236 items in this section. Displaying page 2 of 24
Bhagat Singh
March 23 is the death anniversary of one of the most heroic figures of the Indian freedom movement. Few people remembered it, though. Forget the rest of India, even the children of the village where he was born, do not know anything about him. And to think that the young man in question, Bhagat Singh, gave up his life for the ideal of a free and better India! Today, over 50 years after Independence, the people of his village still do not have access to drinking water and a tap, writes The Indian Express newspaper....
The Story of Diwali
Deepavali or Diwali as it has come to be known as, means many things to many people. It means holidays from school, shopping expeditions for clothes, sweets, gifts and crackers to children. To the office-goer it means an annual bonus that can make all this happen. To the businessman Diwali means brisk business just as to the clay potter, Diwali is the occasion of the year when the bulk of his sales are made. Diwali has a special significance for the trading communities of India who usher in their new year and new accounting books (‘bahi khata’) during this time....
Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan was one of India’s mathematical geniuses. He made wonderful contributions to the field of advanced mathematics. Even today, his fascinating results and mathematical theories, and a number of unpublished notebooks filled with theorems, continue to baffle and enthrall mathematicians. Ramanujan was born in his grandmother’s house in Erode, a small village near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. While he was still a baby, his mother took him to Kumbakonam, near Chennai, where his father worked as a clerk in a cloth merchant’s shop....
Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi
Thinker, statesman and nationalist leader, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi not only led his own country to independence but also influenced political activists of many persuasions throughout the world with his methods and philosophy of nonviolent confrontation, or civil disobedience. Born in Porbandar in Gujarat on October 2, 1869, his actions inspired the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore to call him “Mahatma” (“great soul”). For him, the universe was regulated by a Supreme Intelligence or Principle, which he preferred to call satya (Truth) and, as a concession to convention, God....
What Is The Origin Of Silk Fabric?
My mother took out her favourite blue silk saree for the dinner party. I looked at it, mesmerised by its shimmer and lustre. The rich fabric draped around her body, making her look so very elegant. Definitely no other fabric can match the qualities of silk. But have you ever wondered, how silk fabric came into existence? Silk production, or ‘Sericulture’ as it is known, has a long history, unknown to most of us. What Is The Origin Of Silk Fabric?...
Chess for Children: A Smart Move
When we think of chess we think of two adults sitting opposite each other, thinking of ways and means to outsmart the other. Many people feel it is a very difficult game. But do you know that most chess players and champions start very young? Viswanathan Anand, number two in the world, played his first chess game at the age of five. This was in 1974. Anand’s mother taught him the game and was his first opponent....
The Nine Nights of Navaratri
This year, the end of September marks the onset of Navaratri or “nine nights” in the Hindu calendar. With this begins one of the most festive phases in India, with Durga Puja in east India, Dussehra in north, central and west India, and Saraswati Puja in South India. It also sets the stage for Diwali in the near future. Navaratri literally means ‘nine nights’. This nine-day period, sacred to Durga, is celebrated sometime in the months of October and November....
Ratha Yatra
Excerpts from the book “Festivals of India” Published by National Book Trust, India. Festivals bring large numbers of people together in a spirit of joy or devotion, or both. But there is one festival that combines joy and devotion with physical rigour. This is the Car Festival of Lord Jagannath at Puri, in Orissa, popularly known as the Rath Yatra. On this occasion devotees join hands to pull the massive chariots of their deities over a three-kilometre distance....
Where Did Chess Originate?
Chess originated in India around 7th century AD (around 1400 years ago). The game was then called Chaturanga – chatur meaning four and anga meaning parts. The game comprised the four parts of the army: elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers besides the king and his mantri (minister). The game was in fact a battle-plan drawn on a smaller scale, to find out ways and means of outsmarting the enemy. How was it played? In the game, one side of the army had to knock out or capture the opponent’s pieces from the board until the king was captured or ‘checked’, that is, made immobile....
The Mysterious Case of the Neem Tree
For thousands of years, the neem tree has been a familiar friend to the people of India. A native of India and Burma, every part of this tree, from its root to bark, leaves and seed, has been used for medicinal purposes. It has been used to cure illnesses. It has also been used for preventing infection, or repelling insects that attack grains or people, like mosquitoes. It is very interesting that the neem’s botanical name, Azadirachta indica, has come from a Persian description of the tree....