Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 29

When I next opened my eyes, I knew I was dead. But this death wasn't the death of my nightmares, with black nothingness all around. Instead, I could smell the faraway scent of a fire, feel rough earth beneath my body, could feel my hands resting by my sides. I didn't feel pain. I didn't feel anything. The blackness enveloped me in a way that was almost comforting. Was this what hell was? If so, it was nothing like the horror and mayhem of last night. It was quiet, peaceful. I tentatively moved my arm, surprised when my hand touched straw. I pushed myself up to a sitting position, surprised that I still had a body, surprised that nothing hurt. I looked around and realized that I wasn't suspended in nothingness. To my left were the rough-hewn slats of a wall of a dark shack. If I squinted, I could see sky between the cracks. I was somewhere, but where? My hand fluttered to my chest. I remembered the shot ringing out, the sound of my body thudding to the ground, the way I was prodded with boots and sticks. The way my heart had stopped beating and there had been a cheer that rose up before everything was quiet. I was dead. So then †¦ â€Å"Hello?† I called hoarsely. â€Å"Stefan,† a woman's voice said. I felt a hand behind my back. I realized I was wearing a simple, faded, blue cotton shirt and tan linen pants, clothes I didn't recognize as my own. And though they were old, they were clean. I struggled to stand, but the small, yet surprisingly strong, hand held me down by my shoulder. â€Å"Y ou've had a long night.† I blinked, and as my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized that the voice belonged to Emily. â€Å"Y ou're alive,† I said in wonderment. She laughed, a low, lazy chuckle. â€Å"I should be saying that to you. How are you feeling?† she asked, bringing a tin cup of water to my lips. I drank, allowing the cool liquid to trickle down my throat. I'd never tasted anything so pure, so good. I touched my neck where Katherine had bit me. It felt clean and smooth. I hastily yanked the shirt open, popping several buttons in the process. My chest was smooth, no hint of a bullet wound. â€Å"Keep drinking,† Emily clucked in a way a mother might do to her child. â€Å"Damon?† I asked roughly. â€Å"He's out there.† Emily pointed her chin to the door. I followed her gaze outside, where I saw a shadowy figure sitting by the water's edge. â€Å"He's recovering, just as you are.† â€Å"But how †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Notice your ring.† Emily tapped my hand. On my ring finger was a gleaming lapis-lazuli stone, inset in silver. â€Å"It's a remedy and a protection. inset in silver. â€Å"It's a remedy and a protection. Katherine had me make it for you the night she marked you.† â€Å"Marked me,† I repeated dumbly, once again touching my neck, then allowing my fingers to drop to the smooth stone of the ring. â€Å"Marked you to be like her. Y ou're almost a vampire, Stefan. Y ou're well into the transformation,† Emily said, as if she were a doctor diagnosing a patient with a terminal illness. I nodded as if I understood what Emily was saying, even though it might as well have been a completely different language. Transformation? â€Å"Who found me?† I asked, starting with the question I cared least about. â€Å"I did. After the shots were fired on you and your brother, everyone ran. The house burned down. People died. Not just vampires.† Emily shook her head, her face deeply troubled. â€Å"They brought all the vampires to the church and burned them there. Including her,† Emily said, her tone impossible to comprehend. â€Å"Did she make me a vampire, then?† I asked, touching my neck. â€Å"Y But in order to complete the transition, es. you must feed. It's a choice you have to make. Katherine had the power of destruction and death, but even she had to allow her victims that choice.† â€Å"She killed Rosalyn.† I knew it in the same way I'd known Damon loved Katherine. It was as if a cloud had lifted, only to reveal more blackness. â€Å"She did,† Emily said, her face inscrutable. â€Å"But that has nothing to do with what happens. If you choose, you can feed and complete the transition, or let yourself †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Die?† Emily nodded. I didn't want to feed. I didn't want Katherine's blood inside me. All I wanted was to go back several months, before I'd ever heard the name Katherine Pierce. My heart twisted in agony for all I'd lost. But there was someone who'd lost more. As if she'd read my mind, Emily helped me to my feet. She was tiny, but strong. I stood up and shakily walked outside. â€Å"Brother!† I called. Damon turned, his eyes shining. The water reflected the rising sun, and smoke billowed through the trees in the distance. But the clearing was eerily quiet and peaceful, harkening back to an earlier, simpler time. Damon didn't answer. And before I even realized what I was doing, I walked to the edge of the water. Without bothering to take off my clothes, I dove in. I came up for air and breathed out, but my mind still felt dark and dirty. Damon stared down at me from the water's edge. â€Å"The church burned. Katherine was inside,† he said tonelessly. â€Å"Y I didn't feel satisfaction or sadness. I just es.† felt deep, deep sorrow. For myself, for Damon, for felt deep, deep sorrow. For myself, for Damon, for Rosalyn, for everyone who'd gotten caught in this web of destruction. Father had been right. There were demons who walked the earth, and if you didn't fight them, then you became one. â€Å"Do you know what we are?† Damon asked bitterly. We locked eyes, and instantly I realized that I didn't want to live like Katherine. I didn't want to see the sunlight only with the aid of the ring on my finger. I didn't want to always gaze at a human's neck as if contemplating my next feeding. I didn't want to live forever. I ducked down under the surface of the water and opened my eyes. The pond was dark and cool, just like the shack. If this was what death was, it wasn't bad. It was peaceful. Quiet. There was no passion, but also no danger. I surfaced and pushed my hair off my face, my borrowed clothes hanging off my soaked limbs. Even though I knew what my fate was, I felt remarkably alive. â€Å"Then I'll die.† Damon nodded, his eyes dull and listless. â€Å"There's no life without Katherine.† I climbed out of the water and hugged my brother. His body felt warm, real. Damon briefly returned my embrace, then hugged his knees again, his gaze fixed on a spot far away from the water's edge. â€Å"I want it done,† Damon said, standing up and walking farther away toward the quarry. I watched his retreating back, remembering the time when I was eight or nine that my father and I had gone buck hunting. It was right after my mother had died, and while Damon had immersed himself in schoolboy antics like gambling and riding horses, I'd clung to my father. One day, to cheer me up, Father took me to the woods with our rifles. We'd spent over an hour tracking a buck. Father and I headed deeper and deeper into the forest, watching the animal's every move. Finally, we were in a spot where we saw the buck bowing down, eating from a berry bush. â€Å"Shoot,† Father murmured, guiding my rifle over my shoulder. I trembled as I kept my eye on the deer and reached for the trigger. But at the moment I released the trigger, a baby deer scampered into the field. The buck sprinted away, and the bullet hit the fawn in the belly. Its wobbly legs crumpled beneath it, and it fell to the ground. I'd run to try to help it, but Father had stopped me, holding on to my shoulder. â€Å"Animals know when it's time to die. Let's at least allow it the peace to do it alone,† Father said, forcibly marching me away. I'd wailed, but he was relentless. Now, watching Damon, I understood. Damon was the same way. â€Å"Good-bye, brother,† I whispered.

Huntington Theory †Military Professional Essay

Scholars like Kaplan, Friedman, Huntington and Barnett have postulated various theories on military service. Samuel P Huntington is one of the scholars who have postulated theories of military service. His theory is also referred to as the normal theory. This paper seeks to show how Huntington’s theory impacts on one’s future in military service. Discussion Owen M (2010) gives credit to Samuel Huntington for his role in developing the normal theory. Owen points out that through this theory Huntington endeavored to solve the dilemma of â€Å"how to guarantee civilian control of the military while still ensuring the ability of the uniformed military to provide security. † Huntington cited in Owen (2010) says the solution to this dilemma lies in â€Å"a mechanism for creating and maintaining a professional, apolitical military establishment, which he called â€Å"objective control. In this regard, Huntington cited in Williams (1995), says the community should have control over the military and army professionals should be denied some of the privileges enjoyed by civilians like political affiliations. Politics is a game of numbers, in my view, this may disadvantage military officers who harbour ambitious of venturing in politics because they are denied involvement in political parties affairs. This impacts negatively on their popularity with the voters. However, there are those candidates such as 2008 republican candidate John McCain who used their experience in the military as a campaign tool to endear themselves to the voters. In my view, professional and experienced military officers make better commander in chief of the armed forces. Additionally, Idsa (2010) concurs with Huntington that one way of achieving civilian control of the military is by ensuring that the funding of the military is left in the hands of the civilian institutions. Idsa points out that civilian institutions should allow the military to advise them on military matters but ultimately the military should only executive those decisions approved by the civilian institutions. In my view this may endanger the lives of military officers. Due to high budgetary needs of a country, military equipment needed in times of war may be sacrificed to meet other needs in another sector of the economy. Huntington theory goes along way in developing responsible and knowledgeable persons. As Idsa (2010) points out military professionals should present their considerations within the appropriate â€Å"channel of authority and communication. † To effectively carry out his/her duties, Huntington as cited in Williams (1995) states that an army officer must be highly expertise, cooperative and responsible in his profession. He meant that an officer must be well knowledgeable in combating violence. Williams (1995) while says that after training the officers should only work with three words â€Å"duty, honor, country. † As a result, Huntington envisaged a military force free of corruption. The officer is expected to be different from other skilled workers in that money should not play any part enticing one to join the forces. However, the army professional should be well rewarded so as to promote hiring, maintain the officers in the force and boost their morale. Williams (1995) says that Huntington argued that a well skilled army professional should be willing to observe the legal requirements made by citizen organizations recognized by law. In addition, the officers should accept to act as subordinates to individuals as required by legalized community organizations. The military officers are expected to hold a high opinion of their career and should not cause civil unrest or run the government. Since the army professionals are recruited with certain levels of qualification, and by the virtue that they belong in the same profession and hold same competencies, the officers tend to exhibit cooperativeness. This supports the statement of Huntington as quoted by Williams (1995) that â€Å"the members of a profession share a sense of organic unity and consciousness of themselves as a group apart from laymen. . This attribute is fostered by their common training which take quite a long duration, collective discipline and sharing of their societal tasks (Williams, 1995). Conclusion In view of the above statements, Huntington theory helps in creating and maintaining cordial relations between the civilians and the military officers. A professional force envisaged in this theory will go along in ensuring peaceful co-existence helps fight vices such as cor ruption and military coups.

Ptlls Assignment 2

Summarise the key aspects of current legislative requirements and codes of practice relevant to your subject and the type of organisation within which you would like to work. In my future job I will be teaching basic literacy and numeracy skills using ICT. There are normally 15 students to a room sitting at a computer desk with headphones and a computer with keyboard. Basic health and safety is discussed at the induction session detailing emergency exits and the alarm that can be expected in the event of a fire.Ground rules are also discussed which state clearly that no food or drink is to be taken into the main classrooms and all mobile phones must be switched off. According to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, under the duties of employers: ‘All working practices must be safe; The work environment must be safe and healthy; All plant and machinery must be kept to a minimum; Safety policies must be stated to all staff. The reasons behind these ground rules are explored fo r example, if drinks are taken into the training classroom they could become a hazard if they were spilt over a computer keyboard or over another learner.Mobile phones can be very disruptive if they go off in the training classroom as they will disturb the other learners who despite the earphones will be able to hear the ring tones. Minton (1991) also states that ‘As a teacher your responsibility for the safety of your students is a legal requirement’. This legal requirement extends to the safeguarding from suspected abuse young people or vulnerable adults and the abuse covered is physical, sexual, emotional, bullying, discrimination and neglect, which all form a part of both the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 2006.Wherever people gather in groups they can be vulnerable to discrimination. The computer programmes themselves are published with copyright protection under the ‘Data Protections Act 1998’ and all programmes can only be run by learners enrolled on courses with appropriate passwords and registration. Copyright gives the creators certain kinds of material rights to control the ways in which their materials are used. These rights start as soon as the computer programme is accessed and the course is started. All learners are also protected under the Equal Opportunities Act 2006.Under this Act all people must be treated equally regardless of their differences both visible and non visible and treatment of all learners must be free from any kind of discrimination. There are a number of laws that promote equality and diversity and as teachers it is essential that we conform to all legislation to ensure the safety of our students. References Handout Notes Session 2 – 1/10/10/ Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Sex Discrimination Act 1975 Race Relations Act 1976 Disability Discrimination Act 2005 Data Protection Act 1988 Equal Opportunities Act 2006 Debra Clarke PTLLS Assignment 2

The history and the future of GPS Research Paper - 1

The history and the future of GPS - Research Paper Example Another series of GPS Block III is under development process which would be able to give more powerful signals and better (PNT). The Global Positioning System provides information related to time and location. It is a satellite navigation system which works well in all weather conditions on and close to the earth (Global Positioning System). It is owned and maintained by the United States of America and serves in the PNT i.e. positioning, navigation and timing. GPS has played vital role in modernizing the Air Traffic System and it has benefitted the military, army, civil and commercial users all around the world. The whole system is basically divided into three major segments including Space segment, Control segment and User segment. The first two are developed and operated by the US Air Force (GPS overview). The space segment consists of a group of satellites which form a particular shape in the space and transmit radio signals to the users. At least 24 satellites are available in the space 95% of the time (Space segment). The control segment represents all the ground facilities that monitor the satellites, analyze their data and keep a check on their performance (control segment). The user segment is used to calculate the user’s three dimensional position and time by GPS receiver equipment which receives the information from the satellites and transmit it to the GPS receiver device (user segment). GPS was developed by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and started its operations in 1994. The previous navigation systems had some limitations and drawbacks which actually gave rise to the creation of GPS. The project was developed in 1973 by the unification of ideas from the previously working navigation systems (National Research Council U.S.). Originally it ran with 24 satellites. The first experimental GPS I satellite was launched in 1978 and by 1985 ten more satellites were

Finance questions Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Finance questions - Speech or Presentation Example Other considerations include the frequency of single drills, as well as the number of drill session per week. The session should begin by crosschecking the safety consideration. Players should be free and well rested. They should be free of injuries in the limbs and arms that require exercising (Mcardle, 2000). After successful safety considerations, the session should proceed with a warm up. Begin by combining dynamic and static warm to achieve all desirable results (Mcardle, 2000). Players should do begin by slight running, going around the court two times, making a few stretching and jogging and Plyometric jumps. Warm up serves two functions. First, it prepares muscles for the explosive plyometrics. Secondly, it is one of the first stages of acquainting with plyometrics, especially for the novice (Taylor & Beashel, 1996). This training entails dropping on grounds from an upper surface, followed by a jump-up. A drop-down during the eccentric phase offers the muscles the pre-stretch, as well as a vigorous upward drive during the contraction phase. The effectiveness of the exercise is only effective if the time that the feet touch the ground is short. The exercise loading is determined by the dropping height, which should be about 0.7 to 1.1 meters (Taylor & Beashel, 1997). Three sets of jumps should be performed, each with 10 repetitions. In bounding, oversized strides are employed for the running action while time is spent in the air. Bound that involve two legs minimize the endured impact. The intensity may be increased by hopping or even single-leg bounding. Upstairs’ bounding improves the horizontal of movement. Three sets bounding and hurdling should be performed, each with 10 repetitions. Hand claps and press ups, done in alterations, is one way in which the chest and the arms can be conditioned. Pre-stretch occurs as the hands swing back to the ground and as the chest sinks. This

Data Collection Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Data Collection - Coursework Example inesses collect data in order to, analyze their performance, know their number of clients, understand customers characteristics and behavior, conduct the market share, and have a succinct projections of the future performance of the business amongst others. Therefore it is one of the core elements within the research and development unit of a business. During our sixth lesson (organizational performance measure), we analyzed four main performance measures which includes; input (resources required in carrying out a program), process (cost of resources per the unit of the expected output), output (work completed or the services provided by the injected input), and outcome which is the whether the customer needs and the program objects are met). In providing an expanded discussion on data collection, the paper will adopt the input performance measure. Input refers to the amount of the resources that is either required or available to produce an outcome and output. It is usually expressed as the amount of funds that is needed for an implemented of a program or project. They facilitate the creation of an output. They include the equipment, cost of labor, utilities, building space, supplies, materials and overhead among others. The measures of input give information on resources such as the financial budget and the people that are available in the execution of various processes that delivers an output. This is a type of data collection used in assessing the performance of the organization. They are also used in the organizational capacity perspective by the employees. It is one of the fundamental ways in obtaining factual data and information on the changes in status and clients behavior especially after they have completed a service. Before an input is ordered for the completion of a particular task, it is important that a survey is conducted so that the best is obtained to facilitate the goal achievement. The objectives can only be achieved when the best inputs are

Medical Simulation Training and Action Science Essay

Medical Simulation Training and Action Science - Essay Example It lays emphasis on establishing new routines and learning new frameworks. With action science, new opportunities are identified; any potential fault or threat is identified and corrected (Action design, 2011). In this context, the change in medical practice from the traditional approach, where the interns acquired procedural training at the bedside of real patients to use of simulation experiences or models to teach interns, is an example of an unavoidable scenario and demands for intervention which action science offers. Action science offers axiological interventions at critical points of the medical teaching setup that will demonstrate the significance of embracing use of models in teaching residents at a time when emerging issues of patient safety are becoming real. At this point, it is critical to highlight the objectives of this research. The fundamental goal of this research is to determine whether simulation or the use of models is an effective didactic intervention for pedi atric residents. Other points of focus include: whether there exists a standardized procedural curriculum that is recognized by the other residency programs, need for more educational interventions, will simulation training increase a resident’s confidence and translate into competency when doing procedures on real patients and ability of residents to sustain for a long time the proficiency of gained procedural skills. These critical issues shall be addressed by the dissertation but we cannot avoid highlighting them at this point in order to keep them in perspective as we demonstrate the applicability of action science to the core objectives of the research. As previously stated, action science aims to increase the confidence and skills of an individual or group of people and promote long-term group and individual effectiveness (Argyris, 1992). With the unavoidable change occurring within hospitals, it has become increasingly hard for residents to be taught with real patients , the use of models has been suggested and adopted for use as a viable alternative to the traditional approach. Action science will provide a platform for the development of skills and confidence of the individual residents to the extent that they will be able to handle real patients better. They will be able to use their procedural skills and with more confidence and their overall effectiveness will be enhanced. Action science is a plan of action and consists of a series of steps and actions that can be effected in a way that the participants (residents) can eventually end up developing the right confidence in performing procedures on real patients from the experience gained from working on or with models. The idea here is to use action science ideas and concepts to enhance the procedural skills and confidence of residents. Working in an environment that is ever changing, each participant has to develop an ability and readiness to change accordingly (Action design, 2011). The idea is to use the action science principles in a manner that will enable participants (residents) to adapt to the needs of the ever changing work environment. The need to use models rather than real patients is indeed a great change. The model and the real patient are different in so many ways. Having to use models to learn critical procedural skills is important and with the use of action science it then becomes much easier for the residents to learn while using models since action science

Informative Speech on Current Marketing or Presentation

Informative on Current Marketing - Speech or Presentation Example Researchers have found that shopping habits are ingrained in consumers and they are often characterized by collecting certain items from one store and other items from a different store, that is, consumers will go to a toy store to get toys and go to a supermarket to get basic household commodities. Retailers must therefore place themselves in a position that allows them to take advantage of this complex environment (Krafft and Mantrala 7). Having been in existence for over a century, the Target Corporation an American retailing company has proved to be up to the challenge and has subsequently thrived in the retail industry. Through one of its employees, Target was able to create a model that allows the store to predict human behavior and thus preempt their competitors by meeting the individual needs of their customers. The challenge the store was facing was convincing their customers that they could shop for all they need at their store as opposed to getting specific items only wher e mostly it has been toiletries, cleaning supplies and socks. The biggest constraint was that consumers’ having their shopping habits ingrained which makes it difficult to convince them to adopt new ones. This restraint was presented by the marketers to one of the employees at the store that is a statistician. They explained that in every person’s life time there was a point at which their loyalties could be shifted. One such point is when expecting a baby where expectant mothers will look to brands offering them the best deals and in the past companies had caught up on this and resulted to sending them coupons. This was because companies can access birth records as they are made public. The challenge was now to preempt these companies by identifying a way to reach the expectant mothers while still in their early stages of pregnancy (Duhigg). The company already had a medium for collecting information but what they needed now was a way of predicting behavior. These two would then be integrated to allow the store capture customers as the data collected would be analyzed and be used to establish patterns that dictate shopping habits. This trend has been identified as predictive analytics and has been supported by a study that showed our thinking on issues such as dieting are influenced by habits rather than conscious decision-making which has allowed doctors to conjure up treatments for addictions, depression among other illnesses. Target tasked Andrew Pole the statistician employee with identifying when their customers’ shopping habits are particularly flexible so as to design suitable advertisements or coupons, which would lead the customers to have new, large spending habits. In essence, the store was striving to push psychological buttons after establishing a cue-routine-reward loop using a calculator designed by Pole. However, the issue of privacy came up as customers were bound to become worried about how Target was finding out such in formation. The company then decided to camouflage their intentions by sending ads for items that expectant mothers would need alongside other unrelated items so as to eliminate the fear of intrusion on privacy. Their most impressive story was where the company was able to determine a girl was pregnant even before her own father knew, leading them to send her coupons for expectant mothers (Duhigg). Predictive analytics raises the concept of shopper marketing as opposed to

Future Crime Scenario Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Future Crime Scenario - Essay Example These issues affect all of us in one way or another. Genetic engineering is a public health issue as well as a criminal justice issue. It is a religious issue as well as an ethical issue. This essay will discuss whether there are victims of this type of crime, advocate a technology screening procedure for innovations of this sort, and suggest a few strategies to allow society a breathing time to evaluate these types of innovations prior to implementation. Victims: A Speculative Consideration The identification of victims in this scenario is complicated. It is complicated because people approach the issue from different points of view. As a preliminary matter, there are certainly potential victims. Whether these potential victims will ever become actual victims is unknown. These potential victims can be broken down into the following categories: (1) the organism itself, (2) animals subjected to testing, (3)humans subjected to testing, (4) the environment, and (5) the human being receiving the transplant. Initially, there is debate as to whether the organism created is entitled to the status of a human being. Is the organism, in short, a victim To the extant that the organism is engineered for a very specific purpose, human organ growth, attempts to characterize the organism as a victim are not persuasive. Animals subjected to testing are clearly victims. They suffer physical and emotional pain. That said, animal suffering can be minimized through a careful technology screening process. Human test is a different situation. To that degree that human beings volunteer for testing they are not really victims. This assumes, however, that they are well-informed of all possible risks at the outset and not suffering from any duress which might affect... This essay declares that genetic engineering is a field that excites many passions. To be sure, it also instills many fears. One of the doctor’s main objectives in this scenario is to genetically create and improve an organism for use in human organ growth and transplant. On a superficial level, this sounds reasonable. The potential benefits of human organ growth and transplant are substantial and, potentially, far-reaching. It has been noted that â€Å"the human diseases treatable by transplantation are diverse†. This paper stresses that the identification of victims in this scenario is complicated. It is complicated because people approach the issue from different points of view. As a preliminary matter, there are certainly potential victims. Whether these potential victims will ever become actual victims is unknown. To the extant that the organism is engineered for a very specific purpose, human organ growth, attempts to characterize the organism as a victim are not persuasive. Animals subjected to testing are clearly victims. They suffer physical and emotional pain. That said, animal suffering can be minimized through a careful technology screening process. Human test is a different situation. To that degree that human beings volunteer for testing they are not really victims. The most complicated issue is the effects of these genetically created organisms on the environment.

Reflect on the need for sustainability in the retail food and food Essay

Reflect on the need for sustainability in the retail food and food service industries - Essay Example Since this is a very critical area lot of interest is vested in this sector both because of the high financial returns that are associated with it as well as the fact that it touches on the general welfare of the health of the society (Coles, 2011). In the twenty-first century there is a high prevalence of lifestyle related diseases which are as a result of inappropriate living habits and especially the kind of foods that people consume (Great Britain, 2011). Research carried out by the University of Nottingham recently indicated that 33% of the population of United Kingdom is obese. Obesity is not a hereditary condition that is passed on in the genes rather it is a condition that arises due to the kind of lifestyles that people lead especially the kind of foods they consume as well as their social life which includes physical activities and the like. Health organizations has over time tried to bring together proprietors in the food industry to come up with a common objective of ensuring sustainability in the industry rather than being profit oriented thus foregoing the health of the entire society (Coles, 2011). It is prudent to note that some unscrupulous business firms will produce foodstuffs that are ideally not fit for healthy human consumption but will go ahead to do so just because they will leap some good revenue out of the process but not bearing in mind the health impact their actions will cause to the consumers of the products. However, advanced societies like the United Kingdom have stipulated tough rules and regulations that govern and monitor business firms that operate in the food industry to ensure the dietary content of their products is within the stipulated health standards and has no health impacts to the end users whatsoever. This has ensured despite the sensitivity of the food sector in business discipline and high level integrity is maintained

PERFORMANCE APPRASIAL AT KFSH&RC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

PERFORMANCE APPRASIAL AT KFSH&RC - Essay Example Feedback process 23 1. Importance of feedback 23 2. The re-engineering process of the Human Resource Department 24 3. Results of survey 26 4. Discussion 33 5. Conclusion 35 6. References 38 Executive Summary This dissertation comes in two parts. Chapter 1 reviews whether there is a need to change or update the existing performance appraisal being used by the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre. Under the present environment of technological and communication advances, there are many changes noted in the use of the traditional system. The study also shows that the PAS of the KFSH&RC is not consistent with the social and cultural idioms of the hospital as it is patterned after the American environment which is totally different from that of Saudi Arabia. Data gathering from published literatures, studies and opinions of noted authors is done to amplify the recommendation and conclusion that an update is needed under the circumstances In chapter II of the study, the reco mmendation in part I has been followed so that the design of the Human Resources at King Faisal Hospital Science & Research Center is being re-engineered by the management. A memorandum to this effect has been sent by the Human Resources Department to all managers and supervisors to take part on the exercise, training and proper information. As one of the basis for the re-engineered design, a feedback information is desired by management to complete the structure of its design plan. Knowing what the personnel feels will equip them with the knowledge of what is really going on inside the organization and what is really needed and thus be able to correct deficiencies in the system. To gain insight of the personnel’s perception on the performance appraisal and also to find out the needs of personnel on training and development, a survey was conducted to 139 personnel of the hospital representing 2% of the total number of personnel of KFHSRC. The number of sample has been limited due to limitations of time and resources to conduct a larger number of sampling. Result showed majority of respondents believed on the validity of performance appraisal for rating performance. Survey shows training and development are needed by some respondents while some respondents do not understand their job responsibilities. Findings of the study can be used as references by the Human Resource Management in correcting deficiencies of performances and developing programs for development of personnel. A REVIEW OF THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM AT KFSH&RC Introduction The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center appraisal system has been developed by the hospital in 1988. It is a system based on the American Appraisal system that has been adopted by the hospital in 1975. The pros and cons of the present appraisal system of the hospital are reviewed to determine if there is a need to update or replace or the PAS totally. Chapter 1 of the study presents the overview of the KFSH&RC, the present performance system and its benefits. This section also presents a review of literature that includes the criticisms, studies and researches that argue about instituting new measures of performance evaluation of employees and gauging employee job satisfaction. Chapter II discusses the implementation of the re-engineering project for the human

Chick-fil-A Customer Service Essay Example for Free

Chick-fil-A Customer Service Essay Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy greeted employees at the newest Charleston area restaurant with a Bible verse, a prayer and a message about doing business the â€Å"Chick-fil-A Way. † Most people recognize the famous Chick-fil-A cows and their misspelled pleas to â€Å"Eat Mor Chikin. † But not everyone may be aware of Chick-fil-A’s unique way of doing business. With a focus on quality food, superior customer service and dedicated employees, Chick-fil-A has built a restaurant empire. Another freestanding restaurant opened Sept. 29 on Dorchester Road near the Ashley Phosphate Road intersection in North Charleston. Two days before the opening, new employees—called â€Å"team members† in the Chick-fil-A world—served dinner to their family members and listened as Cathy explained the importance of smiling and treating customers with honor, dignity and respect. Chick-fil-A’s mission, he said, is â€Å"to glorify God by being a faithful steward of what is entrusted to us. † Sandwich history Cathy is the son of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, who entered the restaurant business in 1946 when he opened Dwarf Grill in an Atlanta suburb. It would be another 20 years before the world was introduced to Chick-fil-A. In 1961, Truett Cathy accepted leftover pieces of chicken breast from Goode Brothers Poultry. The poultry company provided airlines with boneless, skinless chicken breasts that would fit in the plastic trays used to serve food on airplanes but had plenty of leftover pieces to sell. Truett Cathy had considered adding chicken to his menu and decided to take the poultry company up on its offer to take the leftover pieces too big for the airline trays. Truett Cathy spent months perfecting the recipe and figuring out the best way to cook the chicken quickly. After four years, he had a boneless chicken sandwich. According to Chick-fil-A history, Truett Cathy originally called it a chicken steak sandwich but began thinking of something that could carry a trademark. The best cut of a steak is the fillet, so why not call the sandwich a chicken fillet, he thought. The name morphed into chick fillet and eventually became Chick-fil-A (with a capital â€Å"A† to emphasize quality). The first Chick-fil-A opened in Atlanta’s Greenbrier Mall in 1967. The first freestanding restaurant opened in Atlanta about 20 years later. The restaurant has continued its incredible growth, expanding heavily into the western United States, introducing a breakfast menu and healthier menu options. The Chick-fil-A Way Certainly Chick-fil-A isn’t the only quick service restaurant to make billions, but what sets Chick-fil-A apart is the company’s corporate philosophy, its emphasis on values, customer service and treating employees like family members. Dan Cathy attributes the company’s success to his 84-year-old father, whom he describes as a tremendous influence, a â€Å"patriarch† and â€Å"Moses figure† in the family and in the company. Thanks to his father’s influence, Chick-fil-A has â€Å"stayed the course,† Dan Cathy said. Despite the many potential distractions, the company stays focused on its recipes, hot food, clean restrooms—the things that are important to customers. Interestingly, Dan Cathy refers to his company as being in the hospitality business—not usually the first description that comes to mind when thinking about fast food. But Cathy said the idea of being in the hospitality business began when his family opened its first diner. â€Å"That’s our heritage, our roots,† he said. When the focus is on the customers and employees, success will follow, according to Chick-fil-A’s philosophy. â€Å"It’s all about the people,† Dan Cathy said. â€Å"You can’t have great tasting food until you have a good relationship with your employees. † Chick-fil-A offers $1,000 college scholarships to its employees, having awarded about $20 million during the past 30 years. The company also has a unique agreement with its operators, providing franchisees with the chance to sublease a restaurant for $5,000. Each month operators pay the corporate office 15% of gross sales and 50% of net profits as a franchise fee. Operators are assured a minimum annual income of $30,000. The company continues its long-standing tradition of being closed on Sundays, so employees can spend time with their families and attend a worship service. Despite opportunities to go public, Chick-fil-A remains a private company so it can retain control over its key values. Chick-fil-A has proven a business with values and principles can do well. And not just survive but thrive, Dan Cathy pointed out. In 2004, Chick-fil-A achieved sales of $1. 74 billion—an increase of 13. 8% over 2003. The company is opening 61 new restaurants this year, and customer satisfaction scores are the highest they have ever been, Cathy said. The company will introduce milkshakes to its menu next summer. And a spicy chicken sandwich is being tested in the Tampa, Fla. , area. Family ties have local roots Operating the new Dorchester Road location is Daniel Dickerson, whose family has been operating Chick-fil-A for years. His father was one of the first Chick-fil-A operators, and his brother, Patrick Dickerson, is the operator of the Mount Pleasant Chick-fil-A. Raised in Charleston, Daniel Dickerson previously ran a store in Ocala, Fla. Dickerson said he looks up to the Cathy family and also tries to live up to the legacy his own father left behind. Dickerson oversees 72 part- and full-time employees at his North Charleston store. Many of the employees are teenagers, and Dickerson—following a company tradition—employs students who are involved in their schools and extracurricular activities. Chick-fil-A promotes involvement and works around students’ schedules. Dickerson said he would rather have 20 students with less availability than students who aren’t involved in their schools. At the family night celebration, Dan Cathy assured the parents of the many teenage employees their children would be working in a supportive environment. If grades aren’t maintained, students’ work schedules could be cut back. From providing scholarships to closing on Sundays, Chick-fil-A continues to do business its own way, based on principles Truett Cathy instilled in the company more than 50 years ago. In 2002, Truett Cathy published Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People, a book that explains â€Å"Doing Business the Chick-fil-A Way. † Truett Cathy opens a chapter on priorities and commitment by recalling when a reporter asked him how he would like to be remembered. Cathy responded, â€Å"I think I’d like to be remembered as one who kept my priorities in the right order. We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed, and the important things will not change if we keep our priorities in proper order. † Holly Fisher is the supplements editor for the Business Journal.

Cell Culture and Protein Detection

Cell Culture and Protein Detection Overview: This practical is split into three main parts, each part allows us to develop certain techniques. The first part of the practical is focused on the techniques needed to successfully carry out cell cultures. The second part is using an analytical technique known as ELISA this is used to measure the amount of proteins secreted by the cells that were cultured in part one. Lastly, part three focuses on western blotting, this is a technique used to measure proteins too but it differs from ELISA in that it measures proteins that are present inside the cell. The fundamental objective of this practical is to look at how Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) alters the growth and the expression of the smooth muscle cell ÃŽ ±-actin (SMA) in vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMC) while also detecting and quantifying cell signalling molecules (JNK’s) and cytokine secretion (TNF-ÃŽ ±) in vascular cells. Section 1 – Subculture Objective: The aim of this part of the practical is to subculture the bovine aortic vascular smooth muscle cells and to count the cells and check for viability by counting the cells in suspension on a haemocytometer using a microscope. The cells are also treated with a bacterial antigen (LPS) to look at its effect on viability, differentiation state and the activation of intracellular signalling and secretion of proteins. Immunocytochemistry is also carried out in this part of the practical. Method: Trypsin is used to remove the cells from the bottom of the flask. When the cells have dissociated, medium which contains a trypsin inhibitor is added. The medium stops excessive trypsin action from damaging the cells. The cell suspension is first diluted using trypthan blue to allow viable cells which remain white to be distinguished from non- viable cells which are blue. This method allows us to get a total cell count of cells/mL and the percentage of viable cells. Our total cell count was found to be 7.45105 cells/mL The non-viable cells were found to be 1.5104 cells/mL This means that the culture contains more 98% viable cells which indicates that it is a healthy culture. 3 different 6 well plates were then set up using different densities of seed cells. 3105cells/ml seeding density was used in one plate. This density was used as a lot of protein needs to be present for the assessment of JNK and ÃŽ ±-actin protein cytokine production. 1105 cells/ml seeding density was used in another 6 well plate. These plates are used to assess the effect of LPS on growth and viability of the cells. This density is used to give a clear picture of the cells to make counting easier. 5103 cells/ml seeding density was used in the last plate. This plate is used for ÃŽ ±-actin expression by immunocytochemistry. The low density will give us a clearer picture. The three different sets of plates are all treated with varying concentrations of LPS. Each plate has two wells which are used as controls, containing no LPS, two wells containing 1Â µg of LPS and two wells containing 10Â µg of LPS. Immunocytochemistry is carried out on the plate with a seeding density of 5103cells/ml. This technique is used to determine if a particular protein or antigen is present. An unlabelled primary antibody is used to bind to the antigen desired antigen. The presence of contractile protein ÃŽ ±-actin can determine the differentiation state of vSMC. Immunocytochemistry is used as a qualitative method of determining the presence of a protein, it is not quantitative. Results: Calculations for different seeding densities: Initial concentration = 7.45105 cells/mL Formula = Plate 1, seeding density 1.5105 cells/ml Plate 2, seeding density 0.5105 cells/ml Plate 2, seeding density 2.5103 cells/ml Table 1: Cell growth for each group Immunochemistry results: Figure 1: Cell growth in the control (0Â µg/ml LPS) Figure 1: Cell growth in the control (1Â µg/ml LPS) Figure 3: Cell growth with 10Â µg/ml of LPS Discussion: The first part of this section was to carry out a cell count and determine the viability of the suspension. Our sample had 7.45105 cells/ml and it contained more than 98% viable cells. This meant it was a healthy cell suspension and it was suitable to run tests on for the practical. A seeding density of 1105 cells/ml seeding density was used to assess the effect of LPS on growth and viability of the cells. This density was used to give a clear picture of the cells to make counting easier. The results of our experiment correlated with the majority of the class. However there were some unexpected results in some of the groups but this could be down to plates being labelled incorrectly or mistakes while counting when using the haemocytometer. Immunocytochemistry is used to allow us to analyse the results visually. We found that as the amount of LPS increased the number of cells decreased, this is illustrated in figures 1, 2 and 3. LPS is an endotoxin and it inhibits the growth of ÃŽ ±-a ctin. LPS also damages the structure of ÃŽ ±-actin, high levels of LPS stop the correct formation of the filaments and so affects the function of the cell which is to facilitate cell contraction and migration. This result was expected as LPS is a major mediator to septic shock and is known to directly affect vascular smooth muscle cells. Question: What could you do to improve this experiment? To improve this experiment I would use a wider range of concentrations for LPS. This would give a better understanding of its affects. Repeating the experiment several times and getting an average of your results would also help. Section 2 – ELISA Objective: The aim of this section of the practical is to use Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to detect production of the cytokine TNFÃŽ ± from the cells activated with LPS. Detection is based on a colour change. Firstly a standard curve must be generated so that absorbance values can be converted into concentrations of TNF-ÃŽ ±. Once the curve is completed we can determine the unknown concentrations of TNF-ÃŽ ± in our samples. Method: Firstly the antibody is immobilised onto the surface of the plate. The plate is then washed to remove any excess antibody, antigen is then added and it is allowed to bind to the antibody. A secondary antibody is then added, this antibody is labelled with an enzyme. The enzymes substrate is then added, this causes a colour change. The amount of coloured product formed is determined spectrophotometrically. The amount of coloured product is proportional to the amount of enzyme present and also to the concentration of the antigen. Results: Table. 2 Absorbance values of samples at 450nm. Figure 4. Plot of standard curve of absorbance versus concentration. Discussion: The aim of this experiment was to quantify the amount of TNF-ÃŽ ± present in our samples. To do this a set of known standards were used and their absorbance values read. This data produced a straight line with an R2 value of 0.99 indicating that a straight line was an excellent fit for absorbance versus concentration, and so the equation of the line could be used to determine unknown concentrations of TNF-ÃŽ ± based on their absorbance values. Our results showed that TNF-ÃŽ ± was present in its highest concentration of 25.15pg/ml in the sample with the highest concentration of LPS and it was found in its lowest concentration of 9.9 pg/ml in the sample containing no LPS. This result was expected as cytokines such as TNF-ÃŽ ± are produced in large quantities to respond to endotoxins such as LPS. Question: What could you do to gain more information from this experiment? To gain more information from this experiment you could test for other cytokines which are also activated by LPS, correlating these results would make your data more meaningful. Section 3 – Western Blotting Objective: The aim of this section of the practical is to prepare cell lysates from the vascular smooth muscle cells which were activated by LPS previously. SDS PAGE and western blotting will then be used to detect the activation of the intracellular protein JNK. Western analysis quantifies the amount of protein present in the cell. To do this cell lysis must be carried out. In this practical we used a method which generates whole cell lysates. To do this lysis buffer is added to the cells followed by sonication. Method: Cell lysis is carried out first. The next step is SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Western blotting involves transferring the protein bands from an acrylamide gel to a more stable and immobilising medium such as nitrocellulose paper so that analytical procedures such as detection with antibodies can be carried out. We carried out western blotting using iBlot dry blotting system. After blotting probing is carried out to determine the presence of phosphorylated JNK protein. Results: Figure 5. Ponceau S Staining Figure 6. ÃŽ ±-actin Figure 7. pJNK Discussion: To see if our transfer was a success before probing, the blot was stained with Ponceau S stain. The proteins can be seen as red bands with this stain. The result of this stain can be seen in figure 5. red bands are present which indicates our transfer was a success and that there are proteins present. The western blot analysis showed that ÃŽ ±-actin was present in all the samples as a strong band around 42kDa was observed which is expected for ÃŽ ±-actin. The results for pJNK did not work out as it was washed incorrectly, because of this no bands were observed, however bands would be expected in the samples containing LPS. Why did you run the sample on the gel before blotting? The sample was run on gel first as proteins are separated by molecular weight. This allows us to distinguish ÃŽ ±-actin from other proteins. It is then moved to the nitrocellulose paper so that analytical procedures such as detection with antibodies can be carried out Why measure the phosphorylated form of JNK? The phosphorylated form of JNK is a signal a cell sends out when it is stressed. Therefore pJNK should be present in the samples with LPS. If it is present then it confirms the fact that the cell is stressed as a result of the presence of the endotoxin.

Examples Of Green Technology Methods Environmental Sciences Essay

Examples Of Green Technology Methods Environmental Sciences Essay Green technology is a continuously evolving group of methods of using materials that are being disposed of and recycling them to be used for other things that will not harm the environment. Building materials and landscaping are just a couple of things that can be done with waste materials. Things that can be recycled so that we can reuse them for generating energy to nontoxic cleaning products and other non-harmful things-things that could/can be harmful to our planet, ozone, and environment. We need to find things that we can do to help clean up our environment and planet before we totally destroy what is left of it. By using green technology, we can [meet] the needs of society in ways that will continue indefinitely into the future and without damaging or depleting natural resources. (Green technology, 2010) Examples of green technology are energy, green building, environmentally preferred purchasing, green chemistry, and green nanotechnology. All of these resources can keep our planet clean and we will be able to recycle smartly. We will be able to use, then re-use, as needed. As we build and use, we will be able to tear down what we have built and reuse the waste for other things. According to Green-technology.org, here are the definitions of the examples from above: Energy the development of alternative fuels, new means of generating energy and energy efficiency. Green building encompasses everything from the choice of building materials to where a building is located. Environmentally Preferred Purchasing (EPP) government innovation that involves the search for products whose contents and methods of production have the smallest possible impact on the environment and mandates that these be the preferred products for government purchasing. Green-chemistry the invention, design, and application of chemical products and processes to reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Green nanotechnology the application of green chemistry and green engineering principals in the field of manipulation of materials at the scale of the nanometer (one billionth of a meter). Green energy is the use of alternative energy other than gasoline. One such alternative is ethanol and corn fuels. These burn cleaner than gas and, in todays automobiles these fuels even provide greater fuel mileage. This has been a concern of consumers for a long time. However, in older model cars, these types of fuels do not work and dry out piston rings but car manufacturers are remedying this and designing cars to run on ethanol and corn fuels. This technology is already being used today. Even battery powered cars are on the roads; cars that dont use any type of fuel except battery power. This is another form of green technology. Solar heat and power are another form of energy that is green. Solar heat can be captured to heat water. This type of energy is already being implemented in the world today. Solar panels capture the suns heat and this is used to heat water plus used for power to run lights in homes. Some homes are totally powered by solar panels as are prototype solar cars. Even geothermal energy is used in certain geographical areas of the world to run generators by steam. Wind power also runs many items, including homes that would normally rely on electricity to power lights, appliances, etc. Manyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦fields of wind turbines are being built in areas of the world to take advantage of constant winds to provide economical and sustainable energy. (EzineArticles, 2010, para. 4) Another source of green energy would be the use of a Magnetic Power Generator (MPG). This would produce free energy indefinitely and power a whole house. This device would not cost much to build-not thousands of dollars-and if you are a do it yourself type of person, you could make one for fairly cheap. According to Greendepot.com, Green building practices, as well as the selection of the appropriate building materials, revolve around a few basic principles of science. (Greendepot, 2010). Using recycled materials to build will result in a totally green building with all parts of the building originating from recycled material from the floor to the walls, ceilings, cabinets, and even furniture can be made from recycled material and when old, can be recycled again. Not only can we build from recycled materials but we can do just about anything with those materials from building homes to landscaping. One material that is being used for home building is called Durisol. These are hollow-core blocks [that] are made from mineralized wood shavings and portland cement, stacked into walls then finished with reinforcing steel and concrete. (Greendepot, 2010) Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) helps the federal government buy green and uses the governments buying power to stimulate market demand for green products and services. (epa.gov, 2010) It helps agencies within the federal government comply with green requirements and agencies are directed by federal law and such to purchase things with the environment in mind. The EPA created the EPP in 1993 to help meet the already mentioned requirements. Green chemistry reduces or eliminates the use of hazardous substances. It applies across the life cycle of a chemical product, including its design, manufacture, and use (epa.gov, 2010) It reduces or eliminates negative environmental impact and is an effective approach to pollution prevention because it applies solutions to environmental problems and situations. The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry was originally published by Paul Anastas and John Warner in Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice (Oxford University Press: New York, 1998) and provides a guide for chemists to implement Green Technology (epa.org, 2010). The twelve principles are as follows: Prevention Atom Economy Less Hazardous Chemical Synthesis Designing Safer Chemicals Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries Design for Energy Efficiency Use of Reusable Feedstock Reduce Derivatives Catalysis Design for Degradation Real-time Analysis for Pollution Prevention Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accidental Prevention (Anastas, P.T; Warner, J.C.; Green, 1998) Currently, China is a world leader in the manufacture of solar panels and research into carbon capture, the process of burning coal while not emitting greenhouse gases. This country is providing a model of how countries should foster a green economy.(RONAN McGREEVY.   (2010,  November  13) Nanotechnology is defined as the art and science of manipulating matter at the nanoscale to create new and unique products and materials. (Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, 2010). The nanoscale is the scale of atoms and molecules. As products are made using the nanometer-scale, there is a growing demand for this technology to help clean up the environment by reducing pollution and trying to produce a cleaner environment and economy. It is easier than we may think. Experiments with nanotechnology are happening all the time. Using this nanotechnology, science has been experimenting on all types of things. From using DNA molecules in processes to building nanoscale patterns on silicon chips and other surfaces to print things (versus lithography) to removing arsenic in a solution base and by being able to detect pollutants at the level of parts per billion. (Project on Emerging Technology nano (2007, April 26). Nanotechnology has opened promising routes to improving and lowering the cost of fuel cells and is leaning toward tools for removing toxic and hazardous materials in waste sites. This kind of technology is essential if we are going to clean up our planet and it is a growing technology to be sure and, according to Lux Research, in 2005, more than $30 billion in nanotech products were sold globally. This figure is estimated to grow to $2.6 trillion by the year 2014. Green technology is an every-growing technology to find what is best for our planet and its continued survival and evolution. We cannot continue down the path we started on years and years ago or we will not have a planet that will sustain life. Using green technology will allow us to clean up our rivers, lakes and waterways as well as our environment. Recycling is one way to do this. Not only does this help us use waste materials but it keeps these waste materials out of dumps and landfills. Even appliances are going green. A plug, developed by 2 brothers, called the GreenPlug, plugs into a normal wall outlet, between the wall and the appliance, and stops excess power to the appliance. It stops the flow of unused energy to the appliance thus saving on energy and power. The GreenPlug helps appliances cut down on the amount of energy that they consume and it will add to the life of older appliances as well. There are hopes that green technology can jump-start the economy which has been failing and struggling. By implementing green technology, it is going to be the next global job and wealth creation engine. (McNally, S., 2009) But green technology has a long way to go before it can become a key in the economy. It has not been around long enough to make an effect as yet. Green technology is still so new that it is going to take a long while before it will put any kind of dent in the recession we are currently in. It is going to take a lot of initiative on the parts of companies; both small and large. Green technology will more than likely come first to the health and transportation sector as both are made more efficient by governments. The economic downturn makes companies more susceptible to change and change, like green technology, will probably be embraced quickly because of the openness for change that is currently felt all over the world. There are so many ways that we have already begun to use this technology. The postal service in Key West, Florida, for example, has begun using electric delivery carts instead of automobiles. Not only the postal service but other government agencies as well are trying to make transportation eco-friendly. Other areas are seeing solar power as an alternative to electricity. There are solar powered homes, businesses, and just recently, electronics are becoming solar powered. Like the worlds first solar powered keyboard made my Logitech. It is also wireless which means it can be completely recharged just by putting it in the sun or any other light source. Every part of the keyboard, including the packaging, is recyclable making the first green keyboard. As we continue to evolve, so does the world around us. In order for this world and planet to get cleaned up, we need to keep experimenting with the things that will ultimately make this world cleaner and better. All the cleaning up in the world makes no difference if we do not have a plan to turn green and make things eco-friendly. We will always have some sort of solid waste but even some of that can be turned into something that is usable and reusable. Even sewage can be used as a means of a heat source. Cleaning up our planet is of the utmost importance and finding new way to do that can be done. Recycling and e-cycling need to be important and we need to pursue and continue to pursue every avenue until this planet goes totally green. That is our future; our goal. Social awareness about the need for cleaner, environmentally-friendly products and services is crucial if we are to clean up our environment. Academically, green technology needs to be taught to our children as well as learning about it ourselves. It should be mandatory that our children be taught; not only our elementary children but college students as well. The industrial segment needs to be pushed forward to come out with more environment-friendly production and consumption processes. Various incentives need to be given to the industrial sector, which is ready to innovate and implement green technology. (Green technology is the future at large.  (2010,  November  14). Businesses need to man up and do their part as well by going green and having their employees do the same and give incentives for doing so. We all have to start somewhere and the big and small businesses need to do their part too. By recycling products that we use every day, we come closer to turning our environment green and cleaning up our world. Other countries need to know this technology and need to implement it. Without the technology, we will inevitably end up destroying ourselves and our planet. Going green with green technology is the only viable conclusion.

The Malaysian Economy: Booming :: essays research papers

The Malaysian Economy: Booming The Economy: Following a period of severe and prolonged recession, the Malaysian economy has returned to growth aided by a relaxation of monetary and fiscal policies and by increased export demand, particularly in the electronics sector. While the world economic slowdown was more severe than expected and the unprecedented September 11 events in the United States had widespread implications for all economies, Malaysia was able to steer away from a major economic contraction and GDP growth for the year remained in positive territory. However, given the openness of its economy with trade accounting for about 200 percent of GDP, Malaysia was not spared from the negative effects of the United States economic slowdown. These effects came in the form of declining manufacturing production and negative export growth, particularly of electronics. Nevertheless, the government’s initiation of strong monetary and fiscal policies to stimulate economic growth through accelerating domestic economic activi ties and reducing the over-dependence on exports helped the nation to sustain a positive real GDP growth. Since 1998 the Government has relaxed the equity guidelines for investment in the manufacturing sector. Foreigners can now own 100% equity regardless of the level of exports and several incentives have also been introduced recently to promote the manufacturing-related services sector. Foreign Direct Investment has been the key to the country's remarkable success in recent years. Hundreds of international companies have so far established themselves in the country, attracted by the favorable investment environment has made Malaysia one of the world’s top locations for offshore manufacturing operations. Manufacturing is now the largest export sector of the economy (contributing around 34% of GDP and employing nearly 28% of the labor force in 2000). The electronics sector (radios and television) is the main export earner followed by processed foods, rubber, chemicals, timber, petroleum-refining and automobile manufacturing. In 2001, the impact of the slowdown in economic activity was also felt by the labor market, particularly in terms of unemployed workers in the manufacturing sector. However, given the flexibility accorded by the labor market, alternative measures that were adopted by employers (such as pay cuts and temporary layoffs) helped contain the number of workers unemployed. The Malaysian exchange rate remained pegged to the US dollar at the rate of RM3.80 per US dollar in 2001 (an arrangement that has been effective since 2 September 1998). The ‘Ringgit’ appreciated against all major currencies, including regional currencies in tandem with the strong U.

Prejudice and Racism †All We Need is Love, All We Got is Hate :: Sociology Racism Prejudice Essays

As the snow covered the house that my grandma occupies, I looked out the window to the neighbor's front door, their mailbox, and the circular driveway they had. It was just another home, where kids could build a snowman or throw snowballs on the front lawn. But there where no children or snowmen here. And beneath the snow, the word "N-I-G-G-E-R" was written in the grass. A family- a home- where they had bothered no one. One night someone decided to take weed killer and burn it in giant letters into their lawn. This is why our nation, the melting pot of many races, needs to confront the problem and deal with what really is in front of us. When I first really thought about this, I thought, this is not Mississippi, or Alabama; this is Michigan, and it's in my grandma's neighborhood. And the thing is, their a normal family, just like any other. They went on trips in the summer, and spring, and this time came back to a message on the lawn. I sat there that day watching cars go by their house as if it were haunted or something. I guess it can happen anywhere. But this snow-covered house is still a reflection of America, white on top with a hatred burning underneath. I go to a college, where the races meet every day. Colored man helps white man; white man helps colored man. Doesn't sound right ? That's how bad our society has gotten. Disturbing? Of course. But what is more disturbing is, lately when these issues of racism have come up, there seems to be impatience and annoyance. "Does everything have to be racism?" people ask. And they're always complaining that "It's just a little thing." No, it's not. People are always saying that there is little prejudice. But how is that true ? It's like saying you're a little pregnant; can't happen. But this is nothing new. How many times have you heard "He's fast; for a white guy." Or "White men can't jump," Or "All black guys can jump and dance." And in reality these are all hateful things to say. As whites, we are the majority, and don't always realize it. And whenever there's racist complaints, we say "OK, we'll change" with a sigh. It's the white's who go crazy to get black athlete's autographs. They say "We love you!" yet how many would let them date your daughter? Although I say this, I do believe that some progress has been made. But I do think that when you're the majority, you do have to guard against

Also by Amitav Ghosh The Hungry Tide Incendiary Circumstances

Also by Amitav Ghosh The Hungry Tide Incendiary Circumstances The Glass Palace The Calcutta Chromosome In an Antique Land The Circle of Reason Sea of Poppies River of Smoke The Shadow Lines Amitav Ghosh www. johnmurray. co. uk First published in Great Britain in 1988 by Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd First published in 2011 by John Murray (Publishers) An Hachette UK Company  © Amitav Ghosh 1988 The right of Amitav Ghosh to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved.Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Li brary Epub ISBN 978-1-84854-423-9 Book ISBN 978-1-84854-417-8 John Murray (Publishers) 338 Euston Road London NW1 3BH www. johnmurray. co. uk For Radhika and Harisen CONTENTSTitle Page Copyright Page Dedication Going Away Coming Home Going Away In 1939, thirteen years before I was born, my father’s aunt, Mayadebi, went to England with her husband and her son, Tridib. It startles me now to discover how readily the name comes off my pen as ‘Mayadebi’ for I have never spoken of her thus; not aloud, at any rate: as my grandmother’s only sister, she was always Mayathakuma to me. But still, from as far back as I can remember, I have known her, in the secrecy of my mind, as ‘Mayadebi’ – as though she were a well-known stranger, like a film star or a politician whose picture I had seen in a newspaper.Perhaps it was merely because I knew her very little, for she was not often in Calcutta. That explanation seems likely enough, but I know it to be untrue. The truth is that I did not want to think of her as a relative: to have done that would have diminished her and her family – I could not bring myself to believe that their worth in my eyes could be reduced to something so arbitrary and unimportant as a blood relationship. Mayadebi was twenty-nine when they left, and Tridib was eight.Over the years, although I cannot remember when it happened any more than I can remember when I first learnt to tell the time or tie my shoelaces, I have come to believe that I was eight too when Tridib first talked to me about that journey. I remember trying very hard to imagine him back to my age, to reduce his height to mine, and to think away the spectacles that were so much a part of him that I really believed he had been born with them. It wasn’t easy, for to me he looked old, impossibly old, and I could not remember him looking anything other than old – though, in fact, at that time he could not have been much older t han twenty-nine.In the end, since I had nothing to go on, I had decided that he had looked like me. But my grandmother, when I asked her, was very quick to contradict me. She shook her head firmly, looking up from her schoolbooks, and said: No, he looked completely different – not at all like you. My grandmother didn’t approve of Tridib. He’s a loafer and a wastrel, I would sometimes hear her saying to my parents; he doesn’t do any proper work, lives off his father’s money.To me, she would only allow herself to say with a sardonic little twist of her mouth: I don’t want to see you loafing about with Tridib; Tridib wastes his time. It didn’t sound terrible, but in fact, in my grandmother’s usage, there was nothing very much worse that could be said of anyone. For her, time was like a toothbrush: it went mouldy if it wasn’t used. I asked her once what happened to wasted time. She tossed her small silvery head, screwed up h er long nose and said: It begins to stink. As for herself, she had been careful to rid our little flat of everything that might encourage us to let our time stink.No chessboard nor any pack of cards ever came through our door; there was a battered Ludo set somewhere but I was allowed to play with it only when I was ill. She didn’t even approve of my mother listening to the afternoon radio play more than once a week. In our flat we all worked hard at whatever we did: my grandmother at her schoolmistressing; I at my homework; my mother at her housekeeping; my father at his job as a junior executive in a company which dealt in vulcanised rubber. Our time wasn’t given the slightest opportunity to grow mouldy.That was why I loved to listen to Tridib: he never seemed to use his time, but his time didn’t stink. Sometimes Tridib would drop in to see us without warning. My grandmother, for all her disapproval of him, would be delighted whenever he came – partly be cause she was fond of him in her own way, but mainly because Tridib and his family were our only rich relatives, and it flattered her to think that he had gone out of his way to come and see her. But of course, she knew, though she wouldn’t admit it, that he had really come to nurse his stomach.The truth was that his digestion was a mess; ruined by the rivers of hard-boiled tea he had drunk at roadside stalls all over south Calcutta. Every once in a while a rumble in his bowels would catch him unawares on the streets and he would have to sprint for the nearest clean lavatory. This condition was known to us as Tridib’s Gastric. Once every few months or so we would answer the doorbell and find him leaning against the wall, his legs tightly crossed, the sweat starting from his forehead.But he wouldn’t come in right away: there was a careful etiquette attached to these occasions. My parents and grandmother would collect at the doorway and, ignoring his writhings, wo uld proceed to ask him about his family’s doings and whereabouts, and he in turn, smiling fixedly, would ask them how they were, and how I was, and finally, when it had been established to everyone’s satisfaction that he had come on a Family Visit, he would shoot through the door straight into the lavatory.When he emerged again he would be his usual nonchalant, collected self; he would sink into our ‘good’ sofa and the ritual of the Family Visit would begin. My grandmother would hurry into the kitchen to make him an omelette – a leathery little squiggle studded with green chillies, which would lie balefully on its plate, silently challenging Gastric to battle. This was the greatest sign of favour she could show to a visitor – an omelette made with her own hands (it fell to the less favoured to feast on my mother’s masterly tidbits – hot shingaras stuffed with mincemeat and raisins, or crisp little alpuris). Sometimes, watching h im as he chewed upon her omelette, she would ask: And how is Gastric? or: Is Gastric better now? Tridib would merely nod casually and change the subject; he didn’t like to talk about his digestion – it was the only evidence of prudery I ever saw in him. But since I always heard my grandmother using that word as a proper noun, I grew up believing that ‘Gastric’ was the name of an organ peculiar to Tridib – a kind of aching tooth that grew out of his belly button.Of course, I never dared ask to see it. Despite the special omelette, however, my grandmother would not let him stay long. She believed him to be capable of exerting his influence at a distance, like a baneful planet – and since she also believed the male, as a species, to be naturally frail and wayward, she would not allow herself to take the risk of having him for long in our flat where I, or my father, might be tempted to move into his orbit. I didn’t mind particularly, for T ridib was never at his best in our flat.I far preferred to run into him at the street corners in our neighbourhood. It didn’t happen very often – no more than once a month perhaps – but still, I took his presence on these streets so much for granted that it never occurred to me that I was lucky to have him in Calcutta at all. Tridib’s father was a diplomat, an officer in the Foreign Service. He and Mayadebi were always away, abroad or in Delhi; after intervals of two or three years they would sometimes spend a couple of months in Calcutta, but that was all.Of Tridib’s two brothers, Jatin-kaku, the elder, who was two years older than Tridib, was an economist with the UN. He was always away too, somewhere in Africa or South East Asia, with his wife and his daughter Ila, who was my age. The third brother, Robi, who was much younger than the other two, having been born after his mother had had several miscarriages, lived with his parents wherever they happened to be posted until he was sent away to boarding school at the age of twelve.So Tridib was the only person in his family who had spent most of his life in Calcutta. For years he had lived in their vast old family house in Ballygunge Place with his ageing grandmother. My grandmother claimed that he had stayed on in Calcutta only because he didn’t get along with his father. This was one of her complaints against him: not that he didn’t get along with his father, for she didn’t much care for his father either – but that he had allowed something like that to interfere with his prospects and career.For her, likes and dislikes were unimportant compared to the business of fending for oneself in the world: as far as she was concerned it was not so much odd as irresponsible of Tridib to shut himself away in that old house with his grandmother; it showed him up as an essentially lightweight and frivolous character. She might have changed her opinion if he h ad been willing to marry and settle down (and she hadn’t any doubt at all that she could have found him a rich wife), but every time she suggested it he merely laughed.This was further proof that he lacked that core of gravity and determination which distinguishes all responsible and grown-up men; a sure sign that he was determined to waste his life in idle self-indulgence. And yet, although she would pretend to dismiss him with a toss of her head, she never ceased to be wary of him, to warn me against his influence: at heart she believed that all men would be like him if it were not for their mothers and wives. She would often try to persuade me that she pitied him. Poor Tridib, she would say.There’s nothing in the world he couldn’t have done with his connections – he could have lived like a lord and run the country. And look at him – oh, poor Tridib – living in that crumbling house, doing nothing. But even as a child I could tell she didnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t pity him at all – she feared him. Of course, even she would acknowledge sometimes that Tridib did not really do ‘nothing’. In fact, he was working on a PhD in archaeology – something to do with sites associated with the Sena dynasty of Bengal. But this earned him very little credit in my grandmother’s eyes.Being a schoolteacher herself, she had an inordinate respect for academic work of any kind: she saw research as a life-long pilgrimage which ended with a named professorship and a marble bust in the corridors of Calcutta University or the National Library. It would have been a travesty to think of an irresponsible head like Tridib’s mounted in those august corridors. Part of the reason why my grandmother was so wary of him was that she had seen him a couple of times at the street corners around Gole Park where we lived. She had a deep horror of the young men who spent their time at the street-corner addas and tea-stalls around ther e.All failcases, she would sniff; think of their poor mothers, flung out on dung-heaps, starving †¦ Seeing Tridib there a few times was enough to persuade her that he spent all his time at those addas, gossiping: it seemed to fit with the rest of him. But the truth was that Tridib came there rarely, not more than once or twice a month. I would usually hear when he came: Nathu Chaubey, the paanwala who sat in the stall at the corner of our lane, or my friend Montu, who could see the far side of the lane from his bathroom window, or someone at the second-hand bookstalls, would tell me. They all knew I was related to Tridib.When I go past Gole Park now I often wonder whether that would happen today. I don’t know, I can’t tell: that world is closed to me, shut off by too many years spent away. Montu went away to America years ago and Nathu Chaubey, I heard, went back to Benares and started a hotel. When I walk past his paan-shop now and look at the crowds thronging th rough those neon-lit streets, the air-conditioned shops packed in with rickety stalls and the tarpaulin counters of pavement vendors, at the traffic packed as tight as a mail train all the way to the Dhakuria overbridge, somehow, though the paan-shop hasn’t changed, I find myself doubting it.At that time, in the early sixties, there were so few cars around there that we thought nothing of playing football on the streets around the roundabout – making way occasionally for the number 9, or any other bus that happened to come snorting along. There were only a few scattered shacks on Gariahat Road then, put up by the earliest refugees from the east. Gole Park was considered to be more or less outside Calcutta: in school when I said I lived there the boys from central Calcutta would often ask me if I caught a train every morning, as though I lived in some far-flung refugee camp on the border.I would usually hear that Tridib was around on my way back from our evening cricket game in the park. My cricket game was the one thing for which my grandmother never grudged me time away from my homework: on the contrary, she insisted that I run down to the park by the lake whether I wanted to or not. You can’t build a strong country, she would say, pushing me out of the house, without building a strong body. She would watch from her window to make sure I ran all the way to the park.But if I happened to hear that Tridib was around I would double back through the park and the back lanes. Someone would always be able to tell me where he was: he was a familiar figure within the floating, talkative population of students and would-be footballers and bank clerks and smalltime politicos and all the rest who gravitated towards that conversation-loving stretch of road between Gariahat and Gole Park. It did not occur to me then to wonder hy he was well known, or known at all – I simply took the fact for granted, and was grateful for the small privileges his presence secured for me on those streets: for the odd sweet given to me by a shopkeeper of his acquaintance; for being rescued from a fight in the park by some young fellow who knew him. But in fact it seems something of a mystery to me now, why they put up with him: he was never one of them, he didn’t even live there, and he often didn’t have much to say.He was usually content to listen to their loud quicksilver conversations in silence: often when he came he would have about him the tired, withdrawn air of a man who has risen from some exhausting labour and ventured out to distract himself. But occasionally, when he was in the mood and somebody happened to say something that made a breach in his vast reservoirs of abstruse information, he would begin to hold forth on all kinds of subjects – Mesopotamian stelae, East European jazz, the habits of arboreal apes, the plays of Garcia Lorca, there seemed to be no end to the things he could talk about.On those evenin gs, looking at the intent faces of his listeners, watching his thin, waspish face, his tousled hair and his bright black eyes glinting behind his gold-rimmed glasses, I would be close to bursting with pride. But even at those times, when he was the centre of everybody’s attention, there was always something a little detached about his manner.He did not seem to want to make friends with the people he was talking to, and that perhaps was why he was happiest in neutral, impersonal places – coffee houses, bars, street-corner addas – the sort of places where people come, talk and go away without expecting to know each other any further. That was also why he chose to come all the way from Ballygunge to Gole Park for his addas – simply because it was far enough for him to be sure that he wouldn’t meet any of his neighbours there.Perhaps they put up with him simply because he wasn’t like them, because he was different – partly also because th ey were a little frightened of him: of the occasional, devastating sharpness of his tongue, and of the oddly disconcerting streams of talk that would suddenly come gushing out of him. But of course, he also had his uses: there was a streak of intensely worldly shrewdness in him which would stand them in good stead every once in a while.For example, he would give a student precise and detailed instructions on how to write an examination paper, because he happened to know that Professor So-and-so was going to correct it, and he liked answers that were slanted just so, and the student would do as he had said, and get a first class. Or else when someone was going to appear for a job interview he would tell him what he was likely to be asked, and when the interview was over it would turn out that Tridib’s predictions had been dead right.But equally his advice would sometimes seem deliberately misleading, perverse. Once, for instance, he told a young man who was going to be intervi ewed by a multinational company that the firm, once famous for its stuffiness, had recently been bought by a Marwari businessman and become very nationalist, and that he would not stand any chance at all of getting in unless he went to the interview dressed in a dhoti. The young man went off to the interview duly clad in dhoti, and found that the doorman wouldn’t let him in.Nobody was ever quite sure where they stood with Tridib: there was a casual self-mockery about many of the things he said which left his listeners uncertain about whether they ought to take what he said at face value or believe its opposite. As a result, inevitably, there were all kinds of conflicting rumours about him – especially because he was secretive about his family and his circumstances to an extraordinary degree – even more than was wholly warranted by the fact that everybody young was turning Maoist at that time.Someone would remark knowingly that he had heard that Tridib’s f amily was rich and powerful, that his father was a diplomat, the son of a wealthy judge, and his brother was a brilliant economist who had a job with the UN and lived abroad. But no sooner would he say it than a sceptical voice would cut him short and say: Where do you live, mairi? D’you think we’ve all dropped out of the sky that we’ll believe all that – don’t you know he’s married and has three children and lives with his widowed mother in a slum near Santoshpur?And since there was something just a little improbable about the son of a diplomat, scion of a rich and powerful family, turning up at those street corners for years on end, it was the latter kind of story that people tended to believe. Sometimes I would try to tell them the truth. But I was just a boy and I happened to have a reputation for being wide-eyed and gullible. Besides, they all knew we lived in a small flat down the lane; if I had tried too hard to persuade them that we had rich and powerful relatives they would only have thought that I was giving yself airs. When I was about nine Tridib once stayed away from his haunts in Gole Park for so long that the regulars began to wonder what had happened to him. I was the only one who knew, because I had stopped by at his house once (as I often did in those days) on my way to my maths tutor’s house, in the afternoon. This was during the time he was telling me the story of his journey to England in instalments. I had found him, as always, lying on a mat in his room at the top of the house, reading, with a cigarette smouldering in an ashtray beside him.When I told him that people were asking about him at Gole Park, he put a finger to his lips. Shh, he said. Don’t tell them a thing. Do you know what? I think I may have discovered the mound where the kings of the Sena dynasty used to bury their treasure. If the government finds out, they’ll take everything. Don’t say a word to anyone and don’t come here again for a while – you may be followed by secret agents. I was thrilled: I hugged the secret to my chest every time I was asked about him. He’d gone, I would say. He’s vanished. Then, one evening, on my way to the park, I heard he’d surfaced at Gole Park again.I doubled back and found him at his favourite adda, on the steps of an old house, surrounded by his acquaintances. I waved to him, from between someone’s legs, but he was busy answering their questions and didn’t see me. Where have you been all this while, Tridib-da? somebody said. It must be three or four months †¦ I’ve been away, I heard him say, and nodded secretly to myself. Away? Where? I’ve been to London, he said. To visit my relatives. His face was grave, his voice steady. What relatives? I have English relatives through marriage, he said. A family called Price.I thought I’d go and visit them. Ignoring their sceptical grunt s, he told them that he had been to stay with old Mrs Price, who was a widow. Her husband had died recently. She lived in north London, he said, on a street called Lymington Road; the number of their house was 44 and the tube station was West Hampstead. Mrs Price had a daughter, who was called May. And what’s she like? a voice asked. Sexy? He reflected on that for a moment, and said, no, she wasn’t sexy, not in the ordinary way – she was thick-set, with broad shoulders, and not very tall.She wasn’t beautiful or even pretty in the usual sense, for she had a strong face and a square jaw, but she had thick straight hair which came down to her shoulders in a glossy black screen, like a head-dress in an Egyptian frieze, and she had a wonderful, warm smile which lit up her blue eyes and gave her a quality all her own, set her apart. And what does she do? someone sneered. Is she a wrestler or a hairdresser? She’s a student, said Tridib. At least, a kind o f student – she’s studying at the Royal College of Music. She plays the oboe, and one day she’s going to join an orchestra.It was then, I think, that I could restrain myself no longer. I thrust myself forward through the thicket of trousered legs and cried: Tridib-da, you’ve made a mistake! I met you last month, don’t you remember? You were in your room, lying on your mat, smoking a cigarette. You were looking for †¦ There was a howl of laughter and a chorus of exclamations: You fraud, you liar, you were just making it all up, you haven’t been anywhere †¦ Tridib did not seem to be at all put out, either by what I had said or by their laughter.He laughed too, shrugging good-naturedly, and said: If you believe anything people tell you, you deserve to be told anything at all †¦ Leaning towards me, he pinched my cheek and grinned. Isn’t that so? he said, with an interrogatory nod, his spectacles glinting in the lamplight. H is aplomb gave an uneasy edge to the laughter and the comments around him: it seemed now that he had made them the victims of a complicated private joke. There was an edgy hostility in their voices when he left. You can’t believe a word he says, somebody exclaimed, he just likes to bamboozle people and play jokes on them.But another, sharper voice broke in and said: Joke? He wasn’t joking, he believed everything he said: it was no joke, the fact is that he’s a nut – he’s never been anywhere outside Calcutta. I was furious with myself now for having exposed Tridib to their ridicule. You don’t know what you’re talking about, I cried. I was shouting at the top of my voice, so they listened. Still shouting, I told them the truth as I knew it: that Tridib had been to London, with his parents, many years ago, when he was a boy. They had aken his father there for an operation, which couldn’t be done in India. They had had to go, even though it was 1939 and they knew there might be a war. His brother Jatin had been left behind in Calcutta with his grandparents because he was older and couldn’t be away from school for so long. And yes, there was a family called Price, who lived in West Hampstead, but they weren’t relatives – they were very, very old friends of Tridib’s family, because Mrs Price’s father, Lionel Tresawsen, had lived in India hen the British were here, and he and Tridib’s grandfather, who was a very important man, a judge in the Calcutta High Court, had been friends. Long after Lionel Tresawsen went back to England his daughter had married a man who had taught her in college, whom everyone called Snipe because his name was S. N. I. Price. When she’d heard that Tridib’s father was ill she had written to them and sent telegrams to say that they must stay with her in London, because she’d bought a big house, and she’d been wanting to take in lodgers anyway.And it was true that she had a daughter called May, but she was a little baby when Tridib was in London, and as far as I knew he hadn’t seen her since. And Mrs Price had had a brother too, called Alan, who had been in Germany before the war †¦ I gave up, exhausted. That’s an even better version than Tridib’s, somebody said, with a snort of laughter. It’s true, I shouted back at him. If you don’t believe me, ask †¦ Tridib? A voice prompted, and they doubled up with laughter. I pushed my way out and ran all the way down the lane and up the two flights of stairs to our flat.I was an hour late, and my grandmother was very angry. In her controlled, headmistress’s voice she asked me where I had been, and when I didn’t answer she raised her hand, drew it back and slapped me. Where have you been? she asked again, and this time I blurted out that I’d been down at the corner. She slapped me again, really hard. Haven’t I told you, she said, you’re not to go there and waste your time? Time is not for wasting, time is for work. I met May Price for the first time two years after that incident, when she came to Calcutta on a visit.The next time I met her was seventeen years later, when I went to London myself. I went to England on a year’s research grant, to collect material from the India Office Library, where all the old colonial records were kept, for a PhD thesis on the textile trade between India and England in the nineteenth century. More than a month passed after I arrived in London, before I could meet May again. I had to go to a great deal of trouble to find her. She was playing in an orchestra and living on her own in a bedsit in Islington. Mrs Price gave me her phone number and I called her several times, but she was never in.And then, one morning, while looking through the entertainment page of the Guardian, I saw a notice which said that her orchestra w ould be playing the Dvorak Cello Concerto that evening at the Royal Festival Hall. I went there early that evening: I could only afford a ticket for a place on one of the benches behind the orchestra, and I had heard they sometimes sold out very early. But as it turned out I managed to get a seat quite easily: the soloist was a Swedish cellist who clearly did not have much drawing power. When I went in, I discovered that my seat was directly behind the woodwind section.Soon I saw her; she was fussing with her music-stand, dressed, like all the other women in the orchestra, in a black skirt and white blouse. I watched her as she arranged her music and chatted with an elderly horn player who was sitting in front of her. Her hair was still cut exactly as I remembered it from the time she had stayed with us in Calcutta: falling thick and straight to her shoulders, mantling her neck and the sides of her face; but where I remembered it as dark and shiny, it was streaked now with bands of grey which shimmered when they caught the light.Her shoulders, always broad for her height, had thickened; she seemed almost top-heavy now, for she hadn’t added an inch to her waist. I caught a glimpse of her face when she turned to say something to a woman who was sitting in the row behind. She had deep lines running from the corner of her mouth to her nose, and her eyes, which had once been a clear, bright blue, had grown pale and prominent. Watching her through that concert, I thought of her as she was when she came to stay with us in Calcutta, all those years ago. We had moved to a much larger house then, and she had been given the guest room, downstairs.In the evenings, whenever I managed to elude my mother and grandmother (who didn’t want me to bother her), I would slip into her room, sit on the floor and listen to her playing scales on the recorder she had brought to practice on. Often she would blush with embarrassment, put her recorder down and say: Look, this must be so boring for you, all these horrible scales. But I wouldn’t let her stop. I would insist that she go on playing, and I would sit there entranced, and watch her blowing into her recorder, frowning, the muscles in her cheeks knotting in concentration.She was not frowning when she played in that concert in the Festival Hall: it was evident that her mastery of her instrument was so complete now that she had to give little thought to the music. All through that concert she, and most of the other musicians around her, performed with a bored mechanical precision, very much like veteran soldiers going through a familiar exercise at their sergeantmajor’s command. When the concert was over I waited in my seat until the audience had left and the members of the orchestra were busy packing their instruments.Then I leant over the railing and called out her name. She looked up, narrowing her eyes. She saw me and gave me a politely puzzled smile. Then, to my surprise, she re cognised me, and her face lit up and she waved. Pointing at the exit she mouthed the words: I’ll see you outside. I went out into the plush, chandeliered foyer and waited. Five minutes later, I saw her, picking her way through the last stragglers, her shoulders rolling, like a boxer’s, as she walked towards me. We met half-way down the foyer and froze in mutual embarrassment.She put out a tentative hand, and then suddenly she smiled, rose on tiptoe, pulled my head down and kissed me on the cheeks, her oboe clattering against my neck in its leather case. As we made our way out, I asked her how she had recognised me, after all those years. She gave it a moment’s thought and said: I put two and two together I suppose – I knew you were in London; Mother told me. She stopped to give me a quick, appraising look. And besides, she said, it’s not as though you don’t bear a family resemblance to the boy I met in Calcutta – and I remember him ve ry well.Her voice had a deep, gravelly, almost masculine texture; I couldn’t decide whether it had always been like that or whether it had changed. While she was leading me towards Waterloo tube station through a maze of concrete walkways, she stopped to ask: Have you got anything planned for the rest of the evening? I shook my head, trying not to look too eager. Well, she said, pausing to think; you could always come back with me to my bedsit, for dinner. I can’t offer you very much – just a beansprout salad and some grilled fish. I don’t know whether you care for that kind of thing?Yes, I said, nodding. That would be very nice. She gave me a quick smile. If it’s any consolation, she said, remember I sprouted the beans myself. In the tube, on our way to Islington, I told her how bored she had looked through the concert. She nodded sheepishly. Yes, she said; you’ve guessed my guilty secret. I only stay on with the orchestra because I’ ve got to make a living somehow †¦ She cleared her throat, hesitated, and went on to add: You know – I spend most of my time working for Amnesty and Oxfam and a couple of other relief agencies, small ones, you won’t have heard of them.I asked her a few questions and she described the project she was working on just then with a businesslike briskness: it was something to do with providing housing for the survivors of an earthquake in Central America. It was evident that she found a great deal of satisfaction in her work. Her room was on the first floor of a house that looked out on Islington Green. As she stepped in and switched on the lights, a television set near her bed lit up too, automatically. She hurried across the room and switched it off. Turning to face me she said, guiltily, as though she were making a confession: I leave it on all the time.It’s my only real indulgence. It fills up the room – it feels a bit empty otherwise. It was a large, pleasant room, full of plants; its windows looked out over the trees on the Green. There was very little furniture in it – an armchair, a desk, and a large bed, pushed up against the wall at the far end of the room. There were also a few cushions, with bright Gujarati mirrorwork covers, scattered on the floor, but they looked as though they had been thrown there more to fill up empty space than to be sat on: it did not look like a room where visitors were often expected.With a formal, faintly ironic little bow May invited me to amuse myself by looking through her bookshelf while she made our dinner. Glancing through her collection of Russian novels in paperback, miniature music scores and illustrated health books, I came upon an old photograph. It was pinned, along with a dozen other scraps of paper, on to one of those large boards that I had seen hanging over many student desks in London. It was a picture of her, taken a long time ago. While I was looking at it she darted ou t of her cupboard-like kitchenette to fetch something from the refrigerator.She noticed me standing in front of her board and came and stood beside me. When she saw what I was looking at she gave me a quick glance and opened her mouth to say something. But then, changing her mind, she whipped around again and went back to the kitchenette. Curious now, I followed her there and stood leaning against the wall, watching her as she bent down to look under the grill. I remarked casually that the picture must have been taken a long time ago: that was exactly how she had looked, if my memory served me right, when she had stayed with us in Calcutta.Not quite exactly, she said, watching the grill, her voice ironically precise; it was taken at least a couple of years before that. She looked at me, dusting her hands, raising her eyebrows as though in surprise. That was the picture, she said, a copy of which I was once privileged to send to Tridib. Later, when we were eating our dinner, I discov ered that in 1959, when he was twenty-seven and she nineteen, they had begun a long correspondence. Tridib had written first, she told me.He had always sent Mrs Price cards at Christmas, ever since they left London in 1940. But that year he had sent two, one to Mrs Price and one to her. He had inscribed a little note in her card saying that he remembered her very well, though she could not possibly remember him, that it would be a great pity if they lost touch altogether, and he hoped that some day she would find time to write to him. She was both touched and intrigued: she had already heard a great deal about him.Smiling at the memory, she told me how his card had reached her just when she was trying to get over an adolescent crush on a schoolboy trombonist, who had had no time for her at all and had not been overly delicate about making that clear. It was nice to feel that someone wanted to befriend her. She had written back, and after that they had written to each other regularly – short, chatty letters, usually. Soon, penfriend-like, they had exchanged photographs. I like to think that Tridib received May’s photograph the day he came to Gole Park and told us that made-up story.Actually my grandmother was wrong about Tridib: he was nothing at all like the hardened gossip-lovers who spent most of their time hanging around the street corners at Gole Park. He was often maliciously dismissive of those people; marine mammals, he would say of them, creatures who sink to the bottom of the sea of heartbreak when they lose sight of the herd. The truth was that, in his own way, Tridib was something of a recluse: even as a child I could tell that he was happiest in that book-lined room of his, right at the top of their old family house.It was that Tridib whom I liked best; I was a bit unsure of the Tridib of the street corners. His niece Ila and I used to disagree about this. We talked about it once, when we were about sixteen. I was soon to leave to go to college in Delhi, I remember, and Ila and her parents had just flown in from Indonesia for a short holiday. Soon after they arrived in Calcutta, they came to visit us. I still remember how my grandmother gasped when Ila climbed out of the car, the tasselled end of her long thick braid swinging freely in front of her.Even my grandmother, who was very critical in all matters to do with appearance, especially where Ila and her family were concerned, pinched her chin and said: Our Ila is growing into a real beauty – she’s taken after Maya. But as for me, I was disappointed: ever since I could remember, Ila had worn clothes the like of which neither I nor anyone else I knew in Calcutta had ever seen, and here she was now, dressed in a simple white sari with a red border, like any Bethune College girl on her way to a lecture.Soon, growing tired of our parents’ conversation, we went out, the two of us, for a walk. Involuntarily we found ourselves walking towards the lake. But when we reached it and spotted an empty bench, we both remembered how we used to sit on those benches when we were children, with our arms around each other’s waists, pretending to count the birds on the little island in the middle of the lake, and, suddenly embarrassed, we turned and hurried off towards the Lily Pool Bridge, in the distance, the awkwardness of our silence making me trip where there was nothing to trip on.At last, because I could think of nothing else to say, I asked her whether she remembered those days when we were children and she and Robi used to come to Calcutta in the summers, and three of us used to go up to Tridib’s room whenever we were bored and listen to him, in the still, sultry heat of the afternoons, while he lay on a mat, propped up with pillows, cigarette smoke spiralling out of his fingers, and spoke to us in that soft, deep voice of his, about the behavioural differences between the Elapidae and Viperidae families of snakes , or the design of the temples at Karnak, or the origins of the catamaran.Or, for example, the time when Robi and I decided to become explorers in the Empty Quarter, and went running up to his room to ask for a few tips before setting off. He had smiled and gone on to tell us in ghastly detail about the circumcision rites of one of the desert tribes. And then, spectacles glinting, he had said: So before you leave you’d better decide whether you would care to have all that done to your little wee-wees, just in case you’re captured. I asked her if she remembered how Robi and I had spread our hands instinctively over ur groins, and how angry we had been when she had laughed. Mere vagina-envy, she said, laughing, and I tried to keep my face impassive as though I was accustomed to girls who used words like that. But I could tell she didn’t remember. I asked her, then, if she had any memory of the stratagems we used to employ to get Tridib to tell us about the year he had spent in London, during the war; of how we used to pore over his photographs when we could persuade him to bring them out; of how he used to tell us about the people in them, pointing out Mrs Price with May in her arms, orAlan Tresawsen, her brother, with his bad arm hanging limply at his side, and her husband Snipe, who used to treat himself with Yeast-Vite tonic for his neuralgia and bile beans for his blood, Doan’s kidney pills for his backaches and Andrews Salt for his liver, Iglodine for his cuts and Mentholatum for his catarrh; Snipe, who had once sent Tridib to the chemist’s shop on West End Lane to buy him a glue called Dentesive so that his dentures would not be shaken out by the bombs. Yes, she said nodding, mildly puzzled by my insistence, she did have a faint recollection, but she could not exactly say she remembered. But how could you forget?I cried. She shrugged and arched her eyebrows in surprise, and said: It was a long time ago – the real q uestion is, how do you remember? But of course, to me it wasn’t a question at all. I tried to tell her, but neither then nor later, though we talked about it often, did I ever succeed in explaining to her that I could not forget because Tridib had given me worlds to travel in and he had given me eyes to see them with; she, who had been travelling around the world since she was a child, could never understand what those hours in Tridib’s room had meant to me, a boy who had never been more than a few hundred miles from Calcutta.I used to listen to her talking sometimes with her father and grandfather about the cafes in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, or the crispness of the air in Cuzco, and I could see that those names, which were to me a set of magical talismans because Tridib had pointed them out to me on his tattered old Bartholomew’s Atlas, had for her a familiarity no less dull than the lake had for me and my friends; the same tired intimacy that made us stop on our way back from the park in the evening and unbutton our shorts and aim our piss through the rusty wrought-iron railings.I began to tell her how I longed to visit Cairo, to see the world’s first pointed arch in the mosque of Ibn Tulun, and touch the stones of the Great Pyramid of Cheops. I had been talking for a while when I noticed that she wasn’t listening to me; she was following a train of thought in her mind, frowning with concentration. I watched her, waiting eagerly to hear what she would have to say. Suddenly she clicked her fingers, gave herself a satisfied nod, and said aloud, inadvertently: Oh yes, Cairo, the Ladies is way on the other side of the departure lounge.I had a glimpse, at that moment of those names on the map as they appeared to her: a worldwide string of departure lounges, but not for that reason at all similar, but on the contrary, each of them strikingly different, distinctively individual, each with its Ladies hidden away in some yet more u nexpected corner of the hall, each with its own peculiarity, like the flushes in Stockholm’s Arlanda, so sleekly discreet that she had once missed two flight calls because it had taken her so long to understand how the handle worked.I imagined her alighting on these daydream names – Addis Ababa, Algiers, Brisbane – and running around the airport to look for the Ladies, not because she wanted to go, but because those were the only fixed points in the shifting landscapes of her childhood. When I went to London, a decade later, often when Ila suggested going out somewhere, to a film in Brixton perhaps, or to a new Vietnamese restaurant in Maida Vale, I would jump to my feet and, before I knew it, I would cry: Yes, let’s go, let’s go on the Underground. She would burst out laughing and mimic me, saying: You’d think we were going on the bloody Concorde.To her the Underground was merely a means of shifting venue: it would irritate her to see how e xcited I got when we stepped on to the escalators; she would watch me as I turned to look at the advertisements flashing past us on the walls, gulped in the netherworld smell of electricity and dampness and stale deodorant, stopped to listen to the music of the buskers booming eerily through the permanent night of the passageways, and in annoyance she would tug at my elbows and hiss: Hurry, hurry, you can’t stop here, you’ll hold people up.And if I still lingered she would snap at me impatiently: For God’s sake stop carrying on like a third-world tapioca farmer – it’s just the bloody Underground. And I would say to her: You wouldn’t understand: to you Cairo was a place to piss in. I could not persuade her that a place does not merely exist, that it has to be invented in one’s imagination; that her practical, bustling London was no less invented than mine, neither more nor less true, only very far apart.It was not her fault that she co uld not understand, for as Tridib often said of her, the inventions she lived in moved with her, so that although she had lived in many places, she had never travelled at all. All through her childhood, every time her family came back to Calcutta for a holiday, they brought back souvenirs from wherever they happened to be living at that time. Her parents would bring back all kinds of things – Indonesian leather puppets or improbable North African stools with camellike humps.But there was only one kind of souvenir that Ila ever thought of bringing back and I was the only person to whom she would show them. We would slip away to the shade of the rusty water tanks on the roof of their house, and there, with a tight little smile, she would produce a large manila folder. They were always the same, and in time they came to mean as much to me as they did to her: they were the Yearbooks of the International Schools of whatever city she happened to be living in at that time. They were always full of photographs.There would be one of each student and then pages of others – of groups of friends, of parties and tennis matches, of whole classes together. For a long time I could not believe that they were really pictures of a school, because in the pictures the boys and girls were standing around all mixed up together, and besides, not one of them was in uniform. To me, the clothes they were wearing in those pictures seemed to have as little to do with school as the costumes at a circus. Then Ila would point herself out, and there she would be, dressed in jeans or a skirt, and even, once, a Persian lambskin waistcoat.She would show me her friends, standing beside her, and I would roll their names around my tongue – Teresa Cassano, Mercedes Aguilar, Merfeth ashSharqawi – names of girls mainly at first, and then, as we grew older, boys too – Calouste Malekian, Cetshwayo James, Juin Nagajima – names which imprinted themselves on my mem ory so that years later I recognised Mercedes Aguilar at once when she turned up in a photograph two continents away from where she’d been when I had first seen her in those photographs. Ila’s closest friends were always the most beautiful, the most talented, the most intelligent girls in the school.She would point them out to me in the pictures of picnics and fancy-dress dances. The three of us went to that together, she would say, Teresa and Merfeth and I; and we spent the whole evening talking to each other – you should have seen the boys buzzing around us – but Teresa decided that we weren’t going to dance that evening, just like that, so †¦ And she would point Teresa and Merfeth out to me, laughing, slender girls, making faces at the camera. But somehow, though Ila could tell me everything about those parties and dances, what she said and what she did and what she wore, she herself was always unaccountably absent in the pictures.When we w ere fourteen she once pointed to the picture of a boy who, to me, already looked like a grown man, with a face like an American film star, square-jawed and cleft-chinned, with long black hair that curled down to his shoulders. His name is Jamshed Tabrizi, she said, he’s a fencing champion and this year his father gave him a BMW sports car for his birthday; he can’t drive it yet because he’s not old enough, but their chauffeur brought it around to the school one day. It’s red, like lipstick, and as soon as he gets his licence, we’re going to drive down to the beach at Pattaya on Sundays; it’s just a few miles from Bangkok.And then, in a rush, looking at me sideways, she added: He’s my boyfriend. But a few pages later, in their class photograph, there he was, right in the foreground, in the centre of the front row, grinning, broad-shouldered, a head taller than anyone else, with his arms thrown around the shoulders of two laughing blond e girls. And before she flipped the page I caught a glimpse of Ila herself, on the edge of the back row, standing a little apart, unsmiling, in a plain grey skirt, with a book under her right arm.She saw that I had noticed, and when I came upon that Yearbook again a week later I discovered that that page had been torn out. I felt a constriction in my throat, for suddenly it seemed to me that perhaps she was not so alien, after all, to my own small, puritanical world, in which children were sent to school to learn how to cling to their gentility by proving themselves in the examination hall. Those schools were all that mattered to Ila; the places themselves went past her in an illusory whirl of movement, like those studio screens in old films which flash past the windows of speeding cars.I confronted her with this once, in London, when the three of us, she, Robi and I, happened to be together in a pub, the Kembles Head, on Long Acre, a short walk from Covent Garden. Robi was stopping by in London on his way to Harvard. He was on leave from his job in the Indian Administrative Service, so that he could take up a fellowship in administration and public affairs for six months. We had decided to spend the evening together. Ila laughed when I reminded her about those Yearbooks and, picking up her glass of whisky, she said: Of course those schools mattered to me, schools are all that matter to any child, it’s only natural.It’s you who were peculiar, sitting in that poky little flat in Calcutta, dreaming about faraway places. I probably did you no end of good; at least you learnt that those cities you saw on maps were real places, not like those fairylands Tridib made up for you. But of course, among other things, Tridib was an archaeologist; he was not interested in fairylands: the one thing he wanted to teach me, he used to say, was to use my imagination with precision. For instance, when Ila and I were ten, her family came to Calcutta from Colombo for a holiday.Ila came with Tridib and her mother to visit us, and her mother, in her kindly way, knowing how fascinated I was by the countries they lived in, asked Ila to tell me a story about their house that she thought would interest her. Their house was in a quiet part of Colombo where diplomats and senior civil servants and people like that lived. It was an area where sprawling bungalows with huge lawns were threaded through by lanes that were often flooded with puddles of scarlet gulmohur and yellow jacaranda. Their house was at one end of a very quiet lane.It was a big house with large verandas and a steeply sloping roof covered with mossy tiles. The garden was at the back. It seemed to stretch out from inside the house; when the French windows were open the tiled floor of the drawing room merged without a break into the lawn. It was a quiet secluded garden, with a bronze vat, taller than a child, standing like a brooding tumulus in a corner. And it had a blue-tiled lily pond i n the centre, in which plump, fantailed goldfish flashed their white bellies at the sun. There was only one problem: adjoining the garden at the back was a poultry farm.This caused Ila’s mother a good deal of worry, apart from the bother of the smell and the noise, for she had heard that snakes were certain to appear wherever there were chickens. Still, the house was surrounded by a very high wall, and when the breeze was blowing in the right direction the garden was as tranquil as a Japanese cloister. One morning, soon after they moved in, their cook Ram Dayal came running upstairs and burst in upon Ila’s mother who was taking her midmorning nap in an easy chair on a veranda. Mugger-muchh, shrieked Ram Dayal. Save me, burra-mem bachao me from his crocodile.He was a tall, willowy, usually drowsy man, but now his eyes were starting from his gaunt face and his lips were flecked with spittle. Never heard of such a thing, Ila’s mother said to us. Crocodile in my gar den; almost fell out of my easy chair. My grandmother and I looked carefully away from each other, but ever afterwards the thought of Ila’s mother, with her rounded figure, as soft and plump as two buns squashed together in a schoolbag, falling out of her easy chair at the thought of a crocodile in her garden, was enough to reduce us to helpless laughter.Man was in a state, she snorted. Never seen anything like it. But now, being the woman she was, she folded her tiny hands in her lap, pushed her knot of hair back to the top of her head and sat up in her chair in the way the family had come to know so well, that characteristic pose that had earned her the nickname of Queen Victoria. Shatup Ram Dayal, Queen Victoria snapped. Stop bukbukking like a chhokra-boy. Dekho burra-mem, he said again, his thin voice vanishing into a screech. There it is, in the garden. And right he was, Queen Victoria said, her voice shrill with amazement.Damn and blast, there it was – a heck of a huge great big lizard, all grey and black, nasty greatbig creature, with a little pointed head and a tongue like a bootlace, wandering about in my garden like a governor at a gymkhana. But being, as she was, the daughter of a man who had left his village in Barisal in rags and gone on to earn a knighthood in the old Indian Civil Service, she retained her composure. Muro-it, Ram Dayal, she cried. Catch hold of it before Ila-mem sees it, and cut its head off. (As though it were a penis or something, Ila said to me years later. But Ram Dayal was knocking his head against the wall now, the whites of his eyes showing, tears zig-zagging down his cheeks. Why did I come to Lanka? he wailed. I knew Ravana would come to get me. Shatup Ram Dayal, Queen Victoria snapped. She rang the little bronze bell she always carried to summon Lizzie, Ila’s recently arrived Sinhalese ayah. Yes madam? Lizzie said from the doorway. She was a thin, middle-aged woman with a stern mouth and a small, was ted face, always very neatly dressed in the blouse and sari of her native Kandyan foothills.Waving a hand with careful nonchalance, Queen Victoria said: Lizzie, at it-garden looking-looking. The animal was sunning itself now, its grey chest raised high on stiff forelegs. Lizzie, what it-thing being-being? Queen Victoria said. She always spoke like that to Lizzie, though Lizzie spoke very good English and even knew a little Hindi. It was a language she had invented on the spot when Lizzie first came to them on the recommendation of a senior Sinhalese civil servant. Lizzie looked at it and laughed. That’s a thala-goya madam, she said. Very common here, very gentle animal.Queen Victoria glared at the reptile. Gentle, by Jove! she said to us. Wretched beast could have passed for a bloody tyrannosaurus. She turned to look at Lizzie. No possible, she said, it-thing killing-killing? Kill it? Lizzie cried, once she had decoded this. But why to kill it? They keep snakes away. She ran downstairs, and a few minutes later they saw her go into the garden with an armful of cabbage stalks and vegetable peel. She scattered them on the grass and the animal darted forward and began to feed. Hai, hai, hai, gasped Ram Dayal. Hai, hai, hai!Determined not to be outdone by Lizzie, Queen Victoria stiffened her back and went out into the garden herself, taking a few vegetables with her. The animal fixed its eyes balefully upon her as soon as she stepped into the lawn. She froze. Then, drawing on her last reserves of courage, she managed to mutter to it: Eating-eating nice veggie-veggies? which was only her Lizzie-language turned inside out, but the animal’s tail seemed to flicker in answer and from that moment onwards she considered it a part of her household: she was always at ease with anything and anybody who would respond to one of her private dialects.After that, even though many of her Sinhalese acquaintances were alarmed to find a monitor lizard on her lawn and to ld her stories about how they had been known to break children’s shinbones with a swipe of their tails, she allowed it the run of her garden, except, of course, when she had parties, when Lizzie was made to tie it to a tree with a length of rope. One day, early in the morning after one of her parents’ parties, when the lawn was still dotted with cigarette stubs and half-eaten snacks, Ila went out into the garden to read.She had a book with her that she had had to put away the night before when she was only twenty pages from the end, because Lizzie had switched off the lights in her bedroom. She flopped into a deckchair beside the lily pond and in a moment she was absorbed in her book. Ten pages later, still engrossed, she heard a soft splash in the lily pond. It was a very gentle splash, no louder than the sound of a goldfish’s tail flicking the surface.But she stirred, and, not quite taking her eyes off the page, she caught a glimpse of a shadow, as slim and si nuous as a branch of oleander, stretching from the edge of the lawn, under her chair and into the pool. Then the shadow rippled, and this time she looked up properly and saw scales glinting on a long muscular body. She screamed, and the book dropped out of her hands. It hit the edge of her chair and tumbled off, and she heard a dull, fleshy thud as it struck scales and muscle. The whole length of the snake’s body flashed past under the chair with an angry rustle, and then, somewhere behind her, she heard a slow prolonged hiss.She turned, slowly, stiffly, in the way one has to when one knows that one’s lungs are suddenly empty and one’s muscles have gone rigid with fear. The snake’s head was about a foot from her back. Its body lay curled, in tight regular coils, flat on the earth, while its head had reared up, higher than the back of the chair. She was whimpering now, trying to call out, but at the same time, looking at the snake’s head, she saw it more clearly than she’d ever seen anything before, with the telescopic clarity of absolute concentration.She could see its tiny eyes, the flaring nostrils at the end of the sharply pointed head, the tongue, no longer flickering, drawn into the soft pink mouth in readiness, the fangs, erect now, and dripping. Then she heard another sound at the far end of the garden and dimly, without turning her head, she saw the thala-goya thrashing at the end of its rope, battering the tree it was tied to with its tail. The snake heard it too, and it hesitated for a moment with its body arched. Its eyes settled upon Ila again and its neck bent still further back till it was like a drawn bow.Then its head flashed forward. At that moment, reflexively, Ila turned her body, a very small movement, but enough to overbalance the chair. She fell, the chair tumbled over with her, and the snake’s fangs glanced off its steel legs. It reared back again like a snapping whiplash. Ila tried to pus h herself up, but her hands slipped and she fell back. And then, with all the suddenness of a knot springing undone, the coiled snake dropped its head on the grass and shot away towards the wall. She looked up to see the thala-goya lumbering after it. It had bitten through the rope.But the snake was quicker and it had slithered over the wall long before the thala-goya could cross the lawn. So, young chap, Queen Victoria said, patting my head, her eyes twinkling. What do you make of that? I glanced instinctively towards Tridib. He was looking at me, eyes narrowed, head cocked. I was nervous now: I could see that he was waiting to hear what I’d have to say, and I didn’t want to disappoint him. My mother and grandmother were exclaiming with horror about the snake, asking Queen Victoria how big it was, whether it was poisonous or not.Taking my cue from them, I chose a safe course: hoping to earn Tridib’s approval by showing him how well I remembered everything he to ld us, I asked Queen Victoria whether the snake was of the species Boidae or Elapidae. Queen Victoria goggled at me and mumbled something to the effect of: Well that’s a bit of an uppercut, young chap; I don’t think I could tell you in a month of Sundays. While she was mumbling I stole a glance at Tridib. He had pursed his lips and was shaking his head in disappointment. I sat out the rest of their visit in crestfallen silence.On the stairs, when I was going down to see them off, while Ila and her mother lingered over their goodbyes, Tridib said to me casually that, if one thought about it, there was nothing really very interesting about snakes – after all, if I saw one in the lake, for example, what would I do? I’d come back home and tell everyone, but in a few minutes I’d forget about it and get back to my homework: the snake would have nothing whatever to do with my real life. I did not particularly care for the suggestion that my homework was m y real life, but I kept quiet anyway: I c