HOBBY THAT IMPROVES THE QUALITY OF LIFE

 Swimming

Hobbies are our best friends. We pursue them when we have either nothing to do or are tired from the day’s work. While some hobbies merely help us to kill time, there are other hobbies that improve the quality of our life. Swimming is one such hobby.

There are more benefits to swimming than simply cooling off on a hot day. Swimming is one of the best exercises that benefit our entire body. The more we learn about swimming the more we will want to add it to our list of favourite hobbies. It is a great, year-round hobby and takes very little gear to get started.

Swimming not only burns calories, but is easy on the joints, supports our weight, builds our muscular strength and endurance. The other health benefits of swimming are that it keeps our heart rate up and takes some of the stress off our body. The most beautiful aspect of swimming is that we can set our own pace — go as fast as we like — otherwise just take slow laps in the pool. Swimming uses all the muscles in the body — so whether it is a gentle breaststroke or hammer butterfly, we get a full body workout.

Swimming is perfect for our mental health as well. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, swimming for just 2.5 hours per week decreases the risk of chronic illness. By toning and developing a wide range of muscles, swimming helps prevent the injuries that can occur in youth who specialise in a sport from a younger age.

But swimming for beginners can be challenging if you don’t know what to do in the pool. Hence, it’s extremely important to start swimming by using a beginners’ guide and including all the safety measures. It is essential to find the right pool and take proper swimming lessons and not try out anything on your own. The best way to pursue swimming as a hobby is to join a swimming club. To get started, one can begin with just the swim workouts.

Swimming was one of the eight sports practised at the first Paralympic Games in 1960, and has now become most popular. Swimming has been part of the Olympic schedule since the very first modern Olympic Games held in 1896. 

So summer is here.

Enjoy splashing water, enjoy swimming!

MEET THE SCIENTIST

 Alexander Graham Bell

I am Alexander Graham Bell, a scientist. I was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 3rd March 1847. I was initially homeschooled by my father who was a professor. Later I attended high school at the University of Edinburgh.

Do you know what scientific achievements I have done when I was alive? No? Then let me tell you. I was the one who invented the telephone, which is now indispensable to everyone.

I became interested in the science of sounds because both my father and mother were deaf. And slowly I got an idea to send voice signals into a telegraph wire. I got some funding for this experiment and hired another great scientist, Thomas Watson, as my assistant and together we built the world's first telephone. And these are the first words I spoke on my telephone – “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you" on March 10, 1876.

Many other scientists also had similar ideas for the telephone but I was the first one to run to a patent office and register my invention. So, I became the first one to invent the telephone before others did.

Then I started a company called Bell Telephone Company in 1877. This company underwent many mergers and name changed over the years. Today this company is known as AT&T.

The telephone is not the only invention that I have done. I have many other scientific achievements to my credit and this is my list:

The Metal Detector - I invented the first metal detector that was used to try and find a bullet inside President James Garfield.

Audiometer - I invented a device to detect hearing problems.

I invented special techniques to help in teaching speech to deaf persons.

I made a device to help find icebergs.

I made the world's first transcontinental telephone call to Thomas Watson from New York to San Francisco. Watson was in San Francisco.

I also helped form the National Geographic Society.

Finally, I died on 2nd August 1922. And when I died every phone in North America was silenced for a short period to honour me.

REASON FOR MANY FAILURES

 Difference between Belief and Trust

A person started to walk on a rope tied between two tall towers at several hundred feet above the ground. He was slowly walking balancing a long stick in his hands. He had his son sitting on his shoulders.

Everyone down was watching him in bated breath and was tense. He slowly reached the second tower. Everyone clapped, whistled and welcomed him. They shook hands and took selfies.

He asked the crowd, “Do you all think I can walk back on the same rope now from this side to that side?".

Crowd shouted, “Yes, yes, you can".

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

They said, “Yes, yes we are ready to bet on you.”

He said, “Okay, can any one of you sit on my shoulder? I will take you to the other side safely.”

Everyone became quiet. There was stunned silence.

Belief is different. Trust is different. For Trust you need total surrender.

People believe, But don’t trust.  This is the reason for many failures.

DETERMINATION HIGHER THAN EVEREST

 Arunima Sinha

Meet Arunima Sinha, the mountaineer whose determination can only be gauged as higher than Mount Everest. Her hair-raising story is not just a story of determination of the highest level but one of a sublime level which may serve as an inspiration for all and yet may be impossible to emulate.

Determination must have been in her blood as Arunima was born in the family of an Army engineer on 20 July 1989. Her early life was of hardships and struggles as she lost her father at a very young age, and the family consisted of four children. Being a resident of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Arunima had her schooling in the Government Girls’ Inter College of her hometown. Her hobbies were gardening, sketching, yoga, travelling and listening to music. She also liked football, while distinguishing herself as a national level volleyball player. She has participated in the Nationals, seven times.

Aspiring to join one of the paramilitary forces, on 12 April 2011, Arunima Sinha boarded the Padmavati Express on her way to Delhi to appear for her CISF examination. Little did she then know that her life was about to take a turn for something that neither she nor anyone could have ever foreseen. A gang of robbers tried to rob the passengers of the General Compartment in which Arunima was travelling. Arunima resisted when the hooligans tried to snatch her necklace but she was outnumbered and was pushed out of the train. She fell on the rail tracks and was unable to move and all that she remembers is that another train on the adjoining track ran over her left leg. She recalls: “I resisted the robbers, but they pushed me out of the train. I could not move. I only remember another train coming towards me. I tried getting up. But by then, the train had run over my leg. I don’t remember anything after that.”

She was soon taken to a nearby hospital. After some initial treatment, Arunima was moved to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. The police department made a mockery of the investigation by concluding that Arunima may have tried to commit suicide. It was a judgement of the Allahabad High Court that finally made the Railways pay Rs 5,00,000/- as compensation to Arunima.

Arunima had been brought to the AIIMS with injuries to her backbone and also the right leg. While the doctors inserted a rod in her right leg, to save Arunima’s life, they had to amputate her left leg below the knee. A local Delhi company financed her for getting a prosthetic left leg.

For any ordinary mortal, the situation would have been only looking into a dark and bleak future but not for one whose inspirations are people like Swami Vivekananda, cricketer Yuvraj Singh and mountaineer Bachendri Pal. While being treated at AIIMS, she had already resolved to climb Mount Everest. She was inspired by Yuvraj Singh, who successfully battled cancer, “to do something” with her life.

She excelled in the basic mountaineering course from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, and was encouraged by her elder brother Omprakash to climb Everest with a prosthetic leg. She contacted Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest, and signed up for training under her at the Uttarkashi camp of the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) 2012.

Once out of bed, Arunima refused to use crutches for walking although the doctors feared that another operation would become necessary if the steel rod tore through the flesh, but the ‘never-say-die’ spirit of the mountaineer-to-be had the last laugh.

On 1 April 2012, Arunima started her first expedition in Ladakh and scaled the 6,622-metre high Mount Chhamser Kangri. The same year, as preparation for her Everest expedition, Arunima also scaled the 6,150-metre Island Peak and on 12 April 2013, with sponsors secured by the Rama Krishna Mission at Vadodara, Arunima was on her way to reach the highest point on Planet Earth at 8,848 metres.

The 52-day and a last stretch of a 17-hour climb to the top of the world may have ended as a failure as Arunima’s oxygen level was below the desired level but not when the person at the other end of the breathing apparatus is a 5’2” dynamite named Arunima Sinha. On 21 May 2013, the determined soul left the whole world gaping in awe; Arunima reached the top of the world!

Incidentally, Arunima was not the first to achieve such a feat as way back in October 2011, a 61-year old American lady, also a left leg amputee had scaled Mount Everest but Arunima was definitely the first Indian woman to achieve this remarkable feat.

As was expected, honours and prizes began to flow. But Arunima, the restless mountaineer, had added yet another dream to her life. She wanted to scale the highest peaks of each of the seven continents. In due course of time, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Europe, Kosciuszko in Australia, Aconcagua in South America and Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia all lay low to Arunima’s determination. In January 2019, when Arunima scaled Mount Vinson in Antartica, she became the first amputee lady to scale that peak.

Of the many awards that Arunima received, the Padma Shri could be rated as the highest, but the diminutive mountaineer has now started focussing on another project: working for the welfare of the differently-abled, that they too are able to achieve their own goals. In pursuance of her social magnanimity, Arunima has used all her prize money to open an academy in the name of the most revered revolutionary: Pandit Chandra Shekhar Vikalang Khel Academy.

Her autobiography, 'Born Again on the Mountain', inspires a host of individuals who may be in a state of despair due to their physical incapacities.

Other than her physical handicap, Arunima’s personal and emotional life also has had its shocks and turmoil. Her first marriage of 2012 fell apart and she remarried in 2018 but nothing seems to stop the flow of Arunima’s determined life. Having set and achieved a goal, she is quick to set another one for herself to achieve. Indeed, a true follower of her idol, Swami Vivekanand; “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached.”

CLASSICAL DANCE STYLE OF NORTH INDIA

 Kathak

Kathak is undoubtedly one of the most popular classical dance style of northern India. The speciality of this dance is the spins and the circular movements that create a rare spectacle, the highlight is the rhythmic complexity and footwork that takes several years of devotion to master. Kathak has been acclaimed, for centuries, as one of the most distinct classical dance styles of India.

Kathak evolved from the Vedic period and with several evidences in the form of literature, paintings and sculptures, it is believed that Kathak originated from the story telling tradition. Incidentally, the word ‘Kathak’ has evolved from the word kathakaar (storyteller), hence various stories from the Hindu mythology were narrated for spiritual and social uplift. “Katha kahe, so Kathak kahalave” meaning, it tells a story hence known as Kathak.

The community of musicians and dancers were known as Kathakar. Buddhist and Jain literature also mentions the tradition of dancers in Vaishali, Magadh and Kosha. Besides the storytelling aspect, other aspects like expressions, hand gestures and rhythmic footwork were added to attract theatrical appeal, as dance moved on from villages to courtyards, palaces and finally to modern-day auditoriums.

Kathak reached its pinnacle of glory as it attracted royal patronage during the Mughal regime. King Akbar married a Rajput princess and greatly encouraged arts and artistes. Performers from Persia and Central Asia were invited to perform; hence there was an intermingling of cultures and styles. While the Mughal dancers danced with the “salaami toda” and their typical styles, the Hindu dancers were different in their depiction and style of costume and “aharya abhinaya”. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and Nawab Asaf Ud Daulah were great promoters and contributed their poetic renditions which were interpreted in expressional dancing.

As Kathak developed from different regions of north India, it maintained the regional differences and original poetic renditions; thereby different schools of Kathak evolved which were known as “Gharanas”. The Jaipur Gharana flourished with the Rajput patronage; one of the founders was Bhanuji, his descendants were Hari Prasad and Hanuman Prasad. The Gharana, further was promoted by Jailal and Sundar Prasad.

The Lucknow Gharana was founded by Thakur Prasad who was the Guru of poet Wajid Ali Shah, his sons were Bindadin and Kalka Prasad. The most popular Kathak maestro of contemporary society, Pt Birju Maharaj, also hails from the same family.

Janikiprasad Gharana also known as Banaras Gharana was founded by Sohanlal, Mohanlal, Naval Kishore and Kundanlal. Famous dancer Nataraj Gopikrishna belongs to the Banaras Gharana.

The classical music, light and folk music have been adapted into Kathak dance according to regional differences and flavours. Bindadin Maharaj’s poetic renditions are used quite a lot, besides devotional rendering of Tulsidas, Surdas or Meera Bhajans.

Like other classical dance styles, it takes several years for the student to get into the level of Visharad or Alankar. Continuous practice and complete devotion and involvement are necessary to become a fine exponent. The performance for one hour or more begins with a Vandana, prayer and invocation, followed with the execution of varied pure dance numbers with rhythmic complexity, tatkaar and finally a Tarana or an expressional Abhinaya number.

Some of the top Kathak dancers are Birju Maharaj, Shovana Narayan, Uma Sharma, Pt Pratap Pawar, Pt Nandkrishore Kapote, Pt Nagaraj, Paullomi Mukherjee and young dancers like Sunil Sunkara, Nidhaga Karunad and Jena Lakshmi.

FIRST DAY OF HINDU NEW YEAR

 Gudi Padwa

Gudi Padwa is celebrated on `Chaitra Shukla Pratipada’. It is the first day of the New Year according to the Hindu calendar. Gudi Padwa or Ugadi is celebrated in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and is considered as one of the four most auspicious days in the Hindu calendar. Many consider this day ideal for the purchase of ornaments or a house amongst other things.

Gudi Padwa is celebrated for a number of reasons.

1) It is believed that Brahma Dev (Creator of this world) created the world on this day and is therefore worshipped.

2) It is also believed that the `Gudi (flag) is a symbol of Shri Rama’s victory over Ravan and his subsequent reinstatement to his post in Ayodhya after completing 14 years of exile.

3) The people of Maharashtra also see the Gudi as a symbol of victory associated with the conquests of the Maratha forces led by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

4) This day also marks the end of one agricultural harvest and the beginning of a new one.

On Gudi Padwa, a Gudi is found hanging out of a window or prominently displayed in Hindu households. Gudi has a bright coloured cloth adorned with brocade tied to the tip of a long bamboo over which sugar candy, neem leaves, a twig of mango leaves and a garland of red flowers is tied. A silver or copper pot is placed in the inverted position over it. This Gudi is then hoisted outside the house, in a window, terrace or a high place so that everybody can see it.

On this festive day, courtyards in village houses will be swept clean and plastered with fresh cow-dung. Even in cities, people take time out to do some spring cleaning.

Women and children work on intricate rangoli designs on their doorsteps, the vibrant colours mirroring the burst of colour associated with spring. Everyone dresses up in new clothes and it is a time for family gatherings.

Traditionally, families are supposed to begin the festivities by consuming the juice of leaves of the neem tree. The juice of neem leaves is sometimes mixed with jaggery, and tamarind. All the members of the family consume this juice, which is believed to purify the blood and strengthen the body’s immune system against diseases.

22 MARCH, WORLD WATER DAY

 The Amazing Power of Water

Water is essential for life. It's not just for quenching thirst. It's one of the most important items that our body needs as it does many health improvements for us, including making us vibrant. Without water, it's impossible to survive. But how much water should you drink every day?

Unfortunately, most people don't drink enough water, especially adults. This is because older people don't sense thirst as much as they used to when they were younger. And this can become a serious problem if they are on medication that may cause fluid loss. This is why staying hydrated is a daily necessity, no matter what the thermometer says.

Benefits of drinking water:  Water has many important jobs, such as, Carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells. Water helps in regulating your body temperature and keeps it cool under pressure.

Flushing bacteria from your bladder:  Water flushes toxins from your system and helps in making you look and feel your best.

It aids digestion and prevents constipation. It keeps your tummy flat and your skin clear.

It normalises blood pressure, cushions joints, and protects organs, and tissues. Water helps keep your muscles toned and your body looking fit and trimmed.

It's a natural appetite suppressant and helps in maintaining a healthy weight. Water boosts your energy levels and makes you look and feel refreshed.

Hazards of Not Drinking Water: Dehydration can occur when your body doesn't get enough water to perform its functions. Symptoms of dehydration include thirst, dry mouth, weakness, headache, nausea, and dizziness. In severe cases, dehydration can also lead to seizures, unconsciousness, and even death.

Tips for Consuming Water Regularly:

Set an Alarm - This will remind you to drink water regularly. Otherwise, if you are not feeling thirsty you won't drink water. Remember, it's very important to drink enough water to stay hydrated. The general rule is to drink eight glasses of water per day. But you may need to drink more or less depending on your body composition and activity level. Thirst is not always an indicator of hydration. So, it's important to drink water even if you're not thirsty.

Drink filtered water - Don't drink any kind of water you get. It must be clean and healthy. Or, you will get water-borne diseases. Avoid drinking tap water directly as it can contain high levels of chlorine and other chemicals. Filtered water is a better choice than bottled water. But ensure you don't use those ultra-high filters that remove all nutrients from the water.

Drink Beverages - In addition to normal water, it's also important to drink hydrating beverages like herbal teas, coconut water, sugarcane, and fruit juice. These contain water plus other valuable nutrients that will keep your body hydrated. You can also eat foods that are high in water content, such as vegetables and fruits. If you are participating in sports ensure you drink enough water before, during, and after the activity to replace the water you will be losing.

Some Famous Quotes:

Water is the driving force of all nature.    ---- Leonardo da Vinci

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.     ---- Loren Eiseley

Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it. ---- Lao Tzu

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. --- - W. H. Auden

Water is life, and clean water means health. ---- Audrey Hepburn

Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water. --- - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi