Social Responsibility is a form of responsibility that we owe to society being members of the same and partaking in activities that alter its natural flow. For example, by being a part of the natural environment, we owe the environment the restoration to offset the degradation conducted by mankind. In such a way, social responsibility is the accountability that we face towards society in all its aspects, to all its stakeholders. Indeed there exist various forms of social responsibility but two prominent ones are an individual and corporate social responsibility. It can be understood that much of the social responsibility activities can be considered under the same labels: one where the volunteers bring physical changes by cleaning the neighbourhood, distributing food and other necessities, securing funds and such for the needy, while the other where people advocate for the change and instil civic morals. While each indicates its own form of responsibility, the combination of both is what the present world needs to be ensured of sustainable development.

Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the keywords that underline an organisation’s social standpoint among various economic actors such as the government, consumers and certain types of investors. A responsible organization is bound to be more reliable because of its forward-thinking and ethical nature. Although the term was coined in the mid-1900s by Henry Bowen (the father of Corporate Social Responsibility) in his paper, the concept existed long before that. A few of the pioneers in the field of corporate social responsibility are Johnson & Johnson and Hershey’s. These responsibilities include:-

Economic Responsibility: This includes maintaining the satisficing amount of profits so that the business can
sustain enough to pay off their lenders, investors, creditors and employees. Legal Responsibility: The legal responsibility of a business includes complying with all the corporate bylaws, contracts with either another company or the government. An example of legal responsibility would be to adhere to the accounting compliance standards in reporting financial information. Ethical Responsibility: This consists of responsibilities outside the legal framework but matching the
company’s philosophy. For example, ensuring employees have a healthy work-life balance beyond the government-mandated levels.

Individual responsibility stems from the philosophy that holds each individual accountable for every action they take, which may have intended or unintended consequences for society. Hence, every individual has a responsibility towards the society that deems them ideal members of their community. Not only do we have the duties of controlling the negative spillover effects of our actions but we are required to step further and teach those ignorant of
these ideas the sense of responsibility. The UN suggests a list of actions that any and every individual could accomplish that can bring minor changes to the environment, called the “The lazy person’s guide to save the world”. The list is generated according to the individual’s willingness to pave the way for a sustainable future. Some of the individual responsibilities are using biodegradeable bags, donation to various charities, Use recyclable goods, segregation of trash, using renewable sources of energy etc. In this day and age it has become very important to uphold our social responsibilities.

Human Settlement means cluster of dwellings of any type or size where human beings live.Thus, the process of settlement inherently involves grouping of people and apportioning of territory as their resource base. Settlements vary in size and type. They range from a hamlet to metropolitan cities.

Classification of Settlements

On the basis of occupation, settlements may be classified as rural and urban settlements.

Rural Settlements

Any settlement where most of the people are engaged in primary activities like agricultural, forestry, mining and fishery is known as a rural settlement. Most of the world’s settlement are rural, they are mostly stable and permanent. The most important and unique feature of rural settlement is the vast, open spaces with green, pollution – free environment.

Patterns of Rural Settlements

Rectangular pattern

Rectangular pattern of settlements are found in plain areas or valleys. The roads are rectangular and cut each other at right angles.

Linear pattern

In a linear pattern, the houses are located along a road, railway line and along the edge of the river valley or along a levee.

Circular or semicircular pattern

The pattern of settlement that is found around the lakes, ponds and sea coasts are called circular or semi circular pattern.

Star like pattern

Star shaped settlements develop in places where metalled and unmetalled road converged. In the star shaped settlements, houses are spread out along the sides of roads in all directions.

Triangular pattern

Triangular patterns of rural settlement generally develop at the confluence of rivers.

T-Shaped, Y-Shaped, Cross-Shaped or Cruciform settlements

T-shaped settlements develop at tri-junctions of the roads (T), while Y-shaped settlements emerge as the places where two roads converge with the third one. Cruciform settlements develop on the cross-roads which extend in all four directions.

Nebular pattern

The arrangement of roads is almost circular which ends at the central location or nucleus of the settlement around the house of the main landlord of the village or around a mosque, temple or church.

Urban Settlements

An Urban settlement is a concentrated settlement that constitutes or is part of an urban area. It is an area with high density of human-created structures. These geometrical patterns are usually in squares and rectangles and are well laid out.

Classification of Urban Settlements

Urban centres are classified as towns, cites, metropolitan cities, mega cities, conurbation, etc. , depending on the size and services available and functions rendered to it.

Town

A town is generally larger than a village, but smaller than a city. It has a population of less than 1 lakh. E.g. Arakkonam near Chennai

City

Cities are much larger than towns and have a greater number of economic functions. The population in cities are estimated to be more than 1 lakh. E.g. Coimbatore

Metropolitan cities

Cities accommodating population between 10 lakhs and 50 lakhs are metropolitan cities. E.g. Madurai

Megacities

Cities with more than 50 lakh population are called Megacities. E.g. Greater Chennai

Conurbation

A conurbation is a region comprising of a number of cities, large towns and other urban areas. E.g. Delhi conurbation

Madhubani Art (or Mithila painting) is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent. This painting is done with a variety of tools, including fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks and using natural dyes and pigments. It is characterised by its eye-catching geometrical patterns. There is ritual content for particular occasions, such as birth or marriage, and festivals, such as Holi, Surya Shasti, Kali Puja, Upanayana, and Durga Puja.

Madhubani painting (Mithila painting) was traditionally created by the women of various communities in the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent. It originated from Madhubani district of the Mithila region of Bihar. Madhubani is also a major export center of these paintings. This painting as a form of wall art was practiced widely throughout the region; the more recent development of painting on paper and canvas mainly originated among the villages around Madhubani, and it is these latter developments that led to the term “Madhubani art” being used alongside “Mithila Painting.”

The paintings were traditionally done on freshly plastered mud walls and floors of huts, but now they are also done on cloth, handmade paper and canvas. Madhubani paintings are made from the paste of powdered rice. Madhubani painting has remained confined to a compact geographical area and the skills have been passed on through centuries, the content and the style have largely remained the same. Thus, Madhubani painting has received GI (Geographical Indication) status. Madhubani paintings use two-dimensional imagery, and the colors used are derived from plants. Ochre, Lampblack and Red are used for reddish-brown and black, respectively.

Madhubani paintings mostly depict people and their association with nature and scenes and deities from the ancient epics. Natural objects like the sun, the moon, and religious plants like tulsi are also widely painted, along with scenes from the royal court and social events like weddings. Generally, no space is left empty; the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds, and even geometric designs. Traditionally, painting was one of the skills that was passed down from generation to generation in the families of the Mithila Region, mainly by women. It is still practiced and kept alive in institutions spread across the Mithila region. Kalakriti in Darbhanga, Vaidehi in Madhubani, Benipatti in Madhubani district and Gram Vikas Parishad in Ranti are some of the major centres of Madhubani painting which have kept this ancient art form alive.

DIFFERENT STYLES OF MADHUBANI ART

Madhubani art has five distinctive styles:

1. Bharni
2. Katchni
3. Tantrik
4. Godna
5. Kohbar

In the 1960s Bharni, and Tantrik styles were mainly done by Brahman women, who are ‘upper caste’ women in India and Nepal. Their themes were mainly religious and they depicted Gods and Goddesses paintings. People of lower castes included aspects of their daily life and symbols, the story of Raja Shailesh (guard of the village) and much more, in their paintings. Nowadays Madhubani art has become a globalised art form, so there is no difference in the work on the basis of the caste system. They work in all five styles. Madhubani art has received worldwide attention.

AWARDS WON BY MADHUBANI ARTISTS

Madhubani painting received official recognition in 1969 when Sita Devi received the State award by Government of Bihar. Mamta Devi from the village Jitwarpur has also got National Award. Jagdamba Devi from Bhajparaul, Madhubani was given Padma Shri in 1975 and the National Award to Sita Devi of Jitwarpur village near Madhubani. Jagdamba Devi’s foster son Satya Narayan Lal Karn and his wife Moti Karn are also well-regarded Mithila artists, and they won the National Award jointly in 2003. Sita Devi received the Padma Shri in 1981. Sita Devi was also awarded by Bihar Ratna in 1984 and Shilp Guru in 2006. In 1984 Ganga Devi was awarded by Padma Shri. Mahasundari Devi received the Padma Shri in 2011. Baua Devi, Yamuna Devi, Shanti Devi, Chano Devi, Bindeshwari Devi, Chandrakala Devi, Shashi kala Devi, Leela Devi, Godavari Dutta, and Bharti Dayal were also given the National award. Chandrabhushan (Rasidpur), Ambika Devi (Rasidpur), Manisha Jha were also given the National award. In 2020, Madhubani artist Dulari Devi won the Padma Shri for contributions to art.

Rainwater is a life-giving resource, and without it, there’d be no life on earth. Its primary purpose is to give us water to drink. During a downpour, rain seeps into the ground to become part of rivers and lakes, or what is called ground water.

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Rainwater harvesting is a technique of collection and storage of rainwater into natural reservoirs or tanks, or the infiltration of surface water into subsurface aquifers (before it is lost as surface runoff). One method of rainwater harvesting is rooftop harvesting. With rooftop harvesting, almost any surface – tiles,metal sheets,plastics – can be used to intercept the flow of rainwater and provide a household with water, conveniently accessible and available year – round.

General publications

There is a large and growing body of research and documentation on domestic Rainwater Harvesting (DRWH). Here we provide an overview of some introductory readings:

– Rainwater Harvesting Handbook (African Development Bank)

-Rainwater Harvesting in the Homestead (Peter Morgan)

Importance of Rainwater Harvesting

The importance of rainwater harvesting lies in fact that it can be stored for future use. Just as it can be used directly so also the stored water can be utilized to revitalize the ground level water and improve its quality. This also helps to raise the level of ground water which then can be easily accessible.

7 Different types of rainwater harvesting system

1. Water Butt

2. Direct – pumped

3. Indirect Gravity

4. Indirect pumped

5. Gravity only

6. Retention ponds

7. In – Ground Storage

Individualism stresses individual goals and the rights of the individual person. Collectivism focuses on group goals, what is best for the collective group, and personal relationships.

An individualist is motivated by personal rewards and benefits. Individualist people set personal goals and objectives based on self. Individualistic workers are very comfortable working alone and not part of a team.

The collectivist is motivated by group goals. Collectivistic people easily sacrifice individual benefit to recognize and strive for the team’s success. They believe maintaining social harmony, getting along with others, and meeting social expectations that have been set up by society over centuries.

In simple words, people from individualist cultures consider themselves as separate from others while people from collectivist cultures consider themselves connected to others.

In general, European and Western nations tend to be individualists while Asian and African typically collectivists.

This classification is common in education systems too. Taking an example, in USA schools and colleges you will almost never find group projects or assignments given to the students. Almost all of it will be individual work. But if we see in countries like India, most student assignments are group work based.

One big misconception is that individualism means a person is introverted and collectivism means a person is extroverted. This is in fact, wrong. A person from an individualist society can be extroverted and a person from a collectivist society can be introverted. This is because the two things are in no way related. While introverts enjoy being alone or with a small group of friends, an individualist person is self-reliant in doing their work. This individualist can do their assigned work all by themselves and then socialize with lots of people. 

Everyone falls somewhere on the individualist-collectivist spectrum. Even within a very collectivist culture, you will find people who are more individualist. Research has shown that people shift along this spectrum, leaning more collectivist or individualist depending on the situation. This is most common in countries and societies that don’t limit themselves to one form of culture and are open to both and practice the two on different occasions.

Recently, to find the answer to the most important question of the hour, “Why did COVID-19 hit some countries harder than others?”, a research was conducted. They found that the more individualistic a country was, the more COVID-19 cases and mortalities it had. They also found out that the more individualistic people were, the higher the chances they would not cooperate to take COVID prevention measures. Therefore, we can see here that although both cultures have its pros and cons, when it comes to the current circumstances that our world is in, it is important that we think of ourselves as part of society and prevent taking any personal action that could possibly harm others.