Tag Archives: #ValentinesDay

Educational Challenge For Kids – Win Cash Prizes!

Towards the end of the year 2016, I started searching for things that looked like the symbol ॐ in nature and in manmade structures. As you may already know,ॐ, which is pronounced “Om”, is a very sacred symbol for Hindus.

Initially, I did not find anything natural or manmade that looked like ॐ, but my search trained my eyes to recognize other patterns that looked like art. As I walked on paved surfaces, I started noticing art-like patterns in areas that looked a bit dirty, the kind of areas that people normally walk around or unintentionally step on and keep walking. Using the camera in my smartphone, I started taking pictures of these art-like patterns and started showing the images to people I knew.

The collection of photos that I called “Art That People Step On”, because people tend to step on these art-like patterns while walking, started to grow and I was able to exhibit some of the photos in four solo exhibitions. My photos have also been displayed in some juried group exhibitions so far. 

 In the month of February, on a particular day, many people in the United States give and receive greeting cards to express their affection to others who are close to them, such as good friends, relatives, and their teachers.

Do you know what that day is called? Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to show appreciation to those you love. 

In case you are interested, I found the featured image in the photograph on a walkway. To me, it looks like the wear and tear of the paved surface created the image. Does the image look like a heart?

I have a challenge for you:

  1. Find an image in your environment or online that reminds you of the people you love. 
  2. Using crayons or paint and brush, add to and make changes to the image and create a greeting card with your own message. 
  3. Your greeting card can be one-sided or two-sided and can be as small or as big as you want it to be.
  4. If you have the necessary software, you can also create the greeting card on your computer.
  5. Take a picture of the greeting card that you created. Take pictures of both sides if your greeting card is two-sided.
  6. Submit the picture(s) to the challenge via email to [email protected]
  7. The deadline for submission is Sunday, February 28, 2021.
  8. After you submit the picture of your greeting card to the challenge, give it to the person or persons that you like.   

There is no entry fee! Cash prizes will be awarded to winning entries: 

First Prize: US $50 

Second Prize: US $30 

Third Prize: US $20

India Currents Magazine will feature all prize-winning entries and a few other selected entries. Adult supervision is strongly recommended when using scissors or other sharp objects. Have fun, and be creative!

Dr. Mandayam Osuri Thirunarayanan was born in Madras, India. He became a citizen of the United States and currently lives in Miami, Florida.

Picking A Gift for Your Valentine? Be Smart

For Valentines Day I plan to gift my husband a Smart Pillow. I found the Motion Pillow while walking the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas this year. Anything that improves his quality of sleep and our relationship is a gift of love I think. At CES 2020 I saw many smart products that aim to improve the quality of our life and relationship. Everything is getting smarter: dog doors, belts, pens, shoes, glasses and also the answer to a better relationship, a pillow that can stop your spouse’s snoring!

The Motion Pillow can sense where the head is positioned on the pillow. The pillow records snores and when they reach the level that action needs to be taken, it takes action. Once sound of snoring is detected, airbags inflate, gently turning the sleeping person’s head. The company that makes the pillow is launching a version two of it.  An anti snore pillow with Memory Foam. Besides the motion pillow app forever puts to bed the “I don’t snore” argument as the pillow tracks sleeping patterns through its app. Voila! Case closed.

Couples with dogs have another argument, the “who-lets-the-dog-out” argument. Wayzn, the smart dog door made by a Los Altos innovator plans to put that argument at rest. Designed to replace traditional doggie doors, the smart sliding glass door opener is the first product of its kind and was selected by USA Today’s Reviewed to receive a CES Editor’s Choice Award. It allows hands-free use of your sliding door. The smart slider fits most standard sliding glass door tracks. The app-controlled device, which integrates with smart cameras like Nest, sends a notification to your phone when motion is detected at the door, prompting you to open or close the door for your pooch remotely.

I have an English mastiff and would have loved to get Wayzn but the door, if 8ft tall, is not opened wide enough to let a 180 pound dog through. It would be great to provide my dog, Brown Sahib, controlled access to the yard when we are at home or away but he will have to lose some weight for that to happen.

Many devices including your shoes, and your watch can record the pitter-patter of your heart. These devices display electro cardiograms to tell you if your heart is skipping a beat at the sight of your loved one or you have a medical condition. My apple watch does that. But at CES I ran into Mezoo a small diamond shaped device that I stuck on my chest. It can detect 16 types of heart arrhythmia as well and tells you if your heartbeat is irregular, too fast, or too slow.

Finally to make that Valentines Day kiss sparkly and clean I saw two options at CES, the quick teeth cleaner and the detailed teeth cleaner.

The quick teeth cleaner was Y-Brush the 10-second cleaner. Instead of moving the small head of a regular toothbrush from tooth-to-tooth, the Y-Brush cleans half your mouth at a time.

Oral-B on the other hand shared the iO brush which will be made available in August 2020. The iO app gives detailed feedback on spots missed during routine brushing. It also has a built-in display to provide feedback throughout your brushing routine.

 

 

Like a kid in the candy store I wanted all the products I saw at CES but then I remembered Gaye, a girl who worked with me in London. She had returned from her visit to the US with a gift of an anti balding solution for her boyfriend, permanently ending that relationship.

Some gifts may be perceived as feedback by your loved one even though you only have their welfare and happiness in mind. While choosing a gift, like the devices, you too must be smart.

Ritu Marwah is a senior writer whose articles and awarding winning stories are awaited with great anticipation by her readers. She hopes her gifts receive the same appreciation. Somehow she doubts it.