DO YOU KNOW

 Why horses need horseshoes?

     In the wild, horses move around slowly, run only rarely and do not carry loads on their backs. Their hoofs develop a natural roughness or toughness that protects them from wear and tear. 

     When domesticated, horses often have to carry the weight of a rider and run for long periods on different terrains – the soft soil of the countryside or the paved roads of towns. Their hooves are unable to adapt to these conditions and if not protected in some way can split to such an extent that the horse becomes lame. Hence the need for horseshoes.

     The horseshoes are usually made of metal and are nailed to the hooves, though sometimes they’re just glued on. The nailing is done to a part of the hoof that is insensitive to pain as it is made of material similar to that of our fingernails and if the fitting of the horseshoe is done in the proper manner by someone trained to do this work, the animal feels no pain.

     Not all domesticated horses are shod. Those animals that are not required to carry loads or move around in areas which could damage their hooves are sometimes left unshod. 

DO YOU KNOW

What does an ecological footprint indicate?

     An ecological footprint compares the total natural resources people consume with the land and water area that is required to replace these resources.

     The ecological footprint works like an accounting balance sheet. On the minus side are the resource consuming activities like energy usage, logging, farming, fishing etc. On the plus side is Earth's biocapacity --- its ability to replace these resources and absorb the waste.

     The ecological footprint measures the demands humans place on nature. It includes estimates of the sea and forest-covered land areas needed to absorb greeenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. The more the greenhouse gases, the more the water and forest area required for absorbing them. Thus a large carbon footprint would mean a larger ecological footprint. In short, the ecological footprint tells us how much of Earth is required to support human life if a particular lifestyle is followed.

     Since the mid-1980s, humans have been consistently leaving a larger ecological footprint. For example, for 2007, humanity's ecological footprint was estimated at 1.5 Earths. It means that humans consumed resources 1.5 times faster than Earth can reproduce them. The deficit was made up by drawing on stored resources like fossil fuels, which Earth does not replenish every year. The UN estimates that if current trends continue, by the mid-2030s we will need two earths to sustain ourselves!

FROM CHAMPARAN TO NAOKHALI

 Mahatma Gandhi 

     Little over a hundred years ago, Gandhiji launched his first satyagraha movement in India, in Champaran.

Satygraha Beckons: Indigo, the blue dye, was in great demand in 19th century Europe. European planters in India forced farmers to grow indigo on their fertile fields where they would have otherwise grown rice. 

     While the planters sold the indigo at great profits and became rich, the farmers suffered because the indigo plant rendered the land totally useless for further cultivation. 

     In March 1859, thousands of farmers in Bengal refused to grow indigo. The British grew alarmed as they had faced the uprising of 1857 and did not want another rebellion. They sided with the farmers and declared that planters could no longer force the peasants to grow indigo. After the revolt, indigo plantation collapsed in Bengal and the planters moved base to Bihar. The plight of the indigo farmers there came into focus when Mahatma Gandhi took up their cause during the Champaran satyagraha in 1917.

     At the time, Mahatma Gandhi, who had returned to India from South Africa, was travelling through the length and breadth of the country. When lawyers from Bihar sought his help in finding a solution for the plight of ryots(farmers/cultivators) exploited by the European indigo planters, he went to Champaran to study the problem first-hand.

     He sought meetings with the planters but they were openly hostile. Government officials refused to cooperate and when he started meeting the ryots, the collector ordered him to leave Champaran. Gandhiji refused and was hauled up in court.

     Gandhiji was courteous to the officials, respectful to the court but firm in his resolve not to leave Champaran.

     “As a law-abiding citizen, my first instinct would be, as it was, to obey the order served upon me,” said Gandhiji, in court. “But I could not do so without doing violence to my sense of duty to those for whom I have come. I feel that I could serve them only by remaining in their midst.”

     He declared that he would submit without protest to whatever penalty was imposed upon him.

     The court was adjourned. The government officials were thrown into confusion. What do you do with a man who refuses to obey the law on moral grounds but agrees that the court should punish him and expresses willingness to submit to the punishment? As Gandhiji wrote later, it looked as if it was the government and not Gandhiji who was on trial.

     The government beat a hasty retreat and allowed Gandhiji to stay. Later Sir Edward Gait, the Lt Governor, asked him to serve as a member of the official committee of enquiry. After the enquiry, the committee upheld the demands of the ryots.

     The ryots had wanted Gandhiji to save them from the planters. Gandhiji did that and more. He opened a school for their children and he taught them the value of cleanliness and basic hygiene.

Lesson in Unity: During the final leg of India’s freedom struggle, Naokhali, a district of Bengal (now in Bangladesh), witnessed horrific communal riots in which thousands of people were butchered. Gandhiji visited the strife-ridden area with the single-minded purpose of ending the senseless violence.

     He briefly halted at a villager’s home and was warmly welcomed by the people. A villager, Asghar Bhuyan, was keen to show Gandhiji a unique tree.

     He said, “See, the branch of this tree has two kinds of leaves. Is it not strange?”

     Gandhiji smiled and said, “No, it is God’s creation. Two different kinds of leaves are flourishing side by side in the same branch of one tree…just like Hindus and Muslims of the same soil. They demonstrate that we should live as brothers in the same land just as these leaves are growing on the same tree.”

     The villagers understood the point of Gandhiji’s message and agreed that Hindus and Muslims should live together peacefully.

TO BRING OUT THE BEST IN YOU

Seek the best in others 

    As a young Scottish boy, Andrew Carnegie came to America, and started doing odd jobs. As time passed, he became one of the largest steel manufacturers in the USA. At one time he had 43 millionaires working for him. 

     Once someone asked him how he dealt with people. Carnegie replied, “Dealing with people is like digging for gold. When you go digging for an ounce of gold, you have to move tons of dirt to get an ounce of gold. But you need to remember that when you go digging, you don’t go looking for the dirt; rather you go looking for the gold. It’s the same with people.” 

     Seeing the ‘gold’ in others, is a valuable habit to develop. It transforms your relationship with them. Empowering others to believe in something bigger than themselves, leads to the development of new ideas and strategies. Successful people live well, laugh often, and love much. They leave the world better than they found it. While looking for the best in others, they give out the best they have. 

     As you grow up, even if you are in a position to hold others accountable, remember that you are just as accountable to them. By selflessly serving others, a culture of mutual respect and admiration will be created. It helps bring out the best, both in you and in others. The American motivational writer William Arthur Ward says, “When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.”

THE HEALING VEGETABLE

Ash gourd

     The ash gourd (Benincasa hispida), also known as winter melon, white gourd, and wax gourd (because of the presence of waxy cuticles that develop on the mature fruits) is a versatile plant that has been used for thousands of years as food and medicine in the Orient. A member of the Cucurbitaceae family and native to South-east Asia, it is widely grown throughout the plains of India, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Bangaladesh and Sri Lanka. In India, the ash gourd is a popular element of folklore and traditions. Known as kushmanda in Sanskrit, the ash gourd finds mention in ancient Ayurvedic texts such as Charaka Samhita and Ashtangahridaya Samhita for its many nutritional and healing properties.

     The ash gourd plant is a trailing or climbing vine with a thick, furrowed stem bearing course hairs. 

     Leaves are 22-25cm long, with five or seven lobes, and give off an unpleasant odour when bruised. The fruit which is densely hairy when immature, gets covered at maturity with a thick white waxy layer, which protects it from insects and preserves its moisture. A mature fruit ranges in weight from 2 to 50kg. The flesh is white, juicy and spongy, and contains numerous smooth flat seeds that are yellow or pale brown in colour and yield a pale yellow oil.

     All parts of the plant have medicinal properties and have been used as such by traditional medicine systems across cultures. The juice squeezed from grated ash gourd, diluted with an equal amount of water, is consumed daily in the morning on an empty stomach as a remedy for peptic ulcer. 

     Ash gourd juice also acts as a blood coagulant. Since ancient times it has been taken, mixed with a spoonful of gooseberry or lemon juice, to stop profuse bleeding from the lungs and nose and as a remedy for bleeding piles. As the fruit is high in potassium, its intake (in curries) is recommended for maintaining a healthy blood pressure and strengthening the heart and lungs. The root is powdered and consumed, mixed with warm water, to obtain relief from asthma and cough. Ayurveda prescribes topical application of ash gourd seed oil to get relief from headaches. Unani medicine uses the seeds to treat disorders of the urinary tract. Central American tribal medicine prescribes consumption of a decoction of the pulp to treat intestinal inflammation and application of the same as a poultice to treat burns. Traditional Chinese medicine utilises ash gourd extract in remedies for various conditions ranging from skin blemishes, inflammation and high blood pressure to urinary disorders.

     Being an easily cooked, palatable and nutritious vegetable, the ash gourd also has numerous culinary uses across Asia. It is used to make a variety of curries in South Indian cuisine. In North India and Pakistan, the fleshy pulp of the ash gourd is deseeded, cubed and cooked in sugar syrup to make a translucent candy called petha. Young leaves, shoots and tendrils of the plant are also cooked into curries or boiled and fried and eaten as greens. The fried or roasted seeds are eaten as a snack. In Goa, a spicy preparation called Vadyo is made which is either served by deep frying or making curry with it.

CONTRIBUTION OF ANCIENT INDIAN SCIENTISTS AND MATHEMATICIANS

 Some greatest Indian ancient scientists and mathematicians

      Most of the principles and theories of science and maths originated from the Indian Vedas. All major concepts, such as Algebra, the idea of time, the structure of the universe, metallurgies, aviation science and many others, were first cited in the Vedas. The profound contributions of ancient Indian scientists and mathematicians to the world’s knowledge are undeniable. Actually, Science and Maths were highly developed in the ancient Indian era. India was home to many renowned scientists and mathematicians.

Lets learn about a few greats who shaped the world with innumerable discoveries that became the the foundation of many others.

1. Maharishi Sushruta:

     Maharishi Sushruta is the author of the world’s earliest book on medicine and surgery. He is fondly regarded as the ‘Father of Indian Medicine’ and ‘Father of Plastic Surgery'. His influential treatise, ‘Sushruta Samhita’ or the compendium of Sushruta, is the main source of knowledge about surgeries in ancient India. The description of surgical procedures, anatomical knowledge and the creative approach to surgery, as described in Sushruta Samhita, holds even today. Skin grafting is one such example, used even today by surgeons worldwide to restore areas that have lost the upper protective layer of tissue due to injury, burns, infection or trauma. Skin grafting is also used to restore areas that have lost skin tissue due to surgical intervention. Rhinoplasty is another procedure that has its origin in ancient India. Sushruta also explained measures to deal with hair loss and unwanted hair removal. He gave steps for perfect healing and how to achieve normal skin pigmentation and the absence of swelling after surgical procedures. Sushruta was no doubt the greatest surgeon in ancient India.

2. Aryabhatta – 

     Aryabhatta was an astronomer, mathematician, Physicist and astrologer of the fifth century. He was the first to calculate the value of Pi as 3.1416. His greatest contribution was the invention of Zero. This discovery enabled him to find the exact distance between the earth and the moon. He also gave a scientific explanation of the solar and lunar eclipse.

3. Varahamihira:

    Varahamihira was the first scientist to state that some force keeps objects stuck to the round earth, later termed the force of gravity. He was the first mathematician to discover Pascal’s triangle to calculate binomial coefficients.

4. Charak: 

     Charak is the ‘Father of ancient Indian Science of medicine’. In his book, ‘Charak Samhita’, he describes the medicinal qualities and functions of about 1,00,000 medicinal plants.

5. Baudhayana:

     Baudhayana is the original mathematician behind the Pythagorean theorem. Pythagoras did not discover his theory, as is a common belief, but was actually given hundreds of years ago by the Indian sage and mathematician Baudhayana.

     Apart from these, many other Indian scientists made significant contributions and landmark discoveries to the world in field of Science and Maths, such as: 

Kanada:

     Kanada, was a sage who formulated the theory of atoms 2500 years before John Dalton.

 Nagarjuna: 

     Nagarjuna was one of the earliest proponents of metallurgy.

Sridhara Acharya: 

Sridhara Acharya was the first person to give an algorithm for solving quadratic equations, etc. 

     A lot of scientific knowledge evolved in ancient India, and there is no denying the fact that modern Science and technology owe their origin to our ancient Indian scientists and mathematicians.

ABOUT THIS MONTH

September 

     September gets its name from Latin septem, meaning 'seven'. The oldest known Roman calendar had only ten months, starting from March, and September was originally the seventh month of the year. With the inclusion of January and February, September became the ninth month, but retained its original name.

     Every year, September starts on the same day of the week as December. But another unique feature of this month is that it does not end on the same day of the week as any other month in the year. Take a calendar and check for yourself!