THE MODEST STATESMAN

 Lal Bahadur Shastri

     India's second Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on 2 October 1904. His father died when he was 18 months old and he grew up at his grandfather's house. Since he was very slightly built, his grandpa affectionately called him 'Nanhe'. 

     One day, Nanhe and his friends were raiding a mango tree when they were surprised by the gardener. The gardener caught Nanhe and slapped him. 

     "Why did you slap me?" asked the boy. "Don't you know I have no father?"

     "That means you'll have to look after your mother and how can a thief do that?" asked the gardener. The gardener's words made the boy aware of his responsibilities and a change came over him. He grew up to be one of the leaders of our country.

     Shastri became Prime Minister at a time of turmoil. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had just died and war had erupted with Pakistan in 1965. The country was reeling under the drought. Quite a tough task for a new prime minister to handle.

     But he took it all in his stride. He inspired the people with his slogan, 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan'. The Indo-Pakistan war would have continued but Russia intervened and both India and Pakistan agreed to sign the Tashkent Agreement on 11 January 1966. Just a few hours after signing the agreement, Shastri died of a massive heart attack.

     Shastri was awarded the 'Bharat Ratna' posthumously. His memeorial 'Vijay Ghat' in Delhi is a constant reminder of a great administrator and a fantastic human being.

A WALK TO REMEMBER

 Spacewalk

     When an astronaut steps out of the spacecraft in space, it is termed a spacewalk. It is technically known as extravehicular activity (EVA).

     The astronauts perform various tasks on a spacewalk. They conduct science experiments in space to study how the space environment affects the results. They repair satellites while they are in orbit. They also test new equipment.

     Astronauts wear pressurised spacesuits filled with oxygen. For the duration of the spacewalk, the astronaut is usually tethered i.e. he is anchored to the spacecraft with the help of a cable. For safety purposes, he also wears a backpack-like device called SAFER ( Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue). If the astronaut gets detached, SAFER uses small jet thrusters to help him move and return to the spacecraft.

     The first spacewalk was performed by Russian cosmonaut, Alexey Leonov, on March 18, 1965. It lasted 10 minutes. A few weeks later, Ed White became the first NASA astronaut to perform a 23 minute long spacewalk on June 3.

     Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev holds the world record for the most spacewalks and spent more than 82 hours outside in space.

     Peggy Whitson holds the record for the most number of spacewalks by a woman (ten). She also has the most spacewalk time for a woman (60 hours, 21 minutes) to her credit.

DIVINE VENGEANCE

The fall of Sybaris

     A sybarite is a person who is devoted to luxury and pleasure. The word is related to Sybaris, an ancient Greek city noted for its wealth and opulence in present-day southern Italy.

     In 720 B.C., the ancient Greeks founded the city as a colony near the present-day city of Terranova di Sibari in southern Italy. The inhabitants of Sybaris known as Sybarites, were very fortunate. Their land was extraordinarily fertile and their location by the sea brought them a lucrative trade. Living was easy in Sybaris, and over the time, the Sybarites became known all over the ancient world for their indulgence in pleasure and love of frivolous luxury. By the 6^th century, Sybaris had attained a degree of wealth and power which was unprecedented among Greek cities and which earned them the admiration of the rest of the Hellenic world.

     In 510 B.C., Sybaris was rocked by political dissensions. War broke out between Sybaris and Crotona. Although the Sybarite army was 300,000 strong and the Crotoniats were less than a third in number, the latter put the Sybarites to flight and pursued them to the gates of their city, which they then destroyed. The fall of Sybaris was viewed by many Greeks as a divine vengeance upon the Sybarites for their pride and arrogance, caused by their excessive prosperity.

DO YOU KNOW

 What is the maximum distance the human eye can see when unobstructed?

     Dust, water vapour and pollution in the air will rarely let you see more than 12 miles even on a clear day. 

     Often, the curvature of the Earth gets in the way first --- at sea level, for example, the horizon is only 2.9 miles away. 

     On the top of Mount Everest, you could theoretically see for 211 miles, but in practice cloud gets in the way. 

     For a truly unobstructed view, look up. 

     On a perfectly clear night with no Moon in the sky you can see the Andromeda galaxy, which is 2.25 million light years away.

HISTORICAL EVENT OF THE MONTH

 Battle of Buxar

     One of the decisive battles in the history of pre-independence India, the battle of Buxar took place on October 22, 1764 in Buxar, a town about 130 km west of Patna in present-day Bihar. It was fought by the combined armies of Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal; Shuja-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Awadh; and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II on one side and the British East India Company's forces led by General Hector Munro on the other. 

     Although the allied army was numerically much stronger, comprising about 40,000 men as against the Company's army of about 7000, the differences of opinion between the allies as well as the British superiority in artillery turned the tide in favour of the British. The allied army was effectively routed. War casualities mounted to about 850 wounded or dead on the British side and 2000 to 5000 on the side of the three allies.  

     The war eventually led to the signing of the Treaty of Allahabad in August 1765 between Shah Alam II and Robert Clive of the East India Company, according to which the Mughal Empire ceded property rights over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the British. The treaty thus enabled the British to establish their control in the eastern part of the country, ultimately paving the way for the establishment of British colonial rule over India that continued for the next two centuries.

GEMS MADE BY LIVING CREATURES

 Pearls

Meet the jewellery-making molluscs that turn irritating specks of dirt into stunning stones.

    Pearls are smooth shiny gems that are commonly seen on a long string decorating elegant necks. They have been used as a fashion accessory since at least the 5^th century BCE by the ancient Romans and Egyptians. But the process that creates these mesmerising gems isn't geological --- they are made by slow-moving marine and fresh water animals as a kind of symbol of their suffering. 

     Molluscs such as oysters, mussels and clams produce pearls as a byproduct of defence. They are made when these aquatic creatures attempt to rid their bodies of parasites, sharp pieces of shell matter or other debris that gets trapped inside their shells when they open them to feed. They secrete calcium carbonate, which is the core material that makes up a mollusc's shell, in a crystallised form when a irritant is present. It's called aragonite, and combines with protein fibres to coat smooth layers around the foreign object. The result is a creamy-coloured solid ball that serves as a barrier between the object and the soft internal tissue of the mollusc.

     Today, most pearls aren't harvested naturally. Instead, humans place a suitable irritant into an oyster to trigger this response and increase pearl production rates.

     Pearls are the only gems made by living creatures.

WHAT IS OZONE?

Is it good or bad?

     Ozone is a gas produced naturally by the action of ultraviolet rays from the sun on oxygen molecules, changing oxygen (O₂) to ozone (O₃) in Earth’s upper atmosphere (stratosphere) where it forms the ozone layer. The ozone molecules here absorb most of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation, thereby protecting living organisms on Earth. So ozone in the stratosphere plays a beneficial role; it is good for us. 

     Ozone is also found in the troposphere, the lowest region of the atmosphere, extending from the Earth’s surface to a height of about 6–10 kilometres. Tropospheric or ground level ozone is created when air containing pollutants emitted by cars, factories, refineries and other sources like hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides chemically react in the presence of sunlight. 

     Ground level ozone is harmful to plants, animals and human health. Ozone reacts with molecules in the lining of the airways in the body. This can aggravate lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Even in otherwise healthy people, continuous exposure to even low-level concentration of ozone can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, irritation of the throat, and cough.Ozone’s harmful effect on living organisms is made use of to disinfect municipal drinking water in many European countries and elsewhere. Ozone introduced into the water destroys bacteria, viruses and fungi. It can also eliminate bad odour. Ozone is unstable and changes back to oxygen within a short time.