STORY OF TOLSTOY AND THE YOUNG MAN

Poverty 

One day a young man came to Tolstoy, the famous social thinker and Laureate of Russia. Asking for some help the young man said, "Sir, I am a very poor man. I have no money or means for my livelihood. My life has become very miserable."

Tolstoy looked at him, was surprised and said, "Young man! What do you speak? You appear to be very rich and lucky. Why do you call yourself poor and unfortunate?"

The young man said, "Sir, why are you mocking at my tragic condition and adding salt to my injury? Please be kind to me."

Tolstoy - "No young man! I am not joking, but telling you the truth. You have wealth of millions' worth on your body."

Young man - "Where is that wealth of millions' worth? I hardly have a few pennies in my pocket." 

Tolstoy - "Well, you have two eyes. I have a friend who will buy them for seventy thousand rubles (Russian currency). Tell me, are you willing to part with them?"

Young man - "Oh sir! What are you talking about? If I give you my eyes, I will be fully blind. The whole world will become empty for me. I will not be able to enjoy anything. Therefore, I can't even imagine giving up my eyes."

Tolstoy - Well, if not the eyes, then give both your ears to my friend, and he will give you sixty thousand rubles. Is it acceptable to you?"

Young man - "I cannot part with my ears. If I give up my ears, how will I hear anything?"

Tolstoy - "Then I have a brother, he will be pleased to buy both your hands for eighty thousand rubles. So, you will give your hands to him. Is it right?"

Young man - "Sir! You must be joking! How can I give my hands? Without hands, how will I work and conduct myself? How will I lift the things, even my food and drinks? My two hands alone are the means of existence and subsistence for me. How can I do away with them? Should I make myself a handicap and become worthless forever?"

Tolstoy - "It seems that you are not aware of your other precious possessions. OK, let alone your hands, sell away both your legs. I will buy them myself for ninety thousand rubles. Are you willing?"

Young man - "Sir, if I sell my both legs, I will become totally crippled. I am already a destitute. If I don't have legs, I will become more worthless and totally dependent on others. Therefore, I will definitely not be able to sell my legs."

Tolstoy - "Right, even now you have many valuables, like nose, head etc. and all together, they will be worth millions, yet you seem not willing to sell them. But by now you have understood that you are not really poor. You have limbs worth millions, but due to ignorance and poverty of right thinking you consider yourself to be poor. Tell me from your heart, are you not having millions upon you?"

Young man - "Yes sir, now I realise that I was myself worth millions, but was mis-judging myself to be poor. You have kindly opened my eyes. Tell me, what should I do now, in order to get rid of my apparent poverty?"

Tolstoy said, "Young man you are indeed very fortunate. You have the valuable capital of labour. Take this axe of mine, and earn your fortune by hard work."

The young man paid respects to Tolstoy and went away happily with the axe. 

That is how the person suffers from his mental poverty, till he resolves to endeavour for his betterment, through hard work and sincerity. 

A MOTHER WHO OVERCAME ADVERSITY

 Mary Ann Bevan

Among all human relationships, the bond between a mother and child is perhaps the most sacred one. We've all heard endless tales of a mother's unselfishness, sacrifice, and perseverance. 

How Did She Become 'The Ugliest Woman In The World'?

Born in 1874 in East London, Mary Ann had a tough yet regular childhood. She eventually trained to become a nurse and got married. Shortly thereafter, she had four children and life was usual. But destiny, probably had other plans for her. She was affected by a hormonal condition called acromegaly which caused bone and facial disfigurement. Unfortunately, there was no proper treatment for that precise ailment back then.

As the disease crept in, her once attractive appearance changed drastically over a period of a few years. Meanwhile, her husband passed away suddenly. As if that was not enough, due to her gross appearance she lost her job and all her attempts at finding new means of livelihood went futile. Stressed and embarrassed by her worsening condition, and also widowed at a young age, she was solely liable to provide for her four small children. Her seemingly normal life was utterly disrupted.

As it is often stated, desperate times call for desperate measures. In absolute helplessness, Mary Ann entered the bizarre competition of 'The Ugliest Woman In The World.' Winning the weird title must have been humiliating for her, yet from that day on there was no looking back. She was hired as a 'freak show' performer in Coney Island's Dreamland sideshow. During the 1900s, freak shows served as popular entertainment for the masses. Freaks were people with rare and atypical physical deformities. In the current situation, it might sound strange but this was long before the concepts of inclusivity and body shaming had come into being.

Although her grotesque bodily features were visible to others, her pains and agonies weren't, and for those she had to be more or less constantly under treatment. Despite the physical suffering and the indignity, Mary Ann Bevan in her given state did her best of what could have been done. Throughout her life until she died at the age of 59, she toured different cities and participated in several shows in England and later on in the United States as well. By doing so, she could successfully feed and educate her four children. It is said that every now and then, she would show her children's picture to the people around her, particularly mentioning about the son who was posted in the army. Mary Ann Bevan's story reminds us how cruel at times fate, and in particular the human world can be. At the same time, if we look on the positive side, her life personifies her indomitable spirit as well. As a human being, a woman, and above all a doting mother, Mary Ann Bevan's journey is profoundly inspirational.

ZEN TALE

Walking on water 

Once, three young monks sat on the bank of a river in meditation. The youngest of the monks said, "I'd be able to concentrate better if I could sit on my prayer mat." He got up and walked across the river to fetch his prayer mat from the hermitage. 

The seniormost monk said, "I can't believe it! When did he learn to walk on water?"

Just then, the other monk got up with a start. "Oh, no! I've left my laundry in the bucket! If I don't hang them up to dry, I shan't have dry clothes to change into!" And he too ran across the river to the hermitage. 

"He can walk on water too!" said the astonished seniormost monk. "Well, if those two can, surely I should be able to do it too."

He stepped into the river but his feet went right through the water. He would have drowned if the other two monks hadn't come to his rescue. 

Feeling humiliated, he left the monastery. Subsequently he got married and had children. 

Then one day, he took his family to see the old monastery. 

Father! Father! Look at that monk walking across the river!" shouted his son excitedly. 

"Yes my son, the monks here are able to walk on water."

When the monk reached the bank, the boy ran to him. 

"Please will you teach me to walk on water?" he asked. 

The monk burst out laughing. "All right, but make sure you follow my steps carefully!" he said. 

The little boy caught hold of the monk's hand and grabbed his robe from behind with the other. Then very carefully, he put his leg in the river just as he saw the monk do, and stepping on the pathway of stones just below the surface, he walked across to the other side. 

METAMORPHOSIS

Life cycle of butterfly 🦋 

The life cycle of a butterfly consists of four stages: egg, caterpillar (larva), pupa (chrysalis), and an adult butterfly. Here's a simple explanation of each stage:

1. Egg : A butterfly starts its life as a tiny egg. The female butterfly lays the egg on a leaf. The egg is usually very small and has a round or oval shape. It is attached to the leaf with a special glue-like substance. 

2. Caterpillar (Larva): When the egg hatches, a caterpillar emerges. The caterpillar is the second stage of the butterfly's life cycle. It’s a small, worm-like creature with a soft body. The caterpillar eats (leaves) a lot and grows rapidly. It sheds its outer skin several times to accommodate its increasing size. 

3. Pupa (Chrysalis): After the caterpillar has grown and eaten enough, it forms a protective case around itself called a chrysalis or pupa. Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar undergoes transformation. It turns into a butterfly but stays hidden within the case. 

4. Adult butterfly: Once the transformation is complete, the adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis. At first, its wings are small and wet, but they quickly expand and dry out. The butterfly pumps fluid into its wings, allowing them to become strong and ready for flight. The adult butterfly feeds on nectar from flowers and plays a vital role in pollination. 

This beautiful transformation from an egg to a butterfly is called metamorphosis. It is an incredible process in nature that allows butterflies to change and grow. 

DO YOU KNOW

Why paper cuts hurt?

The main reason why paper cuts are so painful primarily lies in the fact that you usually get them on your fingers, particularly your fingertips. Fingertips and hands have significantly more nociceptors (nerve fibres) per square millimeter than most of the rest of your body, such as your legs, arms stomach area etc. This ends up making cuts on your fingertips feel significantly more painful than cuts elsewhere, even when they are produced by paper or similar objects. 

But why do paper cuts seem to hurt more than other types of cuts on the hand? This is thought to be because the edges of paper are very dull and flexible, compared to knives and other such sharp objects. Because of this, when paper cuts your flesh, it does a lot more microscopic damage as it rips through your skin. Not only is there more microscopic damage, but this damage is also very shallow on the skin. This will further increase the pain because some of the most sensitive nerves in your skin, which have very low thresholds to trigger, are near the surface. They also tend to hurt longer because they won't bleed much and sometimes not at all. This leaves the nerves open to the air other irritants, so they will continue to be in an activated state for much longer than more significant cuts. 

ENERGY FROM HEAT INSIDE THE EARTH

Geothermal Energy

The word 'geothermal' is a combination of the words 'geo' which means 'Earth' and 'thermal' which means heat. The name gives us a hint as to how it is produced. The inside of the planet is scorching. This heat sometimes breaks through the Earth in the form of geysers and volcanoes. The heat from these is known as geothermal energy.

History: Geothermal energy has been utilised for many centuries. The ancient Romans took it further and used hot springs to heat flooring and baths. The first use of Geothermal energy for electricity was in 1904 when the geothermal electric generator was invented. The first-ever geothermal plant was set in Larderello, Italy, in 1904. Steam from that geothermal source was used to turn a small turbine that powered five light bulbs. A few years later, in 1911, the first geothermal electric plant was built. In the 1940s, a heat pump was developed, which was used to heat buildings. 

The Geological Survey of India has found around 340 hot springs across India. Most of India’s hot springs are located along the following five major regions - the NW-SE Himalayan arc system extended to Andaman Nicobar Island, Son-Narmada-Tapti lineament, West Coast continental margin with its adjacent and surrounding areas, Gondwana graben and Delhi fold regions. 

The Process: Geothermal energy can be used through geothermal heat pumps. At 10ft below sea level, the ground has a consistent temperature between 10 and 15 degree Celsius. This temperature remains constant, allowing geothermal heat pumps to maintain water at a constant temperature. By moving the water through through the ground, it can be heated during the winter or cooled during the summer. A heat exchanger can then use this water to heat or cool the air in homes. 

Geothermal energy can also be used to generate electricity. Power plants take advantage of water 3.2kms deep in the ground. 

Water is utilised in several ways. 

* Dry steam engine: It takes steam from cracks in the ground to drive a turbine. The heated water vapour (steam) is directed towards a turbine that drives an electrical generator. 

* Flash points: These pull hot water with high pressure and mix it with cool water. This process creates steam, which drives a turbine.

* Binary cycle: In this process, heated water is drawn through a set of pipes and much of the energy stored in the heated water is transferred to a working fluid, such as ammonia, through a heat exchanger. The active liquid is vaporised to spin turbines and generate electricity. 

Applications: Geothermal energy is also used to heat individual buildings with directly and to heat multiple buildings with district heating systems. Hot water near the Earth’s surface is piped into buildings for heat. A district heating system provides warmth for most of the buildings in Reykjavik, Iceland. In fact, 87% of the country’s homes are heated using geothermal energy. 

Industrial applications of geothermal energy include food dehydration (drying), gold mining and milk pasteurising. Moreover, geothermal energy can be used in the desalination of water, heavy water production, extraction of minerals from geothermal fluids and seasoning of timber. However, geothermal energy is presently utilised mainly for power generation and space heating purposes only. 

Advantages: 

* Since fossil fuel reserves are limited, geothermal energy is an alternative that emits fewer harmful gases than when fossil fuels are burned. It produces 0.03% of the emissions that coal produces and 0.05% of the emissions that natural gas produces. 

* Geothermal energy does not require as much energy to be utilised. Moreover, technology has been developing exponentially, making discoveries every day. Each new step might hold the key to a sustainable world. 

Disadvantages:

* Geothermal energy can only be found in some areas, such as Iceland. 

* Sometimes, harmful gases can be released from the ground while digging, which negatively impacts the ozone layer. 

* The cost of building geothermal plants is exceptionally high. However, as technology develops, the prices should fall. 

HISTORICAL EVENT OF THE MONTH

Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi

 

21 May in India is observed as Anti-Terrorism Day to commemorate the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated by a suicide bomber. 

On May 21, 1991, at 10:10p.m., Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, was killed in a bomb blast that occurred during an election rally at Sriperumbudur near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The blast was triggered by Dhanu, a Sri Lankan Tamil suicide bomber who detonated an explosive-laden belt concealed under her dress while stooping to touch his feet. Fifteen people, including Rajiv Gandhi and Dhanu, were killed on the spot while three succumbed to their injuries in hospital; 44 were injured. 

The assassination was carried out by the Liberation of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a Tamil terrorist outfit operating in Sri Lanka, who opposed the deployment of the military contingent Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka as part of the agreement between the two governments when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister. With the elections near, the LTTE feared that Rajiv Gandhi's return to power would result in a return of the IPKF and a crackdown on the LTTE network in India. 

The case was immediately entrusted to the CBI, who formed a Special Investigation Team to find the culprits. A 3-month-long hunt ended with the suicide of Sivarasan, the mastermind behind the assassination, along with his chief accomplice Subha and five others when the police closed in on their hideout in Bangalore.