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 peak power demand in the national capital rose to 7,334 MW on Wednesday afternoon, the highest ever in June, amid increased use of cooling appliances to beat the intense heat, discom officials said.It is expected to hover around 8,200 MW in the coming days, they added.

“Before June 9, Delhi’s peak power demand had never crossed the 7,000 MW-mark during June.

However, on May 19 this year, it clocked 7,070 MW. It has already crossed 7,000 MW six times in June this year and once in May,” a power distribution company (discom) official said.

The power demand peaked to 7,334 MW at 3.35 pm on Wednesday.Delhi’s power demand crossed the 6,000 MW-mark on every single day this June, the official said.In 2021, it crossed the 6K mark on nine occasions through the month, five-times in 2020 and thrice in 2019.

Across the world and also in our country there are many Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) working in various fields. Here, I am presenting the case of  “Society for Assam Agri-Horticultural Development” locally popular as  “SAAHDEV”  a Non-Governmental   Organisation (NGO) located in Guwahati which is working for the development of rural farming communities of Assam, especially for the resource crunch poor farmers. SAAHDEV   is comprised of senior citizens, who had long experience in the Agri-horticultural sector. It started its work in 2021 after registration under the Societies Registration Act of 1860.

Presently, SAAHDEV initiated a project for the production of quality winter paddy seeds viz.,  Ranjit Sub-1 variety, a submergence tolerance variety,  in a flood-prone area of Assam at   Durung village (Kamrup district) which is about 50 kilometers away from Guwahati. This variety was developed by the Assam Agricultural University and made available in 2018.

Incessant rain and a subsequent flood occur almost every year from June to September in this area (Durung village and its vicinity) and thus damage a vast area of paddy crops. Even if farmers try to do re-transplanting (if seedlings are available at that time), it will not help farmers to get their due return as the ideal time of transplantation is over. Therefore, the growing of submergence tolerance variety is one of the solutions at Durung village for which Ranjit Sub -1 variety is an alternative.

 SAAHDEV in collaboration with the Regional Agricultural Research Centre, Nagaon of Assam Agricultural University (AAU) organized a day-long programme on 12 Jun 2022 at Durung ( Khetri) distributing 20 Kilograms of breeder seeds to 20 farmers at the rate of one kilogram each. Also, imparted training to the farmers on the production of the breeder to foundation seeds, then to certified seeds of paddy.

It may be mentioned that Dr. Hemen Kalita, Agricultural Scientist, Regional Agricultural Research Centre, Nagaon, of Assam Agricultural University, attended as a resource person in the training and explained various aspects of seed production techniques to the farmers. Dr. Bhubaneshwar Burman, President of “SAAHDEV”, Bijoy Sarathi Sarma, Ramendra Kumar Bhuyan workers, and executive members of SAAHDEV attended the programme and discussed future steps on the project with the farmers and chalked out a detailed plan for production.  It is pertinent to mention that the yield of Ranjit Sub-1 is around 7,500 kilograms per hectare.

Further, it may be mentioned that the Government of India has already initiated measures to inspire farmers of flood-affected Kharif (sali) paddy to shift from regular sali paddy seeds to submergence tolerant varieties.  Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Agricultural Universities of India have developed other varieties viz., Swarna sub-1, Ranjit sub-1, etc.

It has to be admitted that the Government organizations cannot do it alone so, NGOs, Farmers’ Association, and others should come forward to take up seed production of such varieties in remote areas of the country, particularly in the flood-prone areas.

I extend my gratitude to my friend Bijoy Sarathi Sarma, Worker and Executive Member of SAAHDEV, Guwahati (bijoysarathi@yahoo.com) for providing the necessary inputs to publish the article.

Pfizer announced its investigational novel COVID-19 oral antiviral medicine , Paxlovid reduced hospitalization & death. The adminstration has also arranged to purchase 20 million corses of drug. It will be manufactured & distributed to pharmacies in weeks & months.

It is orally bioavailable drug used against HIV that is active against M*pro, a viral drug that play an essential role in viral replication by leaving the 2 viral polyproteins . It has demonstrated antiviral activity against all coronavirus that are known to infect humans. It is ritonavir , a strong cytochrome P450 ( CYP) 3 A4 drug and boosting agent that has been used to boost HIV . How may tablet are needed? After it is prescribed, Paxlovid is administered as three tablets taken together orally twice daily for five days, for a total of 30 tablets. What are the side effects? Possible side effects of Paxlovid include impaired sense of taste, diarrhea, high blood pressure and muscle aches, says the FDA. Using Paxlovid at the same time as certain other drugs may result in “potentially significant drug interactions.” Consult with your doctor. Using Paxlovid in people with uncontrolled or undiagnosed HIV-1 infection may lead to HIV-1 drug resistance, the FDA said. How did Paxlovid performed in clinical studies? Paxlovid significantly reduced the number of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 by 88 percent, compared to placebo among patients treated within five days of symptom onset and who did not receive COVID-19 therapeutic monoclonal antibody treatment.

It is developed by Pfizer and can be taken at home to help keep high- risk patients from getting so sick that they need to be hospitalized.

According to Kaiser health information it not always easy to find a prescription; one individuals told that RPR that it took an usual amount of knowledge and connections.

The medication company named Pfizer is taken a stepping towards vaccine named “Paxlovid” to reduce hospitalization and may offer to India at lower prices.

Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is neurological disease in which a virus – Varicella Zoster – causes inflammation of the nerves involved in facial movements.

When the nerves get inflamed, they lose their ability to function, leading to temporary facial palsy or paralysis. Facial muscles in the infected person cannot receive necessary signals to function properly. There are 12 cranial nerves in the body. Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is the viral infection impacting the 7th cranial nerve that is involved in facial movements. The inflammation caused by the Varicella Zoster Virus makes the nerve ineffective.

The symptoms include painful, red rash and blisters in and around the ear, and facial paralysis on the same side. Patients also report hearing loss in the ear that has been impacted apart from Tinnitus or ringing sounds. Inability to close the eye causes dryness. A rash on the eardrum, the ear canal and the earlobe. Rashes can also appear inside the mouth, on the tongue. There is hearing loss, vertigo or spinning sensation. It causes weakness of one side of the face and causes difficulty in closing one eye and eating as food falls off from the affected side. There is drooping of the face.

The Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) is the same virus that causes chickenpox and shingles.
This virus belongs to the Herpesvirus group and can stay in the body as a latent infection.
The virus can stay dormant in a person’s body and can reawaken to attack the nerves.
VZV can get reactivated due to weakening of the immune system. Stress is also considered a trigger, according to some studies, as it depresses the immune system. Some reports also suggest that T-cell dysfunction caused by coronavirus infection can reactivate VZV.

The disease is reversible. Patients get cured within 15 days to three months of starting the treatment.