Smart Reader Magazine

03 Smart Reader Janunary 2014

Welcome to 2014! As the editor, I am quite happy to present first issue of Smart Reader and I’ve had the pleasure of working on the magazine with other group members during last few weeks. It’s amazing to see that even first step has achieved the standard of a magazine in the market, and I hope you feel exact the same way I do when reading through the magazine.

All of us like to know about life story of a successful individual. Issue includes few biographies of local and international celebrities. Dr. Rajasingham Narendran, a representative of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora also joined with us for an interview to share about his life. I think reading about one’s life will be an opportunity to collect more experiences to our life.

You would love to read the travel article written about Cape Town, South Africa since it includes lot of valuable information about Cape Town. We also reviewed few books critically showing a summarized version of inner content.

We’re also really excited to announce that magazine is packed with various articles written on different subject areas. Writers have contributed their best to increase productivity of the magazine.

We sincerely wish you and yours a wonderful 2014, we would be very glad to hear you from back. We do welcome and respect your opinions and suggestions.

Enjoy reading!

Savindra Perera, Editor [email protected]

During the past six months Tharsan has lived in Colombo but before, he grew up and studied in Jaffna. He is

studying at IIT. He has contributed to this magazine with a biography of Abdul Kalam, a book review of Little

Women, a Real Life story and an article on Human Body Tips.

Kalana Pramod is a Musician, Song writer and Audio engineer living in Galle, Southern province, Sri Lanka. He is currently studying for a Software Engineering degree at Informatics Institute of Technology. He has contributed to this magazine with a biography and an article about some

interesting scientific facts.

Buddhika is a Foundation student at Informatics Institute of Technology. Buddhika contributes Smart Reader by a book review of “The Village by the Sea”, a biography of

Abraham Lincoln and Tips for Real Life

welcome to smart reader

From the Editor Contributing Writers

contents

04January 2014 Smart Reader

in this issue

biographies

07 Kumar Sangakkara08 Abraham Lincoln07 Abdul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam11 Sanath Jayasuriya

book reviews

29 Understanding Web Development Interactive Workbook

30 Little Women

32 The Village by the Sea

travel

23 Cape Town Locations Things To Do & Activites Culture & Food Places to Stay Shopping

interview

13 Interview with Dr. Rajasingham Narendran


content

in this issue

other

09 Fantastic Things About Your Body12 Turning Point of my Life17 Impact of Tsunami 2004 on Sri Lanka (Infograph)20 Dragon Fruit27 Real Life Tips31 Did you know?

biography

07

Kumar Sangakkara

Savindra Perera

n 27 October 1977, Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara was

born as the youngest in a family of four in Matale. His parents settled down in Kandy which is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka, during his childhood. Sangakkara studied at Trinity College, Kandy where he obtained his primary and secondary educatiotn.

The family had a good educational and sports background with his two sisters Thushari, Saranga, and elder brother Vemindra, all receiving national level achievements in their school-life. Sangakkara also started playing a number of sports like badminton, tennis, swimming, table tennis and cricket with the encour-agement of his father who is also a keen sportsman. He achieved nation-al colours for badminton at a very younger age.

Because of these exceptional sporting skills of Kumar, the Principal of Trinity College, Leonard de Alwis

advised him to concentrate on cricket. He started his cricketing career representing his school’s under-13 cricket XI team. He was awarded the Trinity Lion prize for his excellent batting and wicket keeping skills in the season 1996, at the age of 19.

Kumar’s higher education was disrupted by his cricket career. Following his father’s footsteps, Kumar enrolled at the University of Colombo to study for a Bachelor’s degree in Law. However, he was unable to complete his degree as he was selected for the Sri Lanka A tour to South Africa. Hectic tour schedules left him insufficient time for his personal studies.

In the early career, Kumar made his Test debut in year 2000 against South Africa at the age of 20. He received his first Man of Match award in the 2nd match of the South African series in the same year for scoring 85 runs. Kumar scored his first century in the match against India in 2001. He made an innings of 105 not out at that match. In 2002, he scored his double century against Pakistan at the 2nd Asian Test Champi-onship final.

In the tour of Sri Lanka against Bangladesh, Kumar was appointed Vice Captain since regular captain Marvan Atapattu was injured; Mahela Jayawardene became captain of Sri Lankan team. During his time as Vice-Captain, in July 2006, Kumar made his highest test score to-date (287) against South Africa with a record breaking partnership with Mahela Jayawardene. In Febru-ary 2009, Sangakkara succeeded Jayawardene as Sri Lanka’s captain.

Kumar is married to Yehali, his

longtime partner and he is a father of two children – Swyree and Kavith.

Kumar was the youngest person and first current international player to deliver the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lords. It was widely praised by the cricket commu-nities.

Currently Sangakkara continues his cricketing career as a post-captain to national team. He regularly played in all seasons of Indian premier league during the last five years. He is an iconic player of the Sri Lanka Premier League which was officially started in 2012. Lately he participated in the Carribbean Premier League too.

In addition to cricket, Kumar involved in a number of charities in Sri Lanka. He is a member of ICC and UNICEF. He is a commercial actor too; he is sponsored by many local and international brands such as Anlene, Nations Trust Bank, Airtel, Touch-wood, Coca-Cola and Viva. He still looks forward to completing his law degree after his retirement as a professional cricketer.

Sangakkara’s sports personality is well molded by his education; he is very disciplined and an inspiring gentleman to entire world.

Cricketer

o

Smart Reader Janunary 2014

08

Abraham Lincoln

biography

Buddhika Sandanuwan

braham Lincoln was born on February 12 1809, in a one room log cabin in Kentucky to Thomas Lincoln

and Nancy Lincoln. He was the second child of the Lincoln family. Thomas was a rich person in the country at that time. He owned lots of horses, live stocks and two 240 hectares of farmland but in 1816 he lost his all lands due to a court cases. After the court cases Lincoln’s family moved to Indiana. In 1818, when Lincoln was nine years old his mother passed away due to milk sickness. Until his father remarried in 1819 his older sister Sarah took care of Lincoln. Lincoln went to school for less than a year

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt”

When he was 17 years old he dreamed of being a lawyer. He worked as a labourer in a farm when he was 21 years old. He worked as a shopkeeper, postmas-ter, and surveyor. While he was doing all these jobs he tried to improve his skills to help him when he became a lawyer. He spend many sleepless nights on his law studies. In 1836 he became a lawyer.

“I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.”

Abraham Lincoln was a cleaver debater and a good public speaker. One month after Lincoln took

office the Civil War began in South Carolina on April 12 1861. On

November 6 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th

president of the United States. He was able to

maintain the “Union” Of states. He got support

from an army from northern states. The war lasted four years and more than 600,000 Americans died. While the Civil War he managed the country togeth-er. In April 1865, the south army defeated and war ended on April 9 1865.He issued the Emancipa-

tion Proclamation on September

1862. Emancipation Proclamation freed

the slaves in all South-ern states .

“Am I not destroy-ing my enemies

when I make friends of them?”

On April 11 1865, Abraham Lincoln was killed by John Wilkes Booth.

President

A

January 2014 Smart Reader

Fantastic things about

your body1. In one square inch of skin there are four yards nerve fibers, 1300 nerve cells, 100 sweat glands, 3 million cells, and 3 yards of blood vessels.

2. Food will get to your body comes equipped with a tiny muscle that can make it stand upright.

3. Each hair on your body comes equipped with a tiny muscle that can make it stand upright.

4. Although your bones are hard, inside they are, infact, light and spongy.

5. The surface area of your lungs is approximately the same size as a tennis court.

6. Your stomach has to produce a

new layer of mucus every two weeks. Other wise it will digest it self. In fact our bodies are reacting them selves constantly we make an entire skeleton every three months and new skin every month.

7. Your ears and nose will never stop growing for as long as you live.

8. Every square inch of the human body has an average of 32 million bacteria on it.

9. Messages travel along the nerves as electrical impulses. They travel at speeds up to 248 mile per hour.

10. Including your bran cell, 50000000 of the cells in your body will have died and been replaced with others, all while you have been reading this sentence.


scientist & President

Tharshan Siva

r. A.P.J Abdul Kalam is a scientist and a former President of India. He was born on 15th October 1931

at Dhanushkodi Rameswaram in India. His father's name was Jainulabdeen and he was a boat owner. His mother’s name was Ashiamma and she was a housewife. He comes from a poor background in a Tamil-Muslim family. He started working at an early age. He delivered newspapers to houses to earn money.

He was a hardworking student in his school life. He had his primary education at Rameswaram Elementary school. After that he continued his studies at Saint Joseph's College in Tiruchirappalli. He studied at the University of Madras, Institute of Technology and graduated in physics in 1954.

In 1955 he studied aerospace engineering. His dearest dream was to become a fighter pilot. After finishing his education in 1960. He joined Aeronautical Development

Establishment of Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as a scientific. He designed a small helicopter first for the Indian army.

“Is not what you see in sleep, Is the thing which does not let go you sleep”

In 1963, he visited NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton Virginia. He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minster and the secretary of Defence Research and Development Organization.

In 1998, Kalam and Cardiologist Dr. Samar Raju Devel-oped a coronary stent. It was named “Kalam – Raju stent “ to honour them. Kalam is known as missile man of India, because he worked with ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He is a vegetarian and a teetotaler. His interests are writing Tamil poetry and playing veenai.

In 2002 to Kalam became the president of India. He defeated Luximi Sahagal and became the 11th president of India. He served from 25th July 2002 to 25th July 2007 as a president. He received “Padma Bhushan” award in 1981 from the Government of India and an Honorary Doctorate of Science award in 2007 from University of Wolverhamp-ton, UK he was awarded a Doctorate of Engineering. He wrote “India 2020”.

He served as a scientist, author, president and a professor for his country and the world.

Abdul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

D

biography


Sanath Jayasuriya

Kalana Pramod

anath Jayasuriya is an internationally respected and well renowned cricketer from Sri Lanka. He was born

on 30th June, 1969 in Matara, Sri Lanka. He studied at St. Servatius College, Matara.

Sanath started to play cricket there and gradually he came up and showed his talents at school level. During this time he won many awards and got the chance to represent Sri Lanka in the inaugural ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup which was held in Australia in 1988. Shortly afterwards he was selected into the Sri Lankan National side for the tour to Australia. He made his One Day International debut against Australia at Melbourne in 1989.

He played his first Test match against New Zealand at Hamilton in February 1991. Sanath Jayasuriya was a left handed batsman and a slow left arm orthodox bowler. He has scored almost 7000 runs in test matches at an average

of 40, His highest test score is 340 against India. In one day internationals, he scored more than 13000 runs in 445 matches. He scored 14 test match hundreds and 28 one day international hundreds during his career.

Sanath played as an opening batsman for Sri Lanka. He revolutionized the one day international batting style with his aggressive tactics during the 1996 World Cup and those tactics helped Sri Lanka to win the 1996 World Cup. Jayasuriya was adjudged the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He was a match winning cricketer. He also served as the captain of the Sri Lanka team. He retired from test cricket in December 2007 and from limited overs cricket in June 2011.

Later he appointed as Chairman of the cricket selecting committee and was also elected to Parliament from the Matara District.

s

Cricketer

biography


motivation

Turning Point of My Life

Tharshan Siva

he room was crowded with students like me, who had no clue about what this orientation program is

going to be about. Every one round me were totally differ-ent for what them to be. I started to fear myself in the room. There were questions in my mind about life. Some were about how my studies at in IIT would be for 4 years and how will it make my life better or worst.

Throughout the orientation program, I learned from the lecturers and senior students about how the environment in IIT is all this things Started to circulate in my mind made me fear that IIT will not be a suitable place for me. On the other hand thoughts about my school friends added fear to my life, they were in aboard in good universities and I was not these things in my mind started to made me hate

my life and every-thing I was doing .

A second later a young man walked into the hall, he brought his atten-tion with him and the hall became silence. He was a past Student of IIT, but now he is one of the best an young Entrepre-neur in Sri Lanka. He aimed to speak on a topic call “Make it happen” not even 30 minute passed on that session he made me realise, who am I and what I want to be. He shared his life experience with us which resem-bled my life. His famous quote says that “what you think is what we do” the more

powerful you focus on one thing that is the way we can enforce our wants in life. This was the last, program in orientation and his speech was so powerful enough to trigger a positive thought among us.

That day was the turning point in my life were I started to think my life in a new path. What ever happen to me in the past were made me to think that there is always a reason for what is happening to you now. There are always walls that stop you progress in life, so making your way through that wall will make you the best gentleman or the succession life.

All these things just happen in 2 hour of my life, so like this only many peoples life, so like this only many people life change in to success full life just in seconds but until then the best things is to work hard in life and never given up.

T

real life story


13

exclusive

interview

A Veterinarian, A Senior Executive in the Food Industry in Saudi Arabia

When & where were you born?I was born in Colombo, in 1946

Tell us about your familyMy family has a long history, at least going back in my memory four generation. My great grandfa-ther was an entrepreneur in Malaysia, my grandfather was an agriculture graduate, one of the first graduates in agriculture at the time, and my father was also a graduate in history. We have been a family interested in music literature and philosophy.

Tell us about your schoolI have been altogether to eleven schools. I started at Saiva Manghayar Kalaham (Hindu Ladies College) at Kindergarten, finished my A/L at Colombo Hindu College and in between I have attended many schools in Kurunegala, Badulla, Jaffna etc.

Who was your favorite teacher?I will think that I had a lot of good teachers, but if I had to name someone, it will be my favorite principle Mr. Ambalavaanar at Colombo Hindu College.

What are your interesting childhood memories?I think the most outstanding memory I have is of the 1958 riots, where we were almost about to be attack in Kuruna-gala. It was the bravery of my father that saved the situation for us.

Where did you have your higher education?I finished my degree at the University of Peradeniya and thereafter I completed my Master’s and PhD at the University of Guelph in Canada.

What jobs did you have?I had several jobs. I started off as an academic at Peradeni-ya University and continued teaching at the University of Guelph, Canada and King Faizal University in Saudi Arabia from 1970 – 1980. In 1988 I joined the private sector and I have been managing various industries. What is your favorite food?I have no particular favorite food but anything new provides me adventure.

Do you like western food?I like any food that is tasty and interesting.

Do you enjoy cooking?At one time ‘yes’, but now I would avoid cooking if I can.

Is there a certain cooking technique?No, I like to innovate while cooking.

What is your role as a manufacturing Units Manager at Almatrood Group of Companies?It was managing various companies; a dairy farm, bakery, water bottling plant, carbonated drink plant, Coca Cola plant and a dairy manufacturing unit. It was a wide ranging experience which permit-ted me to learn a lot and allowed me to implement what I have done.

Tell me about your company, when was your company founded?That was one of the oldest companies in Saudi Arabia. It was a pioneer in dairy farming and in industrial baking. If I remember right, it was started in the 1960s as a pioneer-

ing enterprise and has since grown in leaps and bounds. How do you feel working in Saudi Arabia?Excellent! I think the best memories of my life are in Saudi Arabia, especially with regard to the working environment where I was given the chance to what I had to do with very little interference.

Why don’t you work in Sri Lanka?Because I was not let to work, because of the 1977 riots, in which I was a victim, I had to leave the country as a pauper and seek a working environment elsewhere.

As a Tamil Diaspora representative, how do you see Sri Lanka after the civil war?Much has improved. I think with regard to development and infrastructure and other facilities we are better off

than we were in the last 60 years. However there are human aspects extended to the large, extensive number of widows plus those who have been injured in the war, mentally affected and incapacitated, they have not been paid sufficient attention. Further the government has not paid much attention to solving problem that caused the war.

Any memories that you like to share during war time in Sri Lanka?I myself was a victim. I have lost my mother and brother who were killed by IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Force) and I’ve my self-seen the effects of war all around me as it developed and then how it ended. I saw the tragedy, it was too many people.

What are your hidden talents?I think that I have discovered all my talent at this age. I think that my main talent has been management and I am able to manage thing quite well; even in strange areas I can very quickly grasp and manage situations.

Do you have any pets? Tell us about themYes, I love dogs. As a child I had a whole zoo of pets, I had parrots, rabbits, squirrel, fish, dogs and all sorts of animals. Now I limit myself to dogs.

What kind of music do you like?I like classical music in any form whether it is vocal or instrumental but because of my cultural background my particular affinity is towards Karnatic music.

Tell me about your contribution in cultureMy contribution in culture has been trying to live as a Tamil as much as I can.

Do you do any charity or nonprofit work?I have helped those who were needy, but in a private capacity. There is nothing organized, I prefer to help people help themselves.

Who would you like to thank for helping you to get here?Everyone who has played a role in my life. It is a tradition that has come down in my family. My parents, my uncles, my teachers and lots of friends who have had an influence, plus legendary figures such as Rama in Ramayana, Arjuna in Mahabharata and Swami Vivekananda.

Anything else you would like to share?This is a message not only to you but to all other young people, learn about other cultures, learn about what is happening in the world, understand it and also make an effort to understand your own culture and value it. It’s a very rich culture, and it is not only Tamil culture I am referring to, but also Sinhala culture (it goes very far back and is a much evolved culture) and take a pride in it. Learn Tamil literature and learn our history in the proper way. Appreciate what the world is and understand what your role is not only in Sri Lanka but in the world.

Interview with Dr. Rajasingham Narendran


14

interview


























exclusive



























15

exclusive

interview

Dr. Rajasingham Narendran during the interview.


impact of tsunami 2004 on sri lanka impact of tsunami 2004 on sri lanka

TSUNAMIWAVES

N

DS Divisions of Sri Lanka affected by Tsunami 2004

Affected

Not Affected

On Sunday December 26th, 2012 an earthquake of 9.0 magnitude at Coast of Sumatra triggered a Tsunami hitting the coastal area of Sri Lanka facing Sumatra leaving thousands of dead and many more homeless.The Tsunami was one of the worst disaster ever recorded in Sri Lankan

history.

AmparaMoneragala

HambantotaMataraGalle

Kalutara

Colombo

Gampaha Kegalle

Kandy

MataleKurunegala

Polonnaruwa

Batticaloa

Anuradhapura

Wavuniya

Mulativu

Trincomalee

Mannar

Kilinochichi

Jaffna

Badulla

Nuwara Eliya

Puttalam

Ratnapura

India

impact of tsunami 2004 on sri lanka impact of tsunami 2004 on sri lanka

TSUNAMIWAVES

Earthquake

the tsunami

Casualities Damage & Effects

Magnitudeorigin

tsunami height Travelling speed districts affected

Estimated economic loss

surface energy

The First was the most powerful earthquake recorded.

Earthquake propagated to the north at anextremely slow speed and on average for the entire 1300-km-long segment along the northern Sumatra-Nicobar-Andaman Trench.

Tsunami was recorded to have traveled 375 miles (600 km) in approximatley 75 minutes.

There was 10 m (33 ft) movement laterally and 4–5 m (13–16 ft) vertically along the fault line.

According to Asian Disaster Preparedness Center,

Damage - 1144 Million USDLoss - 310 Million USD

14 Districts of the coastal belt were severly affected,

were among them.

Jaffna MulativuTrincomalee BatticaloaAmpara HambantotaMatara GalleKalutara Colombo Surface Energy released, was estimated at

1.1×1017 joules or 26 megatons of TNT.

Energy is equivalent to over 1500 times that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

Fully Damaged Houses.

Partially Damaged Houses.

= 2000 People = 9,000 Houses

<<<1 KM/SEC

300 MILES/HOUR33 FEETACTUAL HEIGHT

Deaths32,000

90,0001,454

Million US Dollars

27,000Injured15,000Missing6,000

About 84 aftershocks with magnitudes5.0 to 7.0 occured since the first quake.

Heig

ht o

f Tsu

nam

i

The epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

9.0

1st

5.9

2nd

5.8

3rd

6.0

4th

7.3

10th

Travelling speed

...

Indonesia

$

Focus

Epicenter

Fault Line

Designed by Savindra Perera

Tharshan Siva

ragon Fruit, a fitting name for this exotic fruit finds its origins in South and Central America. However, the

fruit is grown commercially in many Asian countries such as Cambodia and Thailand and in recent times in Sri Lanka as well.

In Sri Lanka, Dragon fruit can be cultivated in the low country wet zone, intermediate zone and the dry zone. A member of the cactus family, the plant can prevail the dry climes of irrigated lands. Amongst the places of the dry zone that cultivate Dragon Fruit is the Na Sevana farm in Meegahajadura, Sooriyawewa.

The plant are tethered to a support, in this instance concrete columns are preferred for their durability over wooden once, as the plants can be sustained for as long as

40 years. Each column can support two or four plants, where the former arrangement is found to be more fruitful in cultivation. Cascade over to all sides, which is further believed to facilitate yielding of fruit. While the fruits arise from the newly pruned branches the plants are trimmed to a manageable height for ease of harvesting. An individual fruit that springs from the flower, can weight up to 500 grams and is usually sold at 550 rupees a kilo in the market.

During the time of harvesting the plants look bejew-elled with the crimson fruits that appear forbidding, complete with a touch of the exotic that can be attributed to its intense shape and colour. These ripened fruits are plucked while the tips of the scales are green and in time turn red when they reach the markets in Colombo. While the fruit still remains a luxury consumer good in Sri Lanka,

where production remains at a small scale, with the grow-ing interest due in part to its health benefits, commercial cultivation is on the rise. It is believed that Dragon Fruit packs a punch where health benefits are concerned particularly for its remedial effects on diabetes for which it has earned repute amongst consumers.

Benefits aside, the fruit does offer mouthfuls of good-ness. Slice into it and inside is a rich velvety surprise.

Of the three varieties; red-skinned with white flesh, red skinned with red flesh and yellow-skinned variety. Dip a spoon into the luxuriant core and discover a sweet and mellow flavour that belies its exterior. The soft texture is delightfully peppered with the gentle crunch of the fruit's tiny seeds. Each bite is a thirst quencher with water being

the fruit's major constituent. The fruits grown in the dry zone are markedly sweeter

for its higher sugar content and all the more enjoyable. The red-core variety though no different in taste to the white, is however more popular and one could imagine why at a glance as its rich colour is in a word,irresistible. While fruits are best enjoyed in its fresh and raw from, Dragon Fruit can be utilised in a variety of preparations, such as jam, ice cream, jelly and fruit juice.

The Dragon Fruit plant can even be housed as an ornamental plant. Regardless of its alternative uses, there's nothing like relishing its smooth velvety textured, subtle sweetness!

fruit

Tharshan Siva







Dragon Fruit







D

about a fruit


Tharshan Siva













fruit

about a fruit


Tharshan Siva













23

Locations

Travel

The mother city of South Africa occupies one of the world’s most stunning locations, with an iconic mountain call Table Mountain. Cape Town is located at the northern end of a peninsula that joins into the Atlantic Ocean on the southwest tip of southern Africa. It is surrounded with beautiful beaches to do sun-bathing and vineyards, the unique flora coating on the table mountain highlights its wilderness and that grabs everyone’s attention.

The Khoisan people were the former citizens in the land and they valued the spiritual power of mountains and the water in the land. Then Dutch get settled in the 17th

century and the slaves they brought there shaped the city’s physical environment building a national park that covers some region in the peninsula. This is also known as city’s adventurous playground. It is named as Hoerikwag-go which means ‘Mountain in the Sea’.

The natural beauty of Table Mountains, eye-catching design and colour from brightly painted facades of Bo-Kaap and the Victorian bathing chalets of Muizenberg are some of visitor’s top attractions. There are excellent guesthouses, restaurants and bars in the city Cape Town. The city is packed with galleries displaying amazing artworks and shop selling valuable local craftwork. The creativity of arts and crafts is a result of unity among multi-ethnic population.

Cape Town (Good looking, fun loving, sporty and sociable)

Top places to visit in Cape town

Table Mountain Victoria and Alfred WaterfrontRobben IslandBo-KaapWinelands of Cape TownRatanga JunctionKirstenbosch Botanical Gardens


travel

things to do & activities

Capetown doesn’t limited to one or two kind of activities. It has big variety of activities to do.

Hoerikwaggo Trail is the one of most famous activity among the cape town visitors. Hoerikwaggo Trail is a hiking tour of 6 days and 4 nights from cape town to cape point. Hoerikwaggo Trail is 80Km hiking tour though table mountain of SA. You can swim with The African Penguins (Jackass Sphensicus demer-sus) at the Boulders Beach in Simon's Town of Cape city. Swimming with African penguins is an unforgettable experience to most tourists. There are only only 28 places where

penguins are found in the whole world.

There is a cable car service called Flying Dutchman. Flying Dutchman is a cable-drawn railway from Cape Town to Cape Point. It is the fastest and most comfortable way to travel to the top of the Cape Point. It takes only 3 minutes to whole journey.

While you travailing cape town with your kid you can give them unforgettable experiences. Real life games than playing ordinary comput-er games. Children can play real life games out side the computers. They can get experienced to work as a team at Area 51 | Imhoff Farm |

Kommetjie Road (M65) | Kommetjie. Next to paint ball ground you can

take your kids for a camel ride at Imhoff Farm. There is a Go-karting arena at Kenilworth Karting This is an activity for older children. They can race with their friends. Every kid like adventure activities.

At Waterfront Harbour kids can have an unforgettable experience by enjoy a live pirate show out on the open water. You can fly in your private helicopter over the Cape’s winelands. A helicopter tour will cost from R15 300 for a three seater, R20 400 for a four seater and R30 600 for a six seater.

You can learn kite surfing at Cape Town. Kite surfing starts in the late 1990s in the Cape Town. Cape town is one of most famous place for Kite surfing.

At CityROCK climbing gym you can do some adventures. CityROCK is an indoor climbing gym With hundreds of routes, overhanging climbing sections and over 450m² of climbing area.

If you are searching for different kind of thrill. Skating without water or snow on soft sand.

Sand-boarding in soft white sand gives you a unforgettable experience. You can Sand-board-ing at Gary's Sandboarding Cape Town.

Things to Do

Activities


culture & food

Travel

South Africa is often referred to as the “Rainbow Nation” because of the vast array of ethnically diverse cultures. Cape Town is a cosmopolitan and vibrant city home to Xhosa Africans, Malays, Indians, Coloureds, Whites, Chinese and Jews. The streets of Cape Town are abuzz with people of all races and religions and the infrastructure.

While new year always arrives with a big bang in the Mother City, it’s the Cape Minstrel Carnival, known as Tweede Nuwe Jaar (second new year), that gives the celebration its local colour. It is the Cape Town’s longest-running street party, tracing back to old slave traditions during the days of the Cape Colony.

The many museums and monuments trace Cape Town’s

heritage from slavery to maritime warfare, apartheid and democracy. Museum Meander takes you around the city center on foot and includes most of the museums under the Iziko Museums banner.

Township tours to the heart of Cape Town’s informal settlements such as Khayelitsha, Gugulethu and Kayaman-di are popular with visitors. Experience authentic local culture by going on a special interest tour such as a jazz safari, offered by various operators, where you journey through Cape Town's jazz scene for a day.

Cape Town is a hub for artists and designers. There are several art galleries focusing on a variety of art forms, while some artists’ homes are now open museums.

Culture

Cape Town Minstrel Carnival

The range and inspiration of Cape Town cuisine is diverse and exciting – a never-ending landscape for foodies to explore. Inexpensive fast foods are available in many city lunch spots and fresh produce markets.Traditional African Cuisine - Corn

and maize have long been the basis of African cuisine. Dried maize kernels are ground finely into maize-meal and used for everything from

sour-milk porridge to dumplings and mieliepap (stiff maize porridge). Meat is a staple too and is best cooked over the fire.Afrikaans Traditional Cooking - The

A f r i k a n e r palette borrows from the heritage of Dutch cuisine, with contribu-tions from French and German immi-

grant communities and the Cape Malay population.

Cape Malay Cuisine - Cape Malay cuisine was born of the cookery that Middle Eastern slaves brought to the Cape hundreds of years ago. Cape Malay cuisine is typically spicy

but can be sweetly aromatic.

Food


places to stay and shopping

Places to Stay

Though selecting a better place to stay in Cape Town is hard, but there are various places to stay depending on visitor’s needs and requirements. The fact is that Cape Town is crowded with visitors in most time of the year. It is advisable to find secure parking for vehicles too.

Top 5 Sleeps

Backpackers – BackpackGuesthouse – An African villaLuxury hotel – Vineyard hotel and SpaBoutique hotel – Alta BaySelf-catering – Daddy long legs

Shopping

Cape Town consists of a countless number of shopping malls and markets with a wide variety of goods such as hand-crafted jewelries, intricate bead work, African carvings, clothes, antiques, ceramics, diamonds and precious stones etc. It is the best place for jewelry as the most talented goldsmiths and jewel-ry designers live in Cape Town and you can buy them for a fair price. We can say that Cape Town is the ideal place for Shopping in South Africa. You can buy whatever you wish in the shopping malls.

There are indoor and outdoor shopping malls which are each have a unique atmosphere. Almost every shopping mall contains an ATM and will accept your international credit

card and travelers cheques to make your shopping easy. The malls have other facilities such as restaurants, coffee shops, movie theaters, parking areas and banking facilities. The shopping malls are open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm and on Sundays from 10am to 1pm.

Some of the main popular shopping malls are,1.Victoria and Alfred Waterfront- Waterfront2. Cavendish Square - Claremont, Southern Suburbs3. Canal Walk. - N1, outside the City Center4. Bay Side Center5. Cape Quarter6.Blue Route Mall

Some popular open-air and craft markets1. Green Market Square2. The Red Shed3. Green Point Market

The open-air craft markets are mainly held on weekends in different

areas; Hout Bay, Constantia, Kristen-bosch and Rondebosch. In Green Market Square, you can find African carvings, masks, arums, beadwork and jewelry, clothes, leather work and ceramics. Here all the items are generally well priced but at some stores you can bargain. The Red Shed Craft Market Workshop and the Waterfront Craft Market are indoor markets for clothing, jewelry and an array of crafts and art work and it is open 7 days a week. The Kalk Bay is well known for antiques and memo-rabilia. Cape Quarter is furnished with art and artifacts, fashion, beauty, health and lifestyle related stores.

The shopping in Cape Town provides an unforgettable experi-ence and memories.

"YOU CAN SHOP TILL YOU DROP"


travel

tips & tricks

real life tips

Buddhika Sandanuwan

Change a TyreKnowing how to change the tyre is a important thing when driving a motor vehicle. Before raise the jack you should loos all nuts .(Because if you try to loos nuts after raise the jack tyre may move) Don't take them all the way off just break the resistance. After loos all nuts raise the jack and remove nuts. When place the new tyre. Tighten the nuts by hand until they are all snug.

Then slowly lower the jack. Now fully tighten nuts using a star pattern.

Wax a CarPlace the car in a shelter or waxing after Sunset is most suitable. After cleaned the car by washing then dry it. Then apply wax using a round pattern and leave it few minutes until wax become a thin layer. Then using a piece of micro fiber cloth polish the car's body using a round pattern.

Connect a TrailerConnect vehicle with the trailer and make sure coupler connected properly. Run the safety chains under the tongue so they cross one another. This keeps the trailer tongue from hitting the ground if it accidentally comes

loose from the hitch while moving.

Jump Start a CarYou can start a car with a dead battery using a another car's battery. First connect the red jump cable with both positive (+) terminals of two batteries. Next connect the black cable with negative (-) terminal of good battery don't connect the other end of black cable with dead battery’s negative (-) terminal ,connect other end of black cable with a metal part of dead car(Engine Block). Then start the car with good battery and leave engine working about 10 minutes. Then try to start the dead car. To remove cables,do all these steps in the reverse order.

Tips for the Real Life


real life tips

tips & tricks

Remove a Blood StainBasically wash tightly using normal cold water. If its not working using paper towel bold the blood don't let spread blood. Then mix little amount of salt (a table spoon) with cold water and put the stained part of the cloth into water and soak until stain removed. If all previous steps are useless. Wash the cloth with a ammonia mix(don't wash silk cloths using ammonia). Final solution you can do washing with hydrogen peroxide. Then wash with cold water. Make sure cloth doesn't get dried until

blood stain removes.

Fell Down a Tree First make sure the area is clear to fell the tree. Then using rope tie the tree with another tree to the direction of fall. Cut the tree horizontally(horizontal cut should be at least 1/3 of the tree’s diameter) from the side of falling direction of the tree. After that do a 45 degree “V” shape notch cut . Now make a horizontal cut the opposite side of the tree. As soon as tree starts to moving move far away from the tree for your own safety.

Place Ladder SafelyBefore stepping on the ladder, check that it's set at the correct angle, 75 to 78 degrees. Stand with the toes of your work boots against the ladder's base and extend your arms horizontally. The ladder is at a safe angle

when you can just grasp the rung at shoulder level with arms fully extended.

First Aid for a BurnMost of people apply butter on burn blisters but it is a wrong remedy. In a minor burn you should hold burn to running water until pain fades. After it cooled apply a suitable medicine. If the burn little bit high wash with soap mix cold water before apply medicines. If burn is too major immediately go to a hospital .


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book review

Understanding Web Development Interactive Workbook Savindra Perera

nderstanding Web development is a book which gives ground

knowledge about Web design and Web development. This book provides a good start for beginners to understand basic procedures in World Wide Web and knowledge about publishing content on internet. Author Hubbell, is well experienced with Internet related components as she has been involved with Web Design field over decades. Since this book is written in the late 90’s, the content is based on the latest web technology during that period. The book covers major areas in HTML formatting, UNIX web-server environment and Web site management. It is packed with simple explanations and techniques

for essential web design and devel-opment from HTML to basic site security. Further, Hubbell discusses about basics in server-side scripting and some security measures. There-fore this book is a good start for people who are just going to start their web career.

Hubbell has written in a way that readers can use the book as a learn-ing and teaching tool about web design. The language which she has used throughout the book is very simple and easily understandable. She has clearly described the techni-cal terms giving the chance for every-one to refer book effectively. The book includes exercises letting the reader to assess their knowledge after reading a particular subject area. I myself find this very useful as

there are model answers also includ-ed in the book. Hubbell has categorized the content under 11 chapters. In the first few chapters, she tries to give a brief understanding about how a server functions. It is quite necessary to have an idea about how a server works before learning how to control a server through coding. In the HTML coding chapters, Hubbell has included the screenshots of end results, once a code is rendered in a server. I find this rare

in programming books because most of them have only pages of source code with a few screenshots. As I mentioned earlier, at the end of each chapter there is a lab exercise which includes questions relevant to the material covered in the chapter. Answers are also given and explained in detail and it helps reader to expand his scope of knowledge. I find this book very valuable for new comers to the field of web design and development. Because, this book gives the foundation knowl-edge to start a successful web career. Before I start reading this book, I had a fairly good knowledge about web related components. Therefore I felt most of the informa-tion in the book were too basic for me. Some of the HTML elements discussed in the book are now rarely used in practice because this was written about 14 years ago and web design and development is one of fast-growing and rapidly changing field. But I would like to recom-mend this book for beginners who like to learn about web design and technology from the level of zero. I give a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars for this book.

Author – Arlyn HubbellPages – 273 PagesPublication Date – 15/12/1999ISBN – 0-13-025844-X

Book Overview

non-fiction

U


30

Tharshan Siva

ittle Women, I was interested in a modern retelling of the story. The Little Women does not disappoint.Little

Women is a sweet, pure story about four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, growing up during and after the Civil War.

I’ll rate Little Women 4.5 out of 5 because the charac-ters are loveable and the story is full of all sorts of twists. The sisters face love and sadness and always come through smiling in the end.

The story begins when the sisters are living at home with their mother while their father is at war. My favorite character of the story was Meg, the oldest at sixteen,be-cause she is friendly and she is very pretty, proper, and somewhat old fashioned. She is the most responsible and also helps in running the household work while her mother is away.

While Jo, a tomboy, just a year younger, is dying to fight alongside her father while she still loves writing stories and plays. Beth is next in line, a quiet, peaceful and

terribly shy girl, whose spirit is bright and loving. The youngest, though, is Amy, who tries to be graceful

and womanly while at the same time is nothing but a silly girl who cares too much about the shape of her nose and her greed of more money. As time goes by, relationships grow between the Marches and their neighbors and friends, and eventually the sisters start new lives as wives and even mothers. Through it all, the sisters learn many valuable lessons that will change their lives forever. This story is about the childhood games, whims and lessons of the four young girls into becoming young women.

This is one of my favorite books. I couldn’t think of anything to improve it. I like Little Women just the way it is.

Two-volume Roberts Brothers printing, from the early 1870s

book review

Little Women

Book OverviewBook Overview

Author – Louisa May AlcottPages – 564 PagesPublication Date – 1868 (1st volume) 1869 (2nd volume)ISBN-10 – 0679861750Genre – Coming of Age

L

fiction


The brain uses over a quarter of the

oxygen used by the human body.

Adult lungs have a surface area of

around 70 square metres!

No matter how scram-bled a Rubik’s cube is, it can be solved in twenty moves or less

In English, the name of every number shares a letter with each neighbor. “One”

shares “O” with “Two”, which shares a “T” with “Three”, which shares an “R” with “Four”, which shares an “F” with “Five”, which shares an “I” with “Six”- and so on indefinitely.

Most Southern U.S. English speakers make no phonic distinc-

tion between “pen” and “pin” and this is one of the most widely recognized features of southern

speech today.

A woman named Veronica Seider had 20 times better vision than average. She could identify people more than a mile (1.6km) away.

A lack of friends carries a higher risk of death than

obesity and is the equivalent health risk of smoking 15

cigarettes a day.


32

Buddhika Sandanuwan

3 years old Lila and her 12 years old brother Hari are taking care of their little two younger sisters Bela and

Kamal and their bedridden mother. Their father is a drunk-ard and he doesn't care about the family. Every penny he earns is wasted on buying alcohol.

Hari and Lila have to earn money to look after Bela and Kamal. Hari left the others and runs away to Bombay to find a job. Then Lila has to take care of the family. After Hari returns from Bombay the future of the family seems to become brighter.

This poor Indian family lives in a small fishing village called Thul.

Through this story Anita Desai tells about a poor family and describes the situation in a poor Indian fishing village. The story moves forward slowly and clearly shows about the cultural background and how a poor family tries to survive

This book is a good book for children and young people to read, because it shows how the two main characters, the children Hari and Lila try to survive the family.

I give this book a 5 star rating

book review

The Village by the Sea

Book Overview

Author – Anita DesaiPages – 156 Pages (first edition)Publication Date – 1982ISBN – 0-434-93436-4

1

Anita Desai

fiction


Smart Reader Magazine

Education

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