| Quizlets |
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| Identify this mural and its location. |
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| (Answer) |
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| Employees’ corner |
| My favourite book: Erich Segal’s The Class |
| by V Karthik, Assistant Executive Manager, Sanmar Speciality Chemicals Ltd |
| This book is about five people from different walks of life, whose lives are intertwined through a common pursuit - to get admitted to Harvard. The five main characters are Daniel Rossi, gifted pianist, who goes against his father’s wish that he become an athlete; Ted Lambros-whose family’s roots are from Greece-a believer in the American dream, Jason Gilbert, an extraordinarily talented athlete who has won quite a few laurels in sports but cannot forget his Jewish background, George Keller, a refugee from Hungary with single-minded determination to pursue a career in politics and Andrew Eliot, the diarist who is burdened by tradition and his famed ancestry. |
| The story of these five characters – and the shock felt by each of them when they leave Harvard – forms the basis of this book. All their lives take a dramatic turn after they graduate and reality hits them hard. No longer confined within the four walls of their college dormitory, they have to choose their respective paths to glory or failure as the case may be. |
| One interesting aspect of the book is that for the most part, the characters are described by the jottings in Andrew Eliot’s diary, touched by a tinge of humour and irony. |
| The way the author traverses the lives of these five people and takes you through to the end, where at least two of these characters feel burdened by the fame they have attained is memorable and realistic most of the way. The book culminates in the 25th reunion of the principal protagonists at Harvard, with Andrew looking back and wondering about all the events since the time they all joined there, and the toll life and its pressures have taken on his classmates. |
| I recommend this book especially to those about to join college. It’s one of my favourite books; I have read it umpteen times. It’s definitely High Class! |
| SanMensa - The InQuizition |
| Tired of constantly having questions asked of them at work, some of the youngsters at Sanmar had a brainwave. They have banded together to form an informal Quiz Club - and thus have more questions asked of them outside of work also! The club has been named SanMensa (though one wag uncharitably commented that a more appropriate name would be SanDensa). SanMensa meets once in two weeks after office hours (this last point to be noted, especially by the top brass who are reading this). The members walk in to a conference room, with all the ingredients for a proper meeting (notepads, pencils and serious expressions on their faces). Once inside, they let their hair down (figuratively of course - considering some of the participants, this just cannot be literal) and have fun. Originally started as a young Sanmaritan initiative, word has it that some others who are so far past their prime that their youth is a very small dot on their horizon have also managed to weasel their way into this club. |
| The only rules here are that the winners of an evening’s event have to set the quiz the next time around, and buy coffee for all the participants. This has led to the quaint practice of all the participants trying their best to finish second. The founders aver that this is a fun way to learn - but everyone knows better. It is just a fun way to have fun. |
| - by a Sanmar quizzer |
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