Christopher Nolan is one such director, who is adored by fans and critics alike. He has helped change the face of Hollywood as we know it, and over the years delivered some of the movies the world has ever seen. Born and raised in London,  Nolan was always interested in movies and anything related to them. After completing his education, Nolan realized that his interests would be best served in the field he loved the most, Filmmaking. Luckily for us, he stuck to his decision and is now one of the Best Directors in Hollywood today. With every film he directs, Nolan brings to the screen a mixture of Science, Fantasy and Mystery, all wrapped up in realism, with a logical explanation for everything. Nolan also brings a certain X-factor to all of his movies, that is very rarely seen in other directors in the Industry. Here is a list of five of his best movies:

5. Insomnia (2002)

Insomnia is one of the most haunting detective films of all time. Why? Because Detective Dormer is another flawed, Nolan-esque protagonist. He is compromised from the start, and the entire film gains a layer of constant logical suspense and drama. There are no super gadgets, fantasy elements, or space travel…just a really sleepy detective. Haunted by his deeds, but still has a killer to catch. There is a great personal relationship between the hero and villain (the late-great Robin Williams), and the lines blurred more than usual.

4. The Dark Knight (2008)

There is some truly clunky dialogue, as well as some pretty cringe inducing moments in The Dark Knight, and while I can’t be sure this was Nolan or Warner Brothers, we can’t ignore these really odd choices. Heath Ledger as The Joker may go down as one of the greatest performances of all time. And while Bob Kane crafted this timeless character, Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger did an incredible job of bringing him to life. Christian Bale too gave us a great Batman. The Dark Knight has some truly unforgettable moments, and some of the best performances in a superhero film. The film is all about chaos and the battle, not between good and evil, but Nolan’s take on natural conflict. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, and how every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

3. Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk is one of the most authentic and suspenseful films ever crafted, and it puts the viewer inside the boots of the soldiers on Dunkirk beach. Nolan also uses his favorite cinematic device — cross cutting. The entire film’s structure was influenced by The Shepard Tone, which allows the film to continually rise in suspense throughout. The use of vintage aircraft, lighting, special effects, and lack of dialogue win the day. Tom Hardy gliding in his spitfire above, the notorious whine of the dive-bombing Stukas, the slow but inevitable blast of the beach bombing. The best part of this film is how Nolan took all of his past successes and combined them with a new effort. He could have done what many directors do, which is to avoid a new challenge and go back to familiar ground.

2. Memento (2000)

Memento changed cinema forever, and shaped Nolan’s storytelling style. The film took full advantage of the medium in a way we had never seen before, and in many respects still have yet to be capitalized upon. The combination of themes and various cinematic devices create an eerie and unforgettable film that forces you to question your own memories. And the best part is that, generally, it could happen to you. Leonard Shelby’s world is accessible, even if his condition is abstract. The way Nolan shot and cut the film together shows us the pinnacle of intentional filmmaking and non-linear story structure. There is something to be said about Nolan’s smaller films. They are often more grounded, because they have to be, and that really helps to make Nolan’s complex ideas a bit more palatable. Not to mention the structure of the film places us in a very similar situation to that of Leonard Shelby.

1. The Prestige (2006)

The Prestige is one of the great modern films, and has the best script of any Nolan film. Nolan found what worked so well with Memento and took that electricity a step further. His pacing improved as well. The theme is carefully intertwined with the subject matter, the world of magicians, the act of filmmaking, and Nolan’s personal style. Nolan’s found a story structure and subject matter that acts as a thematic metaphor for everything surrounding the film. As others have noted, this is a film about magicians, but is also itself, a magic trick. He built his story upon the structure of a magic trick, and then gave nods to that process as well as his own personal obsessions. The acting, cinematography, production design, costumes, story, editing — everything is top-notch. It also brings up important questions about life, death, careers, time, duplicity, magic, memory, and commitment.

As the name suggests I think you can get a idea what are we talking about. In book we read only if ideas, thoughts and experiences of other person. The knowledge thus acquired is theoretical. In day to day life, we cannot be successful with mere theoretical knowledge. We must also know about the habits, manners and ways of living of other persons. We can learn about others by coming in contact with them. Travelling takes us from the field of bookish knowledge to the field of practical knowledge.

An individual who has never gone out of home has very narrow outlook. He feels his own way of living to be the best and perfect. He also fails to understand the effect of environment on the life of man but a well travelled man sees for himself the life of different people their culture, tradition and taste. He can easily understand the point of view of others. By travelling mental outlook is broadened.

There are various difficulties when anyone is away from home. Sometimes he doesn’t find a suitable place for his lodging or the food is not hygienic and not according to the taste preference. Language barrier is often a common problem. But these barriers make the person more resourcefulness, initiative taking and develops a positive approach towards them.

That education is good which make a man readily adjustable to changed circumstances. We cannot acquire this ability from books while travelling, we have to adjust ourselves to the new conditions in different difficulties which we meet, various new problems which arise in our way, make us really adjustable. This is the greatest advantage of travelling.

A traveller must keep his mind open on his tour. He must not imitate the fashions, manners habits of other people. He must adopt the things which are good. He must tell his experiences to others in a realistic way. Travelling can be useful for the young as well as for the old age, only if they keep their minds open and start exploring.

That’s all for today… Thank you keep reading, keep knowing…

I have read many books by different authors. But Shakespeare and John Bernard Shaw among English authors. Dinkar Nirala and Tagore are my favorite among Indian authors. Rabindranath Tagore is one of the greatest poets of the world. Let’s come to know something more about Rabindranth Tagore.

Rabindranath Tagore belongs to a very respectable family of Bengal. He was born on 7th May, 1861 at Jorsanko in Kolkata. His father’s name was Shri Devendranath Tagore. Rabindranath Tagore received elementary education at two schools of Kolkata. They were the oriental seminary and Calcutta Normal. Tagore sailed for England in 1871 for higher education. He joined the university of London. Tagore ‘s family life was very sad. He was married in 1888. But his wife died in 1902. His second daughter died in 1904. His father passed away in 1907. These sad events in life made Tagore more and more religious.

Rabindranath was a great writer. He was the editor of several magazines. Tagore ‘s “Gitanjali ” is one of the best books. Some English poets like W. B. Yeats and Stopford Brook praised Tagore ‘s Gitanjali. His poems combine the tender humanity with a deep religious touch. And the Nobel Prize was awarded to him by the Swedish Academy. Balka and Purabi are his great creations. One of his greatest poetical dramas is Chitrangada. He also wrote some beautiful short stories.

Rabindranath was a great lover of India. He raised his voice against the Britishers. He fought the war for freedom through his writings. Tagore was a great educationist also. He founded the Vishwabharti in 1901. He wanted to make India a home of culture and education. It has become the famous university of the world. But this great son of India died on 7th Aug, 1941. Tagore is my favorite author. He was a writer, educationist, social reformer and patriot – all combined in one.

Above all, was Rabindranath ‘s love for children. He used to lose himself in joy when he taught little children. He was indeed a Gurudev, a great teacher in this earth. To more than a generation of Indians he stands in the position of a great teacher who taught them to learn a beautiful language to the finer shades of poetic art. He opened up to us beauties of nature in a way which no one else did before.

Thank you for today….!!!

Today’s article is about books. We all know that man is social in nature and can’t live alone . A company is needed at times . He wants a friend who may share his joys and sorrows. But in the modern age man has grown selfish and tries to serve his own interests. At that time a traditional company can be beneficial. Yes they are books. Books are our best companion and we know that there are no complains and no demands from them…. Hahaha but apart from jokes book is proved to be our best friend.

Books take us into a different world of imagination. They give us plenty of joy and improve our standard of living. They tone up our intellectual taste they make our outlook broad. They encourage us at our worst times, doesn’t make us feel depressed and inspire us to work hard with hope and courage. Books enrich our experience and sharpen our intellect. They remove our ignorance and add to our knowledge.

It is important to differentiate between good and bad books as bad books ruin our intellect and may mislead or misguide and that will not be beneficial. We must try to read good and inspiring books that make our mind to think about that in our way. The book reading time must be fully utilised and must be understanding. A good book is our ‘ friend, philosopher and guide ‘.

I would also like to review a book that I have read. The book is well known to you ‘SITA – The Warrior of Mithila ‘by the author ‘Amish ‘. It changed the whole thinking about Sita and I must suggest that you should also read it once. She was not only a princess, a wife, a daughter in law but much more than that. She lived as a warrior in disguise. She was talented, calm, intelligent and a pious. A woman should consider her as her own ideal.

A well read man is loved by all. He is a store house of information and can give extraordinary facts what he has understand by reading several books. Books are of different kinds. A general reader likes to read books of general nature. They give us knowledge and pleasure.

Thank you and yes keep reading..!!!

“Which blooms once in a bluemoon like the kurinji flower but remains etched in memories forever to be sought for again and of course hard to pursue….”

~Shree abhy

Kurinji is a shrub that is also called Strobilantheskunthiana or neelakurinji. Found along the Western Ghats in the Shola forests in South India, the specialty of the flower is that it blooms in 12 years. The rare sightings of the flowers have been rigorously demonstrated in the years 1838, 1850, 1862, 1874, 1886, 1898, 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 and 2018 respectively.

To put things into perspective, the neelakurinji flowers were documented first in 1858 and since then, they have bloomed only for 15 times. The last time the flowers were bloomed in 2006, you witnessed Saddam Hussein being executed by the American Armed Forces, Italy won the football world cup and Pluto was declared a dwarf planet.

In India, there are 250 different types of kurinji flowers and 46 types of neelakurinji in India. The red and maroon kurinji flowers are also available but it is the blue, azure neelakurinji that is widely popular and most-coveted.

The flowers are purple-blue- showering the valley with the sublime purple haze when they bloom. A rarest of the rare sight, which happens once in a blue moon literally!  The blooming of kurinji flowers happens during September-October. People from all over the world come to Neelgiri Hills to see this rarest phenomenon unfolding in front of their eyes. The Neelgiri hills or the Blue Mountains get their name from the blue Kurinji flowers that cover the entire landscape during the period of 12 years.

KURINJI FLOWER HAD UNUSUAL BLOOMING CYCLES

In the world of flowers, such plants with unusual blooming cycles with long intervals are called plietesials. Besides, the blooming cycle, the plant shows other signature characteristics of being one such as gregarious flowering, supra-annual synchronized monocarpy and mast seeding. Mast seeding of Strobilanthes refers to the reproduction of the seeds once during their lifetime.  The synchronized monocarpy implies flowering once in a lifetime and dying after fruiting.

Similarly , strobilanthescuspidatus, other kurinji species, blooms once in every seven years and then subsequently, wilts and dies. The seeds take seven years to sprout, grow and bloom. Each species of kurinji flower takes different time to mature. Neelakurinji takes 12 years to grow and bloom gregariously.

The kurinji flower is a bright coloured, bell-shaped blue flower. In the local language, it is called Kunthiana, referring to the river Kunthi that flows through the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala.  Kurinji flowers grow in the lower expanse of the valley that has no dense tree forest.

The plant of kurinji is a bushy shrub with hairless reddish branches. The leaves are hairless and have a leathery texture. Elliptic in shape, the size of the leaves are 6 x 3 cm.

In the 19^th century, Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck first discovered and described the genus, Strobilanthes.The flowering periods of Strobilathes vary from one species to another, as explained in the journals like Indian Foresterand Journal of Bombay Natural History Society.

All species belonging to this genus have an unusual flowering patternranging from annual blooming cycle to the longest with 16-year! The flowers grow in the cluster of 2-5 and have woolly texture. The flowers are hairy and grow in a linear pattern. The lance-shaped petals are almost 2.5 cm long and are attached to the spikes 3-5 cm long.

The plant is usually 25 to 60 cm high and grows at an altitude of 1,300 to 2,200 metres.

KURINJI HONEY

The flowers are pollinated by honey bees. The honey collected by these bees is very sweet, nutritious and has high medicinal value.

Butterflies, eastern honeybees and insects love these nectar-filled blue flowers. The nectar collected by the honeybees is regarded to be superlative and healthier. This rarest honey can last for more than 15 years.  The indigenous tribe Paliyan harvests the honey from hives. The tribe calls it ‘liquid gold’ for its value. Unlike other brands of honey available in the market, it is transparent and a bit greenish-yellowish in colour. The taste is unique and so far, it hasn’t been artificially cultivated at all. Besides, the honey is only available when the flowers bloom once in 12 years. For now, you need to wait until 2030 to get some.

BLOOMING SEASON FOR NEELAKURINJI

Covering the 3,000 hectares of hills in blue-purple carpet and filling the air with intoxicating sweet fragrance, this is a phenomenon that only happens in India!

The most interesting fact about the blooming phenomena of kurinji is that scientists and botanists have failed to arrive at any conclusion that how these flowers manage to adhere to their blooming periods, which range from 3, 7, 12, 17 to even 36 years!

The plants begin flowering in the last phase of Monsoon. By the time rains vanish, the valleys are covered with neelakurinji flowers. India receives the last rains of monsoon season during September and October, so if you want to witness this beauty first-hand, this is when you should visit Munnar or any Southern hill station.

However, with the erratic climate situation, we are dealing with, the blooming of neelakurinji flowers too has been impacted. It is advised to check the monsoon schedule before you make any plans.

HABITAT OF KURINJI FLOWERS

Earlier, kurinji flowers used to envelope the entire landscape of Nilgiri Hills, Bababudangiri, Cardamom Hills, Palani Hills and Anamalai Hills. There were times when one could witness the splurge of purple shade throughout the Chandra Drona Hill Range in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka and Datta Peeta. With private real estate and plantations, their habitat has become limited in the area.  Apart from the Western Ghats, the magical growth of Kurinji flowers can be seen in the layout of Eastern Ghats namely Idukki district, Agali hills, Palakkad, Sanduru Hills in Bellary, Karnataka.

Ootacumend, the Queen of Hills or Ooty is home to 33 varieties of kurinji flowers and is popularly called Blue Mountain for kurinji flowers that cover the landscape.  Apart from Ooty, one can see the blue, bright flowers in their glory in Coonoor, Lamb’s Rock and Kothagiri. 

Thanks to these flowers and their unique blooming period, the sleepy town of Munnar, Kerala made it to the list of “Top Places to Visit in Asia in 2018” by the Lonely Planet.

THE WESTERN GHATS AND KURINJI FLOWERS

The Western Ghats wrap in an extraordinaire world of endemic fauna and flora. The alpine climate of plateaus and hills promote the growth and habitat of a wonderful ecosystem above 1,500 meters, known as the Shola. According to S.K. Seth and H.G. Champion, the sholas are the wet temperate stunted evergreen forest. The trees have crooked branches with an abundant supply of moss, lichens, orchids, epiphytes and pteridophyte, making the entire system hygroscopic- the phenomenon of attracting and absorbing water from the surrounding atmosphere. To avoid the high-velocity western monsoon winds, the shola trees have developed interlocking branches. The grasslands, where kurinji plants grow are open meadows and valleys-in the midst of misty hills.

Some botanists and experts refer to this ecological climate of the Himalayan range as “Islands in the Sky” because these habitats are divided by several low-lying inhabitable areas, making the grassland vegetation and fauna of the Southern Western Ghatare unique, highly evolved and nothing like other.

The Flora of British India enlists more than fully detailed species of Strobilanthes species in this region. Similarly, James Sykes Gamble, the noted botanist of the British era has also detailed 46 species in his book Flora of Madras Presidency.

SIGHTING OF NEELAKURINJI FLOWERS

Neelakurinji was sighted in the year 2006 after 12 years, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Kurinji flowers of Strobilanthescuspidatus species were again witnessed in their full glory in the year 2016 in Udhagamandalam.

In Munnar, the last mega kurinji bloom was spotted in 2006. In 2017, the purple flowers were recorded in their full glory in Bellary, behind Kumaraswamy temple.

In 2006, the neelakurinji flowers were last bloomed in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The flowers were spotted after 12 years. To commemorate this rare sighting, the state government released a stamp and declared the year as the “Year of Kurinji.”

The flowers were seen again after exact 12 years in South India in the year 2018.

The next flowering season in Munnar will be in the year 2030.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE ABOUT NEELAKURINJI

Since Kurinji flowers have their home in Tamil Nadu, the Tamil literature is rich with their references and similes. In Tamil Nadu, Kurinji is the part and parcel of everyday life. A temple is dedicated to the flower deity called Kurinji AndavarTemple in Kodaikanal. Commonplace references to the deity and kurinji flowers can be found in Kurunthogai, the classic Sangam Age literature of Tamil Country. The blooming season of kurinji is celebrated with small-scale and big-scale festivities among locales, who believe it to be the enduring symbol of secret love and romance. For a tribal community in Munnar, the neelakurinji is the symbol of self-awakening of a woman.

The Tamil Country literature classified the land into five types, which were Kurinji (mountainous), Mullai (forested), Marutham (agricultural), Neithal (coastal) and Paalai (desert) – based on their geographical topography and the plants found in these ecosystems.

In a classic Tamil Literary piece, Kuruntokai- the flower is used indirectly for the poetic verse, Red Earth and Pouring Rain. In Clare Flynn’s novel, Kurinji Flowers, the flowers’ association with clandestine love affair is used as a backdrop to narrate a fictional account of a tragic romance in India of the 1940s.

WHY DOES NEELAKURINJI FLOWER BLOOM AFTER 12 YEARS?

It is called survival mechanism in botany. The longer pollination helps the plant to survive through the periodical blooming, natural calamity as well as protect it against the predators. The plant is a favourite of birds and mammals, rendering it vulnerable and at a great threat. In such a scenario, the annual pollination may not be a favourable condition for the plant and leave it more defenceless and weaker. The extended period of blooming is determined by the internal mechanism clock of the plant. The neelakurinji plants, much like bamboo plant, follow the records of daytime, variation in monsoon season and bloom accordingly. Until the kurinji plants are ready, they may or may not bloom at all.

On the recommendations of “Save Kurinji Campaign Council,” the Kerala cabinet has decided to increase the 3200 hectares and redraw the boundaries of the sanctuary. The cabinet also took decisions to appoint a settlement officer and conduct drone surveys on a regular basis. A decision was also taken on the Kerala Promotion of Tree Growth in Non-Forest Act 2005 to stop the encroachment of other plant species to steer clear of the ground for kurinji flowers.

Besides, the need to educate people is the must. Responsible tourism is still not a thing in India and because of this, the growth of kurinji flowers gets affected adversely. The influx of tourism affects the environment and natural habitat of the flowers. Be it at the micro-level, it changes the structure of soil and nutrients to a level that it alters the blooming pattern of flowers and affects their pollination cycle.

Around 3,500 people were allowed to visit the Eravikulam National Park in 2006. There were reports that they plucked the flowers and took them home- just for the thrills.  This impact of this encroachment of this will be seen later when the next round of blooming period will occur…or not.  The managing committee of National Park, Munnar Wildlife Division has provisioned a fine of Rs. 2,000 on damaging the plants under Section 22 of the Wildlife Protection Act.

According to the local people in Munnar, the climate of the hill station was cool and a balancing mix of mist and rain- favourable to the growth of neelakurinji flowers. However, it is not anymore. The climate is also rapidly changing and becoming unpredictable, making the flowering of neelakurinji flowers big guesswork.