By Alagu Vairavan

Navarathri (nine nights) is an auspicious Hindu festival where devotees worship the divine Mother Devi Durga, a ten-armed goddess who destroyed evils and brought peace in the uni-verse. The divine power of Durga comes in three forms of energies, considered to be a com-bination of the Trinity of goddesses, Parvathi, (goddess of power and strength), Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) and Saraswathi (the Goddess of knowledge and learning).

Bell Pepper and Tomato Rice with Cashews

Alamelu Vairavan

This hearty, flavorful, and nutritious rice dish is filling and delicious!

Serves 12

2 cups basmati rice

Cauliflower Soup
Alamelu Vairavan

Thin dal-based soup with cauliflower and aromatic seasonings.

Serves 6

Annam Venkat

Things you need

• Aluminum foil
• Baking soda
• Silverwares to be cleaned 

Instructions

Place a sheet of Aluminum foil in a pan and add a teaspoon of baking soda and enough water to soak the silverwares & boil them for few minutes.

Priti Gress, Editorial Director, Hippocrene Books, New York, NY

The Importance of Physical Activity

Physical Activity. What is that?

Physical Activity is the concept of moving and train-ing the body in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Physical activity can involve many things such as go-ing to the gym, playing sports, jogging in the park, walking to work or even taking dance classes. Unfor-tunately, as our lives and jobs are becoming more sed-entary (i.e. driving cars, sitting at a desk), society is becoming less active. This is leading to more physical injuries, poorer postures and illnesses.

Hi, my name is Siva M. Sambasivam. I am seven years old and want to share with you all about my experience in Pinewood Derby Car race at Boy Scouts (Cub). So first I got a piece of wood from my Cub Scout leader. I wanted to make a lightning McQueen car out of that small piece of wood. One of the rules was that the car cannot weigh over five ounces. I wanted my car to be exactly five ounces. So I printed out a book about pinewood derby McQueen cars.