Month: December 2022
My favourite indoor games in the year 2022
My favorite indoor games are “Chess”, “Carom”, “Ludo”, “Business or Monopoly” and “UNO”.
Chess keeps my brain active. I play Chess with my mom and my brother as it helps me think. Chess gives me a small view of a battle field. I often wonder how people fought wars and set up a battle field. Chess gives me an answer to this thought of mine. On the flip side, I never understood why a king in chess moves just one step and moves two steps during Castling. I think the person who created Chess messed up on this part. Otherwise, Chess is a wonderful game!!. Check out this website if you don’t understand the meaning of Castling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castling
Source: Internet
Carrom is not as good as Chess but it has its own positives. The color combination in carom is amazing! The color red in carom says powerful and fiery as per me. The color white indicates sweetness, kindness and gentleness and the color black indicates darkness and destruction.
Source: Internet
Ludo is a kind of game that depends on luck. I like ludo as I am always lucky.
Source: Internet
Business or Monopoly has helped me with mental math. Business has taught me so many things. It has explained the meaning of buying, selling and mortgaging in an unforgettable way. Business is a kind of game that never ends. You play till the bank becomes short of money. I play Business with my brother when I get bored. Business has given me a clear idea on income and expenses.
Source: Internet
UNO is a card game. I don’t always play UNO but it’s a good game. When you start playing UNO, you’ll never want the game to end.
Source: Internet
My Favourite Songs in the year 2022
I have a lot of favourite songs. My favourite songs are, “Dark Horse” and “Roar”, by Katy Perry, “La Isla Bonita” by Madonna, “Ha, how you like that”, from the BLACKPINK band, “Chola, chola” and “Ponni Nadhi”, from the movie Ponniyin Selvan, “It’s my life”, by Bon Jovi, “It’s a sin”, by the Pet Shop Boys, “Dancing Queen”, by ABBA and finally “Halamathi Habibo”, from the movie Beast.
Katy Perry’s voice modulation in the songs Dark Horse and Roar is pretty good. In the song Roar, I like it when Katy Perry changes her tone or pitch in the middle of the song and when the word “Aphrodite” is sung by Katy Perry in the song Dark Horse, it kind of makes me think of the “Goddess of Love and Beauty”, Aphrodite.
I like the song “La Isla Bonita” due to the lyrics and Madonna’s voice. Madonna’s voice is really good in this song.
The song “Ha, how you like that” is a mix of Korean, Japanese and English. I like this song, it’s particularly different from the songs that I have listened to. The BLACKPINK band is a girl pop band. The BLACKPINK group consists of four ladies – Lisa, Rose, Jennie and Jisoo. This song was released on June 26, 2020. The BLACKPINK group won a MAMA award, for Best Dance Performance in the year 2020 for the “Ha, how you like that” song. Check out this website to get more information on the BLACKPINK band:- https://www.blackpinkmusic.com.
The song “Chola Chola” is sung by Nakul Abhyankar, Sathyaprakash, and V.M. Mahalingam. The movie and the book Ponniyin Selvan is about the Chola dynasty. The words, “Chola, chola” gives me a vivid image of the Chola dynasty in India. The song “Chola Chola” gives a small explanation about the Cholas. I like the song as it is filled with many tongue twisters.
The song “Ponni Nadhi” is sung by A.R. Rahman, A.R. Reihana or Raihanah and Bamba Bakya. “Ponni Nadhi” refers to the river Cauvery. The song “Ponni Nadhi” is sung when Vandiyathevan (a character in the Ponniyin Selvan book and movie) is travelling to the Chola kingdom in his horse. The “Ponni Nadhi” song is quite attractive and gripping so I like this song.
Bon Jovi’s voice in the song “It’s my life” is quite clear in spite of the loud background music. The background music in the song, “It’s my life” has been characterized as pop rock arena rock. I like this song due to its background music.
“It’s a sin” song is almost the same as “It’s my life” song. I like this song as the lyrics are good. The lyrics may seem bad too few people but the rock music in this song overshadows the lyrics.
I don’t have a reason why I like the Dancing Queen song by ABBA.
I like the song “Halamathi Habibo” as Anirudh Ravinchander’s (singer) voice is catchy and the dance is really nice.
If you want to listen to any of these songs, click on the following links 🙂
Dark Horse = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KSOMA3QBU0
Roar = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8
Ha, how you like that = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioNng23DkIM
Chola Chola = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYWe6v2TW14
Ponni Nadhi = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh5sU8YzF1A
It’s my life = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2u5uUu3DE
It’s a sin = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRHetRTOD1Q
Dancing Queen = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s
Halamathi Habibo = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUN5Uf9mObQ
Squash (Sport)
Squash is a sport played by two players in a four walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball and a racquet. A squash court is shaped like a rectangular box with four vertical walls of different heights. The squash court consists of a front wall, two side walls and a back wall. A squash racquet weighs about 120 or 130 grams.
A squash court features an out of bound line, which is the topmost line on the front wall that runs to the side of the walls, a service line, which is in between the bottommost line and the topmost line and finally a bottom line, which is present above the tin.
A squash court consists of a service box on either side of the court. The service box is usually a place to stand and serve the ball during a match. If the service hits any sidewall before hitting the front wall or touches the red line, it is considered an illegal serve or fault. The middle line or the central area of the court is known as the ‘T’ in squash.
When the palm of your hand faces the direction in which you are hitting the ball, it is called a forehand and a back hand is called when the palm does not face the direction in which you are hitting the ball. A forehand shot is usually hit when the ball is in the right-hand side of the court and a backhand shot is hit when the ball is in the left-hand side of the court. Similarly, volley is a shot played before the ball bounces. In a match, the person who keeps the points is called a referee or an umpire.
Source: Internet
Source: Internet
There are few important terms used in squash during a match. They are: boast, nick, double bounce, let and stroke. We call it boast when the ball touches the side wall and then goes to the front wall. When the ball meets with the intersection of the side wall and the floor, it is called a nick. Double bounce or knot up is when the ball bounces twice. Let is basically a redo. It is called a let when your swing is blocked by your opponent in a match. Finally, a stroke is called when one player gives enough space to the other player to hit the ball but the ball was missed by the other player. In a stroke, the person who swung the racquet and misses the ball doesn’t get a point.
During a Squash match, there is no maximum point. If both the players get 10 points, then the first player to build up a two-point lead wins the match.
Source: Internet
I learn Squash with my brother, Kartik at Smashers 3.0 in Perungudi, Chennai from my coach Mr. Laxman (Jerry) sir. My brother and I learn squash with three other students. Their names are Dharma, Reema and Advitha. Here’s the link to the Smasher’s website: https://smashersportsacademy.com
The most famous squash players in India are Dipika Pallikal, Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa, Vikram Malhotra, Abhay Singh and Harinder Pal Sandhu.
There are many reasons why Squash is not an olympic sport. One of the main reasons is due to the let and stroke concept. The let and stroke rule in squash is very debatable decision. My coach told me that this is one of the reasons why squash is not an olympic sport.
Princess detective stories: The end (Part 3)
The next day, Catherine, Priscilla and Kelly woke up early and decided to go back to the monument.
Catherine said, “I think we missed something yesterday. I can feel it”.
Priscilla cried, “Umm, guys, I have to say something to you. I –“
Kelly interrupted, “Can you save it for later? We’re kind of in the middle of something.”
Priscilla replied, “No, it is very important. I can’t save it for later”.
Catherine said, “Go ahead”.
Priscilla said, “Yesterday, while we were running out of the monument, I noticed a piece of paper behind the barrel containing the tiara. The paper was emitting some dark smoke”.
Catherine asked, “What?”
“I know that it’s hard to believe but you guys have to believe me”.
Kelly answered, “I believe you. We need to go back to the monument and figure out the reason behind the dark smoke. Come on guys”. Catherine nodded her head and the girls left the palace.
On their way to the monument, Catherine asked, “Hold on, Priscilla, why didn’t you tell us about the paper on our way back to the palace?”
Priscilla replied, “I was scared and nervous so I forgot to tell”. Catherine gave a thumbs up to Priscilla and the girls continued their journey to the monument.
Kelly asked, “How are we going to get past Michelle?”
Priscilla replied, “We’ll see about that”. When the girls reached the monument, they noticed that the security guard, Michelle was waiting eagerly for someone.
Kelly said, “Great, Michelle’s here. I thought she went to run errands”. Catherine and Priscilla looked at her with a ‘what are you blabbering?’ face.
Priscilla asked, “What are we going to do about Michelle?”
Catherine replied, “We’ll just narrate everything that Priscilla told us. We don’t have a choice. We can’t lie to her again. Also, I am pretty sure Michelle will join us in the tiara mystery once we tell her”. Priscilla and Kelly said, “Okay” together and walked towards Michelle.
Michelle turned her head and shouted, “What are you guys doing here? Go back to your palace”.
Catherine said, “Calm down, Michelle!” and narrated the entire story.
Michelle laughed and said, “The dark smoke is not being emitted from the piece of paper, it is from the tiara”. The girls looked at each other surprisingly.
Priscilla asked, “How is that possible? We had a close look at the tiara and we didn’t notice any dark smoke”.
Michelle replied, “You were hypnotized by the spirit of the tiara. You guys regained consciousness in a few minutes and ran out of the monument”.
Kelly asked, “How do you know?”
“Later kiddo”, Michelle spoke sarcastically. “To defeat the spirit of the tiara, you guys need to follow the instructions given in the piece of paper. The instructions given in the paper is written in German. If you guys don’t understand, I will translate it to you guys”.
“You’re from Germany?” Catherine asked excitedly.
“Yes”, Michelle replied. “Now get inside the monument”. The girls nodded their heads and entered the monument. Priscilla took the piece of paper and removed the rubber band. She saw a bunch of words scribbled in German and a tattoo of a girl in the top right corner of the paper.
Priscilla read the paper and told her sisters, “I have no idea what this means. Let’s go to Michelle”. The girls walked towards Michelle and handed the paper.
She translated, “Go to the island of spirits and dip the star-studded tiara into the river of valleys. The tiara will get purified and can cure the sick”.
“Where is the island of spirits”, Priscilla asked.
“It’s in the other end of this town”, Michelle replied.
Catherine cried, “Are you kidding me? It takes about two hours to go to the other end of town by plane. It will take one whole day to reach the other end of town by walk. No offense guys but I think we need to drop this mystery”.
Michelle smiled and said, “None taken. Anyways, I thought about the distance and I have an idea. I am actually a pilot, you know. I know how to fly a plane. We can go to the Jetex company and hire a private jet. The manager of the Jetex Company is my friend”.
Priscilla said, “Alright! Let’s go”. Priscilla grabbed the tiara and left the monument. Michelle and the girls headed to the Jetex Company and narrated the entire story to the manager. The manager became quite interested on hearing the story and decided to give them a plane free of cost. He selected a plane from a set of planes and told Michelle to take good care of the plane. Michelle thanked her friend for being helpful and left the place. The girls and Michelle reached the island in two hours and hopped out of the plane.
Catherine said, “Great! We reached the island. What’s the next part of the instruction?”
Kelly replied, “We need to dip the tiara in the river of valleys”.
Priscilla cried, “There’s the river of valleys!”, as she pointed her finger at a fast-flowing stream. “Come on guys!” The girls walked towards the river of valleys and stared at the river. Priscilla took out the tiara from her pocket and dipped the tiara in the water. As soon as she dipped the tiara in the pool of water and pulled it out, a young girl appeared in front of them.
The girl cried, “Ugh! Michelle, you will pay for it” in German and disappeared into thin air.
Priscilla asked, “What does she mean?”
Michelle replied, “I can’t hide it from you anymore. She is the spirit of the tiara. Her name is Crimson. Crimson and I used to work at a carpenter’s shop. One day, Crimson made a tiara with the help of her father and showed it to me. Oh, I almost forgot, once she made it, she took the help of a magician and wrote a curse related to the tiara on a piece of paper. She also got a tattoo of her face in the piece of paper. The piece of paper is the one that you guys found behind the star-studded tiara. She told me to keep it as a showcase in a monument and keep the piece of paper behind the star-studded tiara. That’s the whole story”.
Catherine said, “Oh! Okay! Anyways, thank you so much! let’s take the tiara back to our kingdom and cure our father!”. The girls smiled and flew back to their kingdom. The girls showed the tiara to their father and their father got cured in an instant. Their father was very happy with his daughters and made them the queens of the kingdom Roseberry
The end.