STORY FROM MYTHOLOGY

 Descent of river Ganga

Once it ceased to rain for many years. All the living beings were dying of thirst and lack of sufficient food. King Bhagirath (a ruler of Ayodhya, long before Shri Rama ruled it), couldn't bear to see the pain and also thought that her holy water could be used to liberate the souls of his ancestors who were cursed by sage Kapil and release them to heaven. He decided to pray to Himalaya to send the river down on Mother Earth. Himalaya heard his concerns and told Bhagirath that he would've sent his daughter but she no longer stays with him as she stays with the Gods above.

Bhagirath went to swargalok (heaven) and pleaded Ganga for help. Seeing the plight of the people on earth, she agreed to help. But she had one concern though. She said that if she came down on Earth from such a great height, everything on Earth would be destroyed and washed away. Himalaya suggested Bhagirath to pray to Bhagwan Shiva for help.

Bhagirath sincerely prayed to Bhagwan Shiva and requested Him to catch Ganga when she arrives on Earth, before she could hit the ground to ensure her steady and smooth flow. Bhagwan Shiva agreed and asked Ganga to come down. Ganga playfully asked Bhagwan Shiva to catch her as she would fall with full force.

Bhagwan Shiva freed His hair and caught Ganga in His matted hair and tied His hair again. Ganga was trapped in Bhagwan Shiva's matted hair. Bhagirath pleaded to Bhagwan Shiva to let Ganga go. Bhagwan Shiva agreed and waters of Ganga started to trickle down from Bhagwan Shiva's matted hair.

Bhagirath thanked Bhagwan Shiva and asked Ganga to follow him. Ganga started following him. He used to look over his shoulder from time to time to ensure that Ganga was following him.

After crossing the hermitage of Sage Jahnu, Bhagirath as usual looked back to find Ganga missing. Ganga had taken a detour to enter Sage Jahnu's hermitage. Sage Jahnu would feel his feet getting wet. When he opened his eyes, he found Ganga laughing at his condition. Enraged with Ganga's childish behaviour, Sage Jahnu collected some water in his palms and drank it.

Bhagirath called out for Ganga and he could hear Ganga's feeble voice from Sage Jahnu's tummy. Bhagirath requested Sage Jahnu to forgive the playful Ganga and have mercy on all the living beings. Sage Jahnu then let Ganga out of his ear.

This time Ganga obediently followed Bhagirath and didn't take any detours. As Ganga continued to flow, people worshipped her and thanked her as she supported and saved all the living beings. The people thanked Bhagirath for bringing Ganga on Earth. Also his ancestors attained salvation.

Since Bhagirath brought Ganga to earth, she is also known as Bhagirathi. Also, as she came out of Sage Jahnu’s ear, she is also called as Jahnavi.

FROM THE PAGES OF HISTORY

 First Lok Sabha elections

AFTER Independence, general elections to the first Lok Sabha were held in India between 25 October, 1951 and 21 February, 1952. 

While some voters in Himachal Pradesh voted in October before the winter set in and cut off their constituency from the rest of the country, the rest of the country began voting in phases from January of the following year. 

About 1849 candidates and 53 political parties competed for the 489 seats of the Lok Sabha, 245 seats being needed for a majority. The voting age was 21. 

More than 173 million people out of an overall population of about 360 million were eligible to vote, but it being the first time, the voter turnout was low — 45.7 per cent. 

As illiteracy was high and most of the voters couldn’t read or write, colours and symbols were used to guide voters — at polling booths, each candidate was allotted a separate ballot box that was differently coloured from the others. His party’s symbol and his name were labelled on it. The voter had to simply insert the ballot paper given to him or her in the ballot box of his or her choice. Then, as now, indelible ink was applied to the voter’s finger to prevent impersonation. 

The Indian National Congress (INC) led by Jawaharlal Nehru won 364 seats. Only two other parties reached double figures in the number of seats won — the Communist Party of India got 16 seats, and the Socialist Party, 12. Jawaharlal Nehru was elected Prime Minister. The first Lok Sabha was constituted on 17 April, 1952 and served its full term of five years.

FUN WITH MATHS

 Magical number

Enter 999999 into your calculator and then divide it by 7: 999999 ÷ 7 = 142857

The result is a special number.

Pick any number from 1 to 6 and multiply it with the special number.

Note the product.

Now pick a different number from 1 to6 and repeat the above steps.

What do you observe?

When you multiply the special number with any number from 1 to 6, the product features the same digits in different arrangements!

142857 x 1 = 142857

142857 x 2 = 285714

142857 x 3 = 428571

142857 x 4 = 571428

142857 x 5 = 714285

142857 x 6 = 857142

UNKNOWN MATHS GENIUS

 Vashishta Narayan Singh

Vashishta Narayan Singh (1946–2019) was a mathematician from Bihar. The son of a police constable, Singh had proved his genius at an early age and gained admission to the Netarhat Residential School, a prestigious institution that produced state toppers. In college, Singh often quizzed and contradicted his lecturers. So impressed was the principal with his talent that he let Singh skip two years ahead and appear for the final year B.Sc. examination. He went on to earn his PhD in mathematics in USA from the University of California, Berkeley. He was only 23. It is said that he once worked at NASA and did some calculations when the machines stopped working. When the machines started functioning, his calculations matched those of the machines. He returned to India and worked briefly with institutions like IIT-Kanpur and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Unfortunately, before he could soar to the heights of greatness, his career was cut short by a long battle with schizophrenia. Once he even went missing for four years. Singh was awarded the Padma Shri posthumously in 2020.

DO YOU KNOW

 Why we blink?

Eyes are the most delicate of the sensory organs. They need constant lubrication. They must also be kept crystal clear for good vision. Blinking serves the dual purpose of cleaning and lubricating our eyes. It helps to keep the eyes moist by coating them with tears released by the tear glands and lubricating oil released by sebaceous glands present near the eyelashes. These fluids rinse away all the dust particles.

Blinking also helps guard our eyes against a sudden blow. We blink automatically when there is a loud noise or when something moves too quickly. Most people blink about 15 times a minute. Scientists have found that people blink less when they are alert. For example, car drivers blink less in city traffic when they need to be extremely alert than while driving on the open road. Nervous people tend to blink more frequently. Lawyers say witnesses under cross-examination blink more often than those facing friendly questioning.

AN ESSENTIAL ACTIVITY IN YOUR DAILY LIFE

 Decluttering your mind

Cleaning and disposing of unwanted things from our workspace and living space is an essential activity in our daily life, as it gives us renewed energy. We often declutter our cupboards, worktable, bedroom, kitchen etc. Removing unwanted and undesirable stuff delivers a positive vibe to the space and persons alike.

In recent times, most people indeed have an increased awareness on the significance of decluttering their physical surroundings. However, decluttering of one’s mind is more important than all this. When negative emotions such as anger, hatred, fear, sadness, frustration etc. loom large; one does not find peace of mind. These emotions frequently haunt and create blocks in the mind, thus affecting the performance of an individual in private and public life.

When there is a severe block in a blood vessel to the heart, doctors may advise for surgical interventions or angioplasty. Unfortunately, there are no ‘plasty’ procedures available to clear mental blocks. Cleansing and blockage removal of the mind can be done only through self-effort or self-consent. Self-awareness is the first step towards it. Once we feel the necessity to do so, we will be able to do it. Unless we declutter our mind once in a while, there will be a lot of garbage of thoughts that could lead to a cancerous condition of the mind. It will tax one’s happiness and impact productivity in life. 

A child’s mind is said to be like a clean slate. As he or she grows, there will be both positive and negative writings on it. If the mind is trained to forget and forgo toxic thoughts and emotions, without letting them accumulate, then that child will be able to maintain a clean and healthy mind. There may be some thwarted feelings and negative energy in the mind; a process called sublimation, the draining out of such emotions into socially acceptable channels could help in such cases. This enables one to handle both intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships in a better way. This is also reflected in actions and appearances as well.

BOOK OF FABLES AND FOLKTALES

 Panchatantra

Panchatantra was originally written in Sanskrit language by the Hindu scholar Pandit Vishnu Sharma about 2500 years ago. It is a collection of fables and folktales. It gives an insight into the human behaviour through animal characters. Vishnu Sharma thought that humans could understand their shortcomings, if presented in an entertaining and humorous manner. So he chose animals in his fables as main characters which was his medium to convey the message.

There are tales of greed, deceit, treachery, stupidity, anger and wit. His stories are subtle in implying the morals behind them without directly mentioning them. The stories are presented in a simple manner.

Vishnu Sharma was a 3rd century Sanskrit scholar who lived in Varanasi. He was the Guru of the Prince of Kashi. He wrote Panchatantra to teach political science to his royal disciples.

King Sudarshan of Mahilaropya of Southern India had three dull sons.He decided to appoint Vishnu Sharma as an instructor for his sons. The King promised to give hundred villages and abundant gold to Vishnu Sharma if he could make good administrators out of his sons. Vishnu Sharma was very old at that time and he politely refused the gifts. He promised the King that he would turn the princes into able administrators within six months.

Vishnu Sharma realized that it was a difficult task to teach the princes through conventional means. So he started composing many short captivating animal stories with a message in each story. He grouped them in five parts called Tantras, hence the name Panchatantra. After hearing the stories the princes became really knowledgeable and good administrators.

Panchatantra became very popular all over the world. It reached Europe in the 11^th century. By the 16th century, it was translated in Greek, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin and other Slavic languages. It’s been translated and circulated all over the world for its precious teachings.