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Fox and Crow Story Handwriting Book

Front cover

The Story Handwriting Book is designed to encourage children to write in short sentences.  There are ten pages of guided  handwriting practice.

One side of the book contains illustrations from the folktale, The Fox and the Crow, while the other side contains five rows of corresponding text. The first row shows the model sentence with solid lines. The next two rows are made up of dotted lines that students can trace over for easy writing.  The last two rows are empty where children can write on their own.

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Bharathiyar poem translation

Bharathiyar Poem – Crop of Freedom

Image by Shelly Paul

Crop of Freedom

Floral Garland (Lament)
1.   Did we grow this with water? O Lord!
     This crop - we nurtured with our tears;
     Would you let it burn to ashes?

2.   Pouring solicitude as ghee1,
     We grew in our hearts – this vibrant lamp,
     Would you let it perish, O Merciful?

3.   After a millennium of dormancy,
     Came around this unexpected gem (of freedom),
     Would we let it fail?

4.   Righteousness would win, said the wise ones.
     Was that a lie?
     The consequences of karma - haven’t we suffered enough?
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Bharathiyar poem translation

Bharathiyar Poem – Victory

Image by Shelly Paul

Victory

(Original poem by Bharaithyar)

May actions embarked upon be victorious,
Everywhere beheld, let there only be triumph,
For the proclamations made, let them be victorious;
I pray that you grant me these, O Kaali!

Come obstacles from God,
The entire human race,  
Vanquish she would, Great, Merciful Kaali – 
So, in this world, victory would be mine.

May every single thought be victorious,
Victory everywhere, in everything,
Like a vision of precious life she stands –
Mother Kaali grant me her blessings.
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Essay

Viewpoint: Thoughts on Personal Finance

Photo by David McBee on Pexels.com

After reading about the collapse in the highly ambiguous industry of digital currency, I thought I would share my two cents on personal finance that comes from the middle-class lay-person’s point of view:

Rule for Risky or Experimental investment:

Do not invest more than what you can afford to lose.

This means after paying for monthly expenses, paying off your credit card, loan repayments, mortgage etc., after setting aside savings for retirement and for a rainy day, whatever remains is the money for risky ventures.

If that amount is a thousand dollars, then that is the amount you can afford to lose without affecting your present or future financial security. If what remains is zero dollars then that is the amount available for risky ventures.

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Bharathiyar poem translation

Bharathiyar Poem – Spared Coconut Grove

Image by Shelly Paul

Spared Coconut Grove

(Original poem by Bharaithyar)

1.  Among the fields - 
    On the bank of a luxuriant pool 
    Not a soul in sight -
    I came in solitude, seeking comfort;

2.  When a squall blew through -    
    The trees - could they even be counted?
    Like seedlings they scattered,
    All over the land.

3.  On a small embankment
    Stood a tiny coconut grove - 
    Poor man’s property,
    Not pulverized by the storm.

4.  Some were felled – the trees,
    But several remained
    Spared by the God of Wind,
    So, it(grove) should live.

5.  I have seen solitude – 
    In that there is relish,
    Mist extinguishing sunshine –
    Honey treacle’s sweetness,
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Bharathiyar poem translation

Bharathiyar Poem – Needful

Image by Shelly Paul/Flickr

Needful

(Original poem by Bharaithyar)

Steadfast mind is needed,
Sweetness in words are needed,
Goodness in thoughts are needed,

Tantalizing must be attained,
Dreams must be realized,
Swift possession (of such realization) is needed.

Wealth and joy are needed,
Eminence in this world is needed,
(Inner) Eye1 must awaken,
Resolve in action is needed,

Women’s liberation is needed,
The Great God must watch over,
Fruitful Earth is needed,
Heaven should manifest here.

Truth must prevail,
Om, Om, Om, Om
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Bharathiyar poem translation

Bharathiyar Song – Kannamma – My Sweetheart – 1

Kathakali Dancers
Image by Shelly Paul – Kathakali Dancers
Visual Amazement

(Original poem by Bharaithyar)

Piercing, brilliant eyes – Kannama,
Are they sun or moon?
Round black eyes – Kannama,
Are they the blackness of the sky?
Like the black-blue saree of silk,
Studded with diamonds;
Are the stars that manifest,
In the middle of the night!

Garden flower’s splendor - 
Is that your splendid smile?
The blue waves of the sea – 
Are the waves in your heart!1
Graceful cuckoo’s song – 
The sweetness of your voice!
Tender maiden – Kannamma,
Embracing love, I feel.
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Other

Inkscape – Simple Color Blending with Gradients

The easiest way to blend colors in Inkscape is by using color gradients. Here is an exercise to create a simple ground cover or part of a forest floor.
  • Create an irregular shape like this using the Pen Tool or other drawing tools. Fill the shape with a shade of green. Remove the stroke color. If you wish to keep the stroke color, match it with the fill color.
Fig 1
  • The shape can also be created using the Circle, Ellipses and Arcs tool. Draw an ellipse using this tool and flatten it using the selector tool.
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Other

Fixing Transparency Issues in Inkscape

While creating images on Inkscape, gradients and transparencies can be used to blend colors or add texture to an image.
fig 1

When such a file is exported as a png file or used in a pdf/x1-a or pdf/x-3 file, the transparency may not render properly (fig 2).
fig 2
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Bharathiyar poem translation

Bharathiyar Poem – Ammakannu Song

Ammakannu Song1

Lock is opened by hand – good
Mind is opened by intellect
Song is opened by melody – joyful
Home is opened by a woman(wife).

Plantain leaf2 is wiped clean by hand – mind’s
Home is wiped clean by truth
Hunting is done by arrow – love’s
Fortress is won by words.

Breath is fastened by mind – the 
Body is protected by this deed,
Rice is consumed by mouth – heart’s
Courage is consumed from mother.
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