There has been no Indian President in recent memory like him. The late Abdul Kalam was a pioneer in many things, not least of all in his humility while occupying India’s highest office, and his all-consuming passion to reach out to the younger generation. B. Ramesh Babu pays a tribute. The sudden and sad demise of the Peoples’ President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam came as a bolt from the blue. Each and every Indian was overtaken by a deep sense of personal loss. An unprecedented outpouring of love and admiration for the “uncommon common man” was palpable across the vast land. What…
Author: oiop
The Chhau folk art forms – whether they belong to Orissa, West Bengal or Bihar – have many commonalities and some pronounced differences. Here, Dr. Kanak Rele describes the Mayurbhanj Chhau of Orissa and the Purulia Chhau of West Bengal, in vivid detail. The Mayurbhanj Chhau Mayurbhanj Chhau originated in Orissa (now Odisha). This was once a state and adjacent to it were the states of Saraikela and Purulia, the former today a part of Bihar, and the latter a part of West Bengal. The entire composite area where all the three Chhau traditions belong is teeming with a large…
In the last decade, new commercial crops were introduced like Bt cotton, which have wreaked havoc with the small farmers’ cropping patterns and food security. A lot more thought has to be applied before introducing such crops. Various rural communities have evolved cropping patterns keeping in view the primacy of their food needs. What is more, these crop rotations which meet their basic needs, are generally also in conformity with the need to maintain soil fertility and water levels. However, when new commercial crops are introduced rapidly without assessing their impact on food availability as well as soil and water…
How did an arid, remote part of Rajasthan become renowned for beautiful murals and enchanting havelis? How did the dry desert landscape inspire such splashes of vivid colours and inspiring art? As one journeys through the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, one realises that human ingenuity can truly transcend shackles of the physical environment. All it needs to soar high are imagination and true creativity. Text and photos: Katie Dubey We were holidaying in Jaipur, when our friend sprang a surprise on us. “Anniversary gift for you two”, he announced, “I have booked you into Castle Mandawa tomorrow”. My husband’s jaw…
Air pollution doesn’t just affect our lungs and health. It is increasingly affecting the health of our historic, celebrated monuments like the Taj Mahal and the Charminar. Why are our heritage structures getting affected causes it and what is the solution? A team of researchers from the Vardhaman College of Engineering in Andhra Pradesh have submitted a report. With the advent of industrial revolution, degradation of buildings has become a reality. Though there are many reasons for the degradation, the principal reason may be attributed to air pollution. The air pollution in the form of acid rain is chiefly responsible.…
From oceans filled with plastic garbage, to stars that we struggle to see in the sky, pollution is seeping into and corrupting every aspect of our lives. Human beings are responsible for this unmitigated disaster and now urgent measures are being taken to meet this crisis head on. But is this a case of too little too late? asks Akul Tripathi. . Pollution is today where climate change will be tomorrow. It is at the place where no one can deny it. For the simple reason that it is everywhere. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food…
The secrets of the universe continue to fascinate mankind. Space agencies of countries like USA and Russia have sent numerous exploratory probes into space seeking to understand the making of the universe. On January 19, 2006, NASA launched New Horizons, the first and so far, the only probe to explore Pluto, its moons and the Kuiper belt. New Horizons set a record as soon as it was launched – it zoomed into space at 16.26 km/sec –the highest launch speed of a man-made object from Earth. It reached Jupiter in February 2007. Not only did it take photographs of the…
Indian cities are reporting dangerously high levels of air pollution. Around 35 percent school-going children in Indian cities suffer from poor lung health due to breathing polluted air. Delhi tops the list of the world’s most polluted cities, where almost 80 lives are lost daily due to pollution. In fact, 13 of the top-20 most polluted cities in the world are in India, says Nidhi Jamwal, ringing the alarm bell. Indian cities, the engines of our growth, are choking the citizens on high air pollution, reducing their life expectancy, and destroying the health of the young children. Report after report,…
One of the least acknowledged forms of pollution is the kitchen pollution in rural India. The smoke from the burning of biomass fuels causes severe respiratory and other diseases in women. Dr. Ramakrishna Muley writes about this issue and the life-altering benefits of the smokeless chulha invented by his institute. Energy is the prime mover of economic growth and it is a wheel of modern economy. Future economic growth crucially depends on the long-term availability of energy. India is a developing country and it needs more energy to accelerate the rate of development. India is the sixth most energy consuming…
The pollution control boards in India could have become really effective watchdogs, instead they are mostly ineffective, despite the powers and functions vested in them on paper. This situation really needs to change, says Leena Mehendale.. From time immemorial, Indian society has known the importance of keeping the quality of our land, water and air, pure. Vedas are replete with diktats on what needs to be done to keep these three Panchmahabhuta (the five natural elements air, water, soil, space and fire which combine to create a balance in nature) clean. The other two, namely sun and sky, were thought…