1. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

2. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

3. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

4. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

5. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

6. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

7. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

8. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

9. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

10. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

11. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

12. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

13. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

14. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

15. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

16. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

17. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

18. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

19. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

20. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

21. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

22. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

23. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

24. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

25. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

26. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

27. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

28. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

29. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

30. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

31. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

32. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

33. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

34. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

35. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

36. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

37. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

38. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

39. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

40. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

41. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

42. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

43. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

44. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

45. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

46. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

47. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

48. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

49. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

50. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

51. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

52. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

53. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

54. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

55. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

56. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

57. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

58. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

59. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

60. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

61. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

62. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

63. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

64. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

65. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

66. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

67. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

68. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

69. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

70. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

71. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

72. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

73. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

74. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

75. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

76. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

77. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

78. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

79. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

80. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

81. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

82. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

83. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

84. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

85. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

86. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

87. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

88. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

89. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

90. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

91. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

92. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

93. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

94. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

95. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

96. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.

97. ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlanta HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITON Kerala sets new education course (adapted from an article by Sreedevi Jacob in http://www.indiatogether.org) Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state of Kerala proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. More often than not, children have twin responsibilities with regard to schooling - they must study for a bright future, and at the same time realize the unfulfilled career/educational desires of the parents. Parents often form pressure groups to exhort their children to meet these expectations. These parental aspirations have also influenced the working of the schools, which sustain and often add to the pressures exerted by the parents. Not surprisingly, many students cannot cope with this situation. Help lines in the state have revealed a high number of stress calls by both children and parents around the time Class X results are out each year. Now the state government has decided to remove unhealthy competition from the Class X assessments by introducing a grading system for evaluation from 2004-5, instead of the ranking system used for decades. In the new grading system, an Absolute Grading Pattern (AGP) has been developed with a value point between 1 and 9 for each grade. For example, when an A+ is awarded for those scoring above 90 percent in a subject, the corresponding value point would be 9. * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter aims to bring you the message about the on-going activities of Asha- Atlanta. From next year, students will face a 3-tier valuation system, covering their curricular work, co-curricular performance, and excellence in a chosen field. The curricular portion will have written examinations in all the existing subjects, as well as information technology. In this segment 650 marks can be obtained through the written examinations known as 'summative evaluation'. A second part of the curricular segment, known as 'continuous evaluation', will count for an additional 250 marks which can be obtained through internal assessment, seminars, assignments and projects in these 13 subjects (20 marks each for the existing subjects, and 10 mark for IT). Internal assessments will be based on class tests held in each subject in July and November, the average of which will be taken as class test score. In each subject, there will be a portfolio which will contain one project, one assignment, one seminar, two practical examinations, two records, and the two class tests. Evaluations of co-curricular work will include craftwork, art, physical education and health education. In the third segment, aimed at personality development, leadership quality, communication skills, punctuality, club activities at school, etc will be assessed. Admissions to Plus-2 will be based on the grade obtained in Class X. For the complete article see http://www.indiatogether.org

98. ASHA-ATLANTA HERITAGE INDIA SPECIAL EDITION Coordinator Udai Tennati Publicity/Fundraisin g Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sreechand Boppudi Monica Gupta Sunit Reshma Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Ashok Narayan Sailaja Tennati Lavanya S. Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Pat Srinivas Sathyan Subbiah Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax- exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). FUND-RAISING UPDATES Global Mela – At the recent event at Global Mall, thanks to Mr. Shiv Aggarwal, Asha had an information table. With the high spirited efforts of Monica Gupta, Sailaja Tennati, Sreechand and other volunteers, we managed to spread the word about Asha and get donations of about $1200. Ashok Narayan has been very intensive in lobbying his corporate friends in sponsoring our projects and fund-raising activites. His efforts have been very fruitful. Thanks to the wide network of Gaurav Bakshi – we will be organizing a 5K run in association with the Independence Day celebrations at Georgia Tech on August 15 th. As you have noticed this newsletter is a Heritage India special edition. Asha is a having three booths of fund raising activities at the Heritage India Festival. The activities include PROJECT UPDATES Asha-Atlanta is currently funding two projects – one a rehabilitation center for blind girls in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, and the other a school called Sahyog in Mumbai, where girls who dropped out of school due to social pressures, are given free education. Besides these two we are actively looking for more projects to fund. So if you know of an genuine educational related venture in India that requires funding please do let us know. You can contact Lavanya/Ashok (lavash@bellsouth.net). MEMBER PROFILE: Udai & Sailaja Tennati – This couple was one of the folks instrumental in starting the Asha-Atlanta chapter in June 2003. Udai Tennati is a IIT-Delhi graduate with a Masters from Ohio State University. A high-energy person and very enjoyable to work with, he is the coordinator for Asha. He is currently employed with Manhattan Associates. Sailaja Tennati is a key fund-raiser for Asha-Atlanta. She was active in raising funds for her Alma Mater UMass, Amherst and exceeded $140K in funds raised with her efforts. She graduated with distinction from UMass, Amherst and is currently employed in Calysto Communications as a Public Relations Manager. Besides the time dedicated to Asha, she is also an active member of the ToastMasters Club and was judged the best speaker for the year 2003. In her spare time Sailaja is an avid reader of mystery novels and a big Sherlock Holmes fan !

99. Vedic Mathematics. As the name indicates, this was derived from the instructions given in our ancient vedas. This ancient system was rediscovered between 1911 and 1918, by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research, all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. These Sutras or word- formulae can be used to solve all mathematical problems. He had taken it to the UK in 1960s. There it was hailed as a new alternative system of doing mathematics and is now taught in MBA courses and to economic students. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the former High Commissioner of India in the UK, endorses this system wholeheartedly, "A single sutra would generally encompass a varied and wide range of particular applications and may be likened to a programmed chip of our computer age." This is gaining immense popularity among educators in India and is being promoted heavily among well recognized schools and colleges. This method is catching on and is being used instead of calculators to perform complicated calculations with confidence. Vedic mathematics is an easy to learn and a fun and effective way of doing mental mathematics. Learn a few of our ancient sutras and impress your friends with your incredible mathematical ability (only you will know how incredibly easy it really is). A sample of a couple of the sixteen word- formulae and their applications: Learn these and try them for yourselves! 1. Ae-kaadhikaena Poorvaena = By one more than the one before. Application of this sutra: A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 75 squared (could not 'raise' 2 to indicate that it is squared) = 5625 Explanation: This is solved in two parts. The last two digits are always 25. For the first part, multiply the first digit 7 by 'one more' which is 8=56, making the answer=5625. 45*45=2025 (got it??) Another application of this sutra: multiplying two numbers, where the first digits are the same and the last digits add up to 10. 63*67=4221 6*7(one more)=42, 3*7=21; end product=4221 35*85=2725 (got it??) Now, try for yourselves 35*35=?, 95*95=?, 32*38=?, 81*89=? 1=1225, 7225, 1216, 7209; (put these maybe even upside down??) 2. Nikhilam navathash-charamam dhashathaha = All from 9 and the last from 10 To perform instant subtractions: 1000-673=327 Explanation= Subtract all the digits 6,7 from 9, and the last=7 from 10 10000-3894=6106 (Wasn't this easy??) 10000-68=9932 (Got it??) Now try for yourselves: 1000-777, 10000-678, 1000-505 2=223, 9322, 495

100. Our Corporate Sponsors Children’s Corner Here are some Fun Facts! Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave. The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately.11 inches (.28 cm) long. There are no poisonous snakes in Maine. The largest man-made lake in the U.S. is Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam. The poison arrow frogs of South and Central America are the most poisonous animals in the world. A new born blue whale measures 20-26 feet (6.0 - 7.9 meters) long and weighs up to 6,614 pounds (3003 kg). Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. Giraffes are unable to cough. http://www.icoachmath.com/ DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.) The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long but had a brain the size of a walnut. Armadillos, opossums, and sloth's spend about 80% of their lives sleeping. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee. Scientists have discovered that copper pollution of the atmosphere occurred about 2500 years ago. This was discovered by analyzing ice cores from Greenland. The pollution was attributed to the Romans who used copper for military purposes and to produce coins. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles (613 km). The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. A Boeing 707 uses four thousand gallons of fuel in its take-off climb. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. Lobsters have blue blood.