THE FOREST MAN OF INDIA

Jadav Molai Payeng

     HERO…Well defining the word HERO is difficult. Superman and Batman are heroes to us, our teacher who always believes in us is a hero to us, our mom, dad, sister and brother who works tirelessly to provide for the family are heroes to us. The definition of a hero is left to interpretation. 

     Who do you think of when you hear the word hero? Well, heroes come from all walks of life. Everyone who we admire and idolize, is a hero to us. One thing is certain: we want to believe in heroes, but we’ve been going about it the wrong way. 

     Heroes are the ones who act nobly. Their lives inspire us. Therefore it is important for us to know the unsung heroes of our country who are impacting thousands of lives, changing the way we think, and making India truly a better place.

     Here's a story of one such hero who has achieved extraordinary feats and moved our country forward.

     This man, Jadav Payeng, rightly called "forest man of India", single-handedly converted a washed-out land into a 1,360-acre forest. 

     Almost three decades ago, a teenager, after noticing the deaths of a large number of reptiles due to lack of tree cover, started planting Bamboo in an area that had been washed away by floods. Today, that same land hosts 1,360 acres of Jungle called Molai Forest, named after Jadav “Molai” Payeng, the man who made this possible single-handedly!

     He was 16 when the catastrophic flood hit Assam destroying crops, vegetation, and wildlife. Payeng observed that the flow of migratory birds eventually started to decline to the forest areas and wetlands near his home and snakes and other reptiles were disappearing in large numbers. When he asked his village elders, they told him that with a decline in forest cover and deforestation, animals lost their habitats. In order to restore wildlife, the only solution was to build new homes or forests for the animals. He informed the forest department but they asked him to plant trees himself. So that's what he did. He located a riverine island, on the banks of River Brahmaputra, and began to plant the saplings. Payeng visited the island and planted a few saplings every day for three decades.

     Transforming the area into a forest was not a piece of cake. He experienced tough and difficult challenges. The odds were against him but he didn't give up. One of those obstacles was watering the growing area. Watering the area proved to be vast for one man. He could not draw water from the river and water all the growing plants. But that never stopped him.

     He came up with a brilliant idea. He built a bamboo platform on the top of each sapling and placed earthen pots with small holes in them. The water would gradually drip on the plants below and water them through the week. With his "never quit" attitude he conquered all those challenges and obstacles.

     In 1980, he started working with the social forestry division of Golaghat district when they launched a scheme of tree plantation on 200 hectares. Payeng was one of the labourers who worked on that 5-year-long project. When the project was completed other workers left but he chose to stay to look after the plants and he continued to plant more trees on his own, in an effort to remodel the area into a forest.

     Payeng was honoured at a public function arranged by the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University on 22nd April 2012 for his noteworthy achievement. The vice-chancellor of JNU Sudhir Kumar Sopory named him as "Forest Man of India". In October 2013, he was honoured at the Indian Institute of Forest Management during their annual event ‘Coalescence’.

     In 2015, he was honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India. He received honorary doctorate degrees from Assam Agricultural University and Kaziranga University for his contributions.

     He started as a 16 year old boy, Today he is 57 and lives in his own forest, which is now also home to Bengal tigers, Indian rhinoceros, over 100 deer, and rabbits, besides apes and several varieties of birds, including a large number of vultures. The forest department wanted to employ him but he refused because he believed he wouldn’t be able to pay attention to the cause if he was bound by responsibilities.

     Isn’t it fascinating to see the willpower of this man who fought alone and won the battle single-handedly? Where we don’t hesitate to cut trees for our luxuries, he sacrificed all the worldly pleasures to save the environment and the ecosystem. Our country needs more such heroes who are trying to make Earth a better place.

NATIONAL PARK OF KERALA

The Silent Valley National Park 

The Silent Valley, a national park in Kerala, is one of the last undisturbed tracts of South Western Ghats montane rainforests in India. Located in the Nilgiri Hills in Kerala’s Palakkad district, it is part of the Western Ghats, a chain of mountains traversing six states and covering an area of 1,40,000 sq km, that is internationally recognized as a region of immense global importance for the conservation of biological diversity and designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The Silent Valley national park has a core area of 89.52 sq km. A surrounding area of 148 sq km has been designated a buffer zone to protect the park’s rare flora and fauna. The park is home to 41 mammal, 211 bird, 49 reptile, 47 amphibian, 12 fish, 164 butterfly, and 400 moth species. Its most famous resident is the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca Silenus), a monkey endemic to the Western Ghats, that ranks among the rarest and most threatened primates in the world.

Other animals found here include the tiger, leopard cat, brown palm civet, small flying squirrel, Indian pangolin, and mouse deer. Rare birds spotted include the Nilgiri wood-pigeon, the great Indian hornbill, the Nilgiri flycatcher and the white-bellied shortwing.

The park is a roughly rectangular tableland closed on all sides, with high and continuous ridges along its entire east, north, and northeast borders and a somewhat lower ridge along the entire western and southern border. A perennial river named Kuntipuzha originates from the south-western edge of the Nilgiri mountain mass and flows through the western side of the park. Along its entire length, the plateau slopes toward the bed of the Kuntipuzha, which divides itinto two sectors. The valley is drained by five main tributaries of the Kuntipuzha that originate near the eastern border and flow westwards.

There are many legends about how the Silent Valley got its name. The most popular one is that this is a distorted or Anglicised version of its original name, Sairandhrivanam, literally ‘forest of Sairandhri’. Sairandhri or Draupadi was the wife of the Pandavas in the Mahabharata, and she and her husbands are believed to have hidden in this forest while escaping their cruel cousins, the Kauravas. Another version attributes the name to the unearthly silence of the valley due to the absence of cicadas, whose noisy, constant buzzing is a typical feature of normal rainforests.

The Silent Valley shot into the limelight in 1973 when the Kerala State Electricity Board initiated a hydroelectric project here that involved building a dam across the Kuntipuzha river, which in turn would flood 8.3 sq km of virgin rainforest and threaten the habitat of the lion-tailed macaque. The decision engendered a storm of protest as environmentalists and intellectuals joined the fray, bringing the matter to public attention at the international level.

Thus was born the Save Silent Valley movement, a high-profile campaign against the project that went on to become India’s fiercest environmental movement over the next two decades. Eventually the project was cancelled and the SilentValley was formally notified as a national park in 1984. The Silent Valley National Park was formally inaugurated on September 7, 1985.

FATHERS OF MODERN AVIATION

The Wright Brothers

 

Orville and Wilbur were two American brothers, inventors and aviation pioneers. They were recognised for inventing and building the world’s first successful airplane. 

The Wright brothers gained the mechanical skills essential for their success by working for years in printing presses, and by working with machinery related to bicycles, motors etc. Their work with bicycles in particular influenced their belief that an unstable vehicle like a flying machine could be controlled and balanced with practice. 

Early life: Wilbur was born on April 16, 1867 and Orville was born on August 19, 1871 in Indiana. Wilbur and Orville Wright grew up in a close, caring family. Their mother Susan was warm, loving, protective, and encouraged the intellectual interest of her children. The Wright brothers had their share of squabbles, like siblings everywhere. But they were much closer than most of the children. 

Education and career: Both brothers attended high school, but did not receive diplomas. The family's unexpected move from Richmond, Indiana to Dayton in 1884 prevented Wilbur from receiving his diploma after finishing four years of high school. Orville dropped out of high school after his junior year to start a printing business in 1889, having designed and built his own printing press with Wilbur's help. They launched a weekly newspaper, the West Side News. Capitalizing on the national bicycle craze, the brothers opened a repair and sales shop, the Wright Cycle Exchange in 1892, and later changed the name to Wright Cycle Company and began manufacturing their own brand in 1896. 

Developing the airplane: The Wright brothers closely followed the research of the German aviator, Otto Lilienthal. When Lilienthal died in a glider crash, the brothers decided to start their own experiments with flight. Determined to develop their own successful design, Wilbur and Orville headed to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina known for its strong winds. Wilbur and Orville set to work trying to figure out how to design wings for flight. They observed that birds angled their wings for balance and control, and tried to emulate this, developing a concept called "wing warping".

The Wright brothers found the magic formula when they added a movable rudder, and on December 17, 1903, they succeeded in flying the first free, controlled flight of a power-driven airplane. Wilbur flew the plane for 59 seconds at 852 feet. It was accepted by the government.

Awards and graduations: The Wright brothers received awards on three separate occasions: Cogressional Medal of Honour awarded on June 17, 1909, Legion of Honour, awarded on June 20, 1909, Collier Trophy awarded on February 3, 1914. All totalled, there were 15 honorary degrees awarded to one or both of the brothers. 

Later years: Wilbur passed away on May 30, 1912. After his brother's loss Orville gave up his interest in manufacturing. His chief public activity was in service on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the government agency that came before NASA, until his death in Dayton on January 30, 1948.

AN AMAZING HOUSE

Fujian Tulou 

This incredible house - architecture is called as Fujian Tulou. It is located in the mountainous regions and is the best preserved example of the earthen houses in China. Fujian Tulou is a property of 46 buildings constructed between the 15th and 20th centuries. 

Fujian architecture is the symbol of harmonious relationships with the environment; Tulou becomes an outstanding Illustration of human settlement. Several storeys high, they are built along an internal-looking, circular or square square floor plan. Each storey houses 100 families which count up to 800 people. 

They use wooden floor boards, ridgepoles and girders and are covered with a tiled roof. They were built for defense purposes around a central open courtyard with only one entrance and windows to the outside. Housing a whole clan, the houses function as village units and were known as "a little kingdom for the family" or "bustling small city".

A common characteristic of these houses is the long construction period which usually lasted two or three years. The resulting structures are proof against wind, water and earthquakes. Another characteristic feature is their ordinary arrangement of the rooms. 

WORLD FAMOUS FESTIVALS OF INDIA

Ratha Yatra 

     Ratha Yatra is a major Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath (another name of Lord Krishna) held at Puri, in Odisha, India, during the months of June or July. This year, it will be celebrated on Sunday, 7th July 2024. 

     The Puri Ratha Yatra is world famous and attracts more than one million pilgrims every year, not only from India but also from the different parts of the world. Ratha Yatra in other words the Chariot procession is a festival that symbolises equality and integration. 

     The three deities, Lord Jagannath, his elder brother, Lord Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra are worshipped within the temple. But on this festival, they are taken to the streets of Puri so that everyone can have their glimpse. The three deities make an annual journey to their aunt's temple (Gundicha Temple), 2km away from Lord Jagannath temple. The Jagannath Temple in Puri is one among the many sacred temples in India. 

    The festival begins with the invoking ceremony in the morning and the chariot pulling on the roads of Puri in the afternoon is the most exciting part of the festival. The three deities have three different chariots. 

     The chariot of Lord Jagannath, Nandighosha, has 18 wheels and is 45.6 feet high, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra, Taladhwaja has 16 wheels and is 45 feet high and the chariot of Subhadra, Devadalana has 14 wheels and is 44.6 feet high. Every year, wooden temples like chariots are constructed newly. The idols of these three deities are also made of wood and they are religiously replaced by new ones in every 12 years. 

UFO

Unidentified Flying Object 🛸

You must have seen movies and books featuring saucer shaped discs that hover the ground and are filled with weird looking creatures. In books and movies, the weird looking creatures are aliens from outer space, and the discs are space ships from another planet - or UFOs. The term UFO means an Unidentified Flying Object, and UFOs are one of the great mysteries that have fascinated man for centuries. 

Even in ancient times, people looked up to the skies and saw objects that were not stars or celestial bodies. Today UFO sightings are more common than ever. Practically every country in the world has sent in reports of UFO sightings. In many cases, they can be explained as weather balloons, lightning, rockets, birds, atmospheric disturbances - and some have been proved to be hoaxes too. But in 5% of the cases, there is no scientific explanation. 

DO YOU KNOW

How was the first artificial sweetner invented?

The first artificial sweetner to be invented was saccharin. Russian chemist Constantin Fahlberg is credited with this invention, which was actually accidental. In the late 1870s, Fahlberg was working with another chemist, Ira Remsen. Together, they were studying substances derived from coal tar. 

One evening, Fahlberg returned returned home and sat down for dinner. As he bit into a roll, he found it sweet. He asked his wife about this, but she claimed that her rolls were perfectly normal. Fahlberg then tasted his fingers. They were sweet. 

He rushed back to his lab and began checking up all that he had done that day. He found that he had accidentally invented a substance that was as sweet as sugar, but had no fattening effects like sugar. He named this substance 'saccharin'. It caught on commercially and Fahlberg grew rich. 

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL MULTI-SPORT EVENT 2024

Paris Olympics

Journey of how Olympic Sports events started: According to ancient Greek mythology and history, the origins of the ancient Olympic Games date back as far as 3000 years ago when track race competitions and games were held across 5 days as part of the religious celebrations in honor of their God Zeus. The Modern Olympic Games, as they are known today, were revived by the efforts of Pierre De Coubertin, a French physical educator, with the first games being opened by the king of Greece in the first week of April 1896. 

There have been 30 Modern Summer Olympic games held every four years since 1896, except for those in 1940 and 1944 which could not be held due to the ongoing World War. Since 1924, the Modern Winter Olympic games have been held on a staggered two-year schedule after the Summer Olympics. Since 1960, the Paralympic Olympic games, held for the participation of athletes with a range of disabilities, were added as a part of the schedule for the Summer Olympics. They are also held every four years, with their participation increasing from 400 disabled athletes from 23 countries in 1960 to 4520 disabled athletes from 163 countries in 2020.

Women Power: Though the ancient Olympic games did not allow girls and women to participate, since 1900, the Modern Olympic games introduced the participation of women, with 22 women out of the 997 athletes participating in the games the same year. Since then, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made committed efforts to increase women's participation at the Olympics, and it also strives hard to promote gender equality in sports. The London 2012 Olympic schedule was the first one in which women participated in all of the sports on the programme. The latest Olympics - Tokyo 2020 saw 5409 women participate out of the total 11,319 athletes. 

Why Paris and not France? The honor of hosting these Olympic games is entrusted to a city (not a country) which is decided by the IOC. The host must promise that every competitor shall be given free entry without any discrimination on grounds of religion, gender, colour, or political affiliation. 

Which sports will we see: The Paris 2024 Olympic schedule comprises more than  30 Sports, i.e., Archery, Gymnastics, Artistic Swimming, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Breaking, Canoe events, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Football, Golf, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Swimming events, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Rugby, sailing, Shooting, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Surfing, Table tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Trampoline, Triathlon, Volleyball, Water Polo, Weightlifting, with about 10,000 to 11,000 athletes from over 200 countries participating in these games. They will be shown live on the television. These games bring so many different people across the world together in the same spirit of hope, perseverance, hard work, dedication, joy, and the pride and exhilaration of representing their homeland on the world stage. 

The Olympic symbol consists of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions, used alone, in one or in five different colours, which are, from left to right blue, yellow, black, green, red. The Olympic rings express the activity of the Olympic movement and represent the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic games. 

Olympic Phryge and the Paralympic Phryge are the Mascots of Paris Olympics 2024.

DO YOU KNOW

What causes lightning and thunder?

Have you ever wondered why we have thunder and lightning during storms? Well, this is because when clouds move around in the sky, they bump into each other and create electricity. This electricity builds up until it suddenly bursts out in a big flash of lightning! The lightning is like a super-fast bolt of energy that lights up the sky. And the loud rumbling thunder you hear afterwards is because the lightning heats up the air so fast that it makes a booming noise. 

Thunderstorms always have lightning (since thunder is caused by lightning, and you can't have a thunderstorm without thunder), but you can have lightning without a thunderstorm. Lighting can also be seen in volcanic eruptions, extremely intense forest fires, surface nuclear detonations, and even in heavy snowstorms! It is possible that you might see lightning and not hear any thunder, because it was too far away. Sometimes this is called 'heat lightning' because it occurs most often in the summer. So, the next time you see lightning and hear thunder, remember that it's just nature putting on a spectacular show for us to enjoy!

JUNE 21

International Yoga Day

International Yoga day is celebrated every year on June 21st. This special day highlights the importance of yoga, an ancient practice that began in India over 5,000 years ago. 

Yoga is a combination of physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation that helps to keep both body and mind healthy. Yoga is not just about twisting and turning your body into different poses. It teaches us how to control our breath, relax our mind, and stay focused. Many people practice yoga to stay fit, reduce stress, and find inner peace.

International Yoga Day was first celebrated in 2015 after it was proposed by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and adopted by the United Nations. Since then, millions of people from all around the world come together to practice yoga on this day. One of the great things about yoga is that anyone can do it, regardless of age or fitness level. There are simple poses which help with balance and  stretching which improve flexibility. There are also more challenging poses for those who want to push their limits.

On International Yoga Day, many schools, parks, and community centres offer free yoga classes. These events often start with a peaceful meditation, followed by a series of yoga poses, and end with relaxation. It’s a wonderful opportunity for everyone to try yoga and experience its benefits. 

Yoga also has a special connection to nature. Many people prefer to practice yoga outdoors, in a park or garden, where they can breathe fresh air and feel connected to the earth. This connection to nature helps to enhance the calming effects of yoga. Besides physical and mental benefits, yoga teaches important values like patience, perseverance, and mindfulness. It encourages us to listen to our minds and respect our bodies, promoting a sense of self-awareness and compassion. 

RHYTHMS OF THE WORLD

 Celebrating music's universal language

 

World Music Day, also known as Fête de la Musique, is celebrated on June 21st every year. This international day of music is observed in over 100 countries, making it a global celebration of music and its power to bring people together.

On this day, people from all walks of life come together to play music, sing, and dance in the streets, parks, and public spaces. The event is marked by a series of concerts, jam sessions, and impromptu performances, featuring a wide range of genres and styles.

From classical to rock, pop to jazz, and traditional folk to experimental music, World Music Day showcases the diversity and richness of music from around the world. The event aims to promote cultural exchange, understanding, and harmony, and is a testament to the universal language of music that transcends borders and languages.

Music is a universal language that transcends borders and cultures. From African rhythms to Indian classical music, the world is a treasure trove of diverse musical styles. Salsa and bossa nova rhythms enter the scene, getting people moving, while Japanese enka ballads and Korean pop (K-pop) enter the global spotlight, gaining popularity. In Africa, Afro beat and high life rhythms enter the scene, blending traditional instruments with modern beats, while in the Caribbean, calypso and reggae music pulsate with island vibes.

Despite geographical differences, music has the power to unite people across cultures, languages, and continents. With its ability to evoke emotions, tell stories, and bring people together, music enters the hearts of people around the world. As a result, music is a true global language that will continue to inspire and delight us for generations to come.

A STORY FROM PANCHATANTRA

The Sly Cat

 

An eagle, a cat and a sow (female pig) all lived in the same tree. The eagle had made its nest on the topmost branches, the cat and her kittens lived in a hollow halfway down the tree, and the sow lived at the foot of the tree.

One day the cat said to the eagle, "Be careful! I've heard the sow is planning to raid your nest while you are away and carry away your chicks to feed to her piglets." 

The eagle turned pale and from the next day on stopped going out to hunt. Then the sly cat said to the sow, "Have you noticed? The eagle has stopped going out. I've heard she's planning to feed your helpless piglets to her chicks while you're away. Be warned!"

The sow too stopped going out to feed. In a few days the young ones of both the eagle and the sow died of hunger. The sorrowing parents went away and the cat and her family had a feast.

Moral: Beware of mischief-makers.

A MESSIAH OF THE MASSES

Ram Manohar Lohia 

On March 23, 1910, a boy was born in Akbarpur, a remote village in Uttar Pradesh. He was later to become famous as the great socialist thinker, humanitarian and politician - Ram Manohar Lohia (1910 - 1967).

Ram Manohar, who lost his mother at a very young age, was brought up by his father, Hira Lal, a Congress party worker. When he was ten years old, the family moved to Bombay. Thus, in 1920, Ram Manohar was enrolled at Marwari High School in Bombay. His political career effectively started the same year. When Lokmanya Tilak passed away on August 1, the boy organized his fellow-students and led them in a hartal. 

In 1925, Lohia completed his matriculation, standing first in his school. By now, he was deeply involved in the Swadeshi movement. He joined the Banaras Hindu university to do his Intermediate. Here, his leadership qualities blossomed and he developed into a fiery orator. He went on to graduate from Calcutta University. 

In 1929, Lohia went to Berlin for higher studies. Here too, he was actively involved in the cause of Indian nationalism. In 1932, he got a doctorate for his brilliant thesis on the topic of the Salt Satyagraha in India. He then returned to India and joined the Indian National Congress, where he soon made his mark as an intellectual and an expert on foreign affairs. 

When World War II broke out, Lohia opposed the British government's move to forcibly involve India in the war. For his anti-British propaganda, he was arrested in 1940 and sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment. He was locked up in Bareilly Central Jail, where he was subjected to torture. He bore everything with fortitude. 

After his release, Lohia wrote many articles calling for nationwide agitation against the British. In 1942, the Quit India Movement started. In a bid to suppress the rebellion, the government imprisoned all the national leaders, including Lohia, went underground and took charge of the movement. Lohia took up the job of getting posters and pamphlets printed at a secret press. He also set up an underground radio station, broadcasting patriotic messages. His voice became familiar to many in the country. In 1944, the British finally captured Lohia. He was taken to a prison in Lahore, where he was tortured day and night. Finally, he managed to smuggle out a letter to a leader of the British Labour Party. This letter made the headlines of all the British and Indian newspapers. Yielding to public pressure, the British government was forced to transfer Lohia to Agra Central Jail, where the treatment was much more humane.  While here, he lost his father - his only surviving relative. Although he was offered parole, he declined the favour. His father's last rites were performed by his friends and followers. 

At last, under pressure from Mahatma Gandhi, the government was forced to release Lohia on April 11, 1946. He came out to a hero's welcome. But the tortures in prison had wrecked his health. On his friend's insistence, he went to Goa for a vacation. But there too, instead of resting, he got involved in the local liberation movement (Goa,  in those days, was a Portuguese colony). After India attained independence, the socialists in the Congress, unhappy with the way it was functioning, left to form their own party. One of the leaders was Lohia. He soon proved that he was no power-seeker, but a man of people. He was a great visionary and a principled man, who would never compromise on certain basic issues.

In 1963, Lohia was elected to the Lok Sabha. He was so engrossed in public service that he remained a lifelong bachelor. He never owned any property. His house in Delhi was always open to party workers. 

On October 12, 1967, Dr. Lohia passed away after a prolonged illness. He left behind no bank balance, but only a legacy of lofty ideas and unselfish service. The nation mourned his loss deeply. The Wellington Hospital, where he died, was later named Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital - in tribute to him.

REMEMBERING THE SUPERHERO OF OUR LIFE

Celebrating Father’s Day

Father’s day is celebrated on every third Sunday in the month of June to signify the special bond between the father and his children. Although a father's love is not dependent on a single day celebration, but this day is celebrated across the world to honour all those super dads who keep their children’s happiness above everything. 

Dads are always the unsung heroes, with steady hands for you, having strongest hearts and at times emotional too. Father’s day reminds us of the significant role fathers play in shaping our lives. It also symbolises the influence fathers have on their children and families, embodying qualities of strength, compassion and dedication.

Father plays several roles, from protector and provider to mentor and friend. He serves as pillar of strength during challenging times, offering guidance and wisdom to navigate life's complexities. His unconditional love and support creates a sense of security and stability that lay the foundation for emotional well-being and personal growth.

Father inspires us to dream, to learn perseverance and to strive for greatness. His encouragement fuels our aspirations, instilling confidence and resilience to overcome obstacles. Whether teaching us to ride a bike, imparting valuable lessons or simply being a listening ear, father leaves an indelible mark on our lives, shaping our values, beliefs and aspirations. He is a superhero who supports us to rise and face the world. 

Father’s day is an opportunity to reflect on cherished memories and lessons learned from father. From childhood adventures to heartfelt conversations, these moments serve as reminders of the life-long impact he has in shaping our identities and perspectives. Whether imparting practical skills or invaluable life lessons, father leaves a legacy that transcends generations. 

Father is neither an anchor to hold us back nor a sail to take us there, but a guiding light whose love shows us the way. A father's love is as pervasive and essential as the divine love of God. It is a love that knows no conditions, no limits - a love that is as boundless as the sky and as deep as the ocean. Let us, therefore, not reserve our admiration for fathers for a single day; let us embrace the spirit of gratitude and tenderness in every moment, cherishing the subtle miracles they weave into our lives with every breath. 

INSTRUMENT THAT FACILITATES COMMUNICATION

Telephone 

A telephone is defined as an instrument that facilitates the simultaneous transmission and reception of human voice. Telephones are not very expensive and are easy to operate, offering immediate and personal communication. The word telephone is derived from two Greek words, 'tele' which means 'far', and 'phone', which means 'sound'. Since its invention, the telephone has also helped send documents by fax and it is the basic infrastructure on which the internet is built. 

History of telephone: Before the invention of the telephone, the telegraph was used for communication. It was a simple electrical circuit that stretched many miles, usually along a railway line. Messages were sent down the telegraph line in the form of electrical bursts. However, telegraphs were slow, tedious to use and required people to learn Morse Code. Telephone changed all of this. 

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell sent me first words by telephone. Later in the year, he also made the first long-distance call to his assistant who was 2 miles away. He was the first person to be granted a United States patent for the telephone. Within seven years of the invention of the telephone, telephone exchanges were established in Bombay (now Mumbai), Madras (now Chennai) and Calcutta (now Kolkata). By 1896, the telephone instrument was improved upon by Thomas Watson, Emil Berliner and Thomas Edison among others. By 1915, people could make transcontinental calls - the first call was made by Dr Bell in New York to Mr Watson in San Francisco, USA. By 1927, people could make International calls - the first was made across the Atlantic Ocean. In the late 1970s the first cell phones appeared. Around the same time, fax machines became common too. They used telephone wires to send words and images. 

How telephone works: The traditional telephone relies on telephone wires to transmit sound. It consists of a handset and a base that are joined by a cord. The user holds the handset while talking - one end of it has a microphone to speak into and the other end has a loudspeaker to hear the user on the other end. The wire in the base connects the telephone to an electric current. 

When a user talks into the handset, the microphone converts the sound of the user's voice to an electric signal. The signal is sent out by the base through its wire. The signal's path from there depends on where the call is going. It either remains as an electric current, passing through wires and cables, or travels through thin glass fibres in the form of light. Sending information in this manner is called fibre optics. The signal can also be converted to radio waves and sent through the air via antennas and satellites. When the signal reaches the telephone of the other user, the loudspeaker converts it back to the sound of a voice. 

Different types of telephones:

● Cordless telephone: A cordless telephone does not have a cord connecting the handset and the base, which allows the user to walk or move while talking. It uses electric signals and radio waves to operate. The base receives the call in the form of an electric signal and turns it into radio waves. The base then sends the waves through the air to the handset using the antenna. The handset's antenna picks up the waves and then the handset converts the waves into sound.

 

● cell phone: Cell phones, also known as cellular phones or mobile phones, operate over a wider area and are more convenient than cordless phones. They make and receive calls through radio waves. This works with the help of cell phone companies. They divide an area into sections called cells. Each cell has a tower that can receive and send radio waves. If the person on call moves from one cell phone to another, the call also switches from one tower to another. So essentially, the cell phone can work anywhere the cell company has a network. The phone transmits a special signal when it is turned on. This signal tells the network where to direct the calls that the phone receives. Today, cell phones can do many things other than calling, like sending text messages, taking photographs, playing music, getting information from the internet and emailing. Smartphones can also run applications or apps that allow people to play games, shop, read, view maps, manage calendars and perform many other tasks. 

JOURNEY INTO LIGHT

Raman Effect

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 humankind 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 signboard 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 5 pm and return home only by 10. 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. 

Effect-ive discovery: Raman continued his light-scattering studies with different liquids using his homemade 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.

India observes National Science Day on 28 February to honour Raman’s discovery. Dr. G. Venkataraman’s biography of Sir C. V.Raman is aptly titled Journey into Light.

Raman also studied X-Ray scattering and published papers in the field of musical instruments. Many awards and recognition came his way. He was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society in 1924, knighted in 1929 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.

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!

DO YOU KNOW

Why can some people wiggle their ears while many can't?

We have nine muscles in our ears that could help them move but most of these muscles are inoperative. Some people, however, about 15 percent of the population, can use some of these muscles to move their external ears to a greater or lesser extent without using their hands. Ear movements are common among mammals especially cats, dogs and horses. These animals have retained the use of their ear muscles as sound and the direction from which it is coming is extremely important to them and they have to be able to move their ears around for this purpose. 

FIRST PASSENGER TRAIN OF INDIA

Great Indian Peninsula Railway

 

Great excitement prevailed in Bombay (now Mumbai) on Saturday, the 16th of April, 1853. Crowds surged towards Bori Bunder where a railway station had been built and from where the Great Indian Peninsula Railway was scheduled to launch its first ever passenger train service. 

By 3:30 in the afternoon all the lucky people - both ladies and gentlemen, Indian and Europeans - who had been invited to travel in the train were comfortably ensconced in their seats and were raring to go. Then a royal salute was fired from the ramparts of Fort St. George and the 14-coach train, pulled by three steam engines gave a shrill whistle and surged forward much to the awe and amazement of those left behind on the platform. 

All along the way, people watched and cheered from windows and rooftops and tops of trees as the iron wonder puffed and chugged and whistled its way out of the city and snaked through the countryside to its final destination, Tanna (now Thane), 34 kilometers away. The journey took about an hour. Bombayites talked of nothing else but their train over the next few weeks. 

That first train which carried about 500 passengers set in motion, literally, the wheels of the Indian Railways which today carries 24 million passengers daily and is one of the world's largest railway networks. 

THE KING OF SILENT COMEDY

Charlie Chaplin

 

Sir Charles Chaplin, popularly called Charlie Chaplin, was a prolific British actor, director and writer and one of the greatest comic artists of all time. He was born in 1889 in London to an alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother. He began performing on stage from the age of five (his parents were singers), which helped him overcome the hardships he faced as a child. While touring in the US in 1913, he got film offers and he began his celebrated career in Hollywood.

Chaplin is best loved for his character ‘The Tramp’. He wore a battered bowler hat, ill-fitting clothes and a toothbrush moustache and carried a walking stick. The character first appeared in short films in 1914 and then in the 1915 feature film 'The Tramp'. People loved it—a downtrodden character with odd mannerisms and unlucky in love, but nevertheless a survivor.

Most of Chaplin’s films are richly comic yet poignant. They entertain and also raise deeper social and philosophical questions. A wonderful example of this is 'The Kid' (1921), Chaplin’s directorial debut. It depicts the relationship between the Tramp and his adopted son John (played by five-year old Jackie Coogan). The most autobiographical of Chaplin’s movies, it shows elements of his unhappy childhood. He began filming it just weeks after losing his three-day old son. His attempts to coach Coogan and bond with him, taking him out for picnics and pony rides, helped him to overcome his loss.

Another noteworthy silent film was "The Gold Rush'. Its most iconic scene depicts the Tramp as being so hungry that he boils and eats his own shoe!

When silent films gave way to the talkies in the 1930s, Chaplin initially bucked the trend—he produced 'City Lights' and 'Modern Times' without dialogue. His first sound film was 'The Great Dictator' (1940), a spoof on German dictator Hitler. For the film, Chaplin received his only Oscar nomination as best actor. 

Chaplin moved to Switzerland in 1953 as he had political differences with the US government. He returned only in 1972 to receive an honorary Oscar.

Chaplin’s Last Words: Chaplin died on Christmas in 1977 after getting a stroke. As he lay on his deathbed, the priest read him his last rites and ended with “May God have mercy on your soul.” Chaplin responded, “Why not? After all, it belongs to Him.”

DO YOU KNOW

How were viruses discovered?

     Tobacco mosaic is a disease that infects several species of plants. In the 1890s, Dmitri Ivanovski, a Russian scientist trying to identify the bacteria that caused the disease, collected the sap of infected plants and passed the sap through porcelain filters that could trap the smallest of bacteria. Not a single bacterium was trapped in the filters even after repeated attempts. Yet the filtered sap could infect healthy plants. Ivanovski concluded that his filters were defective and left it at that.

     Some years later, a Dutch botanist, Martinus Beijerinck, repeated the Russian’s experiment and came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong with the filters but that the infectious agent was tinier than any bacteria known and was passing through the filters. He dubbed it a ‘filterable virus’, virus being the Latin word for poison.

    Soon afterwards a German scientist found that the infectious agent causing foot-and mouth disease in cattle was also a filterable virus, and not a bacterium.

     In 1901, the infective agent causing yellow fever was also found to be a filterable virus. Thus scientists became aware of a new type of infectious agent, different from bacteria, and in course of time, the term ‘filterable virus’ was shortened to just ‘virus’.

     In 1914, a German scientist demonstrated that the common cold was caused by a virus, yet even in 1918 when the Spanish Flu caught the world by its throat, physicians clung to the notion that the disease was caused by some sort of bacteria.

    Another decade and more was to pass before the electron microscope was invented and man finally got to see one of his greatest enemies — the virus.

     The electron microscope was invented in the 1930s.

PALACE OF WINDS

Hawa Mahal 

     Jaipur's Hawa Mahal, also known as the Palace of winds or Palace of Breeze, is about 222-year-old pyramidal structure that was built using red and pink sandstone. What makes this palace so unique is its 953 windows that are intricately decorated with latticework. Latticework is a crisscross pattern framework that is made from stone,wood or metal. In 1799, when this structure was built, the women of the royal household had to follow a strict rule of purdah or ghunghat, which did not allow them to appear in public without a face covering. These windows or jharokhas allowed them to look outside at the market square without being seen by outsiders. This is often seen in Rajasthani architecture. The windows also let cool air pass through them in the summer, cooling the palace down. 

     Commissioned by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, the grandson of Jaipur's founder Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, this palace was inspired by the Khetri Mahal in Junjhunu, Rajasthan. The architect, Lal Chand Ustad combined Rajput and Islamic styles in his creation - the canopies, pillars and floral patterns are in the Rajput style and the stone filigree work and lavish arches are in the Islamic style. The pink sandstone is typical of Jaipur, the Pink City of India. 

The street view of Hawa Mahal is actually the backside of the palace and from a distance, the five-storey, 50ft-tall monument looks like a beehive - with its mini windows and grills carved in sandstone. Some even say that the Hawa Mahal was designed to look like Lord Krishna's crown. Interestingly, the walls of the Hawa Mahal are no more than a foot thick and the structure has no stairs; one has to move between the different storeys using slopes. 

     The Hawa Mahal, built as a part of can be entered through an imperial door that opens into a large courtyard surrounded by two-storey buildings. Each of the top three storeys of the Hawa Mahal is no longer than a single room while the bottom two storeys have courtyards. At the centre of the courtyards stand fountains. Each room in the Hawa Mahal is designed using a different coloured marble. Each floor also has a temple on it. Sharad Mandir is on the first floor, one can find colourful glasswork in the Ratan Mandir. The top three floors house the Vichitra Mandir, Prakash Mandir and Hawa Mandir. 

     The courtyard of the Hawa Mahal is home to an archeological museum that has a wonderful collection of antiques, weapons and other ancient items used by the royals. The main highlights of the museum are arrowhead, fish hooks, terracotta items and even a storage vessel dating back to the 2nd century!

     In 2006, the Hawa Mahal underwent repairs and renovation. The Rajasthan government is currently responsible for the maintenance of the palace. In an attempt to promote night tourism in Jaipur, the tourism department has illuminated the exteriors of the Hawa Mahal. 

JUNE 8

World Ocean Day 

     With an average depth of 12,450ft, oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s surface. They play a crucial role in regulating our climate and atmosphere. In fact, without water, life itself would be itself impossible. Let’s take a journey through water kingdom.

The origin: The oceans originated at the time of the Earth’s formation close to 4.6 billion years ago. According to historians and researchers, at that time the Earth was almost entirely covered in water with just a few small islands. Roughly around 200 million years ago, the Earth’s surface was very different from how it is today. All the landmasses were grouped together into one vast supercontinent called Pangaea, while the rest of the globe was covered by a single great ocean known as Panthalassa, also known as the Panthalassic Ocean. Panthalassa comprised of the Pacific Ocean to the west and north and the Tethys Ocean to the southeast of Pangaea. 

     Over millions of years, the supercontinent began to slowly split apart, which eventually led to the formation of the modern continents and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. And finally, 35 million years ago, the water and the land split to form the pattern we are now familiar with. 

Currently, there are five major oceans - the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern or Antarctic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. While the Pacific is the deepest and largest (almost as large as all the others combined), the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans are similar in average depth. The Arctic is the smallest and shallowest. These oceans, although distinct in some ways, are all interconnected, as the same water circulates through them through different currents.

    However, according to researchers, the continents still drifting apart. While the Pacific Ocean is slowly shrinking, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are spreading wider by a few inches every year. In fact, the Red Sea at the northeast corner of Africa is widening so much that in the next 200 million years, it will be as wide as the Atlantic Ocean today. 

Plants in the Oceans: Oceans are home to billions of plants and animals. There are two types of plants found in the ocean - those that have roots and are attached to the ocean floor and those that do not have roots and simply drift about in water. The rooted plants are only found in shallow water. 

The most abundant plants found in the ocean are the phytoplankton. These are usually single-celled, minute, floating plants that drift across the surface of the oceans. Phytoplankton produce about 50% of our oxygen supply. They are so productive that each year, nearly 200 million tonnes of phytoplankton grow in the world’s oceans.

Animals in the oceans: Although 94% of life on Earth is aquatic, two-thirds of marine life has still remained unidentified. Marine animals are divided into three groups - zooplankton, nekton and benthos. 

Zooplankton are drifting animals and usually small in size. The zooplankton population also includes some temporary members such as fish eggs or larval forms of organisms, which may grow up and leave the community to join the nekton or benthos. Nekton are the free swimmers and probably the largest portion of animals found in the ocean. Commonly found fishes, octopuses, whales, eels and squids are all examples of nekton. The third type of sea animal spends its entire life on the ocean floor. This includes lobsters, starfish, various worms, snails and oysters, among many more. Some of these creatures, such as lobsters and snails, may be able to move about on the bottom but their lifestyle is bound to the ocean floor and they cannot survive away from this environment. 

Did you know?

● The oceans contain 1.34 billion cubic kms of water. 

● 97% of the water on Earth is seawater and less than 1% is freshwater, while the remaining 2% is contained in glaciers and ice caps.

● Mid-Ocean Ridge, which is the Earth’s longest mountain range, is located underwater. It is longer than the Andes, Rockies and Himalayas combined. 

● More than 90% of all volcanic activity occurs in the oceans. 

● The average seawater temperature is 3.5 degree Celsius. 

● Oil is the largest pollutant of the ocean; 5 million tonnes of oil enter the oceans each year. 

● The largest known waterfall on earth lies underwater, between Greenland and Iceland.