the prices being surpassed and the common appreciation that the stories provide to its customers . Lastly, the article states ” ‘It would be, like, $12,” cashier Michael Miller told her customer after she inquired about her order's total. When Miller offered $12 in cash, Miller reminded her that she wasn't obligated to pay anything. He directed her to deposit any contributions into the café's donation boxes.” From one example, that being Michael Miller, the reader can decipher that among him, there are many among many people who have made the decision to be willing patrons to the new restaurant. They could have purchased the shops products for free, but their community efforts had a big impact on the restaurants and also the store Jim Black asked people to shop from. (Comment : Please correct the English in your text to make it clear to understand; use simple sentences instead of compound or complex! )
These authors are using their themes to highlight the true worth of support from a community. Because of the influential support the authors were motivated to share these powerful ideas to the public. Such articles that were derived from the generosity of customers have the potential to influence readers of their articles to become more of a figure in their community and help provide for those who are in dire need of support. An additional reason for the motivation in writing these articles is to illustrate the people who started and people who were involved in large scale community efforts. The author of both articles most likely want to spread the message of how people can help in several ways whether it be paying hundreds of dollars to a very old store, to customers helping a store when they can just completely take advantage of it. Or maybe giving 5 dollars to a homeless man or woman. No matter what one can do, being a good community figure helps more people than one can think.
The customers from the Panera bread industry and Jim Black’s messages sparked a fire in good citizens that helped those stores thrive from their will and good heartedness alone. Both “Small Town, Big Hearts” and “There’s No Free Lunch Except Here” distinctly share the theme, indicating generosity from customers can go a very long way for a store, it is evident that both texts establish this theme in different ways. "It somehow stays in balance. I think ultimately people are good. They want to contribute."
- The End –
(https://tinyurl.com/76brtwa)
Digital Transformation in Healthcare
By- Shivan Mukherjee (age 16)
Technology has long since transformed the way doctors treat patients. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has only served as a catalyst for continued innovation in the medical field as Doctors work to meet the needs of on demand healthcare. While technology has been driving advances in treatments, such innovation is also correlated to the rise in costs of healthcare as well. Rises in drug development costs and inefficient healthcare deliveries are serious concerns for governments, healthcare providers, and patients as well. However, due to the widespread use of smartphones and smart technology, there is now the possibility of semi-autonomous healthcare systems. Such systems include the advent of tele-healthcare. Especially to serve patients with chronic conditions, a telehealth visit saves the patient hours worth of driving and time spent in the waiting room. It is a faster and more efficient form of healthcare becoming increasingly popular, thanks to newly renovated internet systems and technology. Such contactless healthcare protocols and systems will not disappear following the end of the pandemic. Rather by repurposing existing technology, healthcare will be able to increase its reach and efficiency. Application of artificial intelligence systems and the extreme potential of smartphones and watches could help healthcare professionals to focus on patients with greater need. Not only does this reduce the costs of healthcare, but it also helps make healthcare more efficient and accessible for all people. Prior to the pandemic, while such ability existed, the progression and transition was slow. However, COVID-19 has acted as an impetus to change as hospitals and private practices all over the world enhance their online systems and virtual patient care. In addition to patient care, the digitization of data has also been stimulated. The sheer variety of data types makes it difficult to store healthcare data in databases effectively, especially considering the need to verify its legitimacy. This causes the consumption of massive amounts of data for hospitals, so much so that 30% of the world’s total data consumption can be attributed to Healthcare. While medical devices would originally deliver data in their own ways and formats, smart devices and new healthcare applications are enabling greater and more widespread access to healthcare data by patients. In addition, it is through such digitized data that artificial intelligence machine learning can be employed and help create insights based on healthcare data. As a result, this would be able to optimize patient outcomes while helping to increase operational efficiency for doctors and nurses. While COVID-19 has caused great progress to be made towards the digitization of healthcare, there is still a long way to go. The more that can be done autonomously without the intervention of healthcare professionals, the more scalable the industry will become.
In a world, when the seconds halt and the moments last When you know the next shall be your last chance You hold on- to love, to hope, to life Choosing to never let go
In the end, when you face Death You greet it with elegance and grace For your life was filled with love and kindness When beauty never ceased to be erased
When you see it in the eyes of the ones you truly love When you see it in the warm smile of the child next door When you see it in the faith within your friendship When you see it in yourself everyday
The past stays riddled with its moments of darkness Yet the shadows cower as you choose to smile To brave a new day, to fight a new battle When you choose to survive
- The End –
A Second Chance
By - Shama Dinesh (age 20)
Forgiveness. Redemption. Two simple words to say, but two tough decisions to make. We all make mistakes. It might start with one simple, harmless lie. It might end with someone’s last breath, with their blood on your hands. Or it may be something worse.
Our mistakes may be a consequence of something ugly inside us- intentional or not. The ugliness that escapes the void within our hearts and bleeds into the world we inflict pain upon. Something that seems as easy as determining good and bad. Black and white. But we fail to see the endless grey that storms the space in between. Something that is neither. Something unknown. And we are a species conditioned to fear the unknown.
But should we fear the blurry lines in between the good and the bad?
We all make mistakes. Some we choose to make. Some we don’t. Some we never lose sleep over. Some keep us awake at night. Some we forget about. Others we regret. Yet all mistakes, big or small, lead to something that can’t be undone. The only option we have left when we stand on the other side of the consequence is our choice to forgive.
Does every man, woman, or child who ever made a mistake deserve to be condemned forever, or do they all deserve forgiveness regardless of what their mistake was?
That question is never one that can be answered satisfactorily.
We all have made mistakes. Maybe once. Maybe twice. Maybe more than that. We have also suffered due to the mistakes others made. Not one of us is better than us all. So who are we, really?
It’s easier to say ‘I forgive you’ than believe it. It’s easier to say ‘I’m sorry’ than mean it.
It’s not easy to seek redemption. It’s not supposed to be. Every drop of blood, sweat, or tear that grazed the ground as a consequence of our actions needs the wrongs to be corrected. Every soul in pain due to our blunders needs peace and solace. Redemption is never an easy path to tread upon. But if we are so unwilling to pay for our flaws, what even are we- humans, or something worse?
In the end, it’s up to us to undo the wrongs we made. It might be too late, or it might be just the right time. How will we come to know if we don’t give it a try? So start correcting the mistakes in your past. It will never erase the pain. It will never remove the wound. But it will heal it. Time, effort, sincerity, responsibility, honesty, regret- they will heal it for you.
Redemption exists for us all as long as we believe there is still something human inside us; something worth believing in.
