BITS and Pieces - Get global. Get ahead.

In Focus

2015
- Why read BITS & Pieces by Sandeep Nulkar
- Relevance of learning languages in a globalised world
- Art of learning languages
- Career opportunities with languages
- Making a career in foreign languages
- Human translators vs Machines
- Why go for Student Exchange Programs
- A guide to studying abroad
- Art of doing Business Globally
- 7 rules of writing well
- 10 etiquettes of email writing
- Busting Translation myths
2016

Globalisation 101 – 7 things you need to know

The role of films in language learning

Six and a half things to remember in Europe

Wines: Myths & Facts!

Global Trivia for Foodies

Words on words: 8 must-read language books

Five electronic gadgets that will simplify your life!

Foreign languages easiest to learn for Indians

Conlangers, the newest king of language professionals

Machine Translation: Behind the scenes

The Language-learning app miracle!

Getting Candid

2015
- Atul Kulkarni, Actor
- Ranjeet Oak, MakeMyTrip
- Partha Sawardekar, Travel & tourism, UAE
- Shireen Limaye, Basketball player
- Jaya Gadgil, French HOD, Fergusson College
- Pracheeti Dange, Dancer and Translator
- Siddharth Mahadik, Le Plaisir
- Sujata Patil, Wine consultant
- Makarand Pandit, Technowrites
- Raiomand Doctor, Technical advisor for Natural Language Processing
- Ashutosh Javadekar, Dentist and author
- Anil Kumar Jagalur, former head of
2016

Sandeep Nulkar,Founder, Chairman,

Nissim Bedekar, Assistant Professor of Japanese, EFLU Hyderabad

Akash Dubey, Director- Technical Publications iManage and Member of the International Advisory Board of TWIN

DSP Rajendra Kadam

Ravi Chandran, Delivery Head- CDPS, Indegene Lifesystems Pvt Ltd, Bangalore

Arthur Kooyman, Linguist and Senior Dutch translator

Dr. Sudipto Chatterjee, Psychiatrist

Shalini Puthiyedam, translator and former BITS Aspiring Translator award winner

Sandhya Deorukhkar, former Principal of Sevasadan Dilasa Kendra

Amitosh Nagpal, actor, writer and lyricist

Vaishali Phadnis, a Modi script expert

Mind Your Language

2015
- Usage of ‘concerned’
- Using adjectives twice
- Xerox vs photocopy
- Right use of full stops
- Myself or me?
- Putting to sleep or putting to bed?
- Catching a spot?
- Booking tickets
- Preponing something?
- Giving vs taking
- Shifting or moving?
- More vs better
2016

Welcome

Bath

From to

Out of station

I am having

Kindly allow

No lights

Any one, every one, can not

Houseful

Comprise of

Petrol bunk

Be Lingual

2015
- Mandarin
- Konkani
- Persian
- Sindhi
- Swahili
- Kokborok
- Esperanto
- Sign Language
- Quechua
- Afrikaans
- Malay
- Sinhalese
2016

Bengali

Norwegian

Pali

Haitian creole

Maithili

Turkish

Aramaic

Kutchi

Catalan

Silbo Gomero

Klingon

So What's Cooking?

2015
- Spanish Sangria
- British scones
- American Granola bars
- Italian Tiramisu
- Greek summer salad
- Classic Indian tomato soup
- Mexican Guacamole
- Arabic Kahwa tea
- Thai Som Tum salad
- French Ratatouille
- Thai Tom Yum soup
- Spanish Churros
2016

Veg au gratin

Quinoa porridge

Tabbouleh

Greek Yogurt

Salad

Creme caramel

Piri Prawns

Eggplant Bruschetta

Broc and Feta omlete

Hummus

Red Velvet Cookies

FestiWall

2015
- Coming of Age Day, Japan
- Battle of Oranges, Italy
- Night of the Witches, Mexico
- Songkran, Thailand
- Naghol, Pentecost island
- Dancing devils of Dare, Venezuela
- Boryeong Mud Festival, South Korea
- Humongous Fungus Festival, Michigan
- Grape throwing fest, Mallorca
- Boun Awk Phansa, Laos
- Greek weddings
- Holy Innocents’ Day, Spain
2016

Tunarama

Nice Carnival

Frozen Dead Guy

Rouketopolemos

Prossecione dei serparri

Chinese Dragon Boat Fest

Near Death Experiences

Henley-on-Todd Regatta

Tübingen Duck race

Pushkar Camel Fair

Monkey Buffet festival

The Road Not Taken

2015
- Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu
- Thimphu, Bhutan
- Costa Rica, Central America
- Magadha, Bihar
- Sri Lanka
- Baden-Baden, Germany
- Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
- Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh
- Barcelona, Spain
- Budget travel
- Istanbul
- Food travel
2016

South Africa

North East

Solo

Sathodi Waterfalls

Milan

Iceland

Cambodia

Paris

Parisian food map

Versailles Bike Tours

Street exploring

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Contribute

We welcome ideas and submissions from all our readers to make BITS and Pieces more diverse and informative with every new issue.

Got a wordsmith in you?
If you feel you have a penchant for writing and that you’d like to write about languages and cultures (and get published!), we would love to hear from you.

Potential contributors can get in touch with us for writing guidelines and for arranging a deadline for submission – this will help us plan which issue to fit your article in.

Got an idea?
If you do not wish to write a feature yourself, but have ideas for possible features, do get in touch – especially if you have a burning poll question for our ‘Your Opinion Counts’ column.

You can also contribute in the form of ideas for our social media portals on Facebook, Twitter and the likes. We welcome witty and original language-related one liners and ‘Blog of the Month’ suggestions.

Wish to collaborate?
Do you have exciting ideas for language and culture workshops and need a platform? Get in touch with us and we would love to hear more about it.

Write to us at bitsandpieces@bitsindia.co.in with your ideas and suggestions for an opportunity to get published!

BITS and Pieces | Vol 03 | Issue 03 | March 2017


In Focus Six and a half things to remember in Europe by Anoop Deshpande Visa. Check. Traveller money. Check. Extra pair of socks. Check. Selfie stick. Double-check. The thing about checklists is that while they are the most evident manifestation of your OCD, they can be quite handy in ensuring that your travel plan is efficient, purposeful and tantrum-free. But there is only so much a checklist can do. If a pickpocket has decided to make you his financer for the day, no checklist in the world can prevent him from doing so. So after an overdose of Facebook posts about how worthless my life is without travel and how I need to die if I don’t head to an exotic location to find some deeper meaning of life, I have decided to cave in to peer pressure and head to Europe in the summer. And that is why I need my very own checklist. Travelling to Europe in the tourist season can be quite daunting both financially and otherwise. What do I need to remember? What can I not miss? What do I need to avoid? Hence, the checklist. So for a smooth and safe journey and so that you have the right stuff to post on Facebook after your trip, here are six and a half things you simply cannot ignore. Read more...

Getting Candid

Indraja Gugle speaks to Swati Raje, writer, journalist, and founder of Bhaashaa Foundation

Swati Raje, writer, journalist, and founder of Bhaashaa Foundation;
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In an age where regional languages are rapidly losing importance in the Indian society thanks to the omnipresence of English, Swati Raje’s work comes as a gigantic boon to the preservation and enhancement of regional languages. A prolific writer, journalist and author of award-winning children’s books, academia and activism are in Raje’s blood. In 2008, she established Bhaashaa Foundation, an organisation which works towards the strengthening of regional languages through innovative community-based projects like mobile libraries, book corners in hospitals, teacher training programmes and storytelling festivals.

This month, BnP converses with Swati Raje about Bhaashaa Foundation’s interesting and holistic way of approaching language preservation and why this cultural reclamation must begin with children.

Mind Your Language

by Sandeep Nulkar

And so it seems that Corporate India takes human beings to be some kind of an object. Surprised? Me, not quite! If one uses words meant for objects when talking about humans, this is only a very hilariously logical extrapolation.

Join me this month as we dwell upon the usage of one such word that barely allows us to stay human.

Be Lingual

by Alifya Thingna

The Yoruba people are one of the largest African ethnic groups to the south of the Sahara Desert. Any guesses for what language do they speak? That’s right, Yorùbá. So join the BnP team in discovering a fact or two about this African language that is popularly spoken in West Africa, especially Nigeria and Benin.

So What's Cooking?

by Sonali Kulkarni

The culinarily challenged person’s guide to a healthy breakfast

Yes, eggs are perfect because other than the cup of coffee and those instant noodles, eggs are your perpetual hunger saviours. We get it. Just like some of us, you are culinarily challenged and you are capable of burning the house down when all you wanted to do was make a sandwich. Fret not. Healthy and yummy breakfast is just 10 minutes away.

FestiWall

by Aditi Deodhar

So you are taking a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Necker and you chance upon the spectacular sight of thousands of ducks bobbing down the river. Just like races that involve horses, camels and other livestock, we bring to you - (drumroll please) - The Tübingen Duck race, albeit with a small twist! This event is a race between the rubber ducks usually found in our bathtubs and not the usual feathered variety as one may expect.

The Road Not Taken

by Anoop Deshpande

I almost titled this article “21 random signs that you need to travel to some random place”. That would have been enough to get your curiosity. Now that I do have your curiosity, let me get your attention by getting you to read past the third sentence. Ever heard of The City? Ever wondered what city could be nicknamed City by the Bay or The Paris of the West? Let me make it simpler, by doing a pseudo-007. It’s Frisco. San Francisco.

In The News

When Indian languages are fighting a battle for survival, there are few who are working hard to keep them alive. In this issue, we salute the spirit and people behind ‘Kelyane Bhashantar,’ a tri-monthly that publishes short stories in Marathi translated from various foreign languages.

Started by Mr Vidyasagar Mahajan, Mrs Sunanda Mahajan, Dr. Vivekananda Phadke and Mrs Anagha Bhat-Behere, this tri-monthly is a virtual treat for lover of quality literature.

As is the case with such initiatives, ‘Kelyane Bhashantar’ is always in short supply when it comes to contributors, despite they being willing to pay a nominal honorarium as its reader base is limited to only a few hundred.

Let us all join hands to support this great initiative by subscribing, contributing by offering to translate short stories or by simply spreading the word.

No matter how you wish to contribute, you can get in touch with Mrs Sunanda Mahajan at mahajan.sunanda@gmail.com