DO YOU KNOW

Who invented the hand sanitizer? 

     Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel in hospitals have to necessarily wash their hands with soap and water or with some antiseptic before entering a ward so that they don’t pass on infections to the patients. 

     The story goes, that in 1966, a student-nurse interning at a hospital in California in the US saw that it was often difficult for doctors rushing from one ward to another, to find a place where they could wash their hands. It occurred to the nurse that it would be a great boon to the doctors, if instead of washing hands, they could carry an antiseptic gel that they could rub between their palms. 

     The gel, of course, would have to contain a germicide. It was well-known that ethyl alcohol is a powerful germicide. Why not create a gel with an alcohol base? The nurse, it is obvious, had inventive skills. She created an alcohol-based gel and got doctors to try it. 

     Tests showed that it worked! 

     Doctors in that hospital and later, other hospitals began to use the gel instead of washing their hands. The nurse had invented a unique sanitizer. Later, in the 1980s, the gel began to be made commercially as a hand sanitizer, for home and personal use. 

     Who was the nurse? Her name is Lupe Hernandez. She made such a valuable contribution to health care services but she remains a shadowy figure in the annals of medical history.

THE RAJAYOGI

 king Dharmapalan

     King Dharmapalan was a kind and generous ruler. His palace was grand and he had hundreds of attendants. He enjoyed all the luxuries fit for a king. But at heart he was an ascetic. So he was known as Rajayogi. 

     Once a yogi came to see him. He looked at the king's fine robes and all his paraphernalia. He was furious. “You call yourself a Rajayogi and you bask in luxury and enjoy all the pleasures. You are a hypocrite!” he said. 

     The king was unperturbed. He asked the yogi if he could serve him in any way. 

     “I'll have nothing from you," the yogi said, adding, "you are cheating the world and yourself."  

     “What should I do to be worthy of your regard?" the king asked the yogi.

     “Just leave the palace right now and come with me. I'll teach you the essence of life and how to be detached from everything around.”

     The king got up and followed him barehanded without any hesitation. They walked quietly, the yogi showing the way. Halfway through, the yogi suddenly stopped.

     “Do you need anything?” the king asked. 

     "Yes. I forgot my kamandalu. I always keep it with me.”

  

   To this the king said, "I left my entire kingdom in a second and came with you. You can't even let go of a kamandalu. I thought you were going to teach me to be truly detached. I'm surprised."

     The yogi hung his head in shame. He apologized for his rude behaviour and unkind words. He had now understood that the king was a real Rajayogi.

JULY 29

 International Tiger Day

     International Tiger Day also known as Global Tiger Day, is celebrated annually on July 29. This day raises awareness about tiger conservation. Tigers play a vital role in maintaining the balance of our ecosystems. As top predators, they help control the populations of other animals, ensuring the health and diversity of their habitats. However, tigers are an endangered species, which means they are at risk of becoming extinct.

     There are six subspecies of tigers --- Bengal, Siberian, Sumatran, Malayan, Indochinese and South China. There are currently fewer than 4,000 tigers left in the wild due to habitat loss, poaching and illegal wildlife trade. International Tiger Day draws attention to tiger's plight.

Wild Cat Facts:

* Tigers are the largest cats in the world, with 

   some males weighing over 270 kg.

* A tiger's roar can be heard from up to 3 km  

  away.

* Tigers have stripes on their fur that act as 

   camouflage in the wild. Each tiger has a unique 

   stripe pattern on its fur and no two tigers have 

   the same pattern.

* Tigers have a powerful body and can swim long 

   distances. They are excellent swimmers and 

   enjoy bathing in water to cool down.

* Tigers are excellent hunters. They are incredibly 

   fast and can run at speeds of 64 km per hour. 

   They can also leap up to 10 m in one jump!

* Tigers are solitary animals and prefer to live and 

   hunt alone.

* Tigers have retractable claws that they use for 

   climbing trees and catching prey.

* Tigers are carnivores, meaning they eat meat, 

  and their diet consists primarily of large 

  ungulates such as deer and boars.

WHEEL OF WONDER

 Giant wheel 

     IT was George W Gale Ferris, a mechanical engineer by profession, who built the world’s first giant vertical wheel for the purpose of providing rides for entertainment. Such wheels are called Ferris wheels after their inventor. 

     The very first Ferris wheel was erected at the World’s Columbian Exposition, which was held in Chicago in 1893 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ landing in America. George Ferris had to use all his powers of persuasion to get permission from the directors of the fair to erect the wheel. The directors thought it was a wild idea that would fail and give the fair a bad name. But at the same time they wanted to showcase a feat of engineering or architecture that would rival the Eiffel Tower, which was built for the World’s Fair of 1889, in Paris. So finally Ferris got the nod. 

     As it turned out, the giant wheel became the chief attraction of the fair. From the day of its inauguration on 21 June 1893, the rich and the famous and dignitaries from all walks of life queued up patiently each evening for the thrill and the privilege of being wheeled high into the air (the wheel had a diameter of 76 metres) for a breathtaking view of the city below. The wheel had 36 cars and each of them could seat 60 people, so there were 2,160 riders at any given time. While the women squealed and sometimes screamed in terror as the wheel slowly began its rotation, the men puffed at cigars and sipped champagne to cover their nervousness. But to Ferris’ credit, the wheel never gave any trouble and no one was ever hurt. It worked flawlessly till the end of the fair in November, raking in huge profits for all those associated with it. 

     Today, no country fair is complete without a Ferris wheel or a ‘giant wheel’ as we call it in India.

SMELL OF RAIN

Petrichor

     After rainfall, the  distinctive aroma is released from the soil.

     Despite being an unwelcome form of weather by many, rain is an essential event for sustaining life on Earth. Communities throughout history have always welcomed rainfall as an aid to their growing crops – and scientists think it’s for this reason that so many still enjoy the smell that follows the rain. This is called petrichor. 

     The raindrops themselves aren’t responsible for the scent that fills the air after it starts to rain. Rather, the water droplets cause various fragrant compounds to be released from the soil. As raindrops scatter over dry earth, the water traps tiny bubbles of air at the ground’s surface. These droplets then splatter, bursting the bubbles from the loose soil and carrying plant oils and other natural chemicals upwards into the air in an aerosol form.

STORMY SCENT

     Rain isn’t the only weather event that’s responsible for natural and distinctive smells. Thunderstorms produce a different scent that’s caused by a disturbance in the atmosphere. When lightning strikes through the atmosphere, nitrogen and oxygen molecules split and combine with each other to form nitric oxide and single oxygen atoms.

     These oxygen atoms then react with oxygen molecules in the air, making ozone (O₃). Ozone is a less stable molecule compared to oxygen’s elemental form (O₂). During a storm, air sinks to form downdrafts and pushes ozone lower into the atmosphere where we can smell it. It has a metallic scent, which makes it possible to identify when rain is soon to fall.

THE APPEARANCE AND THE REAL

 What makes a balloon fly?

     There was once a little black boy who had seen all his relatives and family suffer because of racial discrimination.

     Once, he went to a country fair and stood near a balloon man with lots of different coloured balloons. The man was evidently a good salesman because he allowed a red balloon to break loose and soar up high in the sky, thereby attracting a crowd of perspective young customers. 

     Then, he released a blue balloon, then a yellow one and a white one. They all went soaring up in the sky until they all disappeared. 

     The little black boy stood looking at the black balloon for a long time, and then asked, "Sir, will the black balloon also be able to fly as high as the other balloons?"

     The salesman said, "Yes, surely my dear. It is not the appearance but what is inside the balloons that makes them fly high." 

     

     It is what you are that makes you reach your destination in life and not how you are. 

SEASONAL WIND

Monsoon

     The word “monsoon” is from the Arabic word "mausim", meaning season of winds, which is often applied to the seasonal reversals of the wind direction along the shores of the Indian Ocean and surrounding regions, especially in the Arabian Sea.

     Monsoon is a seasonal wind, which changes direction twice in a year, producing weather changes mainly in India and Southeast Asia. It blows from southwest to northeast from April to October and from the northeast to the southeast and southwest from October to April. This phenomenon is similar to land and sea breezes, but on a larger scale and affecting a vast area.

     The southwest monsoon first hits the Western Ghats of Kerala, making it the first state in India to get rains. The northeast or retreating monsoon pours over the East coast of India. India is heavily dependent on the monsoon for its agricultural production.

     No other country receives as much rain as India does during the monsoons. Unfortunately we have not yet learnt how to collect this vast quantity of water efficiently and much of it runs back into the seas. As a result if the monsoon fails in any year, many parts of the country have no reserves of water to fall back on and drought descends on the land.

     The scientific measurement of rainfall in India began in 1875, when the Indian Meteorological Department was set up. The rainfall measured is that which falls on the plains. Rainfall over hilly and mountainous regions and over the oceans is still not adequately measured.

     The first observatory in the country to record rainfall was Madras Observatory in 1793. The next to do so were the observatories at Colaba Mumbai in 1826 and Shimla in 1841.

LIGHT FIDELITY

 Li-Fi

     Li-Fi, short for Light Fidelity is a wireless communication technology similar to Wi-Fi. Li-Fi uses the visible light spectrum with the help of special LED bulbs for data transmission, while Wi-Fi uses radio waves.

     Professor Harold Haas from the University of Edinburgh introduced Li-Fi to the world in 2011. Since then, companies have been developing the technology.

How does Li-Fi work?

We all know that binary information is made up of 1's and 0's. Some may consider switching on the LED light as 1 and switching it off as 0. Flicking the light on and off at an imperceptibly fast speed will cause the data to transform into binary code, transmit in the form of light and then turn to data again in our computers or mobiles.

What are the advantages of Li-Fi?

As Li-Fi uses light, it can function without causing electromagnetic interference. Hence it is useful in electromagnetic sensitive areas like aircraft, hospitals or at nuclear power plants. Another advantage is that Li-Fi is 100 times faster than Wi-Fi with speeds of up to 100 Gbps.

What are the disadvantages of Li-Fi?

Li-Fi may be fast but it depends on light visibility, therefore if the path of light is blocked by an opaque surface then the connection will be cut-off. In other words Li-Fi can be used in one room only as light cannot travel through walls. But on the plus side, it is more secure. Also the installation costs are on the higher side although maintenance costs are lower than that of Wi-Fi.

     

LOKAMANYA

 Bal Gangadhar Tilak

(23 Jul 1856 ~ 1 Aug 1920)

     Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born at Mumbai and grew up in Ratnagiri until age 10, when his father, educator and noted grammarian, took a job in Pune. At Deccan College he earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and Sanskrit. He then studied law, receiving degree in 1879 from University of Bombay.

     He started teaching mathematics in a private school in Pune. He developed the institution into a university college after founding Deccan Education Society in 1884, which aimed at educating the masses, especially in English language. He and his associates considered English to be a powerful force for dissemination of liberal & democratic ideals.

     The life members of the society were expected to follow an ideal of selfless service, but when he learned that some members were keeping outside earnings for themselves, he resigned. He turned to task of awakening political consciousness through two weekly newspapers he owned and edited: "Kesari" published in Marathi and "The Mahratta", published in English

     Through those newspapers he became widely known for bitter criticisms of British rule and of those moderate nationalists who advocated social reforms along Western lines and political reforms along constitutional lines. He believed that social reform would only divert energy away from political struggle for independence.

     He sought to widen popularity of the nationalist movement by introducing Hindu religious symbolism and by invoking popular traditions of Maratha struggle against Muslim rule. He organised two important festivals, Ganesh Chaturthi in 1893 and Shivaji Jayanti in 1895.

     His activities brought conflict with  British government, which prosecuted him for sedition and sent him to jail in 1897. The trial and sentence earned him the title Lokamanya. He was released after 18 months.

     When Lord Curzon, viceroy of India, partitioned Bengal in 1905, Tilak strongly supported Bengali demand for annulment of partition and advocated a boycott of British goods, which soon became a movement that swept the nation. The following year he set forth a program of passive resistance, known as the Tenets of the New Party, that he hoped would destroy British rule and prepare the people for sacrifice in order to gain independence.

     His approach was strong fare for the moderate Indian National Congress. He aimed at swarajya (independence), not piecemeal reforms & attempted to persuade Congress to adopt his militant program. He clashed with the moderates during the party’s session at Surat in 1907 that resulted in the party split.

     Taking advantage of the division, the government again prosecuted Tilak on a charge of sedition and inciting terrorism and deported him to Mandalay, Burma, to serve a 6-year prison sentence. Here he wrote his magnum opus: Gita Rahasya.

     Earlier, in 1893, he had published The Orion; or, Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas and a decade later, The Arctic Home in the Vedas. Both works were intended to promote Hindu culture as the successor to Vedic religion.

     On release in 1914, on eve of World War I, he again plunged into politics. He launched Home Rule League with rousing slogan 'Swarajya is my birthright and I shall have it' (Annie Besant also established an organisation with the same name at same time).

     In 1916 he rejoined Congress and signed historic Lucknow Pact, a Hindu-Muslim accord, with Mohammed Ali Jinnah. He visited England in 1918 as president of Indian Home Rule League. He realised that Labour Party was a growing force in British politics, and established firm relationships with its leaders.

     He returned home in late 1919 to attend the meeting of Congress Party at Amritsar. He advised delegates to follow policy of 'responsive cooperation' in carrying out the reforms, which introduced a certain degree of Indian participation in regional government. 

     He and Lala Lajpat Rai were instrumental in founding of All India Trade Union Congress. AITUC itself was part of the workmen struggle to demand a 10-hour working day and dearness allowance that brought together a wide spectrum of workers.

     He died before he could give the new reforms a decisive direction. In tributes, Gandhi called him 'Maker of Modern India' and Nehru described him as 'Father of the Indian Revolution'.

Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak will be always remembered as a scholar, mathematician, writer, editor, journalist, and most important as a freedom fighter.

 

PARABLE OF THE SHOE SALESMAN

 Adversities can be opportunities

     Two salesmen were sent to two different parts of the country by a shoe-manufacturing firm. The first man noticed that nobody in the area wore shoes. Disappointed, he sent a message to his manager, saying, "Nobody in this part of the country wears shoes. Hence no scope for selling shoes here."

     The second salesman also noticed the same reality, but was highly motivated by it. He sent a message to his manager informing, "Nobody in this part of the country wears shoes. Therefore, there is tremendous scope for our products. Dispatch the whole lot immediately."

     Like the two salesmen in the story, we all look out for opportunities. Most of us, like the first salesman, complain that there are no chances to promote our products, failing to notice and take advantage of the immense openings and opportunities around us, though we, in fact, live in an ocean of vast opportunities. However, we need a genuine desire as well as an open and inquisitive mind to find these prospects and utilize them.

     We must look out for opportunities and not wait for them to come and knock our door. It is said that heroes extract gold from opportunities in hand, rather than waiting for golden opportunities to be handed to them. We have to be optimistic. We must strive to turn adversities into opportunities and pursue our goals with passion. This will enable us to face challenges and succeed even in the most hostile situations.

CRUM'S CRISP FRIES

Potato chips

     In the late 19th century, New Yorkers would throng Moon's Lake House at Saratoga Springs to eat the potato fries that Chef George Crum made.

     So it came as a surprise to Crum when one day a customer complained that his fries were too thick.

     To please the customer, Crum sliced the potatoes thin but the customer continued to complain that the fries were not to his satisfaction. Finally in exasperation, Crum sliced the potatoes so thin that they couldn't be eaten with a fork. To his utter surprise, the customer loved them.

     Crum's crisp fries are what we call potato chips today.

JAPANESE ART OF FLOWER ARRANGEMENT

  Ikebana

     Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. The term Ikebana comes from two Japanese words Ikru, meaning ‘to live’ and hana, meaning ‘flowers’.

     The flowers are used in odd numbers and placed in an asymmetrical triangle. The length of the flowers in the arrangement is proportionate to the vase. Three main lengths are used to signify man, earth and heaven. The angle at which each flower is placed is different to provide rhythm and movement to the arrangement. 

     Once the basic techniques are mastered, one is free to express oneself using plant materials like branches, barks, leaves, grass, moss, flowers, fruits or even seeds. The arrangement can be made on a platter, a vase, a cup, a wine glass or on anything that catches one’s fancy.

     What makes Ikebana different from other flower arrangements is its asymmetrical composition, the use of ‘empty’ space and lack of clutter. 'Less' is regarded as 'plenty'. One can create a beautiful arrangement with just one flower.

     Ikebana brings one close to nature. One gets to know the feel and texture of various flowers and the seasons when they are in bloom. The art instills patience and discipline and is a good stress buster, especially when one is bogged down by homework and studies. It teaches one to be in the present, and as an arrangement does not last long, one learns not to become attached to things. 

     Last but not the least, when one realises that one can create a good Ikebana arrangement with only a few flowers, one understands that it is possible to have a good life with only a few possessions.

AN IMPORTANT PROCESS IN FLOWERING PLANTS

 Pollination

     Did you know that some of the delicious fruits you enjoy are the result of the hard work put in by a tiny insect?  

     Pollen is a fine powdery yellow substance produced by flowers. The pollen from one flower has to be transported to another flower of the same species for fertilisation tooccur. A few plants disperse their pollen, aided by the wind. Aquatic plants float their pollen on water, but most plants depend on animal couriers. Mangoes, peaches, apples and a host of other fruits and vegetables are pollinated by bees and other insects such as wasps, moths, butterflies, flies, birds and even mammals like bats. In fact, some plants and their pollinators are so mutually dependent that one cannot live without the other!

Trick and Treat: Flowering plants have a number of lures to attract pollinators. Dazzling colours, heady fragrances, loads of sugary nectar and convenient perches are a few of them. Plants have also adapted their arsenals to suit the creatures visiting them. Blooms pollinated by nocturnal moths are white, large, showy and sweetly scented. They also have lots of nectar. Flowers pollinated by bats are flamboyant, and white or light-coloured since their visitors are nocturnal like the moths. Flowers that attract bees are usually yellow, blue and purple.

The Real Deal: There are 20,000 different species of bees! Of course, not all of them pollinate crops valuable to us. However, nearly three fourths of crop species that provide us food are bee-pollinated. A few among these are almond, cocoa, coffee, strawberries, avocado, mango, kiwi fruit, cashew, onions and tomatoes. 

     Pollination-dependent crops are five times as valuable as those that do not need pollination—their produce is worth between US$235 and US$577 billion a year. The volume of agricultural production dependent on pollinators has increased by 300 per cent in the last 50 years. 

  Wild pollinators: Wild pollinators are twice as effective as honeybees which have been raised for this purpose (known as ‘managed’ honeybees). The fruits and seeds are superior in every way, including nutrition, and the yield is much greater. Commercial apiaries (an apiary raises bees on a large scale) not only produce honey and beeswax, but also rent out their hives to farmers for pollination. For instance, California’s almond farms require almost a million beehives for pollination! The Latest Buzz: There has been a drastic decline in the population of wild bees and other wild pollinators. Not only have their habitats been degraded or destroyed, climate change has also had a devastating effect. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events have led plants to bloom at odd times when pollinators are absent or few, depriving the plants of fertilisation and the pollinators of food when they need it! Intensive agriculture (growing just one crop at a time) and the widespread use of pesticides have also led to a decrease in wild pollinators.

World Bee Day: Anton Janša is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern apiculture. 

     Janša was born in 1734 in Slovenia. His family owned more than a hundred beehives, so although he was a talented painter, he took up professional beekeeping. He designed a new beehive, perfected the techniques of producing honey and wrote books on apiculture. The United Nations decided to observe Janša’s birthday on 20 May as World Bee Day in 2017.

FACT FILE:

◆ The paw-paw, a fruit native to the US, depends on flies for pollination. Farmers hang rotten meat from the tree to draw in even more of them.

◆ Bats pollinate more than 300 species of fruit-bearing plants, including mangoes, bananas and guavas.

◆ Colony Collapse Disorder is a phenomenon affecting honeybee colonies in commercial apiaries. The colony suddenly dies with no healthy adult bees remaining. The bees leave the hive to collect nectar and pollen but never return.

◆ Plants can be pollinated by hand when there is a lack of natural pollinators. The pollen is transferred manually from the stamen of one flower to the pistil of another, using a cotton swab or small brush.

GHOST TOWN

 Kuldhara

     Kuldhara is a charming but deserted village, very close to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. People call it a ghost town. Until the 19th century, Kuldhara was a prosperous village. It was established in the 13th century by the Paliwal Brahmins, who had migrated from Pali. 

     No one knows why the village was deserted all of a sudden. Some say it was because of drought, others attribute it to an earthquake and still others to Salim Singh, a powerful minister of the then state of Jaisalmer, who took delight in harassing the villagers with his unscrupulous tax collecting ways. 

     It is said that Salim Singh’s roving eyes fell on the beautiful daughter of the village headman. He tried to take her away by force but was prevented by her father and some villagers. Infuriated, he warned the people that he would levy steeper taxes if they dared to come in his way again. The villagers panicked and as night fell, they packed their belongings and quietly trooped out of the village. Kuldhara hasn’t been inhabited ever since. Many believe that this is because the villagers had cursed the place before leaving, saying that it would never be inhabited again. 

     People visiting or travelling through Kuldhara have reported hearing about people meeting with strange deaths if they tried to live there. Many have supposedly heard spooky sounds and seen ghosts walking about at night. 

     Ruins of empty houses, stepwells, temples and other community structures with pretty carvings stand as silent sentinels today. Kuldhara now enjoys the status of a heritage site and is being maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. As the exodus took place on Raksha Bandhan, no member of the Paliwal Brahmin community celebrates the festival.

FIVE IMPORTANT MAXIMS

 Parable of the pencil

       The pencil maker took the pencil aside, just before putting it into the box. 

     "There are five things you need to know," he told the pencil, "before I send you into the world. Always remember them, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

     One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand.

     Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil. 

     Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

     Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.

     Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave a mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

     Now, replacing "pencil" with "you" always remember the five maxims listed above.

     

DO YOU KNOW

 What is dry ice and what are its uses?

     Dry ice is the common name for the solidified (frozen) form of Carbon dioxide. It is so called because it does not melt into a liquid, but changes directly from solid to gaseous form when heated, in a process known as sublimation.

     Because of its extremely cold temperature -78⁰C, dry ice is very useful for refrigeration. Its main use is as a cooling agent. Being simple to use and easy to handle using insulated gloves, as well as non-toxic and completely dry, it is widely used as a refrigerant to ship frozen or medical products or to cool materials during production. Food-grade dry ice can also be put into beverages to cool them (but must not be eaten or swallowed).

     Another important use of dry ice is for blast cleaning, an effective and environment-friendly way to clean industrial equipment. This method involves shooting pellets of dry ice from a jet nozzle on to the equipment or machinery to be cleaned. This effectively removes residues of materials such as ink, glue, oil, paint etc.

     An interesting use of dry ice is in fog machines. When it is kept in water, sublimation ensues, creating dense clouds of smoke-like fog. This is very useful for dramatic effects in stage plays, dances etc. Hence fog machines containing dry ice are used in night clubs, theatres, film shooting sets and amusement parks.

     Dry ice is also an excellent material to enliven science lessons and is commonly used in school projects to make a volcano, a cloud chamber etc. 

HISTORICAL EVENT OF THE MONTH

 Fall of Bastille

     On July 14, 1789, a group of revolutionaries stormed and captured the Bastille, a medieval fortress in Paris that was used as a French state prison. The Bastille was a symbol of the tyranny of the reigning Bourbon monarchy and held an important place in the ideology of the French revolution, which in turn changed the face of modern politics across Europe and the world.

     In 1880, the French government passed a law declaring July 14 a public holiday. Since then, the day has been commemorated as La Fete Nationale, or Bastille Day in English, across France and French-speaking areas.

INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION'S

 Chandrayan-3

     The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched the Chandrayaan-3 to the Moon as per schedule at 2:35 p.m today at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.   Chandrayaan-3, India's third lunar          exploration mission, will make India the fourth country to land its spacecraft on the surface of the moon and demonstrate the country's abilities for safe and soft landings on lunar surfaces. 

     This will be the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing in 2019. 

     The 'Launch Rehearsal', simulating the entire launch preparation and process, has been concluded by the ISRO. 

     The mission will propel the lunar spacecraft towards a trajectory to the Moon. The mission readiness review committee of ISRO had given its clearance for liftoff, as all the necessary parameters for a successful launch had been met. Following the committee's approval, the launch authorisation board had also granted permission for the Chandrayaan-3 mission to proceed. If all goes according to plan, the 43.5-meter LVM-3 launch rocket will send the spacecraft into an elliptical Earth orbit before it begins its journey towards the Moon. The scheduled landing near the lunar south pole is expected to occur around August 23. 

     The LVM-3 is a heavy-lift launch vehicle renowned for its ability to carry a substantial payload into space. It is the most powerful rocket developed by ISRO and stands unrivaled in its class. Known as the 'Bahubali' of rockets, the LVM-3 is a three-stage rocket equipped with two solid-fuel boosters and a liquid-fuel core stage. The solid-fuel boosters provide the initial thrust, while the liquid-fuel core stage ensures sustained thrust to propel the rocket into orbit. 

     The mission involves a 2-meter tall lander designed to deploy a rover near the lunar south pole region. The rover is expected to operate for approximately two weeks, conducting a series of experiments. 

     ISRO's previous mission, Chandrayaan-2, successfully deployed an orbiter in 2020. However, its lander and rover were unfortunately destroyed in a crash near the intended touchdown site of Chandrayaan-3. 

     To date, only the Soviet Union, the United States, and China have achieved successful soft landings on the Moon. This launch by ISRO marks the country's first major mission following the Centre's announcement of policies aimed at promoting investment in private space launches and satellite-based businesses.

THE MUD FESTIVAL OF GOA

  Chikal Kalo

     The Marcel Devaki Krishna temple hosts the Chikal Kalo, or mud festival, in the rainy season. Wet mud is referred to as chikal. The villagers celebrate Lord Krishna's joyful nature by dancing and engaging in activities in the muddy, rainy monsoon muck. 

     Men congregate at the temple to worship while dousing their bodies with oil. Chikal Kalo (or Chikhalkala) is a monsoon celebration. It is observed in the premises of the Devki-Krishna temple in Marcel, a village in North Goa's Ponda Taluka. The celebration of Chikhal Kalo is distinctive to the village of Marcel; here, everyone unites despite their differences to sing devotional songs and engage in a variety of sports to mark the occasion. 

     It is thought that it was historically commemorated in Marcel as a representation of the young Lord Krishna, who adored playing with his pals in Vrindavan. The Devaki-Krishna temple in Marcel serves as the backdrop for the entire action.

How is Chikal Kalo celebrated?

Village men start the festivities by applying oil to themselves. Then enjoyable games and pastimes are performed, evoking the games that Lord Krishna and his companions used to play when they were kids. Music played on traditional Goan instruments enhances the joyful mood. Sweets, particularly puran poli, are given out to everyone on the occasion. The playing of dahi handi marks the festival's conclusion. The village's younger residents get together to create a human pyramid. Later, they break the clay butter pot that is fastened to a at a height. This celebratory event is a vibrant and young demonstration of youth. All participants leave their everyday concerns and join in the joyful celebration, savoring the moment whole-heartedly.

DO YOU KNOW

 Where are the ghost mountains?

     In Antarctica. It is the nickname for the 1,200km-long Gamburtsev mountain range on the icy continent. It is named so because it is buried under four kilometres of snow. It was discovered when ice penetrating radar equipment was used.

     It was discovered in 1958 by Soviet geophysicist Grigoriy A. Gamburtsev. In 2008-2009, a multinational team of experts embarked on a mission called the AGAP (Antarctica's Gamburtsev Province) to map the sub-glacial range. Aircraft loaded with remote-sensing equipment criss-crossed the area, flying 120,000km, that is about three trips around the globe! It collected data about the ice thickness and radar images of the rock bed and conducted gravity and magnetic surveys. The findings revealed a jagged landscape not unlike the Alps of Europe. The project explored 20% of the East Antarctic ice sheet.

     It is yet not known how the mountain was formed, but it is estimated to be several million years old.

SNAKES AND LADDERS IN HINDU PHILOSOPHY

Mokshapatam

     The game was associated with traditional Hindu philosophy  contrasting karma and kama, or destiny and desire. It emphasized destiny, as opposed to games such as pachisi, which focused on life as a mixture of skill and luck.

     The ladders represented virtues such as generosity, faith and humility while the snakes represented vices such as lust, anger, murder and theft.

      In the original game the squares of virtue are: Faith(12), Reliability (51), Generosity (57), Knowledge (76) & Asceticism (78).

     The squares of vice or evil are: Disobedience (41), Vanity (44), Vulgarity (49), Theft(52), Lying (58), Drunkenness (62), Debt (69), Murder(73), Rage (84), Greed (92), Pride (95) & Lust (99)

     These were the squares where the snake waited with its mouth open. The 100th square represented Nirvana or Moksha. The tops of each ladder depict a God, or one of the various heavens (Kailas, Vaikunth, Brahmalok) and so on.

     The morality lesson of the game was that a person can attain Moksha through doing good, whereas by doing evil one will inherit rebirth to lower forms of life.

     The numbers of ladders was less than the number of snakes as a reminder that a path of good actions is much more difficult to tread than a path of sins.

     Presumably, reaching the last square number 100 represented the attainment of Moksha (liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth). 

TO BECOME PART OF THE DIVINE

Do a good deed

     A wise and successful man bought a beautiful house with a huge orchard. But not all were happy for him. An envious man lived in an old house next to him. He constantly tried to make his fellow neighbour’s stay in the beautiful house as miserable as possible. He also threw garbage under the neighbour’s gate as well as did numerous other nasty things. 

     One fine day the wise man woke up in a good mood and went out onto the porch to notice buckets of garbage thrown there. The man then took a broom and bucket and cleaned his porch without a word of complaint. He later carried another bucket and went to knock on his envious neighbour’s door. The envious neighbour heard a knock at his door and gleefully thought, “I finally got him!”. He answered his door ready to quarrel with his successful neighbour. However the wiseman gave him a bucket of freshly picked apples saying, “The one who is rich in something, shares it with others.”

Moral: If you repay evil with evil, there is no difference between you and the person who has done evil to you. If you choose to repay evil with good deeds, then you become part of the Divine.

JOURNEY INTO LIGHT

Sir Chandrashekhar Venkat Raman

     Sir C. V. Raman, the first Asian to win a Nobel Prize in Science, was foremost among the Indian scientists who contributed to the understanding of light. His discovery known as the Raman effect gave human kind a technique to use light to look into the smallest building block of matter, the molecule. 

Early Life: Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman was born on 7 November, 1888 at Tiruchirappally in the Madras Presidency (Tamil Nadu). He was the second child of Parvati Amma and Chandrasekhar Iyer, a lecturer in Physics and Mathematics. Raman was a brilliant student. He completed his BA from Presidency College, Madras at the age of 15. He graduated with honours, winning a gold medal in Physics. He completed his MA with distinction from the same college when he was hardly 18. Raman topped the Civil Service competitive examination and in 1907, he was posted as Assistant Accountant General in Calcutta. One day, while travelling to his office by tram, he noticed a sign board on a building that said, ‘Indian Association for Cultivation of Science’ (IACS). It was a private science institute established by Mahendralal Sircar. He got down from the tram and obtained permission to work there. The institute later became the springboard for his groundbreaking research.

     The institute had many unused scientific apparatus. Using these instruments, Raman started working on various problems in sound and light without any guidance. He followed a gruelling schedule; he would reach the institute everyday by 5.30 am, work till 9.30 am, go home for a quick meal and then go to his office. He would be back at the institute by 5p.m. and return home only by 10p.m. He would spend the entire Sunday at the laboratory. Soon Raman started to publish high-quality research papers in international journals and became famous in the scientific world. 

     In 1917, Raman resigned from his well paying government job to become the first Palit Professor of Physics (a highly respected teaching post) at the Calcutta University. At the same time, he continued working at IACS. Students flocked to work under him, drawn by his fame and brilliance. 

The Blue Sea: In 1921, he sailed to London to represent his university at the Assembly of Universities. While returning by steamer, Raman was fascinated by the deep blue colour of the Mediterranean Sea. Lord Raleigh (a Physics Nobel laureate) had already established that the blue colour of the sky was due to the scattering of light by air and dust molecules in the atmosphere. The blue component of light gets scattered the most, giving the sky its characteristic blue colour. Scientists explained that the blue colour of the sea was simply the reflection of the blue sky in the water. 

     Raman refused to accept the explanation. He conducted some simple experiments on board using a nicol prism and showed that the blue colour of the sea was caused by the scattering of sunlight by the water molecules. 

Effective discovery: Raman continued his light-scattering studies with different liquids using his home-made equipment in the IACS labs. Using optical filters, Raman passed a strong light beam of a single colour through a liquid and observed the light scattered by the liquid through a spectrograph. His studies yielded an unexpected result. A very small portion of the deflected light actually changed colour from the original light. This phenomenon was later named Raman effect. The change in colour of the scattered light was indicative of the molecule which scattered the light and thus became a tool to understand that molecule. 

     Raman made his discovery on 28 February, 1928.  Two years later, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, making him the first Indian and non-white to receive a Nobel Prize in science. Raman also studied X-Ray scattering and published papers in the field of musical instruments. Many awards and recognitions came his way. He was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society in 1924, knighted in1929 and was awarded the Franklin medal in 1942. Raman joined the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore in 1934 as its first Indian director. In 1949, he established the Raman Research Institute. He continued to teach and mentor students till he passed away in 1970.

A moment that highlights Raman's commitment towards his work: When Raman was invited to Rashtrapati Bhavan to receive the Bharat Ratna on 27January, 1955, he wrote to the then Indian President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, expressing his inability to attend the function. He said he was busy supervising the thesis of his student and he thought that the job of mentoring his student was far more important than being present for the award function!

Facts: 

* India observes National Science Day on 28February to honour Raman’s discovery.

* Dr. G. Venkataraman’s biography of Sir C. V. Raman is aptly titled Journey into Light. 

TO BUILD THE LADDER OF SUCCESS

 Stop Drifting and Start Rowing

     Jesse Owens was the first American track and field athlete to win four gold medals; attained at the 1936 Olympic Games.

     Jesse was born with scrawny legs. But one day, the man who was known as the fastest runner in the world, Charlie Paddock, came to his school. Addressing the boys Paddock said, “You can be what you want to be in life. Decide what you want to be. Then go to God, and ask Him to help you to become what you want to be.” The words of Paddock penetrated the young Jesse’s consciousness. And he felt as if an electric current had passed through his entire being. He went out to the playground, and started jumping. He kept on and on jumping. In this upbeat mood, he met the sports coach, and said to him, “I have a dream to be the fastest man alive, like Charlie Paddock!” The coach patted the boy, and said to him, “It is good to have a dream. But you must build a ladder to reach that dream - a ladder made up of four things: determination, dedication, discipline, and a positive attitude.” 

     The rest is history. Jesse Owens built this ladder. The dream he cherished finally came true as he won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. 

     Albert Einstein once said, “A ship is always safe at shore; but that is not what it’s built for.” Often we find ourselves just idling, and drifting along with the current. Once we stop drifting in our lives, we can become more purposeful. Our actions will be much more goal-oriented, propelling us to fulfil our dreams. Remember, an ambitious dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work. So stop drifting, and start pursuing your dreams with passion!

DO YOU KNOW

 How the human ear works?

     An advanced and very sensitive organ of the human body, the ear performs two important functions. One is that of facilitating hearing by collecting sounds and sending the sound signals to the brain, and the other is that of maintaining equilibrium (balance).

     The ear has three sections: the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. The outer ear consists of the pinna--- the projecting part or flap of the ear, and the auditory canal, where ear wax is produced. Wax lubricates and protects the ear. 

     Sound waves enter the ear through the pinna and travel through the auditory canal towards the middle ear. Here, they strike a membrane called the eardrum, which separates the outer ear from the middle ear. This causes the sound vibrations, which enter the cochlea, a small, snail shaped tube in the inner ear. The cochlea is lined with sensitive cells covered with tiny hair. When sound reaches the cochlea, the vibrations cause the hair on the cells to move, creating nerve signals which the brain recognises as sound.

     The inner ear also has the function of maintaining the balance of the body. It contains sensitive hair cells and a fluid called endolymph, which fluctuates in response to the movement of head. This sets up impulses in nerve fibres that lead to the brain. The brain then sends messages to muscles in all parts of the body to ensure that equilibrium is maintained.

MOUSE MAN

Douglas Carl Engelbart

     Douglas Carl Engelbart was born in Portland, Oregon on 30 January, 1925. During his college days, he was drafted into the United States Navy and sent to the Philippines as a radar technician. While serving there, he read the article 'As we may think' by Vannevar Bush, an American electrical engineer and inventor who was known for his work on analog computers. Douglas was so impressed by Bush's article that he decided to become an electrical engineer and take up a job that would enable him to augment or enhance human intellect using computer technology.

     After he returned from the Philippines , Douglas completed his doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of California in Berkeley. While working as an assistant professor there, his long cherished dream of augmenting human intellect began to haunt him. At that time, computers were specialised machines that only trained scientists could operate. Douglas saw computers as a way for ordinary people to enhance their intellect. He would imagine users sitting at display 'working stations', flying through information space and harnessing their collective intelligence to solve pressing global problems.

     A year later, Douglas left the university and joined the Stanford Research Institute, where his report on 'Augmenting Human Intellect: A Concept Framework' led to the establishment of the Augmentation Research Centre at Stanford. Together with his team of researchers at the centre, he developed a number of interactive information systems that helped to make the computer a user friendly tool. 

     In the 1960s, Douglas invented the computer mouse. He did not like the light pen that people used at the time to point out at things on a computer screen, and so he made a pointing device which comprised a wooden shell, two metal wheels and a connecting cord. The cord resembled the tail of a mouse and gave rise to the device being nicknamed 'mouse'. 

     In 1968, he patented the mouse but it came to be used commercially only in the 1980s. Although Douglas received several awards in his lifetime, he did not get any royalties for inventing the mouse.