A broken marriage can mean a lot of things to a family. Marriages can be broken by a lot of things including laws defined by societies about whom to love, whom to marry and whom not to.
The god of small things is a caricature of human pain and life built on the layers of political leanings, the realities of Indian conservative societies, casteism and of course on how other people exploit it just to feel away and free from their own realities.
A multi-generational family lives in a small village in the state of Kerala – a communist stronghold. A woman from the family falls in love with an Irish priest, despite the opposition of her father, but failing to get any near him, is left bitter and becomes the antagonist of the narrative. Two twins witness a rape and murder wherein this lady, their aunt, the one who once loved an Irish priest is almost implicated for lying about the criminal and she tricks the poor children into blaming their servant. All this happens in the backdrop of a violent and turbid communist politics of which the servant who dies due to police beating turns out to be a member of. The aunt hates the communists because they once forced her to weave the red flag while forcible stopping her car on the road. To save herself of any implications, the lady gets rid of the children – blaming them of the death of the raped girl and the servant, breaks down their family – the mother dying at 31 and the father never really bothered. The twins grow broken, traumatized and never really heard or cared for. And the climax of the story just leaves one crying when the two twins finally meet at 31 – the age their mother died. The girl twin no longer speaks and the boy is just a lost one. They, for the first time realize the meaning of love and warmth and that it is them alone who share it with each other.
This review will and any review will, as a matter of fact, fail to capture the perfection Roy has achieved in this book. The 1997 Booker’s Prize winner is a masterpiece of storytelling and narrative. And it is a wonderful critique on politics, religion and casteism.
Happy reading!
Arundhati Roy, who might be in news due to her remarks in the present day has penned a beauty.
Give whatever you are doing & whomever you are with the gift of your attention – JIM ROHN .
Rightly said by him as with concentration you can achieve anything & everything . Concentration means focused attention, and it has many uses and benefits. It assists in studying, enables faster comprehension, improves the memory, helps in focusing on a task, job or goal, and enables you to ignore meaningless and irrelevant thoughts. When this ability is strong, the mind obeys you more readily and does not engage in meaningless thoughts. This ability plays an important role in meditation, gaining mental mastery, and attaining peace of mind. Without it, the mind just jumps restlessly from one thought to another, not allowing you to meditate properly. everybody wants to increase their concentration power , but this power needs some hacks to grow , so let me share few facts with which you can grow you concentration .
GET SOME ‘GREEN TIME’ !
Each one of us knows that when we are surrounded with green , we feel refreshed & energetic . A dose of nature can work like a doctor for increasing concentration . suggests that exposure to natural surroundings, including green spaces, may prove beneficial for children’s brain development. In a study, children aged 4–5 to 7 years of age with more green space around their homes scored better in attention tests. These results underline the importance of expanding green areas in cities to support children’s health and brain development. exposure to greenery & increasing in concentration won’t stop at childhood , research has shown that colleges & institutes which are surrounded with greenery supports better mental health of children .
You may not have the luxury of a rooftop garden or an office laden with plants, but spending time outside someplace green, or eating your lunch in the park each day, could make a significant difference to your concentration.
2. TAKE a KITKAT BREAK !
People forget to take breaks , & this is what makes them stressful . A study found that people who read emails throughout the day switched screen twice as often and were in an ongoing state of high alert with a constant heart rate. When email was removed from these people for 5 days, their heart rate returned to a natural, variable one. The authors concluded that taking an email vacation significantly decreases stress and improves concentration and focus.
Few examples of break are here :
Take a notification break : Everyone have observed that when ever you get notification from your phone you pic it up & check that notification . This is a thing which breaks your concentration . The team explained that task performance takes a hit because humans have a limited capacity for attention that needs to be split between tasks. The researchers also emphasized that just being aware of a missed text or call can have the same effect. If you need to stay on track and focused, it might be worth either turning off your cell phone, setting it to silent, or putting it away somewhere that you cannot see it.
Social Media break : One should take social media break , because every time one wants to check their account , which break you concentration & make you walk on a less focused path .
Work break : Excess work gives you tension , which lets you less concentration & more confusion .
Researchers recommend taking:
a mid-morning break to replenish concentration
better breaks by doing something you enjoy, which should make your break more restful, provide better recovery, and help you to come back to worked focused
frequent short breaks to facilitate recovery
Taking breaks earlier in the day and doing preferred activities lead to better health, job satisfaction, and revival of energy, motivation, and concentration.
3 . IMPROVE YOU WELL BEING : You know what , you food , sleep habits , working habits tells how concentrative you are . your habits of living you life decides you concentration level . Let me give you some tips to improve your concentration :
Walnuts may improve performance on tests for cognitive function, including those assessing information processing speed, memory, and concentration.
Avocados. Consuming one avocado every day may help improve cognitive function due to an upsurge in lutein levels in the eye and brain. Researchers uncovered that eating an avocado daily enhanced measures of cognitive skills, including processing speed, memory, and attention.
Chocolate — or specifically the cocoa bean — is rich in flavanols, which are compounds that have neuroprotective effects. Cocoa flavanols may help to improve cognitive processing speed, working memory, and attention when ingested for between 5 days and 3 months.
Indian handloom industry saw a reduction in 30% of its trade in the year 2020. This means that the already struggling industry will see further cut in costs. There is an urgent need to innovate new ways to market the goods it produces. The modern state of India still has one of the largest employed workforce in the textile sector, and a large part of it is the handloom industry – which is mostly worked in by the artisans who are either poor or are working hard to preserve their traditional way of manufacturing clothes and designs. For India presents a rainbow in manufacturing methods – right from the famous Benarasi Saree to the now almost extinct methods of making silk and woolen garments in the remote hills of Ladakh and Kashmir.
Cotton has been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for over 3000 years. And that is probably also the age of a rich tradition of fabric making. With the advent of the bronze age through the influx of Greco-Roman, Mongol, Iranian, Vedic and Afghan cultures into the modern age of Mughals, Marathas, British and later the republic of India and her neighbours – the Indian textile industry has seen a plethora of changes and demand.
From dhotis and sarees to kurtas and Salwars – India has seen a plethora of changes in its clothing culture.
Handloom has a great symbolic importance to India. For it was the first Industry that stood as a symbol of self-reliance during the British Raj resistance period, a rhetoric the current Indian Prime Minister used in his Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign. After all, if it were not for Indian fabric – the famed Muslins and Pashminas and Indian spices – the British would have had to search for other reasons to come and settle in a land so very far away from their motherland.
Gandhi used handloom as a symbol of self reliance
7th August marks the National Handloom day – a day dedicated to an industry that is rapidly finding itself in a stage where only the ones who are super-nationalist and the rich opting for it. Handloom products are often costly than the cheap produce of the machines that invaded the textile industry 200 years ago, effectively ushering in the Industrial Revolution in the 17th century England.
Back to India, here is a list of some famous Indian handloom industries and the cities in which they are concentrated.
Varanasi – The famed Banaras Silk sari is the prized possession of many north Indian women as that is the standard sari of the bride in marriages in households that can afford them. And yet, the Benarasi artists are increasingly been replaced by machines that are producing cheaper saris though with reduced finesse. To add to it is the Zamdani works on cotton fabric, quite endemic to the city.
Jaipur – Jaipur and its handloom industry have the royal family of Jaipur as its patrons. There are establishments and shops that were opened by the last Rajmata of the city, Gayatri Deviji to promote local industries. To add to that is the already existing tradition of Bandhni, Zari and Patti works.
Surat – One of the oldest textile industries that were spotted and used by the local rulers and the British alike. The silk industry in Surat is one of the largest of its kind in the country.
Kota – The tuition capital of the country is also home to the Kota Doria, Gotta Patti and the Kota weave artisans.
Lucknow – The city has an industry that keeps alive the times when nawabs ruled over the city of Lucknow, the then capital of the Awadh state. Most famous of its local weaves is the Chikankari work.
Bhadohi – The small town is only 40km from Varanasi and has been the centre of Indo-Persian carpet work since the era of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and has the largest carpet making industry in the country.
Well, there are many more of such cities and villages when one researches about them. Many of the ingenious art forms that are involved in making clothes are dying with less than 50 families left that carry forward the tradition. The sad part – machines cannot replicate that finesse. Such is the case of the wool and silk industry in the Gharwal and Kashmir valleys.
After the pandemic or even during it, let us and our government support this remnant of our history, our art, our tradition and a symbol of first instance of our modern industrial self reliance.
We all know that the world is heading towards deforestation, global warming, drought etc., What is the major cause of this global changes? It is us. We humans are quite selfish when it comes our own deeds. We keep on cutting the trees, increasing pollution, high useage of plastic etc. What can we do to make our earth lively and healthy? There is no other remedy than planting trees. Yes, there reason we live is the trees. Without them we won’t be alive. Let’s see about planting trees and its importance.
Why trees are important to us?!?!
Trees are important to the environment because they provide oxygen and they act as carbon sinks. A carbon sink is a natural or artificial body that stores carbon dioxide. The more trees you have, the more carbon dioxide that you can store. This is because they take in carbon dioxide and then release oxygen, which allows them to store more carbon dioxide.
Planting trees has several benefits, including the fact that they help to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs). They also help to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As a result, planting trees can help to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Trees are also important for the environment because they provide a habitat for wildlife. They also help to improve the quality of air and water, and they provide a home for birds, insects, and other small animals.
When you plant a tree, you are helping to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. So, it is important that you plant a tree. The more trees you plant, the more you will be helping the environment.
What are the trees can be planted??
There are several different types of trees that can be planted. Some of these include the following:
Oak trees, Redwood trees, Pine trees, Alder trees, Fir trees,Bamboo trees,Evergreen trees, Deciduous trees.
METHOD OF PLANTING TREES:
Dig a big hole, put the rootball in, cover with dirt.
This is probably the most common method. It’s simple and easy, but it’s not the best. The tree will grow fine if you fill the hole with a small amount of compost. This will help the tree get established quicker and, in the long term, will make the tree more resilient to drought. But it’s harder to dig a big hole, and it’s hard to get the compost in there without disturbing the rootball. It’s also worth noting that the tree is going to be much happier if you can put the hole in a slightly damp area.
Do water the plant regularly until its becomes a tree. You may plant whatever tree you like and the most important thing is to maintain them in a good condition. Everybody says plant trees, save earth, save water. But in reality, how many of us has really planted trees? Think about it and find the best answer yourself!!
Gregor Samsa is a salesman who wakes up to find himself transformed into a monstrous vermin. Lying on his bed, he worries about himself and while he has time, contemplates upon the consequences of his metamorphosis. He wonders about his life, his family and the way in which his life and career has turned out to be. He thinks about he is struck with his job only because of his father’s debt and that no relationship in his life ever came from heart.
His family is horrified when they learn of this transformation when the office clerk pushes his way into Gregor’s room. The family, no longer financially stable decide to get jobs and when they do, they start neglecting Gregor more and more only to end up using his room as a store room and giving away a room in their house on rent. Gregor’s sister is the only one willing to give him food in all this while. One day, when Gregor’s sister accidentally breaks a bottle of medicine, his father hurls an apple on him, which gets struck in a sensitive spot on his back and he lies in his room in agony. And one day, he scares the tenants who threaten legal action over the unhygienic conditions of the house.
Grete, Gregor’s sister realises that Gregor is but a liability and asks her parents to get rid of “it”. Hearing the conversation, Gregor goes into his room and dies before sunsrise. The family rejoices his death by taking a day off and ride on a ferry down the countryside. Gregor’s mother exclaims that Grete has grown beautiful despite all problems and they must find her a good husband.
Kafka’s metamorphosis is considered to be a classic in literature. It is a story of a changing society and how necessities cause a metamorphosis in households and in society in general.
My brother is extremely extremely extremely (I don’t even know if it is grammatically correct or allowed, but you kinda get the picture now, I guess). We currently have 3 kittens and 3 fully grown up cats and a dog as well (well the dog was my doing). So, every day the kittens demand to be let free from their room of confinement and so we take them to the roof of the house (there are too many stray dogs and so the roads aren’t safe).
This one fine evening, when we had taken the kittens for a stroll in the rooftop, and they were playing(this is what they do whole day), one of them pushed the female kitten (only one of them is a female) off the roof. Ours is a two story house and the kitten was 2 months old. She fell on concrete floor and appeared pretty dead from the rooftop. My mother rushed down giving me strict instructions to take care of the remaining ones and I watched the other two like a hawk, should they try anything. Amidst all of this chaos, the mother cat was content with even one of her kittens with no knowledge of her third one what-so-ever. Later, I decided to gather the remaining 2 (+the mother) and head down. upon enquiry, I came to know the kitten was fine (bless her) and had suffered minor injuries(well her both hind legs had developed sort of a mild fracture). The bones weren’t fully developed and so they would easily heal. And heal she did. Within two days she was back on all fours having some difficulty climbing but doing her best to keep up with her siblings. Though what was interesting was the mother realizing her child was in distress and would probably stay weak developed some sort of special liking to her.( Even to this day, she is partial)
So, anyways, after a week of recovering from her fracture, the kitten was back in form, playing and jumping and meowing. Me and my family members thought that falling rom the roof nd all the kitten would probably be afraid of heights. But man did she prove us wrong. Keeping her away from the boundary became a task. Me and my mother would stay on two corners of the roof just to chase her away each time she came too near to the boundary for our liking. The other two kittens were afraid though and stayed away. The one who made the fall was later on capable of making it all the way down from the roof, this time without injuring her foot or any other body part and now this is the first thing she does every-time she is taken to the roof-top. It is now a task for their mother to have the other two kittens do the same. After all ,she is damn adamant on taking them out of the boundary.
So now every time I see the kitten, I think that just maybe surviving the fall she had somehow realized that it was the worst that could happen to her, should she fall, and that she was capable of making it out alive, just as she did the first time and so she tried each of the countless times we tried to contain her till the day she made it and all we could do was watch.
In India, it is increasingly felt that education system is highly examination oriented. Exams and tests are held at regular intervals. Success in the exams is at index of once intelligence. Exams do cause a lot of stress rather it can be said that a student’s academic future simply depends on the marks scored by him. His admission in reputed college depends solely upon his performance in examination.
As a result, students finds studies stressful, monotonous and exasperating. Unachievable targets set by the parents and perceptors, unbearable peer pressure, cut throat competitions makes one question the usefulness of the examination system. In my sense, it is all futile. We cannot deny the fact that it is resulting into spate of suicides, absenteeism and even the percentage of dropouts has increased.
Exams should be cancelled and replaced by less stressful and more fruitful forms of assessments for several reasons including:
1) They do not define one’s skills and capabilities: Thomas Edison once said: “Tomorrow is my exam but I don’t care, a single paper can’t decide my future” and we all know what Edison achieved is his life, other successful people followed such a path and if they cared much about exams, they surely would not have achieved what they did.
2) They do not differentiate between students: Exams do not depend on someone’s preparation only, they are also dependent on their physical and mental health, and their social situation; you most luckily would not get a second chance if you developed a diarrhea during exam, such a factor would decide whether you’re among best or worst students no matter how intelligent you are, and how much you prepared for the exam. So you see how unfair the whole system is!
3) Cheating: The broken educational system values more grades than learning and that what obliged students to try any means –sometimes illegal ones- to pass to the next level, history is full of people who try every trick to cheat at exam time, modern technology also has made it much easier for students to pass their tests with less efforts and students’ last issue nowadays is knowledge.
4) Stress: Exams take a toll on a student’s body and mind through the forms of stress and anxiety and you might end up in a mental institution. Because of exams, a medical student was caught eating pages from one of their recommended texts since he failed to absorb information from taking his lectures too literally.
It is also felt that examinations don’t prepare students for life. They simply enable the students to become reasonably well informed, fact churning individuals. There should be a system of consistent evaluation throughout the year and, the examinee should not be tested only for facts and information acquired by him but should be tested for life skills. So, the examination system should be abolished instead of examinations being conducted at the end of the academic session.
A desert is a stretch of land that can be rocky or sandy, might have zero to some vegetation, might be habitable or might not be live-able but most of all a desert is defined on the basis of amount of precipitation it receives. According to national geographic, a desert receives no more than 25 cm of rainfall per year. Now, let us have a look on the distribution of deserts in the whole world and the possible reasons of their occurrence in those places.
There are 5 types of deserts in the whole world-
Sub tropical deserts- Due to high temperature in the equator, the air gets heated up and absorbs moisture and rise. It reaches high altitudes and the moisture precipitates and comes down as rains. The air cools and the heated air moves away from the equator reaching the tropics. Upon reaching the tropics it cools down and descends where it warms again. Thus it occupies the space meant for moisture laden air and there is no rains in the tropics leading to the formation of deserts in the region. Examples are The Sahara desert in Africa, the Arabian desert, the Syrian desert, the great Victorian desert in Australia, The Thar desert in India. The Sahara desert is the largest sub tropical desert
Coastal deserts- These type of deserts are formed due to the cold oceanic currents that create low pressure in the surrounding regions and the moisture laden winds that should have travelled from the coasts to the continents ends up travelling away instead. Such deserts are formed in the western coasts of continents in lower and middle latitudes and in the eastern side in the upper latitudes (due to the anticlockwise flow of currents in Southern and the clockwise flow of currents in Northern hemisphere). Examples are the Namib deserts in Africa (formed due to Benguela current) and the Atacama desert in Chile (formed due to Peru current). Atacama desert is the driest desert in the world.
Cold deserts and polar deserts- The cold and polar deserts are formed in the Temperate and polar region respectively. These regions are very cold and all the moisture immediately freezes to form ice. The cold deserts exist in regions of high altitude where moisture laden winds cannot reach. Examples are the Antarctic desert(the world largest desert), the Arctic desert, The Ladakh desert, Siberian desert
Interior deserts- Interior deserts are found in the interior of the continents mostly the middle where sufficient moisture laden winds do not reach. Example is the Gobi desert that stretches along both China and Mongolia
Rain shadow deserts-One another subdivision can be of those deserts where the mountains or any other physical feature act as a barrier for the moisture laden clouds. Example is the Death Valley for which four major mountain ranges(including the Sierra Nevada and Panamint Range, according to Wikipedia) act as a barrier and also The Gobi Desert for which the Himalaya act as a barrier(this river is the reason the yellow river appears yellow).
That’s all in deserts. Hit the like if you found it useful and share it among all those who might want to know something about deserts, after all they do form 1/3rd part (and increasing- desertification)of our earth’s continental mass.
“Money” is a medium of economic exchange in which prices and values are expressed. It is very important to live a life. Just like the three basic units of life- “food, cloth and shelter”. Money is also can be said to be the basic unit as we can but food, cloth and shelter with money only. So its management is also important. “Money Management” means budgeting, saving, investing, earning, spending money in the best way possible. Spending money to satisfy cravings/needs is a natural human phenomenon. The idea of managing money has been developed to reduce the amount of money that is spend on items that add no significant value to one’s living standards. In a nut shell money management means spending money carefully on the needs rather than on wants and wishes and also saving it for the better future.
In Indian Society, if we take a look, we can see that indian society people/groups were divided into different categories on the basis of their earning and living standards. People are divided on assets and income/expenditure. Based on these parameters there are broadly three categories (sub categories are also there) i.e., rich/upper class people, middle class people and poor/lower class people.
Rich/upper class refers to a group of individuals have highest place and status in society. These people are considered the wealthiest, lying above the poor and middle class in the social hierarchy. Middle class people fall between the poor class and upper class. They are neither poor nor rich. These people have a simple living and their earning are mostly equal or less than their expenditure resulting to short debts. Poor/lower class people are those who live under poverty. They are homeless, living on roads and slums, don’t have food to eat, usually dependent on begging and daily wage activities.
People ending up in the same category in which they are born, it is very less likely that a poor class person becomes a middle class one in this life span. There are chances that a rich person becomes a middle class one due to many reason but the chances of upgradation in class is very less.
The reason for such situations- “Wrong money management” and less/no knowledge of managing money. Rich people become more rich and poor become more poor and middle class reamains in debt, the reason behind this phenomenon is that knowledge of money management is not being taught in school and if we talk about poor class children dont even go to school. They don’t even know how to read and write. Money management is taught at home rather than in school. Many of us usually learn about money from our parents.
Talking about poor people, how can you say that they can teach their children about money when they themselves don’t have money to fill their stomach. Poor people just teach their children to go school and work hard. It might happen that the child will pass with excellent grades in his/her academic career but even after this their economic status and mindset remain poor and they keep running in the vicious cycle of poverty like a rat.
Children of upper class are given exposure and knowledge of money management from their childhood. As their parents have more than enough money and seeing their parents earning and managing money they also learn and their intellectual development happens in the same matter but it is not possible in the case of middle and lower class as they themselves don’t have enough money so how can they teach their children about the importance of the same.
Money management should be a topic of concern as it is an important aspect of one’s life which determines his/her status and standard of living. Money management be taught from school level only then children can understand the importance of it. Both government and private schools should organise lecture and seminars on the topic “money management”. If they can manage then parents should also be invited to attend such seminars and lectures. Parents should also give opportunities to their child to learn about the money, its expenditures, saving and management. Parents should send their children to the nearby shops to purchase small goods.
Tips for Money Management
1.Every child should be given the opportunity to go to schools. 2.Budgeting should be done to save money. 3.One should create a realistic monthly budget. 4.Everyone must track their spending. 5.One should build up their savings 6.Must pay your bills on time. 7.Have an investment plan. 8.Know your money priorities. 9.Differentiate between needs and wants.
Money is important to live a good life so as its management also. Money management is a skill that everyone must know to have a good present and better future. Children should be taught about money management at school from the very beginning. It is effectively must to manage money to have a good lifestyle. So don’t waste your time and manage your money now to have a healthy, happy and wealthy lifestyle.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was known as the ‘Iron Man of India.’ An advocate he was born on October 31, 1875, in a farmer’s family at Nadiad in Gujrat. His father Zaverbhai had fought against the British and served in the army of the Rani of Jhansi. The sons learned patriotism from their father. Vallabhbhai and his brother used to go to the fields with their father and on the way their father used to teach them simple mathematics. Their father imbibed in them values like honesty and fearlessness. His mother too was an influence on him and instilled great religious values in him. Vallabhbhai showed leadership and determination early in life.
He wanted to study law in England. But he did not have the means as his family was very poor. His brother too was a lawyer. He had attended classes before the examination, but Vallabhbhai studied on his own, read law books. Sometimes he attended court sessions and studied the cases carefully. He learned more from observing lawyers. He then gave the examination and started his practice from a small room. Vallabhbhai soon earned himself a name as a prominent lawyer. Later on, he went to England and studied and passed the barrister at law Examination. On his return to India, he set up his practice in Ahmedabad. Vallabhbhai met Gandhiji at a political conference and was greatly influenced by him. He gave up his western-style attire and worked in the national movement led by Gandhiji. In 1918 when heavy rain destroyed crops in Gujrat, the farmers of Kheda district were greatly disturbed. They had to pay the taxes in any circumstances. They approached Gandhiji to help them, Gandhiji delegated the responsibility to Vallabhbhai Patel. Under his leadership, the farmers launched a ‘NO TAX’ campaign, but on peaceful lines. Patel was with farmers and even started dressing like them. Vallabhbhai dressed in a Dhoti, Kurta, and cap. He encouraged the farmers to stand firm. They needed him and did not budge despite the government seized their land, crop, and cattle. Eventually, their determination won out and the government was faced to give up its demand for the taxes.
The Kheda Satyagraha
During the non-cooperation movement, Patel gave up his practice as a barrister which earned him thousands of rupees. He asked the people not to co-operate in any way. He set up the Gujrat Vidyapeeth to educate children and asked them not to send their children to government-run schools. Patel as a follower of Gandhiji also took to Satyagraha and spinning the charkha and boycott foreign goods. In 1923 the government ordered that the tricolored flag should not be carried on any of the roads in Nagpur where the government officers lived. The people decided to disobey this order. They were offended, “why should we not display our flag in our country”. Vallabhbhai Patel was called upon to guide them. Satyagrahis from all over the country poured in. The agitation went on for about three and a half months. Eventually, the government had to withdraw the order, and the satyagraha ended in a victory for the people. Mahatma Gandhi was very pleased with his disciple and called him ‘Sardar’ which means leader. From that time he came to be known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
In 1942 the congress called on the British to ‘Quit India’. Many leaders were jailed including Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. They were released after 3 years but this too did not deter them. Patel declared that they would not let anything come in the way of India’s freedom. Finally on the 15th of August 1947 when India became free, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister. Sardar Patel’s greatest achievement was the integration of the princely states with the rest of India. At the time of Independence, they were given the option of joining India or Pakistan or to remain separate (independent). Sardar Patel was foresighted and he felt that the future of India lay in the consolidation of these princely states. He pleaded to them to maintain the unity of the country to make laws together as one nation. Hence he initiated the ‘Instrument of Accession’. According to this, issues like Defense, External Affairs, Transport, and communication, etc. were completely in the hands of the Indian government while the rest other powers were in the hands of the princely states. The rulers on the Indian side of the border signed the instrument and merged their states with India. Sardar firmly dealt with troublesome states like Junagadh and Hyderabad which though on the Indian side wished to join Pakistan or remain independent. Overall the integration of the princely states with the Indian Union took place peacefully.
General Syed Ahmed El Edroos (at right) offers his surrender of the Hyderabad State Forces to Major General (of India) Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri at Secunderabad in 1948.
Saradar Vallabhbhai Patel was known as the ‘Man of Steel’, the Iron man of India, a man of few words, a dominant personality but cautious by nature. On his death in Bombay in December 1950, Jawahar Nehru the then Prime Minister of India stated that he was the Architect of Modern India. He left behind him a united India, he is remembered with reverence, and his qualities are greatly admired. The Statue of Unity was built in Gujrat in his honor.
Psychology is the science of mind and behavior. It is the study of how people behave, think, feel and react in relation to a particular field of knowledge or their personal circumstances of life. There are various psychologies behind our happenings in life and in particular let us know about the psychology behind adolescence which is very salient for every individual to know about. Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and adulthood.
It encompasses some big physical and psychological changes accompanied by some intricacies and challenges as the individuals may not be aware of the changes in them. It is a very important stage of life with specific health and developmental needs and rights. It is a time to promote knowledge and skills, learn to cope up with the feelings and relationships, manage emotions and acquire attributes and abilities to the enjoy the adolescent age.
Adolescent psychology focusses on the issues that are unique to adolescents. Adolescence is a time of fluctuating and rapidly changing interests and desires, high energy, sexual maturation, physical growth and limited emotional insight. It can be full of exciting discoveries and changes as teens develop unique personal traits. Physical changes can be tracked by all but some some of the mental transitions could push them into a state of anxiety and distress and this stresses the need to know about adolescent psychology as everyone could not afford a psychiatrist all time. So it is very important for all the parents and the individuals as well to understand about the mental changes and how to handle the trauma.
When the adolescents grow into independent personalities there is also some growing pressures to evolve into a responsible person while they tussle with issues like sexuality and peer relationships. Adolescent psychology helps them with the transition from a child to an adult. If anyone is struggling with the teenage life, it is very normal and here the parents should play an important role by making it normal without putting their children in more torment. What are the problems that adolescents more likely to go through?
Be more impulsive
Mishandle or Misunderstand emotions and social cues.
Indulge in making vulnerable decisions, physical fight.
Risky behaviors, mental health disorders, emotional assault, anxiety.
So this period is a quite complex process where they become more prone to the above mentioned complications. Brain development during this period is particularly important. The areas of the brain that allows teens to control behaviors and emotions experience significant development during this phase. Teenagers also acquire the the capacity to think and act more efficiently due to changes in the myelin and synapses of the brain. Many physical changes drive the changes of the ability to think and behave.
Teens equally perceive opportunities and challenges as well. Imagination and complex reasoning develop exponentially in this phase where they develop cognitively. Individuals need to be made aware of the complications and made to be understood that it is okay to have infatuations, sexual attractions, behavioral changes, or any kind of anxiety or depression. The most important fact that drives them crazy is they think that only they experience these sort of challenges. As we educate children about the physical hormonal changes in school it is as important to teach them about all the mental changes that occur. Parents can contribute on a greater note to help the troubled teens out of these difficulties by creating a culture of open communication to get to know about their thoughts and opinions, granting them some responsibilities in the family , guiding their attitudes and beliefs, establish boundaries and rules, understand the reason behind the anger or grief, promote their self esteem and make their adolescence a gratifying one!
6th August 1945. Imperial Japan had refused to surrender even though all the other Axis powers had. Hitler and Mussolini were dead – the Second world war in Europe had come to an end as far as conflicts were concerned (A long age of a partitioned Germany and the Nuremberg trials would happen later). Roosevelt had overseen the construction of secret weapon and Truman, who came to power in the April of that year, ordered for its use.
Hiroshima was the first city in history to suffer a nuclear detonation.
The city of Hiroshima was bombed on the 6th of August 1945 – the first ever atomic bomb attack in human history. 3 days later, another Japanese city – Nagasaki was bombed with the nuclear weapon – forcing Japan to surrender unconditionally and bring the second world war to a decisive end in the favour of the Allied forces. But Truman and most Americans shall never know what it is to be bombed with the weapon. Hiroshima and Nagasaki mark the only instances of atomic bombing recorded. The Allied had failed to bring Japan to its knees and sought the Atom bomb as a quick and effective way. But this quick way, which was a joint plan by the US and its allies – as required by the Quebec Agreement killed a 150,000 people – a 120,000 of them being civilians in Hiroshima alone. And this might have been one of the deadliest attacks on a civilian city by any country involved in a conventional warfare – let alone the US that was trying top be the leader of human rights and civilian liberties.
A 120,000 people and 50sq km of area were eradicated in a matter of seconds.
To the Allies, the bomb meant an end to warfare and a sign of American supremacy for the next 5 decades. But to Japan, it meant deaths of 200,000 people in both cities and several decades of nuclear poisoning, radiation induced mutations and cancers that spanned several generations and in some families continue even today.
The University of Texas created a photobook to let the average American – who allegedly yields more pride than sympathy toward the incident – to know of the plight of a nuclear warfare. And people across the world – may it be Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, American, Russian, Israeli or North Korean(if they could read this) would agree that the rhetoric of a nuclear warfare is so blatant in these societies that a bunch of stupid people in the government can lead to a humanitarian and environmental crisis unprecedented in history.
Raditation poisoning killed about 20,000 more people in the later months.
The Hiroshima Day is a reminder of the powers of nature that man has been able to harness and the fact that these powers mean only more responsible behaviour is needed in all of us.
The Hiroshima Memorial Park stands as a testimony to those people who bore the brunt of war between two groups who sought nothing but a global supremacy in trade and diplomacy.
The balls above bring back memories. Don’t they? Well, they definitely do for me. When I was a kid, mobiles weren’t very popular and so we had to look for other sources of entertainment that included many board games, those plastic bats, plastic cars and later on those remote controlled ones, a soap bubble maker, stuffed cartoons and bears, cartoon characters in balloons and balls- football, stumper ball, leather balls, table tennis balls, plastic balls, even golf balls, balloon balls and my personal favourite -the crazy balls.
Well, what’s so special about them, you ask. Nothing much, except that once thrown they bounce back soo high and the fact that they come in such attractive colors- neon, green, pink, blue, a mixture of pink and blue, green and yellow and soo many more and the rubber like texture of the balls. You couldn’t help but love it.
And this one fine day, when I was out with my mother and visited a stationery, I saw these crazy balls. Not one or two, but a whole packet. I couldn’t believe they still sell this. Now-a-day, kids have so many sources of entertainment and when they do play outside, it’s usually in those professional stadiums. I thought they had stopped making them. So anyways, when I saw the packet, I couldn’t help but want one. With the best puppy like face I could muster, I looked at my mother and pleaded to have one. My mother looked at me in all her seriousness and she said and I directly quote- “Why do you need one? Are you a kid?”. It was when it stuck me, I wasn’t a kid anymore. I was supposed to be all serious and mature. But then again, feeling that child like excitement once again, after soo long felt strange but it felt soo good. I couldn’t help but want it- both that feeling and the crazy ball. And so I looked at my mother and said, “Yes, I am only a kid “. She smiled. What more could she have said and when I didn’t budge she allowed me to have one. Just like those old days, choosing one was soo difficult. There were soo many colors- neon, green, pink, blue, a mixture of pink and blue, green and yellow, red and green. I took the pink and blue ball and clutched it tightly in my hand all the way back home. The crazy ball sure has me crazy over it. So, gotta go. I still have to play with it. And so, if you ever come across any of those or any of your personal favourites, embrace them. Be a kid. Life is short, the pandemic has taught us this, but our childhood was even shorter. And we all miss it somewhere, sometimes. So when life gives you moments like these, don’t just sit and recollect. Go ahead and relive.
Agriculture is the main occupation in India, whilst it is more than an occupation, as it is regarded as the backbone of our country. It does not just a need or merely a source of livelihood but a way of life without which we could not imagine our existence on Earth. On a literal note agriculture means the production and cultivation of crops and livestock on a farm. It provides the highest contribution to national income and is currently the highest contributor to the GDP of India. It is the basic salient factor for the economic growth of a country on the same hand the development of agriculture is very prominent for a country’s development. It plays a crucial role and an integral part in the entire life of an economy which presses the need of its development. Speaking about the enhancement in the field of agriculture there are many methods and technologies in the contemporary world that contributes to its growth. Modern agriculture is the juncture where technologies and agriculture meets.
It is an evolving approach to many innovations in the agricultural field and farming practices that can help the farmers to augment efficiency by implementing several methods and reduce the number of natural resources like water, land, and energy necessary to meet the world’s food, fuel and fiber needs in a more effective form to increase productivity and decreasing environmental impact. It is driven by continuous improvement, using technology, digital tools and data. Precision agriculture allows the farmers to be more accurate that includes the use of Global Positioning Systems which results in the effectual use of resources.
Techniques in modern agriculture
Aeroponics system– It is the process where plants are grown in the air or mist environment without the use of soil. Plants grow in a soilless medium called rockwool. By using this method farmers will have better control over the amount of water to use. Lot of vegetables and fruits like beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber etc can be grown using this method.
Monoculture– It is the raising of a single crop within a specified area which in contrast to the traditional technique of farming , which relied on multiple crops being planted within a specific area. Many indoor farms growing medicinal herbs and flowers are measured to be monoculture farms. Monoculture farming is widely used in both industrial farming and organic farming and has allowed increased efficiency in planting and harvest. It reduced plant opposition for nutrients, space and solar radiation.
Drones in farming – It is an unmanned aerial vehicle applied to farming in order to help increase crop production and monitor crop growth. Sensors and digital capabilities can give farmers a well-heeled picture of their fields. The drones in agriculture have the potential to launch the agriculture industry into a future of sustainability. It is very effective at collecting data to help farmers improve crop health and allows farmers to gain immediate knowledge about the status of the fields.
Hybrid seed technology– It is a cross between two or more unrelated inbred plants. The two dissimilar varieties of plants are cross bred, resulting in a seed that carries one or more favorable traits. They are common in commercial farming, mainly to increase crop yields. It shows enhanced disease resistance, improved crop yields, increased flavor of fruits and vegetables.
Tissue culture – It is a method where the fragments of a tissue plant are introduced into a new, artificial environment, where they continue to function or grow. It is the expansion of tissues or cells separate from the organism. This is naturally facilitated via the use of a liquid, semi-solid or solid. such as broth or agar. It is a fast technique in which thousands of plants can be created in a few weeks time from a small amount of plant tissue and the plants are disease free.
Irrigation technologies-Water is one of the most essential factors in the deciding the survival of plants. The modern methods of irrigation include surface irrigation- flood irrigation, sprinkler- water is sprinkled or sprayed on plants which is similar to rainfall, drip – small diameter pipes with emitter or drippers that lie close to grounds and subsurface. The modern methods are better because it saves more water and also reduces the time and labor.
When presently everyone are blessed with most of the resources with parity to meet our needs and similarly the impending generation should also have equal access to all of the resources without any mitigation and that is the idea of sustainable development at its simplest. It is the fact that human societies must live and meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is an approach to developing or growing by using resources in a way that allows for them to renew or continue to exist for others. The sustainable development goals were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
Earth’s natural resources have been used in ways that are environmentally inefficient and wasteful, with dangerous consequences such as decreased air quality and overall climate change. Sustainable development practices help countries grow in ways that adapt to the challenges posed by climate change, which will in turn help to protect important natural resources for ours and future generation. Countries have committed to fast-track progress for those furthest behind first and here the SDG’s play a prominent role which were designed to bring the world to several life-changing ‘zeros’, including zero poverty, no hunger, AIDS and discrimination against women.
17 Goals of sustainable development
Zero poverty
No hunger
Clean water and sanitation
Gender equality
Quality education
Good health and well being
Economic growth
Affordable and clean energy
Reduced inequalities
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Sustainable cities and communities
Responsible consumption and production
Climate action
Life below water
Life on land
Peace, justice and strong institution
Partnerships for the goals
What has led to the formation of sustainable development? Free access of humans and unlimited consumption of finite resource would extinguish the same resources in the near future and eventually the Earth’s resources would get overexploited. For instance, even in the present world there are scarcity over many resources like the non renewable energy -petrol and diesel. Due to the paucity of such resources the prices are escalating making it unfeasible for the common man and traps us into a very pathetic scenario. Water scarcity is yet another big quandary which is prevalent in many domains due to the lack of sufficient water or access to unsafe water. Water is a pressing need in many areas of the world. If these are the situations now then just imagine the plight of the future generation? We know that many resources in the present world are limited in nature . It is our sincere responsibility to use it prudently and bequeath the future generation with this legacy and thus lead to a viable development !!!!
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