TEMPLE DEVOTED TO SUN GOD

Konark Surya Mandir

     Of all the places to visit in Orissa, there is one place in particular that stands out the most. Whenever you are visiting Orissa, this is the one place that everyone will recommend visiting to experience its grandeur and enormity. It’s the Konark Sun Temple or Konark Surya Mandir. Located in the eponymous village of Konark, 35 km from Puri, it is the remains of a temple that was constructed in the 13th century. If you are visiting Orissa, Konark Sun Temple is a place that you must visit. If you don’t, then your trip to Odisha will stay incomplete. Konark Sun Temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a cultural relevance even in the 21st century. To explain this better, let’s know about its history, architecture, and why it is so revered: -

1. History

The name Konark is made of two Sanskrit words: Kona, meaning corner, and arka, meaning sun. The town gets its name from its geographical location which makes it look like the sun rises at an angle.

The history of Konark Sun Temple and sun worship goes as far back as the 19th century BC. The Konark Sun Temple, however, was built in the 13th century. The historic region of Kalinga which comprises major parts of modern-day Odisha and several parts of Chhatisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal, was ruled by the rulers of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty from 5th Century AD to 15th Century AD. It was one of the most powerful dynasties in India which gave existence to majestic temples like Konark Sun Temple and Puri Jagannath Temple.

The Konark Temple was built by King Narasimha Deva I in 1244 to worship Surya, the Sun God. Konark was chosen as its place of construction because it has been described as the holy seat of Surya in various ancient texts.

2. Significance

Many Hindu scriptures mention Konark as an important place for worshipping the sun. There’s one that says Konark was the place where the first Sun temple was constructed. Samba Purana, an ancient text dedicated to Surya, tells the legend of how Samba, son of Lord Krishna, built the temple to worship the sun. It is believed that worshipping the sun was started by Samba. As the legend goes, Samba built a sun temple in the 19th Century BC at the end of his 12-year long worship of the Sun at Maitryeavana. This worship cured him of leprosy that he was suffering from.

3. Early References

In his book “The Sun Temple Konark” (1986), author Balram Mishra lists down several legends that led Narsimha Deva to build a sun temple in Konark. One of them states that King Anangabhima Deva worshipped Surya, the result of which was a longed-for son in the family whom he named Narasimha Deva. King Narasimha built the temple as an act of gratitude to Surya. Another legend, a copper plate inscription of Narsimha Deva II (The Konark Sun Temple was built by Narasimha Deva I)in 1295 AD mentions that Narsimha Deva I fulfilled the promise of his father to expand the Jagannath Temple in Puri, which was built by King Anantavarman Chodaganga.

As a ruler, Narsimha Deva I was a powerful monarch and he defended his kingdom against the army of Tughral Tughran Khan from the Mamluk Dynasty in the 13th century. In 1244 AD, Narsimha Deva I defeated Tughan Khan’s army in the province of Varendra (which is now in Bangladesh) and Rarh (a region between Ganga Delta and the Chhota Nagpur Plateau).

4. Architecture

The inside of Konark Temple is as glorious and magnificent as it is made to be. Its architecture has all the defining elements of the Kalinga architecture - it includes Shikhara (crown), Jagmohana (audience hall), Natmandir (dance hall), and Vimana (tower). Several legends mention that the architecture of the Konark Surya Mandir is so accurate and intricate that the day’s first light fell on the image of Surya in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, known as the Garbha Griha.

5. Depth of Information Through Design

The Konark Sun Temple is built in the form of a mammoth chariot that Surya rode. It is said that Surya rode across the sky on his chariot pulled by 7 horses. The platform of Konark is engraved with 24 wheels of the chariot. The numbers 7 and 24 hold a lot of significance.

Some say that the 7 horses represent the 7 days of the week, while others say that 7 horses represent the 7 components of white light that we know as the VIBGYOR. Number 7 is said to be a magical number because it’s present all around us, spiritually, historically, and materialistically. For instance, in Hindu weddings, the bride and groom take 7 rounds of Agni, the Fire God; the periodic table has elements in the groups of 7; an octave as 7 musical notes, and so on. So, the 7 horses may just represent the magical number that surrounds us.

The number 24 represents the 24 fortnights in a year and also the 24 hours of the day, something that Ashok Chakra in the centre of the Indian flag also represents.

6. Magnificence Personified

Besides the horses and wheels at Konark, you can also view the gorgeous and intricately carved reliefs of dancers, musicians, animals, and some erotic figures on the plinth of the temple. The entirety of the chariot has carved images of cult icons, and gods and goddesses. The exquisite detail of the temple can only be seen when standing right in front of it. The walls also have carvings of the daily life of the members of the Natmandir.

The chariot of the Konark Sun Temple is 100-feet high. But what you see of the temple is what remains of it. Next to the chariot was once a 200-feet high Shikhara. Much of the temple’s complex has been destroyed over the years due to unknown reasons and this is what remains of it. Since the temple shows its glory even in the ruins of what it is now, it would have been a thousand times beautiful at its peak when King Narsimha Deva originally built the temple.

7. When should you visit the Konark Sun Temple?

Here’s the key bit of information about the Konark Sun Temple which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Konark is a coastal town which means that the best time to visit it during the winters; the weather is pleasant during that time i.e. between September and March. Summer, however, should be avoided because the town can get hot and humid. And if you want to spend your time noticing the intricacies of the carvings on the chariot, standing out in the sun all day long can be exhausting. Pleasant weather will ensure that you don’t exhaust yourself by simply walking.

As for the timings, the Konark Sun Temple is open from 6 am to 10 pm. Since it’s a temple dedicated to Surya, the best time to visit is in the morning itself. That’s when you see the temple in its glory as it was intended to be. 

DO YOU KNOW

 What is a noble gas?

     It is any of a group of six chemical elements, namely helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon. They are colourless and odourless natural gases found in the atmosphere. The noble gases were discovered in the 1890s by the British scientists Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay. 

     They are called noble because they do not easily react with other elements. All of them except radon, which is highly radioactive, are used in incandescent and gas-discharge lamps.

     Argon and helium are used in welding.

  Helium is also used in balloons that carry scientific instruments high into the atmosphere.

   Radon is at times used in cancer treatment because of its radioactivity. 

INNOVATIVE DEVICES FOR USING GREEN ENERGY

 Ulta Chhaata, Wind Tree, Solar Power Tree 

     There is a growing demand for both clean water and power. Here are some innovative devices that promise a greener future.

Umbrella With A Twist

 

ULTA CHHAATA: As the name suggests, resembles an inverted umbrella. It is a large concave structure that collects rainwater in the monsoon and converts it into potable water, while the solar panels fitted alongside the canopy, produce energy in the dry season.

     The rainwater collected in the ‘bowl’ of the Chhaata, trickles down the stalk to reach a filtering unit of activated carbon where itis cleared of impurities. A cluster of ten or more Ulta Chhaatas is connected to a common device where the water undergoes further filtration to remove microorganisms, making it fit for drinking. A single unit can harvest as much as 1,00,000 litres of water every year. 

    The solar energy harnessed in the dry season is stored in the battery and is used not just to light up the Chhaata but also the premises. Unlike a typical rainwater harvesting unit, Ulta Chhaata’s attractive design lends itself well to the aesthetics of the surroundings, especially when lit up. 

    The device takes up to one sq. ft of area. Ulta Chhaatas can be installed as sustainable workstations in open spaces. They can provide a green roof for reception areas, cafeterias, gazebos, car parks, bus stops and even railway stations. Each Chhaata costs between 4.5 and 5 lakh.

 Besides a number of corporates, Guntakal railway station in Andhra Pradesh has installed six such structures in its premises.

     Ulta Chhaata is the brainchild of a Mumbai-based environmentally conscious couple Priya Vakil and Samit Choksy whose start-up ThinkPhi designs sustainable products.

Winds Of Change 

WIND TREE: Wind tree is a tree-shaped structure that harnesses wind energy using small trembling wind turbines called ‘aeroleaves’ that look exactly like leaves on a tree.

     The micro-turbines work well even when there is little wind. Just a gentle breeze as light as 7 kmph is sufficient. This is something a conventional windmill cannot do. 

     French innovator Jérôme Michaud-Larivière designed the Wind Tree as an elegant, sustainable energy-harnessing device that would enhance urban landscapes. The first Wind Tree was a 3-m-tallstructure with 72 aeroleaves. It produced 3.1kW of power. ‘Wind Bush’ is a combination of aeroleaves and photovoltaic petals that harnesses both wind and solar energy. 

     For the Indian market, Larivière has created ‘Lotus’, an affordable wind tree minus the solar petals.

Sunny Tree 

SOLAR POWER TREE: A solar power tree is a device that is shaped like a tree with its steel branches holding the solar photovoltaic panels. 

     Just like a natural tree, the steel branches of the solar tree are arranged in such a fashion that every solar panel is properly exposed to the Sun. Moreover, the panels can be mechanically tilted east or west to derive the maximum benefit of the Sun’s position. The height of the tree is about 9–10 metres. 

   One tree can produce about 5kW of power. One of the main hurdles in installing solar power plants is the lack of availability of large areas of land. Often, farmers are reluctant to sacrifice their cultivable land for solar power production. But a solar tree with its vertically arranged branches, occupies only four sq. ft of area, leaving almost the entire land free for cultivation. The energy generated can be used to run pumps, e-tractors and tillers as a green alternative to diesel.

     India’s first solar power tree was producedby Central Mechanical Engineering and Research Institute (CMERI), at Durgapur. In2020, a much bigger tree with 35 panels was installed at the CMERI campus. The largest of its kind in the world, it produces up to 11.5kW of power. CMERI hopes to install many such solar trees along highways and farmlands.

FOOTBALLING REVOLUTION

Young Female Footballers Of Alakhpura

  Alakhpura, a village of 2,000 people in Haryana’s Bhiwani district, is a hub for young female footballers.

     More than 200 girl trainees practise football in Alakhpura twice a day—two hours in the morning and three hours in the late afternoon. Earlier, parents hesitated to let their daughters out of the house alone and the idea of girls playing a sport was frowned upon. Today these girls are breaching social taboos. 

  It all began when Gordhan Dass, a sports teacher posted at the government school, introduced football for girls in 2006. He encouraged girls to play the sport. If some families refused to let their daughters participate, Dass would take his daughter along to explain to them that there was no shame attached to football and that they should take pride in what their daughters could achieve. This approach worked and the families relented.    

  Initially, what motivated the girls was the scholarship money for playing well in competitions. But when football became the means of securing a government job, every family began pushing girls to play football—some have landed government jobs in the Indian Railways, the state education department and paramilitary forces such as the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). This has helped the girls become financially independent and support their families, many of whom live below the poverty line. As a result, Alakhpura’s residents no longer view daughters as a burden but as assets. 

  In 2017, the villagers officially registered the Alakhpura Football Club (AFC) with the All India Football Federation. While the Haryana government paid for the coaching and equipment, the villagers crowdsourced funds to cover the team’s expenses. The responsibilities of the club are divided among some of the villagers. Whenever the trainees need financial support, the entire village comes forward. 

    Today, at least half of the players of Haryana’s women’s football team hails from Alakhpura. Overall, 75 girls from the village have played in national-level competitions in different age groups and 12 have participated in international-level events. With their dedication and determination, the Alakhpura girls have firmly carved a space for their village on the country’s sports map and have become an inspiration for girls in India.

NATIVE BIRD OF NORTH AMERICA

 Turkey

     Turkeys are huge birds that are often raised by people for their meat. These birds are native to North America. There are two species of turkeys --- the wild turkey, which is found in central and eastern North America, and the ocellated turkey, which is found in Mexico. 

     Male and female turkeys look slightly different from each other. Male turkeys are larger than females and have colourful plumage and a fan-like tail. They have a red piece of flesh that grows from their forehead over their beak, called a snood, and a fleshy part that grows under their throat, called a wattle. Turkeys eat grains, nuts, seeds and small creatures such as frogs, lizards and snails. 

     A male turkey is called a tom and a female turkey is called a hen. Male turkeys have protrusions on their legs and spurs, which they use to fight with other male turkeys. Turkeys are believed to have been domesticated by humans more than 2,000 years ago. Turkeys have very good eyesight and can spot their predators from a distance. Turkeys can change the colour of their head from red to blue to white depending on their mood. 

Habits:

* Turkeys are social creatures and live in flocks. 

* Turkeys are active during the day and sleep at night. 

* Turkeys can produce around 20 different kinds of sounds to express themselves and communicate with each other. 

* Turkeys often peck the ground to search for food. 

* Turkeys eat small stones along with their food. This helps them to grind food in their stomach and aids digestion. 

Did you know? 

Roasted turkey is an important part of the Christmas meal in the USA, Canada and many European countries. 

AMBITIOUS SPACE MISSION PROJECT OF INDIA

 The Gaganyaan Mission 

     Have you ever dreamt of going to space and exploring the vast universe beyond our planet Earth? Well now India is working on making that dream come true with its amazing Gaganyaan Mission. 

     Gaganyaan is a supercool and exciting project by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) about sending astronauts to space and making India one of the few countries in the world that can do it. 

     The Gaganyaan Mission is super important for many reasons. Here are a few:

Space Exploration: we humans are curious beings, and space is like the ultimate adventure. Gaganyaan will help us explore and understand space better. 

Scientific Research: Scientists can conduct all sorts of experiments in space that they can't do on Earth. This helps us learn more about the universe and how things work. 

National Pride: Just like winning a gold medal in a sports event, Gaganyaan will make India proud on the world stage. It shows our skills and dedication to space exploration.

The Astronauts: Astronauts are like superheroes of space. They are specially trained to go to space and do all sorts of exciting things up there. For Gaganyaan, Indian astronauts will be selected and trained to fly on the mission in Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre. They will wear cool spacesuits and use high-tech gadgets while in space. 

The Rocket: Getting into space is no easy task. The Gaganyaan astronauts will ride on a powerful rocket called GSLV Mk III. It is India’s heaviest and mightiest rocket and it can carry the crew module (where the astronauts sit) to space. 

The spacecraft: The astronauts will travel in a spacecraft called the Orbital Module. This spacecraft is like a mini home in space. It has all the necessary equipments to keep the astronauts safe and comfortable during their journey. 

The Mission:

The Mission will have three main parts:

1) The launch: The astronauts will blast off from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh. 

2) The journey: The crew will spend about a week in space, orbiting our planet. They will experiment, take amazing pictures, and maybe even do a spacewalk.

3) Coming back: After their incredible adventure in space, the astronauts will return to Earth. A special crew module will protect them from the scorching heat as they re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, and they will land safely in the Arabian Sea.

     Gaganyaan would be a giant leap for India and all of us who dream to go into space and explore the universe. 

OUR RICH HERITAGE

Ancient Indian Universities 

     India has a long history and tradition of learning and thinking, and none of it makes it more evident than the mega universities existing in ancient times before invaders destroyed them. Let's look at a few of them:

Nalanda University:

 Located 95kms southeast of Patna near Bihar Sharif, Nalanda was established in the 5th century BC, dedicated to Buddhist studies, fine arts, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, politics and the art of war. 

     The university had eight separate compounds, ten temples, meditation halls, classrooms, lakes and parks. It had a nine-story library with 9 million books where monks meticulously copied books and documents. It housed 10,000 students and 2,000 professors. Nalanda attracted pupils and scholars from Sri Lanka, Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey, who left accounts of the centre. 

     Evidence in the literature suggests that in 1193, Nalanda University was sacked and destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji.

Pushpagiri: 

    The school in Pushpagiri was established in the 3rd century AD in modern Odisha, with three campuses. The Lalitgiri campus in Cuttack is supposed to be one of the oldest Buddhist establishments in the world, having been established in the 2nd century BC. Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang also mentioned Pushpagiri in his writings. The ruins of Pushpagiri were discovered in 1995 and have since become a tourist spot in Odisha. 

Taxila:

    Taxila or Takshashila was located in the kingdom of Gandhara (modern day Pakistan-Afghanistan border). Claims to have existed at least since the sixth century BC. Takshashila was an early Hindu and Buddhist centre of learning. The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where religious instruction was imparted individually. 

     Taxila has been mentioned in detail in Jataka tales. Taxila's main claim to fame is from Chanakya, for writing his socio-politic treatise Arthashastra at the university. The alums also include Mauryan emperor Chandragupta and Ayurvedic healer Charaka. 

Vikramshila: 

    Vikramshila was established by King Dharmapala (783 to 820) in response to a supposed decline in the quality of scholarship at Nalanda. Present in modern day Bhagalpur, Vikramshila was one of the largest Buddhist universities, with more than one hundred teachers and about 1000 students. Its scholars were renowned for being invited to teach Buddhist learning to foreign countries. It was destroyed by the forces of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1200.