December 2023 Editorial

The last month of the year. We often wonder how the whole year elapsed and we are heading towards another new year. We eagerly look forward to the coming year full of promise with excitement and trepidation. Yet it is important to review the year gone by. So think about 3 things that went well or 3 things that you are grateful for in 2023. Send in your entries to ccfeditorialcommittee@gmail.com.

Ms. Aarthi Prabhakaran has brought out the complexities in human behaviour the second part of which is “Mendelian Genetics and Social Evolution. ” Mr. Arumporai Chemmal highlights early interventions to avoid fussy eaters in “The fun of Eating”. Just click on the links or visit XpressionZ on our website to learn more.

Best Wishes,
Anupama Anand ,
Editor XpressionZ

November 2023 Editorial

November was a very hectic month with the Indian teams spectacular performance in the Cricket World Cup and the festival of lights Deepavali lighting up our homes and hearts.

This month is also special as we have two wonderful articles which are informative but also instill a sense of purpose in each of us in CCF. It’s never too late to pen down your thoughts and contribute so that we all can learn. Send in your entries to ccfeditorialcommittee@gmail.com.

Ms.Aarthi Prabhakaran has brought out the complexities in human behaviour with a three-partseriesin “Interdisciplinary Approach to understanding Human Behaviour”. The first part explores Darwinism and Behavioural Evolution. Mr. Mugunthan Chari reinforces the importance of mental health as a life skill for one and all in his piece “Mental Health – A Life Skill for Everyone.”    Just click on the links or visit XpressionZ on our website to learn more.

Best Wishes,
Anupama Anand
Editor, XpressionZ

October 2023 Editorial

October is celebrated as World Mental Health month. Today mental wellness is considered to be as if not more important than physical wellness. With awareness and advancement in our field we decided to focus on new age technologies. It’s never too late to pen down your thoughts and contribute so that we all can learn. Send in your entries to ccfeditorialcommittee@gmail.com.

Complementary alternative therapies that are gaining prominence is well elucidated and brought out by Ms. Nandini Raman in “Practicing Psychology Today.” A trip to Buddhi Clinic as part of the Case Study Circle learning got Ms. Rajni Bala to provide her report on modern scientific advances along with the wisdom of ancient medical traditions. Are you aware of the origin of psychology in India, dig into this very informative piece by Dr. Saras Bhaskar in “ Is mental wellness and Psychology new to India?” Just click on the links or visit XpressionZ on our website to learn more.

Best Wishes,
Anupama Anand
Editor, XpressionZ

September 2023 Editorial

Of all the months in the year September is spelled with the most letters, contains nine letters, and it happens to be the ninth month of the year. It also is a time to salute the teachers, promote Suicide awareness and celebrate grandparents. While we welcome all entries, be it articles, poems or activities we urge you to not hesitate, or have any second thoughts, just send in your entries to ccfeditorialcommittee@gmail.com.

The difference a teacher can make in a child’s life is brought out so beautifully in this well-crafted piece” A Teacher's Trip Down Memory Lane….by Prabha Arun. Often considered to be retired souls Anupama Anand has brought forward her piece on grandparents in “Looks who’s here”. So go ahead and enjoy!

Best Wishes,
Anupama Anand
Editor, XpressionZ

August 2023 Editorial

Entering into the Eighth month we are in the August presence of friendship. Be it rain, shine or doldrums this relationship holds a special place in our hearts and lives. So, if you missed sending in your contributions, September celebrates Teachers. As humans we don various roles so if you have an inspirational teacher or if you are one yourself, don’t hesitate, or have any second thoughts, just send in your entries to ccfeditorialcommittee@gmail.com.

What exactly is friendship? This very well thought out piece “Friendship” by Shubashree explains it all. On a personal note, Mathangi brings to life the various friends and friendships that she has made and retained over the years in “Of Friends and Friendships.” In “Towards the Origins of Virtual Friendship” Kannan enlightens us with friendships in the BCE era. So go ahead and enjoy!

Best Wishes,
Anupama Anand
Editor, XpressionZ

July 2023 Editorial

While the baton has been passed on from the able hands of Mina Dilip and her illustrious team, Kannan and I are still finding our feet. We all have ideas of how we would like our editorial to be, the articles, activities, and columns that it can carry. Help us make it more interesting and informative. Do remember this is our editorial. So don’t hesitate, or have any second thoughts, just send in your entries to ccfeditorialcommittee@gmail.com.

We start on a positive note with two beautifully crafted pieces. Ms. Padma Sreedevi showcases the beauty of conviction in oneself through her short story Power of Passion. We also have Ms. Mina Dilip transporting us into a blissful state with her poem “Ecstasy”. So go ahead and enjoy!

Best Wishes,
Anupama Anand
Editor, XpressionZ

June 2023 Editorial

Following a very successful Annual General Meeting of CCF members on June 10th 2023, the election of new office bearers and a scintillating show put up during “Unwind 2023”, we at the Editorial Committee, are happy to share that we have a succession plan in place. As we usher in the new Executive Committee, we would also like to welcome on board, the new Editorial Committee, which will be headed by Ms. Anupama Anand and supported by Mr. Kannan Parthasarathy. We are in the process of finalising the post of Essayist within the team. So, if any of you would like to volunteer, please get in touch with us via email on ccfeditorialcommittee@gmail.com.

This month, we have curated two articles for your reading pleasure. Both of these were received as entries for the Creativity Contest. The poem, “Quest to be Addressed” by V R Lakshmi Prasad won the third place in the contest. The article “Sight Ambassador” by Rajnibala is a heart-warming account of her experiences with eye donation. Enjoy these articles, and stay tuned for more such interesting and informative reads from our members, which will be brought to you by the fresh, new editorial team!

Best Wishes,
Mina Dilip
(Outgoing) Editor, XpressionZ

May 2023 Editorial

May is usually the “lean month” at CCF, but we, at the Editorial Team never stop working! So, here we are, with some exciting news! The much-awaited results of the Creativity Contest are out! Drumroll, please…

And the winners are…

Anupama Anand in the FIRST place for her creative submission titled “I Love You”
Padma Sreedevi in the SECOND place for her heartfelt article “Go with the flow”
V R Lakshmi in the THIRD place for her intense poem “Quest to be Addressed”

As always, we will be publishing the first two winning entries this month for your reading pleasure. Enjoy reading!

Best Wishes,
Mina Dilip
Editor, XpressionZ

April 2023 Editorial

With the mercury rising, the summer heat is on! As we usher in the new fiscal year, the Editorial Team would like to remind you once again about the Creativity Contest, whose deadline has now been extended until the end of April. Below is our latest poster, offering you the necessary details.

This is your chance to get your entries in, and enjoy this amazing opportunity to win exciting cash prizes and also avail free mentoring and training by the members of our team in taking over the mantle for the next term.

This month on XpressionZ, we have two short but intense articles, one by Vikram, who ponders about the power of the Basic Instinct, and the other by Swapna, who metaphorically takes us through the profound implications of the chain that broke, thus communicating its own intentions. We hope you enjoy the read!

Best Wishes,
Mina Dilip
Editor, XpressionZ

March 2023 Editorial

March is a very significant month. March is when the annual exams are conducted across schools in our country, raising the stress levels of students and parents alike. March is the end of the annual financial term, marking the culmination of yet another fiscal year. It is in March that we celebrate Holi, the festival of colours. March is also when we celebrate International Women’s Day.

As we reflected on these specialties of March, we at the Editorial Team realized that ours is an all-women team! And an efficient one, at that. So we put our heads together to come up with an exciting contest with a difference. We coined it the Creativity Contest, and we wholeheartedly invite each and every one of you to take part in this contest with a difference.

This is a contest that tests your writing and editing skills. How creatively can you market yourself as a writer or an editor? The top three entries win exciting cash prizes. In addition, the winners will be personally mentored by us in the nuances of running the editorial team, equipping them to take up the mantle for the next 2-year term at CCF. And this time, it need not be an all-women team! This contest is open to all. So put on your thinking hats and get set to win! Here are two posters, one with the contest details, and the other detailing the extension of the last date for submissions.

And as promised, this month we have for you, two more of the entries that came in as contenders for our earlier contest – submitted by Jessy and Renuka. Happy reading!

Best Wishes,
Mina Dilip
Editor, XpressionZ

February 2023 Editorial

From the desk of an eternal romantic,

Happy Valentine’s Day, dear all. What a lovely day it is - a day to reflect on love and happiness within oneself and towards others.

Is our ideal/idea of love being an obstacle in experiencing or giving love? Love and happiness when shared is like the soft waves lapping at our feet; like cool mountain breeze caressing us; the warmth of mother’s food smoothening our soul and much more.

Happiness and love are like two peas in a pod for me hence I speak of them together. Both require a struggle, a process and effort. It could be as simple as wallowing in comfort beside a loved one or as complicated as celebrating Valentine’s day according to societal standards.

I returned from a ten-day vacation (with friends). In the evening when I sat beside my spouse, he remarked the house had seemed empty without my presence. Like the first summer showers his words enveloped me in the soft glow of acceptance. I smiled back radiantly. His surprised look reminded me I had to smile more, give him back the nuances of love in the daily humdrum of life.

I vowed to watch more Korean romcoms to inspire myself. He went back to watching cricket. Sigh, how comfortable and comforting!! Valentine’s day is over.

Do you have such stories to share? Bring them on so that we could publish them.

We have certainly borrowed the concept of celebrating Valentine’s Day from the West. Meanwhile closer to home, we have our own celebrations and this month we have, for your reading pleasure, an article by Renuka Sankar on the festival of Pongal. We also have a second article by Nandini Raman written in response to the recent contest about New Year Resolutions. Do sit back and enjoy reading these at your leisure.

Swapna Nair
PS: the above editorial is definitely inspired from Korean romcoms.
Sub-Editor, XpressionZ

January 2023 Editorial

The CCF Editorial Team wishes you all a very Happy New Year, 2023! We opened this year with an exciting contest about New Year Resolutions, and we would like to thank each and every one of you for participating eagerly and enthusiastically! The response to the contest has been overwhelming, and we are considering the introduction of another contest shortly.

The Editorial Team carefully went over every article received as part of the contest and chose a deserving winner. Ms. Padma Sreedevi has won the first place for her creative perspective on New Year Resolutions, and she will be receiving her grand prize very soon.

This month, on XpressionZ, we have published Padma Sreedevi’s prize-winning entry for your reading pleasure, along with an entry received from Ms. Anupama Anand, whose article was voted in by the team as one of the best amongst a whole lot of other entries that we received. We have also shortlisted some of the other articles that came in as part of the contest, and we will be publishing the best entries over the next few months. Please keep watching this space for updates!

Regards,
Mina Dilip
Editor, XpressionZ

Disclaimer:

The views expressed on this page are the personal views of the respective authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Chennai Counselors’ Foundation (CCF). Any omissions, errors or plagiarism on the part of the author are the author’s to address appropriately and CCF does not assume liability or responsibility for them.

The creatives/content published here is for public consumption and discussions. If you are using a part or whole, please ensure you have the consent of the author/creator and appropriately credit them. Else, the author (rightful owner of the creative) can dispute the same as they deem fit.