BRIHADESWARARAR TEMPLE

The big temple, Thanjavur, Unesco classified monument. | Flickr
BRIHADEESWARAR TEMPLE

INTRODUCTION

Built by Raja Raja Chola I in 1010 AD,  is an ancient temple at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The deity of the temple is Lord Shiva—in his dancing pose—who is called the Nataraj. The temple is also known as Rajeswara Temple, Rajarajeswaram and Periya Kovil. The temple was built, like a fortress on the shores of a river, by the king to grace the Chola Empire. This thousand-year-old temple is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site adding to its exceptional historical and cultural value.

FEATURES

The Big Temple of Tanjavore is a stunning monument that speaks oodles about the  architectural mastery of the Chola era.  This 212 ft (64.8 meter) towering Shiva temple is home to  one of the largest Shiva Lingas of the country.  A majestic Nandhi (bull), measuring a gigantic 19.4 ‘ x 8.23’ x 12’ (5.94 x 2.51 x 3.66 in meters) stands guard over the temple.  This is the second largest  Nandhi in India and is carved out of a single stone.  Everything about this temple is big, majestic.  No wonder it is referred  as The Big Temple.

King Raja Raja Cholan had the main temple built completely with granite.  It is hard to imagine how, in  that age, more than 130,000 tones of granite was brought to the temple site, especially given that  there is no granite quarry within a hundred kilometers of the temple site.  Another stunning  architectural feat is the Vimana / Shikhara – the spire atop the temple.  The beautiful lotus shaped stone of  the Big Temple weighs a stunning 80 tons.  We can but marvel at the engineering mastermind who  managed to hoist an 80 ton carved rock up a 212 feet tower back in the 11th century.

The chief architect of the temple was Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan.  The layout of the  temple is based on the principles of Vastu Shastra, the ancient Hindus science of architecture and  construction and Agamas, the ancient scripts that define principles behind temple construction.  The  central temple site is surrounded by a rectangular boundary 885 ‘ x 450 ‘ (270 m by 140 m).  The  temple boundary holds many sub shrines besides the main temple and the Nandi. 

The niches on three sides of the temple hold images of Shiva, Vishnu and Durga.  The southern wall  has sculptures of Ganesha, Vishnu with his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi, Lakshmi, a pair of  Dvarapalas, Vishnu anugraha murti, Bhikshatana, Virabhadra, Dakshinamurti, Kalanta and Nataraja.   On the west side there are images of Harihara, Ardhanarishvara, a pair of dvarapalas and two  Chandrasekharas, one with and the other without halo.  On the north, in the lower series, the  depiction of Adhanarisvara, Gangadhara, a pair of dvarapalas, Virabhadra (with a sword and a shield),  Alingana Chandrasekhara, Siva holding a Sula (spear), a pair of dvarapalas, Sarasvati,  Mahishasuramardini and Bhairava.  The north series shows a number of Tripurantakas repeated in  each niche.  In the small circular space of the top niches are present the carvings of Ganesha,  Vrishabavahana, Bhikshatana, Narasimha and Varaha.

Besides these, each wall of the temple and the surrounding architecture are filled to the brim with  carvings and paintings depicting the rich history of art, culture, mythology and science of the era.

“IF HAD A TIME MACHINE ,I WOULD GO BACK 1000 YEARS FOR CHOLA PERIOD TO SEE HOW THEY BUILT A BRIHADEESWARAR TEMPLE(BIG TEMPLE)“

SOLAR ECLIPSE

A solar eclipse occurs when a moon is directly between earth and sun. which fully or partially blocks sunlight.During this earth,moon and sun are in a alignment. Such alignment coincides with a new moon indicating the Moon is closest to the ecliptic plane.

TYPES OF SOLAR ECLIPSE:-

* Total eclipse

* Annular eclipse

* Hybrid eclipse

* Partial eclipse.

TOTAL ECLIPSE:-

A total eclipse occurs when the dark side of the Moon completely observe the bright light of the Sun.During total eclipse totality occurs at only in a narrow track on the surface of Earth. This narrow track is called the path of totality.

ANNULAR ECLIPSE:-

An annular eclipse occurs when the sun and moon are exactly in line with earth but one side of the moon is smaller than that of sun.so that region looks very bright.

HYBRID ECLIPSE:-

It is very rare type of eclipse shifts between the total eclipse and the annular eclipse.sometimes it appears as a total eclipse on other side it appears as annular eclipse.A hybrid eclipse occurs when the magnitude of an eclipse changes during the event from less to greater than one.

PARTIAL ECLIPSE:-

A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are not exactly in alignment with the Earth. One partial side of the moon observe the bright light of the sun.The phenomenon is called partial eclipse.It seen most part of the earth.

HISTORICAL SOLAR ECLIPSE:-

The first appearance of a solar eclipse can be found in the Rig Veda, the oldest document from India dated to between 1700 and 1400 BC.

The longest solar eclipse in history is 6 minutes 53 seconds on July 11,1991.

IMPACT OF SOLAR ECLIPSE:-

When in total solar eclipse moon is between earth and the sun. It creates unusual weather conditions.It cause drop in temperature and lack of light.It have impact on weather, animals and plants.

Effect in plants

IMPACT ON HUMAN:-

Eye injury: Viewing the eclipse with naked eyes can damage your retina and even lead to blindness.

Digestive issue: The eclipse is believed to disturb the digestive system. For the reason, eating or drinking during the eclipse is to be avoided.

SAFETY MEASURES:-

Projecting the Sun through a box projector, or we can see using binoculars or telescope, or simply 2 pieces of card is a safe and easy way to view a solar eclipse.

Ghaziabad Development Authority finds over 320 illegal colonies.

GHAZIABAD: Over 320 illegal colonies in the district were identified by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA). The GDA plans to make the list public soon on GDS’s portal so that buyers exercise caution while investing in such colonies.

According to officials, Unauthorised colonies have put an additional burden on the city’s resources. In the non-appearance of effective mechanisms, the development authority has failed to monitor the safety quality resulting in building collapse incidents. GDA has long tried to take in in illegal colonies and stopped the registries of such colonies a few years ago.

GDA official said that “Unauthorised colonies in the district are a bane, and they are increasing every year. The problem about these colonies is due to a lack of awareness, buyers invest in these properties and mediators, and land sharks have a big role to play in it. There is an increased pressure to provide civic amenities like water and electric supply once these colonies come up.

“These 321 unauthorised colonies identified in the district include Pandav Nagar, Nandini Enclave, Brij Nagri, Durga Enclave. So, we have decided that these 321 unauthorised colonies will be made public, and the list will shortly be uploaded to the portal. This will prevent people from investing in these colonies,” the official also added.

The problem was also addressed earlier by GDA by requesting the stamp and registry department to verify the land records and documents before executing land registries. The official also said that “But that did not materialise as there is a clause in the registration manual according to which registering officers will not take into account the validity of documents brought to them before executing registries”.

The official also added that registries in unauthorised colonies should keep taking place as in the past, the development authority had written to the state government, requesting it to make the GDA’s previous approval mandatory.

Bio-diversity and climate change (Nature’s cries for assistance)

Bio diversity is the biological variability of life on earth. It is the variation of animal, plants, fungi and microorganisms like bacteria. Biodiversity is a variation in the genetic, species, and ecosystem level. Terrestrial biodiversity is usually greater near to the equator. Biodiversity is not equally distributed on earth. There are only 10% of tropical evergreen forests on earth but they contain about 90% of world species. Marine Biodiversity is greater is usually higher along the coast in western pacific where the sea temperature is highest. Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots and has been increasing through time. Biodiversity supports everything in nature that we need to survive: food, clean water, medicine, and shelter.

But as people put expanding weight on the planet, utilizing and devouring more assets than ever some time recently, we hazard disquieting the adjust of biological systems and losing biodiversity. Quick natural changes regularly cause mass terminations. More than 99.9 percent of all species that ever lived on Soil, producing to over five billion species, are evaluated to be terminated. In 2006, numerous species were formally classified as uncommon or imperiled or undermined; in addition, researchers have assessed that millions more species are at chance which have not been formally recognized. Approximately 40 percent of the 40,177 species surveyed utilizing the IUCN Ruddy List criteria are presently recorded as undermined with extinction—a add up to of 16,119.

The factors affecting the biodiversity are Residential & commercial development, Farming activities, Energy production & mining, Transportation & service corridors and human activities. Pollution is an another major cause of loss of biodiversity causing habitat destruction. Territory devastation has played a key part in terminations, particularly in connection to tropical woodland pulverization. Components contributing to living space misfortune incorporate: overconsumption, overpopulation, arrive utilize alter, deforestation, contamination (discuss contamination, water contamination, soil defilement) and worldwide warming or climate alter.

Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and normal climate designs in short. Climate alter might allude to a specific area or the planet as a entire. Climate alter may cause climate designs to be less unsurprising. These unforeseen climate designs can make it troublesome to preserve and develop crops in districts that depend on cultivating since anticipated temperature and rainfall levels can now not be depended on. Climate alter has too been associated with other harming climate occasions such as more visit and more seriously tropical storms, surges, deluges, and winter storms.

Effects of climate change are Hotter temperatures Nearly all land areas are seeing more hot days and heat waves; 2020 was one of the hottest years on record. Higher temperatures increase heat-related illnesses and can make it more difficult to work and move around. Wildfires start more easily and spread more rapidly when conditions are hotter. More extreme storms Changes in temperature cause changes in precipitation. This comes about in more extreme and visit storms. They cause flooding and avalanches, pulverizing homes and communities, and costing billions of dollars. Many more effects like Droughts, Rise in the level of oceans, shortage of food and more health problems.

Securing biodiversity could be a exceptionally complex errand since most of human’s activities have a negative impact on biological systems by overexploiting them. For occurrence, human exercises create contamination that influences living species. Deforestation crushes the living space of numerous animals, reptiles, and plants. Limiting deforestation Reducing the artificialization of natural environments and preserve natural areas as much as possible Reduce air pollution (by limiting our use of transport and our energy consumption, by switching to renewable energies) Fighting global warming by creating regulations for activities that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Making changes in the way industrial agriculture works and using more agroecology methods.

SPIRITUAL-SELF

Prayer is unimaginable power. It is that enriching experience that provides abundant willpower and courage to deal with our daily problems. Man is not made up of body and mind alone but an integral part is embedded in us, which is the principal part called the “spirit”.

Why do we pray, fast, and meditate? All these practices enable us to control our growth of the spirit and direct our life to be worthy ones. As physical growth is essential for the various needs of our body, spiritual growth and control are important for knowledge and coping with physical problems.

In the Gita 6:24 it is written: “The man who longing, abandoning all desires, he attains peace.”

Globalization and Rural Areas

Globalization is not a foreign concept to many – the term might be as we proceed to the interior. Its effects have been too much and many, touching every spectrum of life to be easily ignored. It can never be not given the time of the day when it has so successfully managed to touch every aspect of life. Its effect as we al know has been positive and negative, just like the two sides of a coin. Often cited to be double-edged sword, it has managed to flourish life for some while disrupt it for some. Bringing and making everything come out to be in open, liberalized, interlinked, interdependent, it has created chaos for beings who couldn’t grasp the complexities of apparently simple notion.

Rural areas with its close-knitted community, spatially located has too not been spared, not any of us expected. Rural development and sustenance have always been necessary for the sprouting and survival of urban areas. How would have urban areas survived if it not were for surplus of agriculture among many other reasons?! However, when we think of a backward area, rural areas would come to our mind if not immediately. It could not act keep up with the pace of development or it might have been neglected in some ways or others.

When Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization reforms were taken up in India, it did allow the country to let its fortunes grow but the negative impact cannot be ignored. The article takes up the case of rural areas and how it has been impacted on the negative side. It does not take up the analysis of data given the time crunch but throws a light on the subject. One of the many effects has been the draining of human resources – sort of every industrial model predicted. With industries coming up attracting the labor for the same. Abundance of labor with just minimum wage served as a profitable interest for the industrialist. However, it led to the rural areas filled with old age people capable of doing only minimum work. With technology coming up requiring more skilled laborers, unemployment is only rising. The lack of proper skills has also compelled the concentration of laborers in the field (disguise unemployment). A viscous cycle has been created, somehow and poverty could never actually leave. Although, development has taken place, reforms have been made in terms of basic needs, imparting training and education, a lot still need to be done. There has been a difference, a very bold line created because of the cultural difference. Though the interlinkages and interdependence has led the spread of ideas, it has also created some sort of animosity among the community towards urban dwellers. One of the reasons can be the exploitation – low wages, some unfair action taken up by the middleman, less profitable trades and the obvious, the viscous cycle of debts, they are unable to escape.

Steps have been taken on the part of government to bring in the development in rural areas. Focus should also be thrown in preserving the culture of the same, creation of jobs in the same heritage, promotion of cottage industries, more push to the handicrafts, encouraging the participation of communities in decision making among many.

Image Credit: Google

Public Administration: Meaning And Scope

Administration is a part and parcel of our daily lives. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the goods we buy, the streets and highways on which we travel, the automobiles in which we ride, and the many services we enjoy – education, medical care, housing, facility, entertainment, protection of our lives and property, and many others – are made possible by administration.

Public administration, at least in its embryonic form, was born primarily and principally to regulate group action and behaviour. When a group of people started living together and emerged as a community some common problems made themselves felt which needed collective resolution. One such concern has been the maintenance of peace and prevention of crime. It was in this category of needs that for the first time public administration was born.

Regulation of group action was as inescapable a necessity as was the need for group living. It was only at a much later stage in the course of its evolution that it found itself engaged in carrying out positive functions intended to promote happiness and welfare of the people.

Origin Of Public Administration

Public administration in the beginning was necessarily measly in size, its functions being absolutely minimal. We do not have figures of the government employees in India when the crown took over the East India Company in 1858. What we know is that the Government of India employed nearly 11 lakh just prior to the year 1947, when the country had not become partitioned and divided. The United States of America could perhaps be an apt example.

Public Administration is as old as our ancient civilization. But as an independent discipline Public Administration cannot claim for a long history.

Public Administration as an academic discipline is barely 131 years old but as an aspect of governmental activity, public administration has been co-existing with every political system as the action part of government for the fulfillment of the objectives set by the political decision makers.

Meaning And Definitions

• L.D. White defines Public Administration in the broader terms. He said, “Public Administration consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfillment or enforcement of public policy.”

• Luther Gulick, on the other hand, views Public Administration as embracing the executive branch of government only. “Public Administration”, he writes, “is that part of the science of administration which has to do with government and, thus, concerns itself primarily with the executive branch, where the work of government is done though there are obviously administrative problems also in connection with the legislative and judicial branches.”

• John M. Pfiffner defines it as “Public Administration consists of doing the work of government, whether it be running X-Ray machine in a health laboratory or coming money in the mint.”

• Woodrow Wilson, the father of Public Administration defines, “Public Administration is the detailed and systematic application of law. Every particular application of law is an act of administration.”

Significance of Public Administration

Public Administration plays an important role in the modern society. First of all, it is an instrument for providing services. It protects the life and property of people by maintaining law and order. It provides a number of services for people such as public health, education, housing, and social security, among others.

The various services provided by public administration affect the life of every citizen from birth to death.

Public Administration is also responsible for implementing laws and policies of the government. It is an instrument of socioeconomic change and national integration. It is the public administration that translates the decisions of the government into reality.

To sum up, public administration plays an important role in modern society.

It is an instrument to formulate and implement public policies. It maintains law and order. It is an instrument of social change and economic development.

In the era of liberalization and privatization, there is a change in the role and scope of public administration. Now it has to promote and encourage as well as regulate the private sector in order to protect public interest.

In Public Administration, good sense would seem to require that public expectation be kept at the lowest possible level in order to minimize eventual disappointment.

John Kenneth Galbraith

Reference
1. Public Administration In A Globalizing World By Chakrabarty and Kandpal
2. Public Administration By Avasthi and Maheshwari

NATIONAL DONOR SABBATH

Donor Sabbath invites faith leaders to encourage organ donation – Jagwire
GIVE THANKS,GIVE LIFE

Each year, National Donor Sabbath is observed two weekends before Thanksgiving Day, from November 12 to November 14 this year. The concept behind this day is to unite the different people of different religions, while learning how to save a life by donating vital organs to those in need. America is a land of great diversity — there are people from different races, backgrounds, and nations. There may be huge differences in their lifestyles and ideas, but one thing all these people have in common is belief in humanity or human kindness. National Donor Sabbath is a three-day observance of prayers, worship, and coming together of the leaders of different faiths to participate in services, programs, and initiatives. Time is taken to talk about the importance and public need of saving lives through organ and tissue donation. Organ donations transfers life to others via transplantation so that the recipient has the chance of a full, long life, free of diseased organs such as kidneys, hearts, and even eyes. These organs are donated by the families of loved ones who pass away in accidents and the like, with their organs intact, thus giving people with organ problems a second chance in life.

HISTORY

The National Donor Sabbath spreads awareness on the topic of organ donations. The concept of organ donations comes from a century old goal of healing patients and saving lives by transplanting organs from a donor to a recipient. Starting off as a minor side study pursuit, it soon began to expand as cases of people needing organ transplant started surfacing. In 1906, doctors were able to perform the first ever successful cornea transplant in a patient who was completely blind in one eye. This proved to be a major milestone in the history of organ transplant and paved the way for future transplant to happen. As medical advancements were made, doctors started performing effective transplants of lungs, liver, kidney, bone marrow and other vital organs from deceased donors.

By 1968, the first initiative to register donors and give them a donor card was made under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. This led to the first-ever observance of the National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, which is dedicated to spreading awareness of the need to donate the organs after death to save the lives of others. Soon, another act was passed by the Congress which made the sale and purchase of organs illegal in the U.S. This act was the National Organ Transplant Act. Organ donations are voluntary, free and usually based on decisions made to be a donor ahead of time, and communicated with family members or in the written last will of a person.

Finally, in 1997 as part of the national donation initiative, National Donor Sabbath was announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and since 1997 it has been celebrated every year when leaders of different faiths stand together to spread awareness about the campaign.

PATHWAY

THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL CORNEA TRANSPLANT – 1906

This is the first success story of organ transplant,which in future would pave the way for more successful and advanced transparent procedures.

ORGAN PROCUREMENT AGENCY IS FORMED – 1968

The organ procurement organization(OPO) is established in New England,Boston.

FIRST ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR AWARENESS WEEK – 1983

Congress declares the first National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, meant to spread awareness on the need of registering oneself as a donor.

NATIONAL ORGAN TRANSPLANT NETWORK – 1984

A system of Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (O.P.T.N.) is launched to make sure that the organs are being allocated fairly and to the people who need them.

NATIONAL DONOR SABBATH IS LAUNCHED – 1997

The theme of “GIVE THANKS.GIVE LIFE” is main focal point.

*******DONATING ORGANS IS A GESTURE OF LOVE*******

Hobbies. You can never have enough.

We all enjoy doing certain things in our free time. What you choose to do with you free time directly reflects on what kind of person you are. Your hobbies and interests define the kind of person you are and the personality you have. It is really good to pickup a new hobby.

Learn how to draw.

Drawing, for example is a great hobby to pick up. If you don’t already, I suggest you start drawing. It doesn’t matter whether you are good at it or not. Just draw. Drawing is a medium to express oneself. At first you might be bad at it. You might want to give up and abandon the drawing. But don’t. Work on it, look at things more objectively and use your skills to figure out how to improve. In doing so you will be fully engaging your mind and learning how to draw better, practicing will make you feel more content. Enjoy the learning experience. It will take time but it will be fun. When you look back at how far you’ve come. You will feel a sense of accomplishment and looking back at old drawing will be a lovely feeling.

Learn a new language

Learning a new language is of course difficult at first. But once you get into the flow of it and start leaning more and more vocabulary it becomes enjoyable just as fast. Being able to communicate with people of a foreign nation, appreciate their culture, art would make things a lot more interesting once you learn a new language. That’s what adds spice to life. It is a great exercise for your brain as well, as it is challenging to properly converse in new language. Thus, you improve your memory and thinking skills.

Play a new instrument.

Image result for person playing the guitar

There are numerous benefits of picking up a new instrument. Not only does it increase your cognitive ability and mind-body coordination. It is also extremely fun. It makes you more creative and makes you appreciate other things even more. Learning a new instrument also improves memories. And it is also a pretty impressive skill to have. Learning how to play an instrument also requires patience and determination to excel at it. Which will teach you so many things once you start.

Joining a new sport.

Image result for person playing tennis

Sports as we know it is great for your physical health. Not only does it keep your body fit, but your mind too. As it requires strategizing and devising game plans in order to win. It is also a great way to socialize and meet other people. Collaborate and play with others. Occupying your free time with sports is immensely fun.

Pursuing a new hobby helps you cultivate curiosity, and engages your mind and keeps you happy. It also makes you a more interesting person. A lot of people usually give up when they don’t do so well in the beginning. But if you can make it past the initial failure and work on improving, that’s where the fun begins. Besides no one has ever really gone far with just natural talent. A little effort is required in all domains of life. There’s a lot to learn and a sea of options to pick from!

Social media marketing

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing means selling or promoting the products of the company by using social media.For example social medias like Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest etc.

Uses of social media marketing:-

* It is used to sell or promote the products in the world level.

* With a strong social media strategy and the ability to create engaging content, marketers can engage their audience

* social media marketing allow people to get what they want.

EFFECTIVE TYPE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING:-

* Facebook advertising

* Twitter advertising

* Instagram advertising

* you tube advertising

* Pinterest advertising

* LinkedIn advertising.

BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING:-

* Grow your sales and your fanbase.

* Use customer generated content for ads (which perform better, too!).

* Better target new and regular customers so the waste can be reduced.

DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING:-

* The main disadvantage of social media marketing is highly rely on ads.

* No direct interaction with the people to solve problems.

* One of main issue is security and privacy policy.Many of us can be faced.

CONCLUSION:-

There is no better marketing strategy for selling and promoting products than social media advertising. No other strategies can deliver consistent, scalable, quality leads and customers from day one that can supplement any promotional marketing.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE

One of the goals of counseling is to help the student to discover themselves, to look into their own inner private world, and to collect information about themself, to have a realistic knowledge about everything related to them. In this way, the student will revise his distortions and alter his behavior in a positive direction. With correct and concrete information about their real self, they will be able to solve their own problems. Thus the process of counseling should lead the individual on the path of Self-Knowledge, self-realization, and self-help.

Self-knowledge: most important sort of knowledge

Acquiring knowledge about everything is important no doubt, but the most critical one is having knowledge about inner-self. Without knowing about own weaknesses and strengths it is almost impossible for any individual to work on themself. The institutions and people concerned educating students and young minds should focus more on educating people to study introspect what is there in their own self including their interests, disinterests, weaknesses, strengths, principles, etc.

ECO FEMINISM IN INDIAN CONTEXT

According to Merriam-Webster, ecofeminism is a movement or a theory that applies feminist principles and ideas to ecological issues. This term was first coined by a French feminist, Francoise d’Eaubonne in her book “Le Feminisme ou la Mort” (Feminism or Death). She raised the point that patriarchy is the root cause of all ecological crisis – men’s control over women and nature have led to overpopulation and overexploitation of nature respectively. When we talk about the environmental disaster that’s taking place, the role of gender about how we can move forward comes into play.

As United Nations Environment Programme puts it, “Around the world, environmental conditions impact the lives of women and men in different ways as a result of existing inequalities. Gender roles often create differences in the ways men and women act in relation to the environment and in the ways men and women are enabled and prevented from acting as agents of environmental change”; and here comes the concept of ecofeminism.

In India, ecofeminist Vandana Shiva is the pioneer who prepared the ground for ecofeminism with a strong belief that women have always been the key to solve various societal problems and environmental problems are one of them. By highlighting their presence in the Indian literature, the nature and form of ecofeminism in India can be assessed. Literature in which the concept of ecofeminism has been taken into account ranges from early ecofeminism to the recent or the urbanized one such as ‘Nectar in a Sieve’ (1954) by Kamala Markandya, ‘Fire on the Mountain’ (1977) by Anita Desai, ‘A Riversutra’ (1993) by Gita Mehta, ‘The God of Small Things’ (1997) and ‘An Atlas of Impossible Longing’ (2008) by Arundhati Roy and ‘Monkey-Man’ (2010) by Usha K.R.

Many female Indian novelists not only explore the subjectivity that is embedded in the relationship of women and the patriarchal society but also make several social issues as the key subjects. Many of the works from twentieth century of such novelists have been regarded as effective mediums of ‘modernism and feminism’. With Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai getting hold of Booker Prizes, works of Indian women novelists have been highlighted. Indian women’s fiction on the relationship between women and the environment has added to the theory and development of ecofeminism in India.

In the West, there are large bodies of literary accounts that have analyzed ecofeminism in different ideological terms but in India, the struggle to save environment went on for long even before it was accounted in the West. It was Vandana Shiva who brought ecofeminism movements to the forefront in India with her active involvement in the Chipko Movement- wherein women wrapped themselves around trees to prevent contractors from felling them off- as a young woman. The struggle to protect the environment is believed to be the same across all communities in India but we would be at a loss in our thinking if we ignore the fact that protests against environmental damage and questions of survival and subsistence are interlinked deeply with the axiom of caste, class and gender issues.  Vandana Shiva, the pioneer in this field, critiques that modern technology which has actually reinforced the patriarchal system and violence perpetuates it towards women and nature.  According to her, switching to such a lifestyle is deviating us from the traditional lifestyle which promotes human-environment balance ‘prakriti’. Under the influence and grab of these new developments, nature has been mercilessly exploited and feminine principles in terms of the environment are no longer considered for creativity and sanctity but merely to be passive resources. Thus, though women’s knowledge of dependence on nature for subsistence has been dissipated and marginalized under the grab of modern science, she strongly believes that third world women have the power within them for causing a change. In this regard, we can cite the example of ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ in which the active participation of Medha Patkar and Arundhati Roy helped the movement gain momentum.

The issue of sustainable development to protect the environment from degrading was raised in Conference on Environment and development at Stockholm in 1974 for the first time. If we turn the pages of history, we will find instances which prove that women are better connected with nature. Since time immemorial, they have been responsible to look after households and prepare basic needs for survival and thus, are better connected to nature.

Women’s interaction and relationship with nature must be located within the material reality of caste, class and gender. Women are the victims of environmental disaster but they can also be very effective agents of environmental regeneration – as is clearly evident by the success of the Chipko Movement. The need of the hour is to mobilise them into a proper channel and to give ecofeminism a proper voice and a way so that it does not turn into a superficial shout. There is also a need to abolish the class and caste basis for an effective collective movement in India. The adverse class-caste effects on women’s relationship with nature are reflected in the erosion of indigeneous knowledge and livelihood strategies on which poor, rural women are dependent. Thus, there is a need for ecofeminism in India to strengthen itself in the face of different barriers and be more than a superficial shout.

Image Credit: Google

5 Digital Trends that revolutionised 2021

In the online world, lockdown, distance learning, working from home etc have had an enormous impact on us. And not to mention people and businesses alongwith changing technology and trends have had to push onwards and upwards to adapt to the changes and keep ahead in the competition. But with more and more people constricted to the online world, there has been a shift in the type of visual content being consumed and created that led to blooming of design trends and techniques.
Mentioned below are some of design trends that will keep on pushing onwards and upwards into 2021.

1)3D design
3D design technology has been on the radar and will only likely to grow in 2021 as well. Animated 3D figure gives the whole concept a realistic and tangible feeling. Digital-and web designers often use 3D visualization for their products and processes on websites and social media.

Why we love it : Apart from the illusion of depth, what distinguishes this style is the usage of vibrant colors. The textures have got a touch of reality that make it look more like a photo than an illustration.

Who did it best : Tommy Hilfiger.



  • The brand has adopted it’s focus on 3d design in 2017 and is aiming for its spring 2022 collections to be completely designed using 3D technology.
    Source : Shutterstock

2)Optical Illusion Design

It is common knowledge that the human eye can be deceived, hence people often have different reactions when they encounter various optical illusions. But optical illusion can work wonders in enhancing a design if one knows how to use them correctly! Optical illusions can not only add an intriguing part to the design but can also brand many products and services. This design trend will work best for brands associated with movement or spirituality.

Why we love it : Since human brains are tuned to learning new things, henceforth optical illusions astonish us cause when we realise what we thought we saw was completely different from what was real.

Who did it best : KitKat

  • The ad makes it look like the driver is hanging around in a hammock instead of behind the wheel.
    Source : Pinterest

3) Comics and pop art

Pop art and comic books were wildly popular in pop culture and worldwide, decades ago. Comics often use halftones or simplified dot shading to represent color.
The designers in 2021 have been using graphics and illustrative techniques of book art styles as a way to create drama and motion and rescue modern art.

Why we love it : Pop art is fun and approachable. It takes clues from popular culture and it’s subject matter is based on what we deal with everyday like food, entertainment etc. The best part is it is not a complex artwork and has got no hidden meanings to decipher, and because it deals with bold colors often, it appears cheerful to the viewers.

Who did it best : WOW! Chips for girls

  • Inspired by the work of Roy Lichtenstein, a 1960s pop artist, these cartons for WOW! Chips for Girls visually scream for attention with a big pair of seductive lips on the front of each one.
    Source : trendhunter.com

4) Black and white design

We are seeing more and more companies adapting to a darker palette. Infact most social media apps have the option to switch to a dark mode color scheme as a preference in their settings since it is less harsh to our eyes. Since the coronavirus pandemic has made our lives “go online” , there comes a huge need to minimize the eye strain. Therefore design schemes with a dark background is being adapted that makes the text pop alongwith minimizing the strain put on eyes. This year more websites and apps will likely be adapting the dark mode.

Why we love it : we love this design cause of it’s subtleness and helps the viewer focus on other aspects of the photo, such as the subject, the textures, shapes, patterns etc by removing the distraction of color. It helps to add statement to the design.

Who did it best : Chanel

  • Coco Chanel designed the famous logo herself in 1925

5) Retrofuturism

Retrofuturism has prevailed due to it’s bold imagination and will keep on strongly emerging into the design world in 2021. It involves vibrant colors and tech inspired typography all within retro style illustrations and artwork. It involves the occurrence of futuristic themes in retro settings.

Why we love it : This design provides us with an antidote to our uncertain times and encompasses ideas of freedom, hope, liberation, and positivity. Retrofuturism provides a positive outlook which points towards a utopian future, maybe that’s what people want to buy into in these dark times of the pandemic.

Who did it best : Paco Rabanne

  • Models during Paco Rabanne’s retro-futuristic Spring 2021 runway show at Paris Fashion Week.
    Photo: Foc Kan/WireImage

Animal Husbandry And Veterinary Science

Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture where animals are reared, bred and raised for meat, fiber, eggs, milk and other food essentials. It refers to livestock raising and selective breeding. A large number of farmers rely on animal husbandry for their livelihood.

Food is necessary for the development and survival of all the organisms. To deal with the need of food with the increasing population, it is necessary to increase food production. There are many technologies which increase yield such as plant breeding, animal husbandry and modern technologies like tissue culture, genetic engineering, embryo transfer.

Types Of Animal Husbandry

Out of many methodologies, there are four major types of animal husbandry practiced in the world today. An elaborated description of the same has been stated under:
Dairy Farming – It is mostly concerned with the long term production of milk, which is then processed to obtain dairy products such as curd, cheese, yoghurt, butter, cream and so on and so forth.
Poultry farming – It is concerned with raising and breeding of birds for commercial purposes. The eggs and meat hence produced are a rich source of protein.
Fish farming – It is the process of raising fish in closed tanks or ponds for commercial purposes. Another name one can call it is pisciculture.
Fish farming or pisciculture is of two types, namely:
Extensive aquaculture, based on the local photosynthetic production.
Intensive aquaculture, based on the external food supply given to fishes.
Bee farming – Also known as apiculture, is the practice of maintaining bee colonies by humans in man-made hives.

Role Of Animal Husbandry In Human Welfare

• Animal husbandry is beneficial to human beings in a decent number of ways, one of which is production of dairy products.
• Animals such as cows, goats, sheep are the major source of milk and milk products such as yoghurt, cheese, butter, etc.
• Meat is another very important product yielding via husbandry of animals such as pigs and goats.
• Animals also produce fibres or textiles such as wool and leather. Just as sheep are reared for wool whereas leather can be obtained from camel.

Strategies For Enhancement Of Food Production

An improved variety can be produced by induced mutation and by selecting improved mutants. Genetic engineering is also an option.

Main Steps Required For Developing New Varieties

The first involves collection of variability, genetic variability, being the main reason behind breeding.
Akin to this fact, evaluation and selection of parents certainly becomes equally as essential.


Hybridisation, which is the process of making cross between two genetically diverse parents to obtain a progeny with desired superior traits, is the third and a very important step for developing new varieties.
The fourth step involves selection and testing of superior recombination, which is more or less as the term suggests. It comprises selecting, among the progeny of the hybrids, to be specific, those plants that have the desired character combination.
This is the crucial step for the success of breeding objectives and requires careful scientific evaluation of progeny.

Plant breeding is one of the shortest and most effective routes to improve global health through better nutrition.

Handling Criticism Like A Pro

Everyone of us, at some point in our lives, would have faced criticism in one form or the other (except of course if we’ve chosen to shut ourselves up in a room and not attempt anything at all in life). It might be about anything – about what you have said or done or not done or the way you dress or about your work, the list just goes on. Criticism pops up everywhere. It’s as much a part and parcel of our lives as the air we breathe, and hence learning how to deal with it gracefully is an important life skill to have.

Is Criticism good for you ?

Criticism, wrapped up and delivered even in the best of the packaging, is not something that anybody actually enjoys. The instant reaction to it in most cases is to close ourselves up and get into defensive mode. So identifying whether it’s constructive or destructive is a key step that’ll help you in figuring out whether it’s good or bad for you.

Photo by Liza Summer on Pexels.com

So, what exactly is Constructive and Destructive criticism ?

Constructive Criticism is a way of giving feedback with an intention of helping you improve yourself. It not just points out your mistakes and weaknesses, but also includes suggestions for improvement and the actions that need to be taken. It can be considered as that much needed reality check which we all need from time to time. 

Destructive Criticism on the other hand is given with the sole intention of tearing you down. The reasons for doing that may be many – jealousy, insecurities, ignorance, complexes, boredom etc. Here, instead of commenting on the actions of a person, the focus mainly is on attacking the person and pulling him down. The critic in this case, is not in the least interested in your well being or improvement.

So, as you might have figured out by now, constructive criticism more often than not, represents an opportunity. It helps you in identifying your weaknesses, which you might otherwise be unaware of and enables you to see things from a different perspective. Whereas destructive criticism is more or less an attempt by a person to let his steam off at the expense of others. 

How do you identify them ?

Honestly, when you are out there at the receiving end, identifying whether it’s constructive or destructive would probably be the last thing on your mind. But before you pounce on your critic, just pause and take a deep breath. Wait, what ? Yes you read it right. Pause and take a deep breath (Remember, deep breath not an annoyed sigh ! You don’t want to worsen the situation, do you ?) Let the emotions flow through you. Do not restrict it but also do not take it out on the other person.It’s not easy but it’s definitely doable. If you find it hard to refrain yourself from blowing a fuse, excuse yourself and take some time out before responding. Setting your emotions aside and getting into a frame of mind where you are calm enough to analyse the situation rationally, is the most difficult but important step to take, while facing criticism. 

Once you have calmed yourself down, listen to the other person without interrupting. By listening, I meant active listening and not just nodding along while thinking about ways on how to attack the critic back. Allow the other person to share their thoughts and comments completely. While listening, focus on the content of the comment and not on the tone. Sometimes even the best intended criticisms may sound harsh or even worse, the most toxic comments may be presented in the most tactful manner. So it’s very important that you detach the content from the tone.

At this point, you can try and  repeat back what you have heard and understood. Be careful to do that in a non aggressive tone. By repeating back, you are not only making sure that you aren’t misinterpreting their comments, but also helping yourself understand the comment better. When you take a step back and remove yourself from the equation and focus just on the comment, chances are that you may be able to view it through a different lens. At this stage, by analysing it objectively, you will be able to figure out the intention behind it – whether you are actually being attacked or is it just your ego playing tricks on you.

If you are still confused, seek clarification. Break it down and  ask questions. When you are asking questions, do it with an open mind and not with an intention to prove the other person wrong. You can ask for specific examples to get better clarity on the issue raised or ask for suggestions on how the situation could have been handled differently. Be genuinely curious in finding the intention. If the critic actually means well, he’ll be able to give you answers or suggestions or atleast give you valid and logical reasons to back his comment, which might help you to see things from the critic’s perspective. Destructive criticism shatters under scrutiny – no logic, no reasons, nothing but just a set of toxic statements thrown at you with the sole intention of hurting your self-esteem and  pulling you down.

Photo by SHVETS production on Pexels.com

How to deal with criticism ?

So now that you have calmly analysed the issue and identified whether the criticism was meant to help you or to tear you down, it’s time to take action. 

Okay, but before that, you may now take a moment to appreciate yourself for successfully pulling off the I-Can-Be-Calm-No-Matter-What version of you. A little bit of self appreciation always helps to put that vulnerable little child inside you in a better mood. 

Alright, now that you are slightly in a better mood, let’s get to business. Let’s say you have identified the criticism to be toxic, what do you think you should do next ?  Tell them that their points are baseless ? Make them understand that you are right and argue until you prove your point ? Or give them a taste of their own medicine and criticise them ? Well, the best course of action here would be to ignore. Ignore ? Seriously? But how can you just walk away when somebody is attacking you and challenging your self worth?   

Well, it might sound all philosophical and seem like something that only people roaming about with a halo around their heads can do. But trust me, it is the most logical thing to do,  given such a situation. Think about it, here is a person who is trying to derogate and destroy your self-esteem, confidence and reputation using some baseless and illogical set of arguments. Do you think if that person was logical enough he would have stooped to this level ? No matter what you do, understand that he has come with a closed mindset and a fixed agenda, that is,to insult you. Nothing you say or do is going to knock sense into that person’s head. And moreover it’s not even your responsibility to do that.There’s no point in wasting your time and energy on such people, so just let it go. Politely excuse yourself, thank the person for the feedback and move on with your life. 

Now, let’s come to constructive criticism. When you receive it, ask yourself ‘Does this align with my priorities ?’ For example, you might be criticised for not making that perfect pasta or for being lousy at tennis. Ask yourself, does it really matter ? Is this really a priority in your life ? Well, depending upon your goals, it might or might not be. In any case it is important that you identify that. And if the suggestion doesn’t align with your priorities, even though it is constructive, there is no point investing too much of your time in it. So, take note of it and ask for suggestions on how to improve, if you feel a need for that and move on.And hey, don’t forget to thank your critic !

Now, what if it aligns with your priorities ? Then set your ego aside and  ask yourself – ‘Deep down, do I agree with what is being said ?’  If you can’t bring yourself to agree to it, respectfully disagree. Present your side of the story. Engage in a constructive discussion.Chances are that when you do it, the other person may understand your perspective or vice-versa.Either way it’s a win-win. However, there are chances that you both might not come to a conclusion at all. Accept the fact that everyone is entitled to have their own opinions and perspectives and it’s perfectly okay not to be on the same page always. So just agree to disagree and peacefully move on.

Finally, let’s say that the little voice inside your head secretly agrees to all the charges that you are accused of. In that case, buckle up, it’s time for action. If you find that there is truth in what the other person has said, then do not shy away from acknowledging it. Analyse the comment, deconstruct it and figure out what needs to be addressed and what measures need to be taken to learn and evolve from your mistakes. You may even take suggestions from your critic on the steps that need to be taken. Accepting your mistakes and learning from them is a great way to kick-start your journey of self improvement. 

Bottom Line

Criticism comes in all shapes and forms. Neither can you avoid it nor can you control the way others perceive you. The only thing you have control over is your attitude towards it and the way you choose to respond to it. It is important that you identify the intent behind it and take action accordingly. And depending on it, you can either use the criticism as a foundation to build a better future for yourself or choose to ignore it if it’s not worthy of your time and energy. Having said that, I also want you to know that developing a positive attitude towards criticism is not something that comes easy. It takes time, patience and hell a lot of practice. So be gentle with yourself; take it one step at a time. And while you are at it, don’t forget to acknowledge and celebrate even the smallest of your milestones. Good Luck !