Cotton

Cotton is the smooth, fluffy staple fibre that grows around the Gossypium seeds in the Malvaceae family in a boll or protective case. The fibre is nearly pure. The cotton bolls increase the seed dispersal under natural conditions. This plant is a shrub from all over the world, tropical and subtropical, as America, Africa, Egypt and India include. Mexico, led by Australia and Africa, has the greatest diversity of wild cotton varieties. In the old and new worlds cotton was autonomously domesticated.

The fibre is spun into yarn or threads most frequently and creates a thin, respiratory textile. The use of cotton for fabrics has been known from prehistoric times. Figures of cotton produced in the Indus Valley Civilization dated to the fifth millennium BC and traces of cloth dating from 6000 BC were found in Peru. While it has been cultivated since ancient times, its invention reduced production cost and commonly used cotton gin and is currently the most widely used fabric of natural fibre in clothing.

At present world output figures are approximately 2.5% of the arable land worldwide, or 110 million bales annually. The largest cotton producer in the world, India. India. For several years , the United States has been the biggest exporter. Cotton, which is approximately 0.48 m3 and weigh 226.8 kilogrammes, is usually weighed in the USA in a bale.

In the Indian subcontinent, Indian cotton production increased in raw cotton, silk cotton and cotton textiles, under the Mughal Empire from the early 16th century until the early 18th century. In response to increasing market demand, the Mughals implemented agricultural reforms such as a new tax structure that favoured high-value cash crops such as cotton or indigo. Cotton cloth, which included manufacture of parts products, calicos and Muslim items available without bleaching and in a range of colours, was the largest manufacturing industry in the Mughal Empire. A substantial part of the empire’s foreign trade was carried out by the cotton textile industry. In early 18th century, India accounted for 25 percent of global textile trade. Indian cotton textiles, consumed across the world from the Americas to Japan, were the most important manufactured products of world trade in the 18th century. The Bengal Subah Province, particularly its capital, Dhaka, was the major centre for cotton production.

Up until the 19th century Indian textiles, particularly those from Bengal, continued to have a competitive advantage. Britain has invested in labor-saving technological innovation to compete with India, while introducing protectionist measures such as prohibitions and tariffs to limit Indian imports. At the same time, the rule of the East India company in India led to its deindustrialization and opened up a new British market for products. After its 1757 conquest, the assets acquired from Bengal were used to invest in UK industries, such as textile manufacture and to raise British wealth.

India is the world ‘s largest cotton producer. India’s cotton production was tied to 29 million bale by the United States Agriculture Minister in the 2019-20 period compared to the previous year’s 26 million bale. The latest estimates suggest that China will all overtake India with 27,75 million bales expected for the same season.

However, productivity per hectare is very poor despite these impressive figures. The Cotton Association of India (CAI) reports a mere 420.72 kg of cotton per hectare of cotton production in India, which is approximately 2.47 bales per hectare during 2018-19. In addition to practices which do not lead to higher income, this means greater land use, but lower-income for farmers. Industry experts think farmers should be aware of the safe practises of cotton.

Happy Engineer’s Day

Every year, the country celebrates September 15 as National Engineer’s Day to appreciate the contributions of Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. The Bharat Ratna awardee, Visvesvaraya was born on September 15, 1861 in a village called Muddenahalli in Karnataka. He studied Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Madras and pursued civil engineering at the College of Science in Pune.

A Bharat Ratna awardee, Visvesvaraya had studied Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Madras and pursued civil engineering at College of Science in Pune.

As years went by, the Engineering community began to develop greatly that   in the early 19th century, so many changes on production techniques began to take place. As the British engineers then able to design a simple machine that was powered by steam. i.e the steam engine. This simple evolution in British technology brought about great benefits to the government as a whole. So many aspects of productions were improved. Which in turn boosted the economic strength of the nation. All industries soon grew up as labor was now assigned to their new machine. The transportation, power and other basic sectors of the nation’s economy soon diverted to the steam engine which brightened their economy in return. The engine was used to create electricity and also used to move caravans to aid transportation. As time went by, this

evolution was spread all over the world and then Engineering found larger grounds for exploitation.

Everywhere you look you’ll see examples of engineering having a positive effect on everyday life. Cars are safer, sound systems deliver better acoustics, medical tests are more accurate, and computers and cell phones are a lot more fun! You’ll be giving back to your community.

Engineers don’t sit back and watch – they make things happen. Using innovation, creativity and a wealth of knowledge, engineering graduates are impacting the world unlike any other.

The world is changing, and engineers are the ones behind so much of this development. The majority of today’s services and products had some element of engineering involved in their conception at least, paving the way to long, fulfilling and healthy lives for the people influenced by them.

Engineers must be critical yet creative; curious yet capable; as well as ready to handle the constantly changing world.

The wide range of disciplines that fall under the engineering title mean that no matter what the prospective student’s interest, there’s bound to be one facet of the sector they’ll find enticing and engaging. Whether its civil, electrical, chemical or mechanical engineering, if you like tinkering, creating, designing or building, the engineering sector has a place for you.

In an advanced technological world, we need engineers to bring ideas into reality. By applying the principles of mathematics and science, engineers develop solutions to the world’s biggest technical issues.

You could find yourself doing anything from building new bridges to developing electrical sockets for refugee camps; working on special effects for blockbuster movies or testing aircraft and aerospace products. With a myriad of positions open to engineers in almost every field, graduates happily welcome the huge choice of careers they have the potential to explore.

The engineering portfolio knows no bounds, but these people are all working to the same common goal: building a sustainable world. Whatever you wish to contribute to society through your engineering dedication, nothing compares to the knowledge that you’ve achieved something that’s impacted people’s lives for the better.

With this infrastructure, people can go to other place with more comfortable and faster. For example, engineer had created many type of vehicles such as car, motorcycle and airplane that make human life now easier to go to other place. This can reduce of used of more energy by human nowadays. It is also highly important on a human level such as roads, railways and aircraft which all of these are allow people to travel over varying distances. The importance of this for encouraging more frequent personal contact between people cannot be understated. Integrated design has made the system highly efficient, and time wasted by travelling has been significantly reduced. We also can travel to everywhere in the world by transport whether by air, water or land transport for business or holiday.

In our homes, schools, offices, agriculture, automobiles, banks, security, and so many other areas, we observe the applications of engineering. In fact, you may not be able to read this article effectively without the underground works performed by engineers before the final manufacturing of the device. Engineering is a faculty that have been making machines with unique properties everyday. It is filled with experts that have great innovative ideas.

The internet has helped many businessmen in the marketing of products and selling some useful services to their customers. People sit with their computers and advanced mobile phones and promote their businesses through this channel. Presently, there are many websites created where people go and render services to get paid in turn for the work well done. An example of such website is the one called Fiverr. This is a website that has been a source of daily bread to people from different parts of the world. There are dozens of services being offered by sellers in that website including web and graphics designs, promotion of books and other tangible goods, application designs, sound cloud works, writing businesses, and so many others.

Engineering plays fundamental roles in banking institutions of various societies. In a bank, there are many engineers that engineer the affairs of the banking activities. Without these engineers, the banks will not function effectively. Banks are advancing on a yearly basis and they have been demanding the services of the engineers (especially Software and Networking Engineers) to make the advancement unique. Engineering in banks has added a lot to the quality of services that banks render to their customers

Engineering as a profession is a major player in the twenty-first century. Engineering is a unique profession and it has been changing the face of the earth to good. The world is upgrading and seeing clearly because of the importance of engineering profession in our society. In this piece of write-up or essay, the author detailed out the importance of engineering as it relates to agricultural, banking, automobile, educational, marketing, and health sectors.

What Happens When You Starve yourselves?

Your body needs energy to do anything and everything. But what happens if you do not provide the box with this energy? What consequences would occur?

  • Mechanism

 A human body is immensely active and has a smart system in itself. It has a great ability to adapt itself into the new environment and new conditions. The only condition your body has with you is health and food to eat. We all know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It simply gets transferred. Supposing,the same are built so that the turbine spins and through which, electricity and fresh water can be obtained.  Here,mechanical energy has got converted into electrical energy. The electricity then flows to make use for domestic and industrial purposes. The electricity then,is  released in the form of heat energy. So,your body cannot really make energy. It simply converts one type of energy into the other. So unless you intake any eatables,the body does not have any energy. But…..then how do people in the hospitals for a longer period of time? Well,they are given supplements,maybe through the fluids injected into their body regularly. In fact, according to a site, supposing if a person in a condition of coma and cannot move at all. Many ,many things can happen when a person in  a state where he cannot move. First of all,the mechanical equipment, like the central line,the tubes,the cathedral( Yah,confusing to me as well) , these equipment stay at the same place,to inject the fluids. When a substance is left out,infections can commonly occur. These lines or tubes have everything that a microbe needs to grow. Now these same  lines travel  inside the patients body and not every time,it will get killed. The infection can also lead to be fatal and even statistics say that a certain amount of death occurs yearly due to the central lines getting infected. Sure,the environment in sterilized and all,but we are talking about the things which have actually happened in the past and present. Anyway,the point was that the nurses have to constantly clean the teeth of the patients and even gently jerk the hands. Almost every day. (So the next time you see some nurse in the corner,just don’t ignore them cause they are doing an awesome work out there.) But what if you stop eating,let’s say for three weeks?

  • Human fuel.

Some people call  food,the ‘human fuel of energy.’  Food is crucial for growth, development,for the organs in your body to work etc. But most people stay without food for about 6-8 hours sometime. What happens is,your body stores that glucose in the form of something called Glycogen.When you eat foods,your body previously stores this glycogen and when your body needs glucose,it will be provided in the form of this glycogen. But..then why do we faint? Fainting can be observed from many factors,the common one being when the brain does not receive oxygen. Why does it not receive oxygen? Well,many factors can be  taken into consideration,such as 

1. Standing for too much time. 

2. Standing under the sun for too much time.

3. When you do not eat food(but sometimes,the food which you’ve eaten,that food also needs energy to be converted into glucose which again makes you faint.)

After some days,your body moves into the phase of something called Ketosis. Ketosis is when your body produces  something called ketones which  is temporarily used as a fuel. But this is not enough. So the next phase is something very disturbing.Now,the body does not have any carbohydrates, so it sort of cannibalises the fats,the proteins in your body because your brain needs it desperately. But when proteins and fats are used to make glucose,your brain will be satisfied,but your body will be devastated. You’ll develop a bony structure as the body builders (proteins) have been burnt. And if you don’t stop now,it can even lead to death.

Fact- Something similar but less complicated occurs in potatoes. You must have noticed,the potatoes tend to sprout maybe due to humid Linares. How does it grow? It uses all the nutrition inside itself. But the potato will not grow until it obtains N,P,K (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium)so the sprouting is nothing but wasted

Photo By Pixabay

Birthday Tribute to Sri Sarat Chandra Chatterjee: Also Popular in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

For academic works, I had the opportunity to visit across the country (before my retirement on superannuation) and one of the names commonly I have heard mostly in the districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana whenever discussion on story and novels were cropped up   was  the great writer Sri Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (Chatterjee), alternatively written as  Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. He was born on 15 September 1876, now in Hooghly district of present West Bengal and passed away on 16 January 1938 in Calcutta/Kolkata. Sri Chatterjee was a novelist and short story writer. Most of his works highlighted the lifestyle, tragedy, suffering and struggle of the people of then Bengal also on the contemporary social practices that prevailed in Bengal. Based on his novels many films were produced in different languages and among these one very popular is Devdas. Based on Devdas   in Hindi 17 times different movies were produced by the film makers because the novel is very favourite to them for making films. In 1937 Assamese film based on Devdas was produced and the film was directed by Sri Pramathesh Chandra Barua. It is pertinent to mention that Sri Barua was born on 24 October 1903 in Assam, (Brahmaputra valley) and passed away at comparatively early age, that is, on 29 November 1951. He was a brilliant actor, director, and screenwriter. Prior to Devdas Assamese film, Sri Barua produced Devdas in Bengali in 1935 and in 1936 in Hindi. Also based on Devdas in 1953 a film under the title of Devadasu was produced in Telugu and Tamil languages (the later on changed name to Devadas).      

   Sarat Chandra ji had to struggle in his life although he studied at a village school but was forced to drop out of college due to his economic issue. He spent most of his childhood with his mother at her family’s home in Bhagalpur, Bihar (in Bengali called Mamabari/maternal uncles’ house).

 After coming to Bhagalpur, Sarat Chandra ji was admitted to the scholarship class of ME school and by staying in Bhagalpur he wrote many stories. At the age of 27, he went to Rangoon (now Yangon, Myanmar) and joined as a clerk in a government office and published his first short story Mandir that won the Kuntolin Puraskar. He stayed in Rangoon for 13 years and after that he returned to Bengal, and started writing. He was a favourite among the readers for his publications in Jamuna and Bichitra. Among Sarat Chandra ji’s  many popular novels, few are mentioned here – Devdas (written in 1901 but published in 1917), Parineeta (1914), Biraj Bou (1914), Palli-Samaj (1916), Srikanta (in four parts; 1917, 1918, 1927, 1933), Charitraheen (1917), Grihadaha (1919), Pather-Dabi (1926), Shesh Prashno (1931), Bipradas (1935) etc. I wish to mention here among his other stories  Mejdidi has greatly touched me. Based on the story in Hindi and Bengali films have been produced under the title of Majhli Didi and Mejdidi respectively.

On this auspicious occasion of his birthday, great salute to respected Sri Sarat Chandra Chatterjee.  

Dr Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad

5 TIPS FOR CORPORATE LEADERS.

Corporate leadership is quite different from other forms of leadership. Roles and responsibilities of a corporate are very diversified. From generating high revenue to building agood office culture every thing comes under the domain of a corporate leader. A leader is a connecting wire that connects each and every employee and make the circuit complete. A good corporate leader has to maintain a critical balance between idealism and realism. He has to take decisions which is favorable to the company but keep morality and ethics in Like other forms of leadership corporate leaders doesn’t focus on increasing the number of followers they focus on the quality of the men they lead not the quantity. A condition where most of the leaders face problem is when their employee does not perform because being over rude is also not right but taking some action is also necessary. A simple solution to it is to make score board of every employee whether clerk or even HR. Appreciate them when they perform and help them when they don’t. A good corporate leader should be an ideal for others he should be a target personality for others.

5 TIPS FOR CORPORATE LEADERS

  1. PERSONAL POWER- Your position is of no use if you don’t have personal power. If you make your employees work with positional power, it will create a pressure on them which can later result in toxic relations. But if your employee admires you and feel connected with you he will obey your orders by heart.
  2. INFLUENCE- Start making an influence on the team you lead otherwise you will be a puppet. Your decision your words should have high value for your team but don’t choose wrong methods to make influence, be friendly, treat them as your family, stand with them in their personal problems.
  3. GIVE IMPORTANCE-If you are the leader that doesn’t mean you are always right and best always encourage your juniors to give new ideas, give some autonomous tasks to them, ask for suggestions, never ignore their points if it is not acceptable then point out the shortcomings and encourage to improve.
  4. PROGRESS ADVANCING- Make sure the progress of your team along with you. If you alone will keep progressing without your team soon you will loose their belief in you and you will be all alone. Your team mates should not feel left out.
  5. COMMON GOALS -The goals of your team and yours should be same. There should be no differences in the goals. The moment they will realise that their goals will be achieved by being with you, they are never going to leave you and they will give their 100% to you and your organisation

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97)

Mary Wollstonecraft was born in 1759. She is sometimes called the Mother of Feminism. Her body of work largely is concerned with Women’s rights. In her 1791-92 book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, now considered a classic of feminist history and feminist theory, Wollstonecraft argued primarily for the rights of woman to be educated. Through education would come emancipation.

Mary Wollstonecraft was a participant in and observer of a significant range of social changes. Firstly, was the Enlightenment thought which regarded institutions as out-dated, and in need of review, along with changes in educational theory and domestic structure. Reason was of primary importance to the Enlightenment philosophers, a company to which Mary Wollstonecraft belongs.

Wollstonecraft wasn’t taken seriously by many people during her time because her ideas were so unique. Mary was a moral and political theorist as well as a women’s rights activist. She was a true French Revolution child, a new age of reason and benevolence. She wanted women to achieve a better life, not only for themselves but for their children and husbands too and to bring together what people already had and ‘ultimate perfection’. She argued that women’s education was “strictly training them to be incapable and frivolous” so they could only be wives and mothers, but she wanted to secure happiness for women and men so they could be looked at as equals. She wanted women to take a stand and fight for their educational rights, not to be weak and depend on men for their identity.

As aforementioned, she is sometimes called the Mother of Feminism. Her body of work is largely concerned with women’s rights. In her 1791-92 book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft argued primarily for the rights of woman to be educated. Through education would come emancipation. A keen and vital concern with education, especially the education of girls and women, runs throughout Mary Wollstonecraft’s writing and remains a dominant theme to the abrupt end of her career. The title of her first book, Thoughts on the Education of Daughters, speaks for itself. Her single most important work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, begins as a plea for the equal education of women and includes an ambitious and farsighted proposal for a national school’s system. More directly, Wollstonecraft produced a book for children in the innovative, progressive mode of the day, edited an innovative reader specifically designed for the use of girls. Education was critically important to Wollstonecraft both as a liberal reformer and as a radical theorist and proponent of women’s rights.

Wollstonecraft accepts the definition of her time that women’s sphere is the home, but she does not isolate the home from public life as many others did and as many still do. For her, the public life and domestic life are not separate, but connected. The home is important to Wollstonecraft because it forms a foundation for the social life, the public life. The state, the public life, enhances and serves both individuals and the family. Men have duties in the family, too, and women have duties to the state.

Control your dreams.

Many people experience lucid dreams spontaneously, simply because their mind is alert during that phase of sleep. Some train themselves to dream lucid, intending to harness the potential of lucid dreams and utilizing them to their advantage. Lucid dreams are known to help with anxiety, nightmares, dispelling phobias, boosting creativity, and improving motor skills.

During lucid dreams, the sleeper is aware a dream is taking place but will not leave the dream state. Some further define these phenomena as dreams in which the sleeper can exercise control over different aspects of their environment, though studies have found this is not always the case, and that certain people are more predisposed to “lucid dream control” than others.

Surveys show that roughly 55% of adults have experienced at least one lucid dream during their lifetime, and 23% of people experience lucid dreams at least once per month. Some research has pointed to potential benefits of lucid dreaming, such as treatment for nightmares. However, other studies argue lucid dreams may have a negative impact on mental health because they can disturb sleep and cause dreamers to blur the lines between reality and fantasy.

Anxiety:
Since lucid dreams hover between reality and dreams, people can use lucid dreaming to play out real-life situations. For instance, if you are anxious about an upcoming job interview, you can run it through your mind numerous times before going to bed. Your brain gets accustomed to the scenario and chances are high of the scene playing out in your dreams, where you will have control over your actions. Playing and replaying the scene in your dream, while being aware of what is happening helps in easing anxiety. The fear of the unknown fades away, as you experience the situation.

Creativity boost :
Some practice lucid dreaming consciously to enhance their creativity. They test their imagination while being conscious of their dreams. It is a sort of game to see how far your dreams take you, while you are consciously aware of it. It lays the premise for out-of-the-box thinking since anything can happen in your dreams.

Maintain a journal :
This is the first step to syncing up with your dreams. Get into the habit of writing down every minute detail of your dream immediately as you wake, and make it a habit. It helps you to understand your dreams better —understanding your dreams and thoughts are steps that will lead you to lucid dreams.

Link the dots :
Once you get into the habit of maintaining a detailed dream journal, review it often. Doing so will help you identify a pattern in your dreams. You will recognize if there is a trend of themes, people, or subjects that crop up in your dreams. This will give you an insight into your inner psyche and help you understand what plays in your subconscious mind. Moreover reviewing details of your dreams will also help you pick up signs, teaching your brain how to identify a dream while being conscious of the dreaming state.

A technique to help lucid dreaming:
In this technique, you set an alarm five or six hours after you fall asleep. When the alarm clock rings you wake up during the REM stage of your sleep, when your brain is most active, leading to longer dreams. If you wake up during this stage and then go back to sleep, chances are high that you will re-enter your dream phase and be more conscious of it.

Why I Quit Social Media?


These days a Netflix documentary is trending everywhere named “Socia Dilemma”. It will give you many surprises and shocks. How social media business model control you and how they made you a puppet. This documentary will tell you everything about it.
Why do we open a social media account? Just to connect with friends and family will be the common answer. But do we stick to that only? Surely, not. We chat with people, connect with many and get addicted to this routine. Okay, tell me about your routine. How many times do you sneak into your social media accounts in a day? It must be more than an hour I bet. But the harsh reality behind these social media platforms is that they always spy on us. They secretly watch everything you do on your phone. I’ll give you an example. Suppose you’re looking for an electronic device to buy, let’s say mobile online and searched for it on google. The next day or the same day, you will see mobile advertisements in all your social media handles. Even you didn’t ask for it but still, you’ll see the number of advertisements. Because these platforms live on advertisements and they make us a secret medium for it. Let me tell you, privacy is a myth.
The worst thing about it is it’ll make you a puppet. You will have our phone with you wherever you go. No matter how busy you are, you’ll be checking your phone. You will always crave for online likes, comments and shares. What will he/she reply? Why he/she is not replying me? Does that mean he/she is angry with me? Such numerous thoughts will always pop up in our minds snatching away our mental peace. Social media is one of the most prominent reasons for mental disorders these days. They will always keep you on the phone. They know your psychology better than yourself. What will be your next move, what are you expecting, they know everything. It’s the time when you try to move away from your phone and suddenly a notification pops up maybe a chat notification you were craving for.
Another thing about social media is there is so much negativity. Maybe it’s your personal account or your art page, you’ll receive negativity everywhere. Someone will try to give you threats via messages or someone will slide into your DMs with unsolicited pictures. People will appreciate your work and will also show hatred for now reason. It has become such a toxic place to be in. Now few will come in the support of social media saying it connects people, let’s you showcase your art, make you find people you lost and much more. And Yes I definitely agree to them to some extent. It’s totally up to your use. How you will use it will decide who will be on driver’s seat. If you use it with all your senses at the place, then you’ll drive it and even if you give them a small loophole, they will sneak in your mental peace and drive you the way they want.

Story of the two most expensive spices

• Saffron

One pound of saffron costs you $5000. It is the most expensive spice next comes vanilla. Saffron is a complicated spice to harvest. Harvesting saffron needs a lot of hand work to pick up the flowers, separate the saffron that is the dried stigma or the female part of the flower. Saffron comes from the saffron crocus flower and each flower has 3 stigmas. The yield of saffron is very low. One pound of saffron requires 170000 flowers. These flowers bloom over a six week period from late September to early December. There is a specific time to day to harvest them. High relative humidity and sunlight can break the chemical structure in the saffron. Early morning is preferably the best time to harvest them.

90% of the world’s saffron is grown in arid fields in Iran. It is so because workers are available and for cheap. But it’s mostly like slavery. Most workers are women getting five dollars a day. Not only Iran, it’s grown in Morocco, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Afghanistan, India and even in United States. Though many Americans have never eaten saffron, the US imports large amount of saffron. Saffron has a resistance to cold weather.

Over centuries saffron has proven useful in many situations. Most commonly used in cooking. Middle east Asian countries have a lot of food containing saffron. When saffron is broken down it creates a golden dye. Which is how when used in cooking it gives a different kind of colour and taste and smell to it.

Saffron contains some chemical components which are really expensive like picrocrocin, crocin and safranal. These are the main components responsible for the taste, smell and colour.

People have tried passing turmeric, red marigold petals, and lily flower stigma as saffron. But the flavour and dye is totally different. In large quantities, saffron can be a potent happiness inducing narcotic. Research suggests it may help reduce the symptoms for Alzheimer’s, depression and PMS.

• Vanilla

From ice cream to cakes and even perfume, vanilla is the go-to flavour of the world. In recent years, the price of natural vanilla has shot up. At one point it was more expensive than silver by weight. 80% of the world’s vanilla is grown in the perfectly suited climate of the north east region of Madagascar. It’s the country’s primary export crop. In 2014, vanilla was $80 a kilo. Three years later it was $600. Today its around $500. The price rise is due in part to global demand. The trend of eating naturally means that food companies have shunned synthetic flavouring in favour of the real deal.

Price fluctuations affect producers of agricultural commodities everywhere but vanilla is particularly volatile. In just a few weeks the price can jump or plummet by over 20%. Liberalisation is one reason for such movements. The Malagasy government once regulated the vanilla industry and it’s price. But now the price is negotiated at the point of sale which makes for a freer market but a more volatile one. It’s also a tiny industry. A single cyclone can knock up the entire crop within Madagascar. It’s also a difficult and delicate crop to grow.

Vanilla is an orchid that needs to be hand pollinated. This is a really labour intensive practice. It takes roughly six months to grow it on the vine and then six months of manual post harvesting. The interesting thing about vanilla is that it needs to be taken off the vine when it is almost rotted!

The growers have to contend with another problem. Thieves are targeting vanilla crops. So Malagasy now have to sleep out in their vanilla fields. They can’t rely on those who are changed from the state to protect them or their crops. Some farmers have resorted to harvesting the beans before they’re ripe but this produces a poorer quality vanilla and ultimately pushes down the price. The combination of deteriorating quality and high prices is having an effect. The vanilla price bubble may burst. If the price continues to stay high there’s a number of scenarios that will play out. Continuation of current situation will cause an unstable market. Otherwise the corporate sectors step in, try to regulate the market in some way that may stabilise prices and also quality. Or the market may crash out.

Big buyers that provide vanilla are now working directly with farmers in a bid to gain greater control over quality. Other companies have started to look elsewhere for their natural vanilla. Indonesia, Uganda and even the Netherlands are growing the crop. For a century Madagascar has enjoyed a near monopoly on vanilla. But this industry maybe in line for radical overhaul.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!🌼

The power of Gratitude !

As kids we were taught there are three magical words— Thank you. Sorry and Please. As adults we could understand what it meant. I will today write about the second magic word “THANK YOU” . We have heard so many times that “gratitude is the best attitude”. And it actually is. When you have the power to acknowledge an effort that someone has put in you and you smile back to them and tell them a Thank you, it solves everything. You on your end may get a sense of satisfaction and the other person on his end smiled because of you. And making someone smile in today’s world is the most priceless thing you can do.

Being grateful makes us optimistic and happier. It improves our relationships with others.We have a lot of people around. The people who make us happy, the people with whom we chill out with, or share things with.They make our life easier. But at times we as humans tend to take things for granted. We forget to appreciate the things they do for us. But if we start acknowledging and for once if we go back to them and tell a Thank you,it would be more than enough. A mother who gives everything to her children with no expectations, deserves a thank you from her children for everything she does for them. A father who does everything for their children to give them a comfortable lifestyle deserves a thankyou. Your friends who are always there to support you and stand by your side deserves a thankyou. Anybody who does anything for you deserves a thankyou in return. Even when you go out to buy something the shopkeepers deserve a thankyou.And, believe me they actually know the value of being thanked . Because maybe out of all the customers you maybe the only one who has acknowledged their efforts and thanked them for the same and that makes them happy.

Not only people but also everything around us is important. Before the pandemic we were free birds. We could do anywhere,do whatever we want. Enjoy nature. We had already taken everything for granted, but this lock down has already taught us not to take things for granted.It has taught has the value of things we never thought they had.

The problem of ego is the biggest problem in a human. But why ? Why do we need to bring in ego for everything. Showing gratitude does not make you a small person. Instead, it makes you the biggest all and somebody with a pure heart. Being grateful to somebody is never out of trend and will never be. We can not imagine our lives without certain things and people in it . So it is better if we start valuing things and not wait for a Thanks giving day to tell people how much they matter. You do not need to follow a protocol to speak your heart. All you need to is call/text the person you are thanking. It’s hard not to feel happy when you make someone smile.

Be thankful to God to give us this life. There is always a blessing to thank God for ; the ones you are aware of and the ones you are not. Be grateful to God everyday.

Promise yourself to be grateful to things that matter. There are good times and bad times and every day may not be good,but there is something good in every day. Remember,to count your blessings and not your regrets.

JOB SECURITY OVER SALARY

In recent years, there’s been a trend toward following our passions and doing work we love. At least, we hear a lot about finding ways to get paid to do work that we like. However, that trend might be on the verge of a chance, if a recent survey is any indication.
Recent survey released the results of its recent Way to Work survey, and the findings are that many college students are more interested in stability than they feel a passion for their work.
The survey indicates that 70% of the college-age respondents are more interested in finding a stable job than they are interested in whether or not they feel passionate about what they are doing. Not only that, but the aspiration that received the greatest interest in the service was to be financially stable in the next 10 years (31% of respondents). Landing a dream job in the next 10 years was the second-greatest aspiration, with 28% of respondents hoping for this outcome.


This is an interesting development when you consider that, for a number of years, we’ve been steeped in messages about following passions and creating our own dream jobs. At least, I’ve been steeped in that rhetoric as a personal finance freelancer who is regularly exposed to people trying to follow their dreams and create their own jobs.
However, as many college students near the end of their education, it appears that many are less concerned about how much they love their work, and more concerned about whether or not they will have a job that will lead them to financial stability.
This is a struggle that many of us face in our own lives. It’s hard to put a price on job stability. In some cases, it makes sense to stick with a stable job for longer because it does offer something known. You know how much you will be paid each month.
On top of that, a stable job often offers other benefits, like subsidized health insurance and an employer match for your retirement plan. Followed by a healthy work-life balance, drives Indian youth to opt for banking and government jobs. Based on the responses from 5000 banking and government jobs aspirants across the country, the survey from the online competitive exam preparation space. In terms of preferred mode for exam preparation, 58.7 per cent voted for online mock tests, while YouTube classes and videos (44.5 per cent) came second, and traditional coaching institutes (8.4per cent) were the last choice.
A majority of the candidates (39.4 per cent) prepare for three or more competitive exams at the same time, the study said. The survey also found that access to online coaching for competitive exams, such as JEE, NEET, Banking, SSC and GATE, has gained greater momentum.
Online learning and personalised education tools are replacing traditional coaching methods. Social media is definitely a game-changer, offering easy access to discussion forums and study groups. According to the data, Telegram groups (31.5 per cent), WhatsApp groups (31.5 per cent) and Oliveboard discussion forum (27.1 per cent) are the most popular platforms to interact with peers and educators.

HINDUTVA IS NOT HINDUISM

The term Hindutva took birth with the appearance of VD Savarkar’s book titled Hindutva in 1923. Savarkar’s Hindutva was declared to be the Holy Book of Hindu Sangathan or organization. M. S. Golwalkar, who headed the RSS after K. B. Hedgewar, too regarded Savarkar’s Hindutva as a great scientific book which fulfilled the need of a text-book on Hindu nationalism.[1] According to a biography of founder of RSS, Hedgewar published by the RSS, “Savarkar’s inspiring and brilliant exposition of the concept of Hindutva marked by incontestable logic and clarity, struck the cord of Doctorji’s [Hedgewar’s] heart”.[2]
Despite such statements glorifying Hindutva as priceless contribution in defence of Hindu nationalism, the contents of the book did not attract many Hindu leaders and remained beyond the comprehension of common Hindus. In fact, even the title of the book seemed to have been an afterthought. A perusal of the original edition (1923) will show that the booklet was printed with the title Hinduism but subsequently a separate piece of paper on which Hindutva was printed was pasted on the title page of the book. Since the term remained alien even to the Savarkarites, by the 4th edition Hindutva as title was dropped and it was published under a new title Who Is A Hindu? In 1963 Maharashtra Provincial Hindusabha published it as part of Savarkar’s collected works with the title Essentials of Hindutva. Another notable fact about this book was that it was published under the pen name ‘A Maratha’ signifying a regional identity of the author whereas book stressed only the Hindu identity of the country and its inhabitants.
Savarkar admitted at the outset that the ‘term Hindutva defies all attempts at analysis’.[3] He began by trying to make a clear-cut distinction between his theory of Hindutva and religion Hinduism. But few pages later it became clear that Hindutva was nothing else but political Hinduism. At the very outset, Savarkar made it clear that Hindutva was not the same as Hinduism. It had nothing to do with religion or rituals. The term in English which came closest to the one he was using, he wrote, was perhaps Hinduness. As a principle, Hindutva formed the basis of India’s national character, he maintained, and, to provide greater clarity, offered his own definition of who was a Hindu. The word Hindu was as ancient as the Vedas, he contended, and explained that the letter ‘Sa’ in Sanskrit was often turned into ‘Ha’ in the Prakrit languages. Thus the land of the people known as the Sapta Sindhus, which had acquired for itself the name Sapta Sindhu, was referred to as ‘Hapta Hindu’ in the Avesta of the ancient Persians, he said.
Savarkar wasn’t really setting out to create a Hindu nation. India was, he asserted, citing some ancient and medieval texts, a Hindu nation in an organic sense. The bitter reality is that Hindutva is nothing but an ideology which stands for totalitarianism, Casteism and injustice. We must remember the following prophetic words of Dr Ambedkar about the critical danger which Hindutva politics poses to our country.


Akshay Kumar at “Into the Wild” with Bear Grylls

Priya Yadav,
Akshay Kumar of the film industry’s menace, shot with Bear Grylls in the world’s most popular show ‘Man Vs Wild’ Special episode OTT Platform Discovery Plus has been released. On 14 September, Monday evening, people will be able to watch it for free on Discovery Channel. Recently, Akshay and Bear Grylls shot this special episode in Bandipur National Park and Tiger Reserve.

In this special episode, Akshay Kumar made many revelations. Akshay was born in Delhi, his mother was a Kashmiri and father a Punjabi. Akshay revealed that he lived in his house with 24 people. He also shared how he reached Thailand to learn martial arts and became a waiter.

The ‘Mission Mangal’ actor revealed how he remembers that part of his life today. He said that life was good. I know that I have a lot of money and everything, but that life is different. I had so much freedom. Being a celebrity, this (now) has changed a bit and you have to protect yourself. This life is very good.

Akshay called his father his role model. Akshay also talked about his son Aarav, who is very different from him. The actor said, “He does not want to tell anyone that he is my son. He wants to stay away from the limelight. He wants to build his own identity and I understand it. I let him stay as he is Wants. That’s what I miss myself.

Let us know that recently Akshay Kumar participated in an Instagram live session with the adventurer and TV host Bear Grylls for his special episode of ‘Into the Wild’. The session was hosted by Huma Qureshi, who is working with her in the film ‘Bell Bottom’. During this, Huma asked Akshay that if Bear Grylls persuaded him to drink tea made from elephant dung, Akshay said, “I was not worried. I was more than thrilled.”

He further said I was not too worried. Because I have also drunk cow’s urine every day due to “Ayurvedic” reasons. So due to this, I did not have any particular problem. Bear said about this thing of Akshay that you are the one who is saying an easy thing to drink cow’s urine. Bear also said, ‘When people become famous, they stop working outside their comfort zone, because they are afraid of looking weak but Akshay was ready for anything.

In fact, last month, when people came to know that Akshay Kumar is going to appear with real-life player Bear Grylls in the special episode of the world’s most popular adventure show Into the Wild, then the joy of the fans was not there. People of the country and the world were eagerly waiting for September 14 to see Akshay Kumar whom he used to do dangerous stunts in films, tell martial arts tricks, jump from hundreds of feet high and walk with his hands for several minutes. Into the wild show will be seen scrambling in the world of dangers. But when people saw the show Into the Wild with Bear Grylls and Akshay Kumar, they felt disappointed. Instead of doing stunts or playing hide and seek with wild animals, Akshay Kumar was able to tell Bear Grylls his life story from 43 minutes to 40 minutes. To tell the truth, the audience had to see the wild side of Khiladi Kumar, because the way Akshay Kumar created an atmosphere on social media that he is going to storm with beer grills. In reality, Akshay Kumar played with the emotions of the audience.

English rendering of PM’s remarks on election of Shri Harivansh Narayan Singh as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

I congratulate Shri Harivanshji on behalf of the entire House and all the countrymen for his election as deputy chairman of this House for the second time.

I have a lot of respect for Harivanshji in my heart for the way he has carved his honest image in the world of social work and journalism. I feel that the people who know him closely have the same respect and warmth that I have for him; and so does every member of the House. Harivanshji has himself earned this respect and affinity.  It is also natural given his style of working and the manner in which he conducts the House proceedings. Your impartial role in the House strengthens democracy.

Mr. Chairman Sir, this time the proceedings of the House is being conducted in extreme circumstances that were never seen before. It is the duty of all of us that in the prevailing circumstances due to Corona, this House functions and fulfils its important obligations towards the country. I am confident that we will discharge our duties by ensuring all precautions and guidelines.

Mr. Chairman, the more cooperation the Rajya Sabha members extend to the Deputy Chairman in running the House smoothly, there will be more utilization of time and everybody will be safe.

Mr. Chairman Sir, Harivanshji has lived up to the trust at every level that we had reposed in him for the responsibility of the Upper House of Parliament. In my last address, I had said that I have firm belief that as the God is for everybody, similarly, the House’s God will also be there for the ruling as well as opposition members. The god of our House, Harivanshji, should remain unbiased to everybody without any discrimination, and he should not be party to either ruling or opposition.

I had also said that the umpires are more troubled than the players in this field of the House. It is very challenging to force the parliamentarians to play according to the rules. I had full faith that he would be a better umpire, but Harivanshji has won the trust of those who were not well acquainted with him through his decisiveness and decisions.

Mr. Chairman Sir, these two years are proof how Harivanshji has discharged his responsibility successfully. Harivanshji operated the House efficiently by organizing in-depth discussions on the important legislations and getting the bills passed quickly by sitting for hours. During this time, many historic bills regarding the country’s future were passed in this House. In the last year itself, this House has created a record of maximum productivity in 10 years. And that too, when Lok Sabha elections were underway last year!

It is a matter of pride for every member that there has been more positivity along with productivity. Everybody could put forth his views openly. Concerted efforts have been noticed so that the work of the House is not disrupted. It has also enhanced the dignity of the House. This was also the aspiration of Constitution makers from the Upper House. Harivanshji has shown how a torchbearer of democracy who comes from Bihar, a land known for its democratic ethos, and also the land of JP and Karpuri Thakur and Bapu’s Champaran, comes forward and discharges his responsibilities.

When you discuss about Harivanshji with his close associates, then one comes to know why he is so grounded. His early education happened in a makeshift school under a neem tree in his village. It is the upbringing of his education that he could relate himself to the ground realities.

We all know very well that Harivanshji comes from Sitab Diyara village, which belonged to Jayaprakashji.  This village is the birthplace of Jayaprakashji. Every year, Diyara, divided between two rivers, the Ganges and the Ghagra, and between the two states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar’s three district Arrah, Ballia, Chhapra, would become an island as it used to be flooded.  Barely, one crop could be cultivated. The only way to go anywhere was by crossing the river on boat.

Harivanshji received the practical knowledge that contentment is satisfaction from the prevailing conditions at his village home. Once, somebody told me an incident about his background. Harivanshji needed shoes for the first time when he reached High School. He did not have shoes, as he had never bought. So, a person who used to make shoes in the village was asked to prepare shoes for Harivanshji. Harivanshji would often visit him to see the progress of the shoe. Like a rich man visits his bungalow frequently to see its progress, Harivanshji would also go there quite often to monitor the progress of the shoes. Every day, he would ask the cobbler by when his shoes would be ready. You can imagine why Harivanshji is so grounded.

He was deeply influenced by JP. During that time, his love for books also grew up. I got to know of an incident related to that. When Harivanshji received the government scholarship for the first time, some members of his family had hoped that he would bring the entire scholarship money home. Instead of bringing the scholarship money home, Harivanshji spent the entire money on books. He brought home several books, including autobiographies and literature. Since then, Harivanshji’s love for books remains intact.

Mr. Chairman Sir, Harivanshji made an entry to Parliament in 2014 after nearly four decades of journalism of social issues. The way Harivanshji maintained the propriety as the deputy chairperson of the House, his tenure as a parliamentarian has been equally graceful. As a member, Harivanshji put forth his views, be it on economy or strategic security, in a very effective manner.

We all know that he has made a mark by putting his views gracefully. He has made every effort to serve the nation with his knowledge and experience as a member of the House. Harivanshji has also worked to enhance India’s dignity and stature at all international forums, whether it is the numerous sittings of Inter-Parliamentary Union, or his responsibility as a member of the Indian cultural delegations in other countries. Harivanshji has enhanced the dignity of India and the country’s parliament at all such places. 

Mr. Chairman Sir, besides being the deputy chairman of the House, Harivanshji has been chairman of several committees of Rajya Sabha. As chairman of several such committees, Harivanshji has improved the functioning of the committees and effectively highlighted their role.

I had also said last time that Harivanshi has always been on a mission as to what should be the conduct of a parliamentarian being a journalist. After becoming a parliamentarian, he made a lot of efforts to make all MPs more conscientious in their conduct.

Mr. Chairman Sir, Harivanshji is equally active as an intellectual and thinker along with his parliamentary business and responsibilities. He still visits places in the country. He creates awareness among common people regarding India’s economic, social, strategic and political challenges. The journalist and writer in him is still intact. His book closely highlights the life of our former Prime Minister Shri Chandrashekharji, and also demonstrates Harivanshji’s writing prowess. I and all the members of this House are fortunate that we will continue to be guided by Harivanshji as a deputy chairperson.

Respected Chairman, this Upper House of Parliament has embarked on a journey by holding more than 250 sessions. This journey is proof of our mature democracy. Once again, many many best wishes to Harivanshji for this important and huge responsibility. You remain healthy and discharge your duties according to the expectations of the Upper House by maintaining a healthy atmosphere. My best wishes to Manoj Jhaji also for giving a challenge to Harivanshji. The process of election is also important for the dignity of democracy. Our Bihar has been the land of democratic ethos. I am confident that Harivanshji will enhance the tradition of Vaishali, the glory of Bihar, and the ideals through this House.

I thank all the honourable members of the House for taking part in this election process. Once again, many congratulations to Harivanshji and all the members.

Mission ‘Skill India’ in Maharashtra

Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri R. K. Singh today informed about the details of the works done so far in the districts of Maharashtra under “Skill India“ scheme during the last three years.

Under Skill India Mission, the Ministry is implementing Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) to impart Short Term Training (STT) and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) on pan-India basis including all districts of Maharashtra.

The scheme has two components:

1) Centrally Sponsored Centrally Managed (CSCM)

2) Centrally Sponsored State Managed (CSSM)

Under CSCM there is no provision to allocate resources state-wise. However, under Centrally Sponsored State Managed (CSSM) component Rs. 85.77 Crore has been released to Maharashtra during FY 2017-18. However, till date, no utilization certificate has been submitted by Government of Maharashtra to the Ministry.

Further, Union Minister said that, till 17th March 2020, 1.82 lakh and 1.26 lakh candidates have been trained and certified, respectively, under Short Term Training (STT) courses in Maharashtra. Out of these certified candidates, 0.52 lakh candidates have been provided with placement. Also, 7.7 lakh candidates have been oriented under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) component of the scheme in Maharashtra.

Besides this, the Ministry promotes establishment of model and aspirational skill centres known as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) in every district for imparting skill training throughout the country. As on date, 50 PMKKs have been allocated in 36 districts of Maharashtra covering all districts. Out of allocated PMKKs, 43 PMKKs have been established. Loan amount of Rs. 17.85 Cr. has been disbursed so far for establishment of PMKKs in Maharashtra.

This information was by the Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri R.K. Singh in awritten reply in the Loksabha today.