Day: June 16, 2022

ALLEN WHITE- ‘YES’ DRUMMER

White was born in Pelton, County Durham, England on June 14, 1949. He began piano lessons at age six, took up drums at age 12, and started performing publicly when he was 13. White and the surviving members of Yes were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. Their hits include “Roundabout” and “Owner of a Lonely Heart.”

‘Yes’ are an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by lead singer and frontman Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford. The band has undergone numerous line-up changes throughout its history; 19 musicians have been full-time members. Since May 2022, it has consisted of guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Geoff Downes, singer Jon Davison, and bassist Billy Sherwood. Yes have explored several musical styles over the years and are most notably regarded as progressive rock pioneers.

‘YES’ Drummer Alan White died at the age of 72 peacefully at his home after a ‘short illness’, the English prog-rock band announced on 26 May.

Alan is considered to be one of the greatest rock drummers of all time. He was born in 1949 in County Durham and joined YES on 30th July 1972 for the Close to the Edge Tour. He had previously worked with John Lennon’s Plastic Ono band after a phone call in 1969 to play at the Toronto Rock Festival. Alan continued working with Lennon including on the Imagine album and with George Harrison on All Things Must Pass. He also worked with several other musicians over the years, including Ginger Baker’s Air Force, Joe Cocker, Gary Wright, Doris Troy and Billy Preston to name but a few. Alan White was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of YES in 2017.

A number of health setbacks since 2016, had restricted Alan’s time on stage with YES on recent tours with Jay Schellen filling in and Alan joining the band, to great applause, towards the end of each set.

Mona Lisa-The famous painting

Some people are disappointed when they first see the most famous painting in the world.

Maybe at first glance it doesn’t give you the wow factor that other paintings give when you see. But the truth is, when you see how many people are surrounded every time just to see the masterpiece is on different level.

But the fact what we see is quite a contemplative portrait. A portrait which is the greatest psychological portrait ever painted. A portrait so ahead of its time, that centuries later we are still trying to figure it out.

In 1517, the French king, King Francis I offered Leonardo a job, court painter and engineer and architect to the king. Leonardo now in his sixties moved to the chateau of Amboise in France and never went back to Italy. He brought with him dozens of sketch books, but one painting i.e., Mona Lisa. leonardo knew how important it was. He know it was a master piece

Mona Lisa is the end product of the greatest inquisitive mind in history. A self made man with a voracious appetite for knowledge, a man who dedicated himself to the study of anatomy, geology and philosophy

For Mona Lisa he used a thin grained piece of popular tree and applied an undercoat of lead white. he painted with glazes that had a very small amount of pigment mixed with the oil. So, how dark you want your glass to be, depends on how much pigment you use. He used more like a wash, which he applied thin, layer by layer.

As we move around the painting, that light shifts around. he used tiny, almost invisible brushstrokes applied super slowly over months, or in Mona Lisa case, it’s years.

By contrast, on her skin, brush strokes were applied in an irregular way and that makes the grain of the skin, look more life like. All of these techniques pioneered by Leonardo, bring the painting to life. He made sure, we would not be distracted from the face of Mona Lisa.

Leonardo uses the classic pyramid shaped composition that was introduced during the renaissance. It is an important change from the paintings of the 15th century. The structure provides stability but more importantly it provides a clear center of focus and directs your gaze.

In Mona Lisa’s case, it is pulling us into her face. The Mona Lisa is the earliest Italian portrait to focus on the sitter in a 3 quarter length pose, rather than full length. But why? because he completely fills the frame with his subject, making the painting more intimate and cutting down on distractions.

The another thing is, portraits were usually done with an open sky as the background, a monotone background or a simple room. Mona Lisa is in front of a complicated landscape that only existed in Leonardo’s imagination. Paintings that are drawn during that period had both the subject and the background in sharp focus. Whereas the background of Mona Lisa seems to fade or become more blurred and out of focus. This is Arial perspective and Leonardo invented it

The perfect life of a student

Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels.com

The life of a student is often seen as the “perfect life”. There is not much complexity to their life. After all, what they have to do is get up, get dressed, have their breakfast made by their mom and then rush to school without worrying about anything else. After their school, they return home, having everything prepared for them by their parents. What a perfect life, isn’t it? Nothing to worry about or to stress about! Everything they need is fulfilled by their parents. But in reality, is this what a student actually feels? Well, of course not! It’s only the point of view of everyone excluding the student himself who actually goes through the so- called “perfect life”? Let’s look more into it.

Nobody ever has a perfect life. Everybody has something that he wishes was not the way it is.

Stan Lee


The very notion of a “Perfect Life” is flawed. Nobody ever on the surface of earth has had a “perfect life”. Each and every person has been through or is going through some or the other kind of problem in their life. As in the case of students, the major issue faced by them is society’s expectations from them. As easy as it seems to have a student life, in reality it is nothing but a burden in today’s world. People, especially in many cases the parents, have high expectations from their children. They want their child to become doctor, engineer, administrative officials, etc., as per their expectations without paying any interest to what the child actually wants to do. Sometimes they force their child to take unnecessary tuitions and courses at an early age just to compete with others and to fulfill their expectations regardless of the child’s wish. This behavior, as normal and beneficial may seem, isn’t that encouraging and promising. Such behavior creates a stressful environment for the child who is subject to constant nagging and scolding if he/she defies the parents wish.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com


The stress of exams is an additional issue that overcrowds the mind of a student. The need to complete the syllabus in time without leaving behind any portion, the need to complete the assignments in time, the need to be the best student in front of the teacher’s eyes and above all the need to fulfill the dreams of their parents are some of the never-ending thoughts which constantly consume the mind of a student. A student has to go through many hurdles in order to satisfy the wants of the society. Career options revolving around any kind of art form, fashion designing, management courses, etc., are still seen to be inferior to that of doctor and engineer. If both parents are doctors, then the child has to become a doctor as per the social tradition cum orthodox. It is not new that children are at risk to many mental health issues due to this reason. Mental health deterioration in children is often neglected in the society which in turn, results in some severe damage to the emotional capability of a child. Failure in exams is still one of the top reasons behind suicide and depression in India. Apart from all this, a child subject to all this kind of stress, when does not get proper aid and time from the parents, becomes prey to ADHD and in some cases, turns to alcohol and drugs which results in nothing but self-destruction. Mental health of a student is as important as the physical health in order to gain prosperity. The increasing levels of competition and stress, the constant nagging by the society to win in this so-called “rat race” takes a toll on the mental health of a student. Comparison with other students, no matter how constructively be suggested, results in self-doubt within the students.


In conclusion, no matter how easy the life of a student may seem, in reality it is not a cakewalk! The burden of fulfilling the wishes of the parents and the society results in nothing more than unnecessary stress, confusion and self-doubt. Thus, the parents need to be aware of the unwanted pressure they are putting on their child’s shoulder and rather be more attentive and invested in their child’s wishes and dreams.

Children are not thing to be molded, but people to be unfolded.

-Jess Lair

CAATSA

The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is a US federal law, enacted on 27th July, 2017 and came into effect from January 2018, that has imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia. This act prevents trade partners of the United States in entering into bilateral contracts with these three nations. The Act empowers the US President to impose at least five of the 12 listed sanctions on persons engaged in a significant transaction with Russian defence and intelligence sectors. Its ultimate goal is to prevent revenue from flowing to the Russian Government. The Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), aims at taking punitive measures against Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The Act primarily deals with sanctions on the Russian oil and gas industry, defenceand security sector, and financial institutions, in the backdrop of its military intervention in Ukraine and its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.

Background of CAATSA :

The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act came against the backdrop of three events that would have serious implications regarding geopolitics. They are as follows:
• Iran’s Nuclear Missiles Program: The United States Government believed that any progress in Iran’s nuclear missile program would further destabilize the Middle-East as Iran has repeatedly made threats against Israel, a key NATO and United States ally. The CAATSA gives authority to the President of the United States to impose sanctions against any party involved in the sale and transfer of military technology to Iran.
• Curbing Russian influence: The Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and allegations of interventions in the US polls of 2016 was the catalyst for the CAATSA against Russia. Under the act sanctions can be imposed on Russia should the state or private individuals be found involved in activities such as cybersecurity, crude oil projects,  financial institutions, corruption,  human rights abuses etc.
• North Korea and weapons of mass destruction: North Korea has a nuclear weapons military program and as of 2020 it’s estimated missile arsenal includes 30-40 warheads with enough fissile materials to produce 6-7 missiles per year. North Korea has made repeated threats against its South Korea repeatedly and also against the United States.

Types of Sanctions:
The CAATSA contains 12 types of sanctions. There areonly two sanctions that may impact either India-Russia relations or India-US relations.
• Prohibition of Banking transactions: It is likely to have an impact on India-Russia relations.This would mean difficulties for India in making payments in US Dollars to Russia for the purchase of the S-400 systems.
• Export Sanction: The second sanction will have greater consequences for India-US relations. It has the potential to completely derail the India-US Strategic and Defence partnership, as it will deny the license for, and export of, any items controlled by the US.

India’s Concerns :

Seventy per cent of Indian military hardware is Russian in origin. While the US has become its second-largest defence supplier, mainly of aircraft and artillery, India still relies heavily on Russian equipment, such as submarines and missiles that the US has been unwilling to provide. The USA President was given the authority in 2018 to waive CAATSA sanctions on a case by case basis. A waiver of such CAATSA for India has been under consideration since the law had come into force. In fact, India was threatened with sanctions when it decided to buy the S-400 missile launchers from Russia and buy crude oil from Iran. What is also worrying for India is the example of Turkey who, despite being a key NATO ally, was expelled from the US F-35 fighter jet programme when it purchased S-400 missile systems from Russia. Yet India went ahead with the S-400 deal in 2018 with no negative reaction from the United States government. The delivery of the S-400s is expected to finish by 2025. However, the USA has repeatedly stated that India should not assume it will get a waiver. Now India could also face USA sanctions for purchasing the S-400 Triumf missile defense system from Russia under the CAATSA. If implemented stringently, CAATSA would impact Indian defence procurement from Russia. Lately, the United States Government has stated that although a waiver is not possible at this time, a blanket application of sanctions against India for its defence contracts with Russia is also not being considered. India stopped importing oil from Iran in mid-2019 following sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation by the Trump administration.Iran in 2017-18 was its third-largest supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia and met about 10% of total needs.Iran getting closer to China is also a serious concern for India.

India needs to balance its relation with both Russia and USA, so that its national interest is not compromised. Russia always saw India as a balancer that’s why Russia facilitated India’s inclusion into Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and formation of Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping.The defence procurement for India has become significant amid deadly clashes with China on Line of Actual Control (LAC). Further, Russia is an all weather defence partner of India.India today is in a unique position to have a favourable relation with all great powers.It needs to develop closer ties with the United States, which could balance any moves towards a strategic partnership between China and Russia. Thus, India must leverage this position to help in building a peaceful world order.

Sources : The Hindu and Drishti IAS