In another major atmospheric challenge that has been traced to human technology/ the work of environmental scientists again has uncovered a serious problem for which there was no prior warning. Our knowledge of the workings of the atmosphere has been appallingly poor, and one consequence of that lack of understanding is the strong possibility that ultra-violet radiation will increase in intensity all over earth. Radiation from the sun includes Ultra-Violet (UV) radiation, alongwith the visible light. On penetrating the atmosphere and being absorbed by biological tissues, UV radiation damages protein and DNA molecules at the surface of all living things, This is what occurs when you get a sunburn. If the full amount of UV radiation falling on the Stratosphere reached the Earth's surface, it is doubtful that any life would survive. We are spared from the more damaging effects of the UV rays because most of the UV radiation more...

Everything that we see around - the hills, trees, plants, mountains, flowers, sun, moon. stars, clouds, bees, birds and animals constitute Nature. It is the greatest gift of God because it is this very Nature that sustains us. We cannot think of our existence without Nature. If man is the crowning glory of Nature, then Nature is the base of man's life and existence. Nature is present before us wherever we turn our eyes. It is present in every colour, shade, hue, shape and size. The air we breathe, the land we live on, the vaulted sky above our heads make life possible on earth. There are countless species of flora as well as fauna. Our seas, oceans, rivers, lakes and ponds are teeming with infinite variety of fish and aquatic plants and other kinds of creatures. Deep underneath lies a whole world which is also yet not completely discovered. more...

Buddha Purnima falls on May 26. A homage to the prince of Lumbini. "An unexamined life is not worth living," said a philosopher. Every significant contribution to enduring human thought in any field—philosophy, religion, social reform or science—has been made in the final by exceptional individuals, the flower of mankind, are fitted with a restless passion to lift humanity to higher levels of thought and action. Their only concern, prompted by love and compassion, is to raise society above 'the storm and strife of this world'. In addition to leaving their footprints on the sands of time, they cut across the barriers of time and space and leave an imprint on the minds and hearts of a countless number of people for generations. The Buddha belongs to this category of great souls. He is known by many names: Siddhartha (one who accomplishes or fulfils his purpose), Tathagata (the Perfect One), more...

This famous line is the opening line of the famous work of John Keats, an English poet. The poet himself was a lover of beauty all through his short life. This line embodies a very natural truth about life. Anything beautiful always remains a source of everlasting joy and happiness whether it is d beautiful sunset, a lovely flower, a lush green valley, a sweet face of a child, a snow-peaked mountain, a breathtaking scenery or d monument, a great painting or sculpture, a song, a symphony/ a poem or a dance. Whatever it may be, anything with a slight touch of beauty thrills the heart with unspeakable joy to the core. The beauty that the poet had in mind is not the beauty which can be seen only and is bound by the physical realm of the world. Beauty of thought, feeling and expression is more transcendental, inexplicable and more...

A glance at any newspaper will reveal hundreds of advertisements. Some are elaborate full-page displays while the majority are in the more economical classified sections. People and firms advertise for all sorts of reasons. We can read about job vacancies, new products, people wanting to sell or purchase houses and cars, announcements of births and deaths, lonely hearts looking for partners, home services and others. The list goes on, and is expanding everyday. The uses of advertisements are undisputed, Large companies depend heavily on advertisements and there fare spend huge amount of advertisements to make their products known to the consumers. Without them sponsoring, the major sports events cannot be organized with such a fanfare. Most magazines and periodicals survive because of advertisements. The people or firms that advertise provide the necessary finance to keep these magazines running. Both the parties benefit. The publishers get to carry their business and more...

A thinking individual always makes an Endeavour to set a goal for himself in the society that he belongs to and then proceeds to achieve that goal in his lifetime. And the way to achieve life's goal is through righteousness or the right path. The Rigveda emphasizes on following the path of righteousness while doing or pursuing one's duty. The Gita has said: "Life dedicated to duty is life fulfilled." But the stress is on the right means. The means should be good as well as the ends. The Rigveda says: "May we walk on the path of righteousness following the glorious examples set by the sun and the moon. In order to have the strength to follow the right path, may we keep company of those who peacefully give and take, exchange views, follow the path of non-violence (not knowingly or deliberately hurting other living beings). This ved mantra more...

If we were to consider the young people of, say fifty years ago, the statement would have been be undeniably true in those days, sports was predominantly a male pursuit. The girls were considered the fairer sex and they were more concerned with how they look, thus the preference was for the beautiful clothes. Nowadays, this statement is no longer true. There are as many games for girls as there are for boys. With the exception of some games like rugby, girls participate in almost all that boys play. In athletics, we see girls performing just as well as the boys, some even better. They jump, run , throw and generally enjoy the sporting events as much as the boys. In fact some girl are aggressive and highly competitive. I have seen girls elbowing one another in a basketball game, uttering unmentionable words when angry and shouting themselves hoarsily cheering more...

The word 'Forest' is derived from the Latin word 'Fores' which means 'outside', Thus, it must have always referred to a village outskirt or fence or boundary which must have included all cultivated as well as uncultivated land. Various types of forests are found in India. Today/ of course, forests refer to vast areas of land covered with thick vegetation, trees and animals dwelling within. Climatic factors such as rainfall and temperature along with soil determine the kind of natural vegetation that will be found in a particular place- Places that receive more than 200 cm of annual rainfall have Evergreen Rain forests. Areas receiving rainfall between 200 and 100 cm have Monsoon Deciduous trees while Drier Deciduous or Tropical Savannah forests are found in areas receiving 50 to 100 cm of rains per annum. Places which receive less than 50 cm annually have only Dry Thorny Vegetation. Owing to more...

Television got introduced in India on an experimental basis in Delhi on 15 September 1959. This was converted into a regular service in 1965. In the beginning TV sets were quite costly and only the upper class could afford it. From October 1972 a number of TV centres were set up in Mumbai, Srinagar, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Chennai and Lucknow in quick succession. The TV network got a big boost during the ninth Asian Games in November 1982 when 20 transmitters were installed in different state capitals and some important cities. Another landmark was on 15 August 1982 when colour television was introduced in India. Colour TV sets were costlier. Come smaller portable sets—black & white and colour. Doordarshan started its national programmes. By 22 February 1994, the number of functional transmitters was 563 covering 83.6 per cent of India's population. Television is a miracle of scientific and technological research. J.L. more...

Towns and cities are the boon of the modern civilization. With the coming of industrial revolution, a large number of industries sprang up. Machines replaced manual work and labourers failed to compete with the quality as well as quantity of the machine production. Cottage industry, therefore began to breathe its last. People suddenly found themselves without work, for their hand-made goods failed to compete with the finished goods of the machine without any work, they failed to provide square meals to their families. Forced because of hunger, poverty, death and other circumstances, they migrated to areas whore these industries were set up to seek employment. This saw the emergence of towns as the labourers began to live with their families nearby the factories and the industries where they were employed. Towns grew bigger to form cities gradually. People from villages since ages have perpetually migrated to towns and cities in more...