The Good, Bad and Ugly side of IPL by Prasham Thakkar

49.4 million people, biting their nails at the edge of their seats. With their eyes glued to the pitch, observing every motion of the ball when it touches the bat, screaming their lungs out for every four and six. Can you imagine, where it is going or coming from? Yes you guessed it right the one and only IPL- Indian Premier League, one of the most watched and loved competition in the world of cricket. However that’s not all… trust me when I say it has its good, not so good and even an ugly but interesting side. So, let’s explore …

To begin, IPL or the Indian Premier League is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in India contested every year by franchise teams representing Indian cities. The league founded by the Board of control over cricket in India. (BCCI) member Lalit Modi in 2007 is scheduled over April and May every year.

Further more, the IPL works on a franchise system based on the American style of hiring players and transfers. These franchises were put for auction, the highest bidder won the rights to own the team, representing each city. Infact, the IPL is the most attended cricket league in the world and ranks sixth among all sports leagues. It makes cricket look more like a real sport where players need to be athletic and agile. It’s a good career option for many retired or out of form cricketers like Miachel Hussey or Gautam Gambhir who don’t get to play with good international cricketers everyday. I am sure local business, including for example garment industry are thrilled at the economic activity.

Moreover when you think of IPL, you think of the big stars like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB De Villiers etc. but you don’t realize the youngsters like KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Yuvzendra Chahal, Sran etc. They get a chance to play with experienced players and learn from them. And even if they’re not out on the pitch they can still watch from the dugout and learn something which they can use in the future.

However not everything related to IPL is as good as it appears. There are some negative influences as well. IPL is scheduled in April and May the hottest months of Indian summer. These were reserved for rest to the players before next season of cricket. But due to IPL, players are now overly exhausted and they don’t have enough time to recover from injuries. Besides, Indian players and conditions are getting overexposed to the Indian players.

But it is the ugly side of IPL that has made it controversial. The first commissioner of IPL, Lalit Modi was given a life ban, the Kochi franchise was terminated and worst of them all, the spot fixing charges. All of these incidents and some more like on-field spats between Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth, Gautum Gambhir and Virat Kohli leave a bad taste in the mouth indeed.

Of course, the IPL still remains hugely popular in India and abroad. Personally I love IPL. Its great entertainment and that’s what a game should be for a viewer. Infact I look forward to IPL during the summer holidays every year. I cheer for my home team RCB. I have been to the Chinnaswamy stadium twice and the experience was awesome. The excitement and energy was unbelievable. There is never any dull or boring moment.

Lastly, the IPL changed the way cricket is played in India and has brought in huge scope for the entertainment industry as well. Twenty20 cricket became popular after India won the world cup in 2007 and the IPL has since then crashed on the craze. Controversy or no controversy IPL still remains a thrilling cricketing competition for cricket lovers around the world. To sum it up, let’s not forget that the greatest cricketing event in India can be a giant platform to energise the masses for the greater good.

GLOSSARY

Agile- Able to move quickly or easily

BCCI- Board of cricket control in India

IPL- Indian Premier League

Spot fixing- The action or practice of dishonesty determining the outcome of a specific part of a match.

REFRENCES

Wikipedia

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Quora.com

Thehindu.com

Yahoo.com

Blogcricketlovers.blogspot.in

Junk Food - How much is too much? by Adhvik Rai

Table Of Contents

Introduction

Which Foods Are Junk Food?

Why Is Junk Food Bad?

When Is Junk Food Okay?

Conclusion

Glossary

References

Introduction

            One day, when my mother had gone out, I secretly went to the box where the chocolates were kept and ate approximately 5-8 chocolates. As I reached for another one I realized my mistake. I was eating too much junk food!

            If you eat lots of junk food, think again. Junk food has many bad effects on the body. This feature article will tell you all about them. The topics covered in this feature article will be:-

⦁         First, what is junk food and what are the types?

⦁         Next, the bad effects of junk food.

⦁         Finally, how junk food is good to eat in small amounts and how you can limit you junk food.

Which Foods Are Junk Food?

            Do you know what junk food is? Junk food is any unhealthy food item or any food item with low nutrition.

            Some examples of junk food are burgers, doughnuts and french fries.

            There are two main categories of junk food:- Sweets and Fast Food. Sweets are food items with lots of sugar, like lollipops and chocolate. Fast food is highly processed food or food with lots of fat, like pizzas and potato chips.

            Now we know the categories of junk food. How does junk food affect us? Let's find out!

Why Is Junk Food Bad?

            In the las sub-topic we learnt that any unhealthy food is junk food. Why is junk food bad? What does it do to you? There are many harmful effects of junk food.

            One of them is that sweets, which contain lots of sugar, have all of it turned into carbohydrates. The excess carbohydrates gets turned into fat. So, the more sweets you eat, the more obese you get!

            Secondly, many junk foods are salty. If you eat too many salty foods, like potato chips, there is excess sodium in your body. Excess sodium increases your risk for kidney stones, kidney disease, stomach cancer and osteoporosis.

            Lastly, most fast food contains saturated fat, which also adds on to the fat in your body.

            Now you can clearly see that junk food is unhealthy for your body.

When Is Junk Food Okay?

            So far we have only seen the bad effects of junk food. Did you know that junk food can be good but only if eaten within limits? Junk food is okay as long as it is eaten in small amounts.

            Lets start with chocolate. Chocolate is good for you as it has sugars. If you eat a quarter of an ounce of chocolate daily, you might actually lower your risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke! "Dark chocolate exhibits the greatest effects, milk chocolate fewer and white chocolate no effects." says Brian Buijsse, a nutritional epidemiologist at the German Institute of Human Nutrition.

            Fast food, on the other hand, mostly contains fats (Example:- Oil), which is needed for the body. In fact, fats are a part of the food pyramid, but are bad if eaten too much.

            If you eat chocolate everyday, eat only a maximum of approximately eight grams. Do not eat fast food everyday, eat approximately once in two weeks maximum. I hope you limit your junk food reasonably.

Conclusion

            In this feature article we have learnt what junk food is and the positive and negative effects of junk food. We have also seen a survey on the amount of junk food my friends eat. Hence, we conclude that too much junk food is bad for you, but is okay if eaten in small quantities. I hope this article helps you adhere to this.

Glossary

Osteoporosis:- A condition in which bones become weak and brittle

Epidemiology:- The study and analysis of health and disease conditions in defined populations

Dark Chocolate:- Chocolate with high cocoa and low sugar

Milk Chocolate:- Chocolate with high sugar and low cocoa

White Chocolate:- Chocolate with no cocoa, only sugar and cocoa butter

References

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/burger-facts-trivia_n_3654636

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/30/chocolate.egg.per.day/

http://www.healthline.com/health/fast-food-effects-on-body

Influence of Video Games by Mukul Verma

            Table of contents

·    INTRODUCTION-   Pg. 1

·    WHAT ARE VIDEO GAMES-  Pg.2-5

·    HOW IT INFLUENCES THE MIND-  Pg.6-9

·    THE PROS AND CONS OF VIDEO GAMES-  Pg.10-13

·    SOLUTIONS TO THIS PROBLEM-  Pg.14-15

·    OPINIONS BY PEOPLE ABOUT VIDEO GAMES-  Pg.16-17

·    CONCLUSION-  Pg.18

·    GLOSSARY-  Pg.19

·    REFERENCES-  Pg.20

INTRODUCTION

VIDEO GAMES: AKA INFLUENCE

It was an evening and me and Mudit were just downloading our packs in our PS3.Once they were downloaded, we started playing and we unlocked some awesome characters. 2 hours later, we were still playing. I then immediately switched of the game. What was happening to me? I then realized that I was becoming addicted to it. I then thought that video games are more than meets the eye. It was also the reason that I was having a headache. This is how I became addicted to video games. My article is about how video games influence the mind. Reading this article you will find the Pros and Cons of video games, how it heals the sick, but most of all how it damages the mind.

What are video games?

Video games are a gift to us from their creators: Technicians. They have only changed the course of entertainment, but also the course of history. Let us study more about the ultimate game changer

Definition of video games:-

Well, what are video games? They are electronic games that are displayed on screens or monitors. Some can be played wirelessly. People call it the ultimate entertainment. Actor Taylor Kitsch quotes that “Video games and computers have become babysitters for kids.”

Different types of video games and consoles;-

To understand more about video games we should explore more about their genres and consoles.

 There are many genres of video games such as action, adventure, strategy, online, violence and fear.

E.g. Colossal Cave is the first adventure and first video game built in history.

So how do we know which game is appropriate for children. Well, by the help of learning the genres of video games you will know which one to buy. Another way to know which game is good for your children to play is in terms of their age. Some of the bestselling consoles are PS2, Nintendo DS and Wii.

Popularity of video games:-

The popularity of video games is of the charts. Kids, teenagers and adults of 25-34 years play video games. 40% of the women play video games worldwide. Like I said it has changed the course of entertainment. Scott Thompson, a comedian, also known as Carrot Top quotes “Video games are so popular these days, getting that opportunity to star in one thing is special more people should do it.

How it influences the mind

 The changes the mind:-

There are many numerous effects that happen to the mind.

Firstly, many violent games have bad language. This affects the children’s mind and they imitate the same thing. Secondly, children get confused with video games that it is just fantasy or it is reality. Many accidents happen due to this reaction. Finally, when teenagers lose in a game and when the screen shows GAME OVER, they are not able to control their aggression. Murderous cases have been found in Newport and Columbia.

Effect on the brain:-

Many effects happen to the brain. One of the most common affects is eyesight. When people are playing video games, no improvement happens to the eyes because of which there is a fine line between discrimination and sensitivity. In other words, difference between proper eyesight and lack of eyesight. This may cause a bad reaction to people when they’re driving, piloting or seeing x-rays in the night. Another reason is when playing video games less brain activity occurs in the rostral-anterior-cingulated cortex and the Amagladya, the region of the brain which controls emotions. Due to this, violence starts in real life.

 Risks you take while playing:-

Firstly, some spend so much time in playing video games; rather spend time with their family. Secondly, when some people play video games to much, they can’t concentrate on their studies. Finally, some people playing video games, somehow increase weight as they don’t do any physical activity, this may also cause diseases.

Pros and cons of video games

Pros of video games:-

Firstly, some video games such as Warzone and Halo force children to the game quickly, which improves their critical thinking and faster movement, in other words decision making and faster movement. Socializing naturally is very low, but is not very guilty. This is a different type of socializing as one person gives commands to another by eye- contact and talking. This improves teamwork

Cons of video games:-

One reason why video games are bad because some people have their jobs due to video games. This happens very rarely, but some people died when playing video as they didn’t take rest, didn’t eat food and did not have water. Another reason is that it promotes poor health, Vitamin D, one of the main things for our body. We don’t get Vitamin D as we stay in the shade.

How do they heal the sick:-

If your child is sick, let him play video games. Children indicate that video games give exercise to the muscles of the arms and fingers, which is a great start when they’re sick. Sick children playing video games tender to suffer less nausea and take less medical dose than people who are told to rest. At Deakin University in Australia, health-researchers have discovered that preschoolers, who play video games, have better motor skills in sports like catching, throwing or kicking a ball. It also brightens the children’s past and lets them forget about the past.

Solutions to this problem

Limiting the time:-

The first and basic rule of monitoring you child with video games is by limiting the time. If your child is on a tight schedule and he us spending too much time on video games, then you must limit the time. Best way to do this is by making a timetable so you never forget what to do.

Playing and socializing:-

Because socializing is very low, when there is an opportunity to do it, make it happen. This improves to know more about your friends and family. You can also play sports as that improves teamwork and socializing too.

Make him do what he is good at:-

The best thing you can do for your child is to make him to do what he is good at. This helps your child improve his talent that can be useful to him while he is entering a competition. It is also another type of entertainment.

Opinions by people about video games

How video games are bad	How video games are good
Akul Jindal- They destroy our eyesL.	Akul Jindal- Some help our mind.
Aadi- They help our creativity.	Aadi- Some can get addictive.
Surya- They are a stress-buster.	Surya-They have an influence.
Mudit- You don’t need to stress your mind.	Mudit- They distract you while you are studying.

My opinion:-

I don’t think that video games are bad, but I have to admit that video games are not that good too. One game that I think everyone should play is “Lego Marvel Avengers: Age of Ultron”. This game features some of the coolest superheroes of the Marvel Universe. It also improves your thinking of strategy. I would like ages from 7 years to play this game.

Conclusion

Finally, we have come to the end of this chapter. Now you know that video games are equally good and bad. An advice I would like to give to you is that every milli-second on Earth with your friends and family because you are only in this planet for a limited amount of time, but play video games too as they help you expand your imagination and make a bridge for the train of creativity to puff and puff in your mind.