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E-Books:Why Is It A Thing Of Near Future

It has been emphasized time and again how reading books, fictional or factual is a rewarding hobby. With a diverse development of the personality, it also lets an individual explore physical and mental spaces that one might not be able to access in normal life. Let’s not even start with the ‘vocabulary development’ incentive. All and all, reading books are important. Agreed.

Also, it is not wrong to say that we are living through a technological revolution period. One of the most life changing products of this revolution is … take a guess? Of course, it’s the Internet. New job opportunities are created due to the presence of it. Food, fashion and fun is easier to conjure up than ever. And for the bibliophiles,  it is a blessing like no other! E-books are the new trend and rewarding one too…

Screen revolution

E-books are changing the reading scenes. And why not, for they have loads of pros in a multidimensional aspect. Some of the most obvious advantages are:

  • Easy to carry around: Tons and tons of books, sometimes a whole library, can be transported all around the globe in our personal devices. 
  • Accessible to a new extent: Different genres can be shuffled and checked out at a swipe. Also, not able to find a book in the stores? Shopping sites and the whole Internet will come to the rescue. Just one should know where to look for, simultaneously being safe. 
  • Saving the environment: The hardcover and paperback books, though have their own ‘feel’ and sentiments, are actually damaging the planet. And in more than one way. From cutting down virgin trees to chemical treatment done in complete production of the books, the damages done are far and many. That is totally avoided in the case of e-books
  • New innings for the new players: New author and worried where to try pitching your book? Then, e-book platforms are there to save the day. And the lucrative add-ons are a win-win. That includes more royalty, easy distribution, more varied audience to reach, lighting fast transportation and so on. 
  • Free stuff: Who doesn’t like that? Psst… It might not always be the best option, morally or legally though. But still, diving to the depths of the Internet might land anyone a copy of their must-read list at absolutely no cost! 
  • Cheaper than ever: Also, if the purchase is being made on any reading platform, there is a hundred and one percent chance that the book will be much cheaper than the hard bound copies. 
  • Nothing can stop you: Darkness doesn’t matter anymore. The screens have enough light to shine and lighten up the words on their own. 
  • No font is a small font: Do the words feel like ants and you have to read with scrunched eyebrows? That ain’t an issue with e-books, where zoom in and zoom out gives the optimum reading experience. 
  • Indestructible: Your favourite book will never be worn down, even if it is read a thousand times. And iterating it again, easy to transport with worrying about any worry of substantial damage. 

Too good to be?

All of this sounds so awesome, right? But every good thing comes at a price. So do e-books. 

  • Optic fatigue and chronic side effects: Prolonged exposure leads to screen light to the whole optic system getting tired. Also, long term exposure has other more severe effects, which is partially indicated by certain studies. 
  • Distribution in sleep cycle: Many people have their free time before going to bed. So, if reading books is their go to thing to do, then reading an e-book may not be the best thing they are doing before going to sleep. It is observed that screen light can tamper with one’s ability to fall asleep. Also, melatonin production might get affected due to this favourite pastime.
  • No sentimental attachment: Let’s be real with this. No e-book can imitate the feel of holding a brand new copy (a plus point if signed by the author) or can never compete with the smell of an old copy.

It is safe to say that the utility of e-books is up for debate for a long time to come. But whatever, as long as everyone gets to read, the world will be a happy space.

Vanchinathan-Proud freedom fighter

Vanchinathan was born in 1886 in Sengottai to Raghupathy Iyer and Rukmani Ammal. His actual name was Shankaran. He did his schooling in Sengottai. He married Ponnammal and got into a lucrative government job.

On 17 June 1911, Vanchi who was just 25, assassinated Robert Ashe, the district collector of Tirunelveli, who was also known as Collector Dorai. He shot Ashe at point-blank range when Ashe’s train had stopped at the Maniyachi Station, en route to Madras. He committed suicide thereafter. The railway station has since been renamed Vanchi Maniyachi.

The mastermind behind the assassination was Nilakanta Brahmachari who went around the Madras presidency in 1910 recruiting cadres and hatching plots against the British. In this venture, he was accompanied by Shankar Krishna Iyer, Vanchinathan’s brother-in-law, who introduced the men to each other. Along with a few other men, Nilakanta Bramhachari, Vaanchinathan, and Shankar Krishna Aiyar found an organisation called Bharatha Matha Sangam which plots the assassination of influential British men. On 17 June 1911, Ashe boarded the 9:30 am Maniyachi Mail at Tirunelveli Junction. With him was his wife, Mary Lillian Patterson, who had arrived from Ireland only a few days earlier. They had married on 6 April 1898, in Berhampore; Mary was about a year older than Ashe. They were on their way to Kodaikanal where their four children, Molly, Arthur, Sheila, and Herbert, lived in a rented bungalow. At 10:38 am, the train pulled in at Maniyachi. The Ceylon Boat Mail was due to arrive at 10:48 am. As the Ashes sat facing each other in the first class carriage, waiting for the Boat Mail to arrive, a neatly dressed man with tufted hair and another young man wearing a dhoti approached the carriage. The former boarded the carriage and pulled out a Belgian-made Browning automatic pistol. The bullet hit Ashe in the chest and he collapsed. The sound of the pistol shot was absorbed by the howling wind. 

The reason for the selection of Ashe as the target was his role in the suppression of Swadeshi movement led by V.O. Chidambaram and others in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin. His suppressive action also led to the collapse of the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company. Fourteen persons were charged in the Ashe murder case, which came to be known as the Tirunelveli conspiracy case.

After the shooting, Vanchinathan ran along the platform and took cover in the latrine. Sometime later he was found dead, having shot himself in the mouth. The pistol recovered from him was empty without any bullets as he just planned to kill himself after killing Ashe and had no intention to hurt anyone other than Ashe.In his pocket was found a letter

I dedicate my life as a small contribution to my motherland. I am alone responsible for this.

The mlechas of England having captured our country, tread over the sanathana dharma of the Hindus and destroy them. Every Indian is trying to drive out the English and get swarajyam and restore sanathana dharma. Our Raman, Sivaji, Krishnan, Guru Govindan, Arjuna ruled our land protecting all dharmas, but in this land, they are making arrangements to crown George V, a mlecha, and one who eats the flesh of cows.

Three thousand Madrasees have taken a vow to kill George V as soon as he lands in our country. In order to make others know our intention, I who am the least in the company, have done this deed this day. This is what everyone in Hindustan should consider it as his duty.

I will kill Ashe, whose arrival here is to celebrate the crowning of cow-eater King George V in this glorious land which was once ruled by great samrats. This I do to make them understand the fate of those who cherish the thought of enslaving this sacred land.

I, as the least of them, wish to warn George by killing Ashe.


Vande Mataram. Vande Mataram. Vande Mataram

The railway station Vanchi maniyachi is named after the Tamil freedom fighter Vanchinathan and was the site of assassination of the British Collector, Robert Ashe. Today the station is a significant station in the Madurai railway division of the Southern Railway Zone, one of the six divisions established within the Southern Railway Zone others being Chennai, Tiruchchirappalli, Salem, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram.

MORNING WALK IS MUST

Ever wonder what motivates those droves of people who sneak out of their houses at the crack of dawn every day and set off briskly for their morning walk? Well, they are clearly on to a good thing because research shows that while exercise at any time of the day is beneficial; getting your cardio rhythms up and pumping early in the morning offers your mind and body some added benefits. When you wake up in the morning, movement might not be your first priority.

But starting your day with a walk — whether it’s around your neighborhood or part of your commute to work or school — can offer your body a number of health benefits.The best part about incorporating a morning walk into your daily routine is how easily it can be done. There is no expensive fitness center membership to be bought and no major rejigging of your schedule required; all it takes for you to get started on your morning walks is some motivation and a good pair of trainers.

You might argue that walking is walking, regardless of what time of the day you choose to do it; and you wouldn’t be wrong. However, working up a cardio sweat with a morning walk will up your metabolism for the entire day and keep you feeling energized and ready to take on anything. Also, taking the morning walk habit is easy because there are fewer disruptions to distract you from your daily routine. Studies also say that endurance levels are higher in the mornings than evenings so you will be able to push yourself more and burn more calories during a morning walk than at some other time of the day.

Morning walks may seem like a very easy form of exercise when you compare it to gym routines or more intensive forms of working out. However, studies have shown that morning walks are very effective when it comes to burning fat. In fact, low-intensity cardio like walking burns 60 percent of calories from fat. While high-intensity exercises may give you better fat loss results overall, morning walking can help get you back into shape by raising your heart rate and giving you a great cardio workout.

Besides being a great way to get some exercise right at the start of your day, morning walks also make you feel happier and set a positive tone for the rest of the day. There are a number of ways in which morning walk improves your mental well-being. For starters, the brisk exercise releases endorphins — happy hormones that give you a mood boost; the rush of energy revs you up for the rest of the day, and studies have shown that walking briskly  for half an hour to an hour has a significant positive effect on those suffering from depression.

Walking can also help protect your memory and improve your cognitive skills. The rush of oxygen and blood to your brain when you walk makes your brain alert and improves brain function. In fact, as far as brain function is concerned,walking has more significant benefits for people over the age of 60, preventing age-related memory decline and degeneration.

Regular morning walks to improve your overall health parameters and as a result, you may find yourself popping fewer meds than you used to. In fact, experts say that going for regular morning walks may make you live longer by a year. Walking improves blood circulation and oxygen supply in the body and it leads to better immunity.

6 Ways to improve the quality of your life

What is the first thing that cross your mind while thinking about improving the quality of your life? Well, most people would link the increase in one’s income or making more money as the sole solution to improve one’s life. But money alone cannot bring a change in the quality of life you are living. As we all know, money alone cannot buy you happiness. Let us explore some simple ways to live a quality life.
1) Maintain healthy relationships- A healthy relationship plays a vital role in increasing one’s happiness, reducing stress and is crucial for your mental well-being. So, strive to socialise more and build healthy connections with people, as every human being needs a strong support system who can help fight their battles.
2) Discover meaning in your work- the work you choose for yourself plays a major role in forming your identity and shaping self-worth. Working in a job just for the sake of working would have a negative impact on your health.
    Ask yourself― are you happy with your current job? If not, take a step forward and search for some other work opportunities, or if quitting your job appears impossible,even though you find no meaning in it and feel directionless in life, then you can restructure your workday and strive to make your work enjoyable.
3) Make time for leisure- Take a break from your work when needed. I know there are times when it feels like even working for 24hours ain’t adequate and still a lot of work remains undone. But what we often fail to recognize is that making time for leisure not only lowers your stress level and improves your mood, but it additionally enhances your problem-solving skills,as well. Therefore, indulging oneself in pleasurable leisure activities is imperative for one’s mental well-being.
4) Read, learn and grow- just like physical workout routines keep your physique healthy, similarly the habit of reading books keep your mind healthy. As we all know learning is a life-long process and no man or a woman can become all knowing in a lifetime, so the more you read, the more you learn and you grow as a person with time. Devoting atleast an hour every day on reading and trying to feed new knowledge to your brain would assist you improve your life,for the better.
5) Disconnecting from toxic people- just like a healthy relationship is imperative for your psychological well-being similarly toxic relationships are hazardous for your standard well-being. Disconnect yourself from every person who serves no good to you. The more you’ll stay away from negative people , the more you’ll be at peace and attract positivity and joy into your life.
6) Healthy lifestyle- to improve the quality of your life, lastly, you should inculcate certain healthy habits into your daily routine for instance, practising meditation and physical workouts, which are necessary to maintain a healthy body and mind. Apart from it, consuming healthy food is another important habit that should be followed. Choosing a healthier lifestyle would eventually assist in improving the quality of your life and bring in more happiness making you feel content and at peace with yourself.
    The above mentioned points are therefore some of the simple ways following which you can bring positive changes in your life and live a quality life in the end.

Beauty of Kerela

KERALA: The god’s own country is one of the major tourist attraction as well as the best honeymoon destination in India. The land of God, Kerala is believed to be a gift of the Arabian Sea. The pride of Kerala are Gorgeous and Exotic Beaches , Breathtaking hill Stations,Enchanting waterfalls, Beautiful lagoons, Meandering rivers and Amazing natural scenarios. These colors are made Kerala as a land of beauty and paradise on earth. Kerala is also famous for its Ayurvedic treatments, high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valley, lush and evergreen rain forest and coconuts water and oil and foods items. Kerala houseboats are first and best preference of the tourist to enjoy their moments in beautiful lakes of Kerala. The Idukki dam is the first Indian arch dam in Periyar river Kerala and the largest arch dam in Asia. Shopping, museums and markets are also best way to explore Kerala. 

Reasons to visit KERELA

Beaches: Sea, Sand and Sun are the gifts given by the god, which makes Kerala the land of most delightful beaches in the world. Kerala Backwaters offers a series of beaches that are perfect for a relaxing time with your love one. Some of the best beaches in Kerala are Kovalam, Cherai, Varkala, Kappad, Muzhappilangad and Bekal. Watch the sunset along with the blue water beaches of Kerala is the best way to end your day and start a romantic night.

Natural beauty: Kerala the land of beauty is describes as the favourite child of nature, and famous for its breath-taking natural beauty. Major attraction are includes long coconuts tree, the blue mountain and rivers makes Kerala one of the greenest places ever seen. The beautiful milky falls of water splashing through the rocks should not be miss. Other attraction are Vembanad lake India’s longest lake, Sasthamkotta lake.

Hill Stations: There are many hill stations in Kerala which offers the best spectacular views of the nature. Munnar one of best hill destination in kerala and one of the famous hill station in India. The other beautiful hill stations are Ponmudi,Nelliampathi, Ponmudi and Wayanad Hill Station. These hill stations of Western ghats are one of the best place for trekking in India .

Wildlife: The Land of God, Kerala has a rich culture in Flora and Fauna. Kerala is the only state in India where highest number of Indian Elephants are found. The best place for wild animals are Silent Valley,Periyar national park and Tiger Reserve,which is situated high in the ranges of the western ghat.

Cuisines: After the enjoyments, foods are the next thing in mind. Kerala has a rich and unique flavor of foods like sea food , malayali cuisines and banana dishes. Kerala is famous for its spices and its spicy recipes of vegetarian and non vegetation food. Best cuisine of Kerala is Meen curry – Kerala style fish curry made in fried coconut.

Mountains of tea:It’s the plant behind another beverage that gives the area around the hill station town of Munnar, in east Kerala, its famously vibrant shade of green. In this part of the Western Ghats mountain region, the steep hillsides are covered with about 60,000 acres of tea plantations — an industry begun by the British, who established the plantations in the late 19th century.

WHAT IS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?

Any buisnessman or entrepreneur does not become billionaire by giving discount only the competitive advantage can make you sustain in the competitive era and scale your business. Now what is this competitive advantage from where to get it? Well the competitive advantage is within your business. Competitive advantage is that advantage that your competition cannot posses. For example you get raw materials at very reasonable price and you can sell it at comparatively lower price than your competitors or you have a very good business network or a high brand equity with which your competitors cannot compete.

There is no point in facing competition without having competitive advantage better not to compete otherwise you will be ruined by your competitors. You will not get your Competitive advantage in one day it may be some weeks or months but keep trying to find it because the day when you will get it. That will be a turning point in your business. There can n numbers of competitive advantage for your. You should have an analytical approach to your business even if you are a shopkeeper or any small scale businessman and if you are medium or high level businesbusinessman it is must for you.

How to find your competitive advantage? There can be any way but I would recommend going with a proper model like VRIO. V-Valuable R-RARE I-inimitable Organised. Ask these 4 questionsyourself to your business or to your startup idea. First thing is value , are you providing high amount of value for which you are charging for? Neither undersell nor oversell. Fix your price according to the value you give. If your product is in demand and you are charging reasonable then people will buy it definitely.

Second thing is rare if you are selling an easily provided goods or services and you are just like others that will not be your competitive advantage either be the number one or the only one. Third thing is Inimitable your competitive advantage should not be copied by your competitors, better issue patents and licensed techniques for claiming copyright. The fourth is Organisation. If your organisation is not good you will not be able to execute activities with smoothness your organisation can be your biggest competitive advantage whether it be your market network or your clients base or any other aspect your organisation is the skeletal system of your business. It stands on the organisation

My Experience with Yoga

Yoga, the technique of relaxing your mind and body, originated in India. It is often defined as the union of the Atma (soul) with the Parmatma (the Divine). Yoga and its related branches have a deep connection with India due to their history. Its first mention is in the Rig Veda, a compilation of mantras and hymns considered sacred in Hinduism, and was popularised, for the first time, by Swami Vivekananda. Some of the most well-known yoga practitioners (called yogis) are Paramhansa Yogananda, Swami Sivananda, Ramdev, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and K Pattabhi Jois among others. 

Yoga was introduced to me in the most usual way, by my grandparents. Even though I was so young that I could not grasp the concept of yoga, my Nana used to tell me that I should wake up before sunrise and practice Surya Namaskar on a daily basis. Needless to say, I slept till 10 in the morning and completely ignored their wishes, not realising that it would be beneficial for me in the long run. 

Later, my school made it compulsory to attend Yoga classes every week. My friends and I would choose the last of seats so that we could relax in our own way, without yoga. There were times when we would follow our teacher’s orders and practise different asanas and breathing exercises but we never put real efforts into it. 

In 11th, two new subjects were introduced in my curriculum- Psychology and Physical Education. As Psychology was and still is my favourite subject, I never missed a single class or skipped a word in the book. On the other hand, I was a little less enthusiastic about studying Physical Education. But in these books, I found the true meaning of yoga. Physical Education taught me easy and effective asanas and postures which could be used to help people with asthma, diabetes, hypertension, back pain, et cetera. I learned about its history, how the word ‘yoga’ has a different meaning for different people, it’s multiple benefits and our responsibility to keep it alive and pass this knowledge to the next generations. 

It was Psychology that gave me the best insight into the usefulness of yoga. While reading about many therapies such as Humanistic therapy, Behaviour therapy, Cognitive therapy, et cetera, which were introduced by great minds to help people who have psychological problems, I also read about yoga’s role in this purpose. According to the study and research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania, Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) has been found to help people who have depression or anxiety. It is astonishing to know the impact of simple breathing exercises on our minds. Yogic exercises have been organised by many governments for army officers as well, to help them get over any trauma they’ve faced and to make them mentally stronger as well as focused. 

If practised correctly and regularly, yoga can improve our self-esteem, calm our minds, make us self-aware, increase our lifespan, keep our bodies fit and healthy, among many other benefits. 

Amid this pandemic, I believe that meditation can help all of us to improve our mental health as it has been severely affected. 

I would advise closing your eyes while assuming a sitting position and focusing on your breathing, before and after sleeping. 10 minutes of this exercise can greatly help our minds. 

Bermuda triangle and other mysteries

•Bermuda triangle

The Bermuda triangle is a region of the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and Florida, where ships and planes have mysteriously disappeared. Vincent Gaddis, who wrote about the disappearance named the region: ‘the deadly Bermuda triangle’.

The legend of the Bermuda triangle was uncovered when E.V.W. Jones, a reporter penned an article on a strange occurrence he had stumbled across. It seemed that an unusual number of planes and ships had been disappearing in the ocean between Florida and Bermuda. Over the years more than 200 separate mysterious disappearances have been attributed to the Bermuda triangle. No trace was ever found of the crafts or their passengers. The disappearance of Flight 19, ranks at the very top of Bermuda triangle lore. In 1945, five Navy planes vanished while on a routine training mission over the Atlantic. The media really went over board putting forward theories as to what might have happened at Bermuda triangle. The theories range from attacks by sea monsters to freak killer waves and kidnappings by aliens. However, later studies reveal that most of the incidents have been inaccurately reported and many agencies have declared the number and nature of disappearances in the region is similar to any other area of the sea.

•Islands that vanished mysteriously

Have you heard of the Aurora islands? Even if you have, you are unlikely to ever see them, for they have vanished from the face of the Earth! The story begins in the 18th century when the captain if the ship sailing in the South Atlantic waters saw three small islands called the Aurora Islands after the name of the first ship. They soon became a common landmarks for the Spanish ships that routinely went to south America and then suddenly, the islands disappeared!

Since most islands are produced through volcanic activity, they can appear and disappear just as quickly over time and leave no trace for sea explorers to find. This maybe the explanation why another phantom island, Isla Grande, which lay just to the North of Aurora islands, has now vanished too. However, this explanation does not hold good for the disappearance of islands called Davis’ Land. There is even an island named the Isle of Brasil, which keeps appearing off and on near the coast of Ireland.

• Uniqueness of Stonehenge

On the misty green plains of Salisbury, in southern England, stands one of the most mystical of the megaliths- Stonehenge. The beauty of these stones take one’s breath away. The 3.96 meters high stones are unique in that unlike the other megaliths, each stone has been artificially shaped into a curve. As a result, when they were assembled, they formed the outer line of a circle, when seen from above. At the same time, each stone has a slight bulge, so that when seen from below, they appeared to be in a straight line! Amazing isn’t it?

The astonishing scale and beauty of the stones, the great care and labour in construction and the mystery that surrounds their original purpose are just some of the reasons why Stonehenge is one of the most popular sights in England. Stonehenge is a magical experience indeed.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!

PROCRASTINATION- THE INNER DEMON.

Procrastination is the act of casually delaying decisions or activities. For example, if you need to complete a project, completely end up spending time on the internet even you remember you should be working, that indicates that you’re procrastinating. Procrastination is often pernicious to people’s capacity to triumphantly achieve their goals. Procrastination normally means disregarding an unpleasant, yet likely more significant task, in the inclination of one that is more delightful or more manageable. Etymologically, “procrastination” is derived from the Latin verb procrastinate — to put off until tomorrow. People usually believe that procrastination is solely a topic of the willpower, yet in certainty, the condition is far more complicated than that.

When challenged with a choice to perform or a responsibility to complete, we ordinarily rely on our stability in order to force ourselves to accept tasks fulfilled. Moreover, our impulse, which is based on the expectation of achieving some award for our struggles, can increase our self-control, and get it more possible that we will get everything done appropriately. However, there are also various demotivating circumstances that we can endure, which have an adverse impact than our urge, signifying that they make us more inclined to procrastinate. For example, stress, fear of failure, and other invalidating troubles can cause us to dawdle carelessly. Procrastinators oftentimes put off preparing things, drop them to the extremely end moment, or seldom also waste their time gazing at the wall. Nonetheless, be mindful, procrastination is not a metonym for flagging. It’s a great plan to begin applying the term procrastination rather than applying the word’s negligence or setting something off. It gives a much more precise representation of your state. Simply addressing the correct title to your dilemma, then you start working on it.

How to stop procrastinating? Focus on performing, not withdrawing. Pen down the duties that you require to finish, and specify a time for performing them Switch off your email and social media, and withdraw lying anywhere near a television while you work. The personal concept is one important aspect, it helps you recognize your abilities and priorities, and by building one, you will nevermore think failed in what is it that you desire to do with your life. There are various apps created to assist you to be extra established, use that. If you accomplish a tough assignment on time, reward yourself with a gift. Acquiring new ways is one of the essential details of individual improvement. If we form a manner of creating something, its implementation needs more limited rational energy to do it. Acquiring new practices is, hence, quite significant. So overcome your procrastination to reach greater heights of success.

John Rawls : Theory of Justice

John Rawls is a contemporary American Philosopher who is regarded as the first original theorist of justice since the times of Aristotle and Plato and other ancient political philosophers. His theory of justice had brought a lot of attention in the world of political philosophy. With the publication of his book called ‘A Theory of Justice’. So as to arrive at the principles of Justice Rawls used Locke’s methodology of ‘social contract’. His theory of justice focuses on a society of free citizens holding equal basic rights, enjoying equal opportunities of advancement and cooperating to achieve a common goal.

Rawls famous works are- ‘A theory of Justice’ (1971), ‘Political Liberalism’(1993), ‘The Law of Peoples’ (1999), and ‘Justice and Fairness’(2001). In his celebrated book ‘A theory of Justice’ he asserts that a good society is characterized by a number of virtues. Justice is the first virtue of a good society. In other words, Justice is a necessary but not a sufficient condition of a good society. Those who argue that justice should not come in the way of social advancement and progress run the risk of losing the moral degradation of the society. In a just society, justice is established as the foundation of social structure. Hence all political and legislative decisions should be designed to fulfil the requirements of justice.

Rawlsian theory of justice focuses on two things.

  1. Distributive Principle
  2. Difference Principle

Distributive principles focus on the availability of basic or primary goods to call. Equal rights, equal opportunities and same income.

While Difference principles focuses more on the arrangement of social and economic inequalities in a way that they are to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged person and are attached to positions open to all under conditions of fair equality and opportunity.

Rawls sets out two basic moral principles of justice which constitutional democracy should satisfy. First, each person engaged in institution affected by it has an equal right to its most extensive liberty compatible with a like liberty for all.

Second, inequalities as defined by the institutional structure or fostered by it are arbitrary, unless it is reasonable to expect that they will work out to everyone’s advantage and provided that the positions and offices to which they may be gained are open to all.

Rawls Theory of Justice

John Rawls was an ardent advocate of fairness and equality of opportunity. He believed that if people were put under the ‘Veil of Ignorance’ then they would choose themselves to be in a position where everyone will get equal opportunity and income. He has used the style of the contractualists like Hobbes and Locke in arriving at the need for the usage of ‘Original Position’ , This theory is also called as contractarian theory of justice. He is against the utilitarian concept of justice where the ‘greatest good of the greatest number’ is held valid. He believes that human beings are ‘rational agents’ who will in their ‘original position’ always make sure to keep themselves in a position where they get equal opportunities. Each individual is selfish and an intelligent negotiator who carefully negotiates with other human beings. Sometimes the individuals do not know of this fact that distribution of offices or rewards is justly done according to the results of a competition conducted in a fair manner.

Rawls take up the issues of just distributive justice on focusing two principles.

  • Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive liberty compatible with a similar liberty for all.
  • Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both: (a) to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged and (b) attached to positions and offices open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity.

While the first principle reflects a traditional liberal commitment to formal equality, the second principle (the so- called difference principle) points towards a significant measure of social equality.

Justice requires that each and every single individual have equality in the nature of equal rights and opportunities and some income. Each person should have some income and so for this the state should eradicate economic inequality Only then the least advantaged person may have the benefit of improving his lot so as to become the highest member of his society.  Such a situation shall strengthen the incentives and enlarge the size of the social cake. In his view the people will support it if they were not placed under the ‘ veil of ignorance’ which deprives them of the knowledge of their social position and status. The people cooperating together for mutual advantage should have an equal claim to the fruits of their cooperation and should not be penalized as a result of their gender, race and genetic inheritance over which they have no control. Redistribution and welfare are therefore ‘Just ‘, because they confirm to the widely held view of what is fair.

According to Rawls the problem of justice consists in ensuring a just distribution of ‘primary goods’ which include rights and liberties, powers and opportunities, income and wealth, means of self-respect and so on. Rawls described his theory as the theory of pure procedural justice. It means that once certain means of principles of justice are accepted, the distributive resulting from their application will be necessarily just.

Rawls severely criticized those theories of allocation which ignore the moral worth of individual for the attainment of any predetermined goals. He particularly attacked utilitarianism because in calculating the ‘greatest happiness of the greatest number’ it attainment of any predetermined goals. He particularly attacked utilitarianism because in calculating the ‘greatest happiness of the greatest number’ it does not care if it leads to extreme hardship to any particular individual. For instance, one might imagine a state of affairs in which maximum amount of happiness would be produced and its distribution to a maximum number of people achieved by the enslavement of minority. Rawls has brilliantly argued that you cannot compensate for the sufferings of the distressed by augmenting the joys of the prosperous.

Domestic violence reaching peak

According to the World Health Organisation violence against women tends to increase in any emergency including epidemics. Stress disruption of social and protective networks increased economic hardships and decreased access to services can exhibit the risk of women suffering violence. In the case of covid-19 isolation, restricted movement and stay at home measures to contain the spread of virus has had huge impact on people particularly women and children. As families have to live in close proximity with nothing much for recreation or stress relieving they often take shelter by being violent and this can be pointing for the more serious issue when such a situation is accompanied by a job or economic loss.

The UN has described the worldwide increase in domestic abuse as a shadow pandemic alongside covid-19. The worst part being that in situations like these victims cannot actually turn to many options. According to data domestic violence complaints are at a 10-year high during covid-19 lockdown in simple language during the first four phases of the covid-19 related lockdown Indian women filed more domestic violence complaints then recorded in a similar period in the last 10 years. Another survey suggests that among the 14.3% of victims who sought help only 7% reached out to relevant authorities but around 90% of these victims concerned only their immediate families. However this treatment cannot be justified and is not restricted to only women but also children come under its clutches no matter how much stress and personal issues a person is facing resorting to home violence should not be considered as a last resort.

Men should realise that women are no things that they can use to ventilate their anger issues,women constitutes for about half of the population and yet are considered to be weak and worthy of the neglect…we need to raise our voices against this because women deserve better children deserve better men need to realise that they should stop underestimating women because they have always prove themselves worthy.At the same time women should also ensure that they recognise their identity as individuals independent of their husband’s authority over them and should report if any instance of domestic violence is inflicted upon them.

Telepathy

Telepathy is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person to another without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction.

Telepathy refers to communication outside of the known senses. Many studies have demonstrated that we can “read” other people’s minds because we have neurons that act as automatic mirrors. In fact, we can grasp the intentions and emotions of others automatically. In 2007, psychology professor Gregor Domes and his colleagues found evidence that the ability to interpret subtle social cues can be enhanced by oxytocin, a hormone that increases trust and social approach behavior. 

Invisible communication: In 2005, biologist Rupert Sheldrake and his research associate Pam Smart recruited 50 experimental participants through an employment website. They also included four potential emailers and one minute before a prearranged time, the participants had to guess who would send it. Of 552 trials, 43 percent of the guesses were correct. This was much higher than the 25 percent one would have expected if this finding were just due to chance.

The biologic predisposition to the transfer of thoughts is not thought to be limited to humans. When flocks of birds turn seemingly automatically or wheel together, this quick inference from all birds at the same time is thought to be similar to telepathy.  In 2017,experimental physicist Jure Demsar and computer scientist Iztok Lebar Bajek demonstrated that such group behavior may, in part, be explained by language related fuzzy rule-based computational systems. This suggests that there may be a built-in logic behind group behavior. They do not necessarily transcend the laws of nature.

The brain transmits messages as electrical signals through nerves. But we can’t just connect everyone’s heads through a giant web of nerves even if we could, it would be impractical.

But we can read the electrical activity from brain cells with electronic devices. Then transmit the signal, like we do the internet, and turn it back into brain cell activity at the other end.

EEG rests a collection of larger electrodes on top of your head, where it records the electrical activity of larger groups of cells. But that is only after the signal has passed through the meninges, skull and the skin. So, it is not so accurate. But it’s the only one that human telepathy studies have actually used.

When telepathy influences another person’s thoughts or beliefs, it is called mind control. Within USA is quite developed. Unfortunately, a lot of people are applying mind control at night when it’s time for us to sleep. Mind control involves influence and can include outside props or strategies to achieve its goal. Since, it involves influences of other people (known and unknown) it can be very beneficial or crucifixion. It can be helpful for us to make life changes and it can also create destructions for a lifetime. All depends on the person who is imposing his will (power) into somebody else’s mind. This kind of knowledge should possess only people with pure hearts; however, reality is different. Indigenous people are taught sacred knowledge in order to keep it alive from generation to generation.

When one starts to naturally experience the awakening of telepathic powers, he/she feels more energized. One will start to refrain from negativity and thus, your friends will either be happy or you or they will fall away. Those who are used to talking about negative things will fall away first, since they will lose interest in your company. My experience is that many are trying to prevent that one person will have more telepathic powers then others. Negative people are not pure in their hearts, minds, souls and their bodies. They are looking only how to benefit, or they want to control somebody else’s life and decisions in order to satisfy their own or another person’s goals. Many are paid for such kind of “jobs”.

“Everyone occasionally suffers from depression, and some people are stricken with major depression, in which the sadness and hopelessness last more than two weeks and interfere with carrying on with life. In recent decades, more people have been diagnosed with depression, especially in younger cohorts, and the conventional wisdom is captured in the tag line of a recent public television documentary: “A silent epidemic is ravaging the nation and killing our kids.” We have just seen that the nation is not suffering from an epidemic of unhappiness, loneliness, or suicide, so an epidemic of depression seems unlikely, and it turns out to be an illusion”.

If I had the chance to express my opinion regarding the existence of telepathy , I would say that I support it . I think telepathy exists because many people have experienced telepathic calls in their lives. Moreover, if indeed the results of most of the experiments were not very significant , there are many reasons that are behind this failure . Finally , I don’t think that telepathy contradicts with science laws . In fact it completes science and enlarges our ideas about mind and brains .

World Shorebirds day in the Caribbean

Not only do birdwatchers the world over love looking at birds, they also love to count them: lists and data factor into the pastime in a big way. In the Caribbean, these “citizen scientists” play an important role in documenting the presence and the movements of island birds — there are special dates on which they spring into action, and one of these is World Shorebirds Day, which was recognised this year on September 6.

In honour of the occasion, regional birds were counted, photographed, and recorded in the eBird Caribbean database between September 3 and 9.

Many shorebird species in the Caribbean are migratory, often stopping off in different islands on their way to somewhere else. The chunky Red Knot, for example, is an incredible long-distance flyer. In its ongoing series of online colouring book pages, the nongovernmental conservation organisation (NGO) BirdsCaribbean noted:

Red Knots breed in the far north, the Arctic. They can spend the winter as far south as the southernmost tip of South America. This means they make some amazing migratory journeys of tens of thousands of miles overall! Red Knots gather in large groups in some places during autumn and winter; this makes them vulnerable to threats like sea-level rise and hunting.

BirdsCaribbean also shared a useful Shorebird ID guide, as many of these charming little birds can be deceptively similar:

BirdsCaribbean’s guide to identifying common Caribbean shorebirds.

Members of BirdLife Jamaica — much fewer in numbers this year, due to COVID-19 restrictions — trekked in ones and twos to their favorite viewing sites. One member, on arriving in Old Harbour Bay after heavy rains the day before, found the location overwhelmed with mud :

Watching seabirds often involves large quantities of mud. Photo courtesy of Ian Gage, with permission.

Many shorebirds have an amazing range. The Short-billed Dowitcher, for example, flies from Alaska to Canada, winters south in Brazil and spends time in the Caribbean, too:

Short-billed Dowitchers in Great Bay, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. Photo courtesy Ann Haynes Sutton, Conservation Ecologist, with permission.

The Grey or Black-bellied Plover is a global nomad. It breeds in the Arctic tundra and winters south, spreading virtually worldwide. This one decided to make a stop in Jamaica:

The Grey or Black-bellied Plover feeding along the water’s edge near Black River, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. Photo courtesy Emma Lewis, with permission.

There were more sociable events on the calendar. The NGO SusGren (Sustainable Grenadines) shared photos of an educational trip to the newly-restored Ashton Lagoon on Union Island:

In celebration of World Shorebirds Day 2020, SusGren in collaboration with Environmental Attackers conducted educational outreach for some students of the Stephanie Brown Primary school. The high-spirited students, who were out of their beds as early as 5:30 a.m for the session, were engaged in activities such as bird labeling, bingo, and bird identification.

In Trinidad, a huge and diverse array of wetland species was on display. The Whimbrel, an elegant shorebird, is another Caribbean migrant that is still fairly widespread globally:

Whimbrel, Trinidad. Photo courtesy of Jerome Foster, with permission.

The Black Skimmer, however, is quite an unusual sight in the Caribbean. This bird literally skims the surface of calm coastal waters and lagoons:

Black Skimmer, Trinidad. Photo courtesy Jerome Foster, with permission.

The beautifully named Laughing Gull is fairly common across the Caribbean, where it breeds. It spends winters in northern Brazil:

Laughing Gulls in Trinidad. Photo courtesy Jerome Foster, with permission.

Some shorebirds, of course, do stick around. The Brown Pelican, for example, is a regular sight, cruising along the shorelines and further out to sea. Its local name in Jamaica is “Old Joe”; it is a common, year-round resident of the larger islands, gliding low over the waves or doing spectacular dives for fish:

Brown Pelican, known as “Old Joe,” in-flight at Palisadoes, Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. Photo courtesy Ian Gage, with permission.

Another charming Jamaican resident, whose numbers may be augmented by migrants from North America in winter, is the Black-necked Stilt. This noisy bird, on its spindly red legs, nests on the ground near water’s edge:

Black-necked Stilts in flight in Old Harbour Bay, Jamaica. Photo courtesy Ian Gage, with permission.

For Jamaican birders, the highlight of World Shorebirds Day was perhaps the appearance of an adorable family of West Indian Whistling Ducks, captured on video by Damion Whyte, biologist, birder and a passionate social media educator on all things environmental. The location — a sewage pond in Portmore, St. Catherine, — was perhaps not so beautiful, but a good birding spot nonetheless.

Species such as this beautiful bird are declining in numbers throughout their range in the Caribbean. Large tourism developments, including hotels, marinas and other projects, continue to be built along the islands’ coastlines, resulting in the destruction of vital mangroves and wetlands in which these birds rest along their migratory flyways. Currently, three tourism projects under way in Grenada threaten wetlands that shelter several endangered species, including turtles.

On some islands, especially in the French Caribbean, hunting and plastic pollution are major threats.

World Shorebirds Day in the Caribbean is not only a celebration of the birds themselves, but of the beautiful places they call home, even if only temporarily for many of them.

Protests in Thailand for Democracy

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the imposition of an emergency decree which prohibit mass gatherings, young Thai activists continue to organize massive protests across the country. This student-led pro-democracy movement marks the first time in modern Thai history when the Thai monarchy has been talked about publicly in a critical way since doing so is a jailable offense.

The first wave of protests was sparked in February 2020 by the forced dissolution of an opposition party which outraged and inspired young people to organize pro-democracy actions. Despite the COVID-19 March lockdown, the ‘youthquake’ continued and saw young Thais use cyberspace to speak out on political issues, build resistance networks, and launch online protests.

The second wave of protests was signaled by the student-led protest on July 18 at Bangkok’s landmark Democracy Monument. More than 2,000 protesters gathered and raised three demands, namely dissolving the parliament, rewriting the military-based constitution and ending the intimidation and arbitrary arrests of critics of the government.

Another significant demand is the call for reforms of the the monarchy, a topic which is not only taboo but also a criminal offense since Thailand has a strict Lèse Majesté (anti-Royal insult) law.

Students and youth activists echo these demands in various forms of creative online and offline protests. For example, Thai protesters have adopted as a symbol of their defiance and demand for democracy the three-finger salute inspired by the popular US movie series the “Hunger Games”.

On August 16, more than 20,000 people assembled again at the Democracy Monument in central Bangkok. It was the biggest protest in Thailand since the military grabbed power in 2014.

Authorities have since summoned dozens of student leaders, artists, and human rights activists and threatened them with harassment suits, yet the youth-led protest movement has gained nationwide support. Pro-democracy advocates from various sectors have also participated in several rallies organized by students.

Besides, young activists from Hong Kong and Taiwan have also issued solidarity statements that reflect the growing influence of the #MilkTeaAlliance, a netizen-driven democracy campaign challenging Chinese trolls.

How did we evolve?

Historical sources are pretty difficult to find. Why? Because, we never know where exactly they are, are they even real. It solely depends upon. Our imagination. Cause we can’t grab a time machine and time travel to see exactly what happened (but that would’ve damn great!). Evolution is crucial in every animal and has taken place eat one point of time. But then..who were we evolved from..?

  • The starting point

Now, atleast at some point of time,you must have thought, ‘From where the heck did this universe start?’.  The thing is, We Don’t Know. We do have theories regarding the point though, which give an applicable reason as to the beginning of life. So the theory was of the Big Bang. We all know what exactly this ‘big bang’ is.It is believed that, there existed something very small,smaller than any other thing. Even from a microbe.And at one point,it exploded. That phenomenon was called the big bang, through which large balls of fire were generated. After many billions of years,the fire balls started to align themselves, unto a newly forming star,the Sun due to its pull. And eventually,some more billion years later,the fireballs started to cool down. Now,was the time when the first organism appeared on earth. But why only earth. Because, Earth is situated in something called the ‘Goldilocks zone’. The earth was just at a perfect distance from the sun for life to exist. If the earth was any nearer of any farther, you and me, including everything would probably not have existed at all.(sad? I know). The first organism to exist on earth was the Archaea.  This microbe was the first to live on the still hot earth. How? Archaea, maybe   had adapted themselves to the hot temperatures of the earth. Which means, we all have actually evolved from Archaea!

They are even found today, in the thermal beds, and wherever the temperatures are fit for them.

From the Archaea evolved the bacteria, which are prokaryotes(primitive organisms) then came the eukaryotes(  true cells) and all the kingdoms. And today we live with all the complex tissues and cells, working everyday in our bodies. How did water come though? It is believed that during the big bang, not only did it release fireballs,but also many gases. Then, probably the atoms of hydrogen(H) and Oxygen (O)  made bonds to create the existence of water. These are all one of the speculations and assumptions made by us to understand the beginning of life in a better way. Who knows the truth? No one does. At least not from earth anyways.

Photo By Pixabey

Even now the earth is still cooling down. A live example would be volcanoes. Meaning,only the outer portion of earth has cooled down after the time period of 4.5 billion years. So,when the water made an appearance on the surface of earth, seas and oceans were probably formed. But the lands were still not. Then where did life continue to exist?In the oceans of course. Something called the Endo-genetic movements ( movements which occur on the inside of the earth) made the continent buildings possible.

While the continents still continued to cool down, after the volcanic eruption that is, the life in the aquatic region continued to make  progress.

Did you know that the continents which are formed today are not how it was a million years ago?

 Many types of continental structures were formed in our history. For example: Rodinia,Pannotia, Pangaea, Gondwana etc. Out of these, Pangaea lasted for the longest period.( due to the internal and external movements of earth,the continental formation kept on changing). How did Dinosaurs go extinct? Dinosaurs came to extinction due the humongous amounts of volcanic eruptions and the other Endo-genetic movements( yes,those cartoons had shown you the truth!)

Photo by Clive Kim from Pexels

Now what happened was that the living organisms which were living in the aquatic region came to the land. Slowly,they started adapting themselves to the terrestrial lands. They say that evolution of man,that is the ancestors of our species are from apes. Slowly but steadily,they evolved to form stages. The first stage was said to be Homo Habilis,the second was Homo Erectus, the third was Neanderthals, and then finally,the Homo Sapiens. Infact, all of these species used to live together. Meaning,suppose it was not like everyone was Neanderthals, some of them were still not evolved from Homo Erectus. They all lived and learnt the sources of nature. 

As time passed, they evolved, their organs developed and were also divided. But….wait! Does that mean that we evolved from oceans? Well, we don’t exactly know about the truth but it is said that the statement does hold some weight on it and might be true. And if it was true, we had gills for lungs! Infact, some people say that we did evolve from the oceans. How? Because,the person who held most maximum time in water is 20 minutes. The same amount the dolphins can hold their breath in water. We don’t have any specific organ to conserve our sweat but the other animals do. We have fingerprints  and footprints instead of paws. Sure,these statements may be irrational to many people,but it lets one to imagine. To brainstorm about where exactly did we,as in our existence start from?

Fact- It is believed that hiccups are the left out defect of our aquatic habitat….….is it true,though? Nobody knows so!