Do you and your colleagues want to donate blood? But, you do not
know how to go about it. Or, are looking if someone can conduct a
camp in your campus? K.R. Ramesh, who is the district chairperson for
Lions District (324A6) for blood donation camps, is ready to offer you
any assistance. Do call him at 98415 85865 to know more.

Four \ufb01lms on climate change and environment made under the
U.K. Environment Film Fellowship 2009 will be screened on July 18,
in association with Discovery Channel.
The \ufb01lms are: Don\u2019t Rubbish it by Chandrasekhar Reddy;The

The Indian Quizzing League has come out
with \u2018KnowBytes\u2019. The online quiz-letter
will be delivered every weekend and
comes with facts, titbits and the latest
from across the globe. The letter is
customised to the needs of quiz
enthusiasts and is for all age groups. To
get your copy email iqlteam@gmail.com or
visit http://iquiz.wordpress.com
For details call Karthik (9962070090)/
Ananthashankar (9176287344).

Theatre group Evam
invites you to join in
their theatre class,
where various
aspects of the art
including acting,
body language,
voice, creativity and
storytelling will be
taught. The
workshop will be
held on July 18 and

Krishna Mehta\u2019s
elegant spring/summer
2009 collection is on
display at Amethyst.
Extrovert creations,
mono-design shapes
with gay colours,
woven silk ikats,
luminous chiffons and
georgettes, sequins
and woven gota
embroidery \u2026 there is
lot to choose from.
Shop between 11.30
a.m. and 6 p.m. at
Amethyst, 14 / 30,
Padmavathi Road,
Jeypore Colony,

Society, the casual dining restaurant at The Ambassador Pallava, is
hosting a Sizzler Fest. The fest offers a variety of hot and
scrumptious sizzlers. The festival is open for dinner (7.30 pm
onwards) from July 18 to 26.
For reservations please call 2855 4476.

\u201cThe condition of young girls in Shoolagiri is pitiable. They have to do household chores before rushing to school. With only two buses plying in the village, chil- dren are bound to miss the class and hence fail in their examina- tions. Once out of school, they are married off, then they are ha- rassed for dowry and later they commit suicide\u2026 .\u201d

amuel Venkatesan summed up the life of an average vil- lage girl in Tamil Nadu \u2013

from birth to death \u2013 for the next 10 minutes. Listening to the 17-year-old\u2019s talk in chaste Tamil was an august audience repre- senting the G8 summit in Rome.

On Thursday, Samuel recount- ed all his J8 experiences at a press conference.

He is among the three Indian students who represented the country in the Junior 8 (J8) sum- mit. Sanjukta Pangi from Orissa and Narendra Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, his counterparts, spoke on equal rights for the girl child, school transport and quality edu- cation.

Two years ago, Nalanda Way was in Krishnagiri to select stu- dents for training in \ufb01lmmaking, an initiative they did jointly with the UNICEF. \u201cFor the audition I was asked to speak on any topic of interest for a few minutes. I am a chatterbox and I spoke as usual,\u201d recalls Samuel, who is the \ufb01rst person from his village in Krishnagiri district to complete secondary education.

Thanks to the training given by the NGO, Samuel already has two short \ufb01lms \u2013 Accham Thavir and

culated in schools, Collectorate and other government organisa- tions in the district.

While J8 and his meeting with other delegates will remain a his- tory, Samuel cannot forget re- counting his \ufb01rst \ufb02ight journey.

\u201cWhen I told my mom she was worried,\u201d he says about his moth- er who is a domestic helper in Bangalore. \u201cPlane la pogaatha..

(Do not travel by \ufb02ight. It will fall into water),\u201d were Shanta\u2019s initial reactions when Samuel said he has to \ufb02y to Rome. It is his ma- ternal uncle, Ramamurthy, a lorry driver, who supports his educa- tion. He gave him con\ufb01dence to carry on.

\u201cRome was very beautiful and the Italian Parliament was huge. I also met Italian Youth Minister. She was always smiling and I liked her. My \ufb01rst dinner there was fun. I was waiting to have a grand feast, but they gave me so- mething like our snacks in small portions. With that they said the dinner was over,\u201d Samuel jabbers away innocently.

But Samuel also has an unful- \ufb01lled wish, that he missed the chance to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. \u201cMy counter- parts knew Hindi and they were at ease, but everything was Greek and Latin for me. They showed me a piece of paper and told me to sign on it. Only later I realised Sanjukta Pangi was the person selected to meet him,\u201d he smiles.

However, he paci\ufb01ed himself saying, \u201cIt\u2019s always ladies \ufb01rst in our country.\u201d One thing was for sure, Samuel was everyone\u2019s fa- vourite\u2014 drawing attention for his sign language but still min- gling with the guests. For in- stance, Samuel spoke for close to an hour to an Italian Chef, says Satish of NalandaWay, who ac- companied him to the Summit.

So, what was Samuel\u2019s learning experiences. \u201cMany. We shared a lot, I actually learnt about child right in Rome,\u201d he says. The stu- dent of vocational training, how- ever, is sad that he and many others like him in Indian villages cannot speak English. \u201cWhen the children of developed countries demand right to watch movies, we from the developing countries ask for basic education,\u201d he con- cludes, saying he will implement the action plan of the J8 in his village.\u25a0

Venkatesan, a
chirpy Plus One
student of

Government
Higher
Secondary

School in
Shoolagiri, was
the favourite of
the delegates
at the J8
summit held

Samuel shakes hands with
Italian Youth Minister
Giorgia Meloni.PHOTO: PTI

Chennai Social Service, an NGO, is selling tickets for Harry Potter and the
Half-Blood Prince for the 8.30 a.m. show on July 19 at Sathyam Cinemas.
The tickets are priced at Rs.150 for premium class. The proceeds will go
towards charity. For booking and more details contact,
Balaji - 9884734284 or Venkat - 9841550476