STORY

 

The Chess Game

  

A young man said to the Abbot of a monastery, “I’d actually like to be a monk, but I haven’t learned anything in life. All my father taught me was to play chess, which does not lead to enlightenment. Apart from that, I learned that all other games are a sin.”

“They may be a sin, but they can also be a diversion, and who knows, this monastery needs a little of both,” was the reply.

The Abbot asked for a chessboard, sent for a monk, and told him to play with the young man.

But before the game began, he added, “Although we need diversion, we cannot allow everyone to play chess the whole time. So we have the best players here; if our monk loses, he will leave the monastery and his place will be yours.”

The Abbot was serious.

The young man knew he was playing for his life, and broke into a cold shiver; the chessboard became the centre of his world.

The monk began well.

The young man attacked, but then saw the saintly look on the other man’s face.

At that moment, he began playing badly on purpose. After all, a monk is far more useful to the world, he felt.

Suddenly, the Abbot threw the chessboard to the floor.

“You have learned far more than was taught you,” he said.“You concentrated yourself enough to win and were capable of fighting for your desire. Then, you had compassion, and were willing to make a sacrifice in the name of a noble cause. Welcome to the monastery, because you know how to balance discipline with compassion.”

Charismatic Christmas

 

Christmas is a festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on 25 December. The feast is also known as Xmas. The X comes from the ancient Greek language where X refers to Christ.

 

One of the most interesting aspects of Christmas, especially for children, is Santa Claus. Children want to catch Santa Claus bringing them presents. The character is based on St. Nicholas who loved children, and enjoyed giving gifts to them secretly.

The popular song “Jingle Bells” was written for Thanksgiving Day, not for Christmas. Originally this was published under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh” by James Lord Pierpont in 1857.

“Silent Night” is the most sung and recorded Christmas song in history.

The poinsettia is a traditional Christmas flower. In Mexico (its original birthplace), the poinsettia is known as the “Flower of the Holy Night”.

 

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the tallest Christmas tree ever cut was 221 feet high. It was displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.

In Germany, Poland and Ukraine, finding a spider, or a spider’s web, on a Christmas tree is believed to be an indication of good luck.

The first known instances of using Christmas trees were in the 16^th century Germany. They used fruits and nuts for decoration.

The biggest Christmas gift ever presented is the Statue of Liberty. This was gifted by France to the USA as a Christmas gift in 1886.

25 DECEMBER

 Good Governance Day / Sushasan Divas

Every year, in honour of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday, India observes "Good Governance Day".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi 2014 announced that "Good Governance Day" will be observed annually on December 25 in memory of the former PM.
The Indian government decided that every year December 25 would be a full day of work. The government has been commemorating Good Governance Day every year since 2014. The day is celebrated to make sure that the country's residents are treated fairly by the government and they receive the advantages of various government services. 

The purpose of Good Governance is to increase public access to various government programmes and services via good governance. It was established with the slogan "Good Governance through e-Governance".

SANE GURUJI

 He taught us humanism

Pandurang Sadashiv Sane was born on 24 Dec 1899 in Palgad village near Dapoli, Maharashtra. During his childhood his family's financial condition deteriorated and their house was confiscated by government authorities. He was sent to maternal uncle in Pune.

He returned and stayed in missionary school in Dapoli and was recognised as an intelligent student with good command over Marathi and Sanskrit.

He enrolled at Aundh Institution, which provided free education and food to poor students. He suffered many hardships but continued his education. An epidemic of bubonic plague led to students being sent home.

Back in Palgad, he overheard his parents expressing concern over his dedication to education. He traveled to Pune and enrolled as a student at Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya.

Living on limited meals, he continued to excel in academics. At New Poona College, he obtained BA and MA degrees in Marathi and Sanskrit literature.

He worked as a teacher in Pratap High School in Amalner town. He chose to teach in rural schools, foregoing a potentially larger salary he could have earned. He worked as a hostel warden.

He was a gifted orator, captivating audiences with his impassioned speeches on civil rights and justice. He inculcated moral values through magazine Vidyarthi, popular among students. His teaching profession continued for 6 years till he dedicated his life for the independence struggle.

He joined Gandhi in Dandi March in 1930 and was imprisoned by British in Dhule Jail for over 15 months for work in Civil Disobedience Movement. In 1932, Vinoba Bhave was in same jail and delivered a series of lectures on Bhagavad Gita each Sunday morning. Gita Pravachane was an outcome of the notes Sane made.

From 1930-47, he was arrested on 8 occasions and imprisoned in various jails for a total duration of over 6 years. He observed fast on 7 occasions. In Trichnapalli Jail, he learned Tamil and Bengali. He translated ancient Tamil moral work of the Kural into Marathi.

He recognised importance of learning Indian languages, for national integration and started Antar Bharati movement.

He helped spread of Indian National Congress in rural Maharashtra, particularly in Khandesh. He was active in organisation of Faizpur Session. He participated in Election Campaign of Bombay Provincial Elections of 1936.

In 1942 Quit India Movement, he was imprisoned for 15 months and became closely associated with socialists like Madhu Limaye.

In late 1930s, he organised textile labour and peasants in East Khandesh District. During this period he associated with communists like S. M. Dange. However Communist position to support Second World War made him dissociate himself. After independence he joined Socialist party and was close to Limaye, N G Gore and S M Joshi.

He took up the cause of Gandhi's promise to Ambedkar during Poona Pact that he will spend the rest of his life campaigning for removal of untouchability. He travelled across Maharashtra for 4 months in 1947.

The culmination of this tour was his fast at Pandharpur to open Vitthal Temple for Dalits. The fast lasted 11 days from 1 May to 11 May 1947 and doors of the temple were ultimately opened for all.

Post independence, he became increasingly disillusioned over possibilities of eliminating inequality from Indian society. Assassination of Gandhi deeply affected him and he fasted for 21 days. He committed suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills

He wrote 135 books and 73 books have been published. Almost all these books can be considered literature for children. His most well-known work in Marathi literature Shyamachi Aaee has been translated in almost all Indian languages, Japanese and English.

Others include Bharatiya Saṃskṛti and Patri- a collection of various songs and poems. Teen Muley is a story of 3 children and is regarded as a classic in Marathi. He started weekly journal Sadhana on 15 August 1948 and it has been regularly published since.

He died on 11 Jun 1950.

 

MOHAMMED RAFI

 

The amazingly versatile singer, Mohammed Rafi was born on 24 December 1924.

He was born in Kotla Sultan Singh village, Punjab. His nickname was Pheeko began singing by imitating chants of a fakir who roamed the streets. His father moved to Lahore in 1935, where he ran a men's barbershop.

He learnt classical music from Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwan Lal Mattoo and Firoze Nizami. His first public performance came at age of 13.

In 1941, he made debut as playback singer in duet 'Soniye Nee, Heeriye Nee' with Zeenat Begum in Punjabi film Gul Baloch under music director Shyam Sunder. In that same year, he was invited by All India Radio Lahore station to sing. He made Hindi film debut in Gaon Ki Gori in 1945.

He was known for his ability to mould voice to persona and style of the actor lip-syncing the song on screen. He recorded over 7,000 songs in a career, in Hindi, Punjabi, Konkani, Assamese, Bhojpuri, Odia, Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi, Kannada, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Magahi, Maithili and more. He also sang in English, Farsi, Arabic, Sinhala, Mauritian Creole and Dutch.

He was of a gentle calm demeanour and a humble, selfless, God-fearing and family loving gentleman. He was noted to never send anyone back empty-handed and generously helped many. He made an early exit at 55 years.

His recognitions include four Filmfare Awards, a National Film Award, Padma Shri and the list goes on.

Books on him include Sujata Dev's Mohammed Rafi – Golden Voice of the Silver Screen and Mohammed Rafi Voice of a Nation, a book authorised by his son Shahid.

Award winning documentary Dastaan-E-Rafi directed by Rajni Acharya and Vinay Patel featured over 60 interviews of various Bollywood personas.

He died on 31 Jul 1980.

23 DECEMBER

 National Farmer’s Day / Kisan Divas

 The National Farmers Day in India is also known as Kisan Divas in Hindi. Kisan Divas is celebrated every year on 23 December on the birthday of 5th Prime Minister of India, Choudhary Charan Singh, also a farmer's leader, who introduced many policies to improve the lives of the Indian farmers. It is celebrated by organising various programs, debates, seminars, quiz competitions, discussions, workshops, exhibitions, essays writing competitions and functions.

Chaudhary Charan Singh is credited with inventing and implementing the well-known Zamindari Abolition Act. He united all peasants against landlords and moneylenders. He was a very efficient writer and expressed his feelings about farmers and their problems and solutions.

 

22nd December

NATIONAL MATHEMATICS DAY 

Celebrating the Legacy of Srinivasa Ramanujan

National Mathematics Day is celebrated in India on 22 December, marking the birth anniversary of one of the greatest mathematical minds the world has ever known — Srinivasa Ramanujan. The day honours not only his extraordinary contributions to mathematics but also aims to promote mathematical thinking, innovation, and curiosity among students.

The Government of India declared 22 December as National Mathematics Day in 2012, following an announcement by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, during the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Ramanujan.

Srinivasa Ramanujan: A Mathematical Genius

Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on 22 December 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu. From a very young age, he displayed an exceptional aptitude for numbers. By the age of 12, he had mastered advanced trigonometry and began developing original mathematical results on his own — all without formal higher education.

Despite living in extreme poverty and facing numerous hardships, Ramanujan pursued mathematics with unmatched passion. His notebooks, filled with thousands of results, reveal a mind that worked far ahead of its time.

Contributions to Mathematics:

Ramanujan made remarkable contributions in several areas of mathematics, particularly:

● Number Theory

● Infinite Series

● Continued Fractions

● Modular Forms

● Mathematical Analysis

Many of his formulae appeared so unconventional that they astonished mathematicians worldwide. His work continues to influence modern mathematics, physics, computer science, and even string theory.

Mathematicians have often compared Ramanujan’s genius to that of Leonhard Euler and Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, placing him among the greatest mathematical thinkers in history.

Journey from India to Cambridge: In 1912, Ramanujan received support from R. Ramachandra Rao, and later from Ramaswamy Iyer, founder of the Indian Mathematical Society, who helped him secure a clerkship at the Madras Port Trust.

His life changed dramatically in 1913 when he wrote a letter to G. H. Hardy, a renowned mathematician at the University of Cambridge. Hardy immediately recognised Ramanujan’s brilliance and invited him to England.

At Cambridge, Ramanujan’s collaboration with Hardy led to groundbreaking research, and in 1918, he became one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society, one of the highest scientific honours.

A Short Life, An Eternal Legacy: Sadly, Ramanujan’s life was short. He returned to India due to ill health and passed away in 1920 at the age of just 32. However, his mathematical legacy continues to grow.

Even today, Ramanujan’s discoveries are used in:

● The study of black holes

● Understanding entropy and complex systems

● Advanced theoretical physics

● Cryptography and computer algorithms

His intuition-driven approach to mathematics remains a subject of fascination and admiration.

National Mathematics Day: Purpose and Celebrations

Since 2012, National Mathematics Day has been observed across India with:

● Mathematics exhibitions

● Lectures and seminars

● Competitions and quizzes

● Workshops for students and teachers

In 2017, the significance of the day increased with the inauguration of the Ramanujan Math Udyan at Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, a mathematics-themed park designed to inspire learning through interactive exhibits.

The Poet of Infinity: Srinivasa Ramanujan is often described as “the man who wrote poetry about infinity.” He believed that mathematical ideas came to him intuitively, almost as divine inspiration.

As science seeks patterns in everything — from DNA to galaxies — mathematics remains the universal language that deciphers these patterns. Ramanujan’s life reminds us that genius can emerge even in the most challenging circumstances, driven by passion, perseverance, and imagination.

Conclusion: National Mathematics Day is not just a tribute to Srinivasa Ramanujan; it is a celebration of human curiosity and the power of numbers. His story continues to inspire students to think beyond limitations and to explore the beauty hidden in mathematics.

Do You Know?

●Ramanujan left behind nearly 3,900 mathematical results, many of which were discovered decades later to be profoundly important.

●The number 1729, known as the Hardy–Ramanujan number, is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.