Spa

Did you know how the word Spa originated ?

According to Wiki:


More at Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spa

The term is derived from the name of the town of Spa, Belgium, whose name is known back to Roman times, when the location was called Aquae Spadanae, perhaps related to the Latin word "spargere" meaning to scatter, sprinkle or moisten

Interesting !

derring-do

Yesterday I was going through the Know Your English coloumn in The Hindu. I noticed this interesting word "derring-do".

Read here more about it: http://www.hindu.com/edu/2009/11/24/stories/2009112450150402.htm

As children, when we misspelt a word, our teachers circled it, and made us rewrite it several times. Hoping that we would learn the correct spelling! When printers make an error in spelling, it sometimes results in the creation of a new word. Derring-do is one such example. The original expression as used by Chaucer was `dorrying don' meaning `daring to do'. Through a series of copying and printing errors, it became `derring-do'.

Read the actual story here: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/derring-do.html

What is interesting to note is that a word can undergo such a change because of a printing mistake and thus getting accepted !

Engaged

On November 15, 2009, Anisha and Balu in the presence of their elders and well wishers got engaged as a first important step to their marriage scheduled next year.

Henceforth this blog will have Anisha as a guest contributor soon.

Otherwise content will continue to appear unabated in this space. Do visit this space !

-- Anisha and Balu

Bhoomi Network

Continuing the NGO feature, today we feature Bhoomi Network. A movement for Good and Safe food.

Read more about them here: http://bhoominetwork.org/

They promote healthy food and alternate food items like millets grown organically.

The founders are also related to Prakriya school which promotes green and eco-friendly living.

Bhoomi Conference
They also have a conference on December 4th and 5th, 2009 at St. John's Auditorium, Koramangla, Bangalore to promote the same.

More Info and Registration details on the event here:
http://www.bhoomiconference.org/Conference/Home.html

Colonial Cousins

Just got reminded of this song: "Krishna Ni Begane Baaro"



Now since I understand a little bit of Kannada, I also understand the meaning more correctly.

More at Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna_Ni_Begane_Baaro

Great song and well remixed !

Chicken Bus

Came across this interesting term "chicken bus".

According to Wiki:

A chicken bus (Spanish: "camioneta") is a colloquial English name for a colorful modified and decorated US school bus and transit bus that transports goods and people between communities in Honduras and Guatemala. The word "chicken" refers to the fact that rural Guatemalans regularly transport live animals on such buses, a practice that visitors from other countries often find remarkable. The buses are also commonly used in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, and Costa Rica.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_bus



(A Google search result snapshot for "chicken bus")

Know Your English - The Hindu

If you are an ardent "The Hindu" fan you would hardly miss the KYE (Know Your English) by S.UPENDRAN.


Now you can read all of them online at The Hindu's online page:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/nic/kye/


Ref: http://englishwithsunil.wordpress.com/about-this-blog/

Felt wax lyrical after getting to know so wanted to share !

Kumite Session @ Ananya

Cross posting from original post at Team Asha blog:
http://teamashablr.blogspot.com/2009/11/kumite-sessions-ananya.html


Team Asha is back full strength at Ananya after almost a months lull. Long weekends and midterm breaks robbed all of us of our great times at Ananya but you can't keep us waiting for long.





This Saturday we had a full throttle Karate sessions, with Sensei Manjula sparing none. All sets were repeated 100 times ! Before the Karate session we started off with for 3K tempo running.


Kumite
We then had "Kumite" sessions where we learned the aspect of sports Karate where one showcases the ability to sneak through the opponent's defenses rather than actually hurting/hitting him. This was an important aspect that needed to be conveyed to the kids as they can get carried away easily.



Then we had one of our kids, Priya sharing us her experiences in watching "kalaripayattu" show and what it demanded as a form of martial art. Then our Sensei emphasized on how much dexterity one required in performing "kalari".


Some pics in here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/teamasha8k/AnanyaKarate_Kumite

So we are back and updates will follow as usual !
Aregato !