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THE OLYMPIC SWIMMER WHO HAD NEVER BEEN IN A POOL UNTIL A FEW MONTHS BEFORE COMPETING IN THE OLYMPICS….!!!

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The man was Eric Moussambani Malonga, later nicknamed “Eric the Eel”.  Moussambani is from Equatorial Guinea in Africa and only managed to get into the Olympics at all because of a wildcard drawing system put in place by the International Olympic Committee, designed to try to encourage developing countries to participate in various Olympic events.

Thanks to this drawing, Equatorial Guinea decided to send a swim team to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.  They put out an advertisement on the radio a few months before the Games to try to get people to come and tryout for the country’s new national swim team which would be going to the Olympics.  Those who wished to tryout were to show up at the Hotel Ureca in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. At the time, this hotel was the only place in the country that had a swimming pool (only 12 meters long).

Two people showed up, one woman, Paula Barila Bolopa (who was a grocery store cashier at the time), and one man, Eric Moussambani.  Because of the lack of competition, the only thing the two had to do to get on the team was to demonstrate that they could in fact swim.

Previous to this, Moussambani didn’t know much about swimming, but contrary to what is often reported, he did know how to swim.  Said Moussambani:

The first time I swam in the sea, I was 12 years old and was on vacation in my mother’s village. My first time in a swimming pool was on May 6, 2000 in the Hotel Ureca swimming pool…

They just told me to get my passport and a picture ready so they could send me to the Olympics. They said to me, ‘Keep on training.’ I asked them, ‘With who? I don’t have a trainer.’  They said: ‘Do what you can. Keep training because you are going to the Olympics.’

My preparation was very poor…  I was training by myself, in the river and the sea. My country did not have a competition swimming pool, and I was only training at the weekends, for two hours at a time. I didn’t have any experience in crawl, breaststroke, or butterfly. I didn’t know how to swim competitively.

The Olympic Games was something unknown for me.  I was just happy that I was going to travel abroad and represent my country. It was new for me. It was very far from Africa.

Just three months after hearing the advertisement and then getting selected to represent his country, Moussambani was on his way to the Olympics.  He took a somewhat roundabout flight to Libreville (Gabon), then to Paris, then to Hong Kong, and finally to Sydney, a trip that took nearly three days to complete.  Along with accommodations, he had £50 of spending money while at the games and an Equatorial Guinea flag for use in the opening ceremony.

Once at the Olympics, he got his first glimpse of an Olympic size swimming pool,

When I arrived, I just went to the swimming pool to see how it is. I was very surprised, I did not imagine that it would be so big…

My training schedule there was with the American swimmers. I was going to the pool and watching them, how they trained and how they dived because I didn’t have any idea. I copied them. I had to know how to dive, how to move my legs, how to move my hands… I learned everything in Sydney.

What makes Moussambani’s story even more compelling is that he would go on to win his heat in the 100m freestyle, albeit in a pretty unorthodox way.  You see, at the time, he was to compete against just two other people in the qualifiers, Karim Bare from Niger and Farkhod Oripov from Tajikistan.  Both of these two ended up getting disqualified for false starts, leaving just Moussambani, who at the time thought he had been disqualified, before it was explained to him that his competitors were the ones out and that he’d be swimming the heat alone in front of 17,000 spectators.

In order to qualify for the next round, he needed to beat 1 minute and 10 seconds… He didn’t quite manage that.  However, for someone with such limited training and technique, he actually didn’t do too bad at the very beginning, even executing an OK dive and looking pretty fast for the first 10 or 15 seconds or so, then quickly faded.   As he said,

The first 50 meters were OK, but in the second 50 meters I got a bit worried and thought I wasn’t going to make it… I felt that [it] was important [to finish] because I was representing my country… I remember that when I was swimming, I could hear the crowd, and that gave me strength to continue and complete the 100 meters, but I was already tired. It was my first time in an Olympic swimming pool.

He finished with a time of 1 minute 52.72 seconds (40.97 seconds at the halfway mark), which was about 43 seconds off the qualifying time. This was, of course, a new Equatorial Guinea swimming record, but also unfortunately was the slowest 100m freestyle swim pace in Olympic history.  For his efforts, he was immediately a media darling, with fans and some other athletes loving his story.  However, many felt that his being allowed to participate was embarrassing, as he had not a hope in the world of actually winning anything, and it was unfair to athletes in more privileged countries that could swim circles around Moussambani, but who weren’t given a chance to compete because lesser swimmers from developing countries were being included. The International Olympic Committee’s president, Jacques Rogge, was one of those, saying he would work to get rid of the wild card system and stated, “We want to avoid what happened in the swimming in Sydney; the public loved it, but I did not like it.”

Of course, the “father” of the modern Olympic Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, likely wouldn’t have agreed with this negative sentiment at all, as he wanted all countries to compete in the Games. He also once criticized English rowing competitions for not including working-class athletes.  He further developed the Olympic motto (Citius, Altrius, Fortius- Faster, Higher, Stronger) after a portion of a sermon given by Bishop Ethelbert Talbo, which de Coubertin was fond of quoting

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.

Certainly Moussambani exemplifies that sentiment.

Bonus Facts:

  • Since 2012 Moussambani has been the coach of the Equatorial Guinea swim team, when he’s not working his day job as an IT engineer. They actually have a real, competitive team now comprising 36 swimmers, so the Olympic wild card system paid off in that respect.  They also have an Olympic size swimming pool to practice in now.
  • Moussambani has gotten a lot better at competitive swimming. By 2004, he got his 100m free style time down to 57 seconds, which would have been good enough for him to qualify in the 2004 Olympics, but a visa mistake ended up costing him a trip to that year’s Games. Some have speculated the visa mishap was intentional in order to stop him from competing.  The gist of it was that when he submitted his application, his passport photo was somehow lost by the Malabo officials processing it. Some highly placed government officials in his country had previously expressed anger at how he’d embarrassed their country in 2000 and were not enthusiastic about him going to the Athens games. Whatever the case, due to the loss of the photo, his application was denied.
  • Moussambani recently started training again along with coaching and he posted his best swim time in 2012 at the age of 34, having it down to 55 seconds in the 100m freestyle, just under 8 seconds off the current Olympic record. As such, he’s decided to come out of semi-retirement from professional swimming to try out for the 2016 games.  “I still have a dream. I want to show people that my times have improved, that we have swimming pools in my country now and that I can now swim a hundred meters.”
  • Moussambani’s current training routine for the 2016 Olympics is to wake up at 5am and run for 3 km.  He then gets ready for work and spends 8am to 5pm there.  On Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday he heads down to the pool where he meets his team and trains from 6pm-10pm.
  • The 100m freestyle gold medalist (Pieter Van den Hoogenband) in the 2000 Olympics finished with a time of 48.3 seconds, which was a new world record.
  • The current world record for the men’s 100m freestyle (long course: 50m pool) is 46.91 seconds, set by Cesar Cielo of Brazil in the 2009 World Championships in Rome.
  • The current Olympic record is 47.05 seconds, set by Eamon Sullivan of Australia in the 2008 games.
  • Equatorial Guinea’s other swimmer in the 2000 Olympics, Paula Barilia Bolopa, also struggled to finish her heat, this time in the 50m freestyle, finishing with a time of 1:03.97.  While it was a new record for the 50m freestyle for Equatorial Guinea, it was also, like Moussambani’s time, a new slowest time record in Olympic history for the 50m freestyle.

Source….www.today i foundout.com

Natarajan

From Golconda to Kandahar to London: The Journey of the Fabled Kohinoor Diamond…!!!

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Described by the Mughal Emperor Babur as ‘Worth the value of one day’s food for all the people in the world‘, Kohinoor is one of the most coveted and valuable diamonds of all times. This dazzlingly beautiful rare jewel has been in the eye of the storm ever since it left the hands of its original owners, the Kakatiyas of Warangal. Never bought or sold, the fabled diamond changed many hands as it traveled through several dynasties that included the Khiljis, the Mughals, the Persians, the Afghans and the British before ending up at the Tower of London.

kohinoor_diamond1

This is the intriguing story of its eventful journey.

Photo Source

The Kohinoor has a complex history that goes back to the 13th century. A large colourless diamond that weighed around 793 carats, Kohinoor originated in India’s Golconda mines when they were under the rule of the Kakatiya dynasty.

Legend has it that it was used as an eye of the deity in a Kakatiya temple in Warangal in 1310.

In the early 14th century, Alauddin Khilji, second ruler of the Khilji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and his army began looting the kingdoms of southern India. During a raid on Warangal, Malik Kafur (Khilji’s general) acquired the priceless diamond for the Khilji dynasty. It was then passed on to the succeeding dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate.

In 1526, Babur handed a resounding defeat to Ibrahim Lodi at the Battle of Panipat. The victorious Babur received reports that the Fort of Agra housed an immense treasure, which included a diamond that defied all description. Enraptured by the jewel on its acquisition, Babur called it the ‘Diamond of Babur’ and even mentioned it in his memoir, the Baburnama.

After Babur’s death, the precious stone was inherited by his son Humayun from whom it passed on to successive generations of Mughal rulers, including Shah Jahan, who set the priceless gem in his legendary Peacock throne.

Later, when he was imprisoned in the Agra Fort by his son Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan used to see the reflection of the Taj Mahal in the glittering jewel, placed near a window.

It was in Aurangzeb’s reign that Tavernier, an enterprising French traveller and gem connoisseur, visited India in the search of rare and wonderful gems. Having been shown the diamond by Aurangzeb, Tavernier made the first sketch of Kohinoor in history.

Aurangzeb also entrusted the work of cutting and enhancing the diamond to Hortenso Borgia, a Venetian lapidary (gem artist) so clumsy that he reduced the weight of the stone from 793 carats to 186 carats. So enraged was Aurangzeb at the carelessness and stupidity of the lapidary, that not only did he refuse to compensate him for his labour, but he also confiscated all of Borgia’s worldly possessions.

During the rule of Aurangzeb’s grand son Muhammad Shah in 1739, Delhi was invaded by Nadir Shah, the Shah of Persia. His army looted all the jewels in the royal Mughal treasury, which also included the famous Peacock Throne, and Daria-i-noor, the sister diamond of the Kohinoor. However, the Kohinoor was nowhere to be seen. How Nadir Shah acquired the Kohinoor is a very interesting story.

Muhammad Shah used to carry the prized diamond with him hidden in the folds of his turban, a secret known only to a selected few, including a eunuch in the harem of the Emperor. Hoping to win the favor of the victorious Nadir Shah, the disloyal eunuch whispered the emperor’s secret into his ears. Devising a plan to deprive Muhammad Shah of his prized possession., Nadir Shah ordered a grand feast to coincide with the restoration of Muhammad Shah to his throne.

During the feast, Nadir Shah proposed an exchange of turbans as a gesture of eternal friendship and Muhammad Shah, unable to refuse the gesture, had to hand over his turban. After the ceremony, Nadir Shah returned to his private chambers where he eagerly unfolded the turban to find the diamond concealed within. Dazzled by its beauty, he exclaimed ‘Koh-i-noor‘, which in Persian means mountain of light. One of Nadir Shah’s consort, wonder struck by the Kohinoor, had said,

“If a strong man were to throw four stones, one north, one south, one east, one west, and a fifth stone up into the air, and if the space between them were to be filled with gold, all would not equal the value of the Kohinoor.”

Nadir Shah was assassinated soon after he returned to Persia and the diamond fell into the hands of Ahmad Shah Abdali, one of his ablest generals, who later became the Emir of Afghanistan.

A descendant of Abdali, Shah Shuja Durrani brought the Kohinoor back to India in 1813 and gave it to Ranjit Singh,the ruler of Lahore, in exchange for his help in winning back the throne of Afghanistan.

Ranjit Singh , the founder of the Sikh empire, had the prized jewel sewn into an armlet, which he wore on all the important state occasions. It remained with him for the next twenty years. Ranjit Singh had willed the diamond to the temple of Jagannath in Puri, in modern-day Odisha, but after his death in 1839, the East India Company did not comply with the terms of his will.

His son, Duleep Singh lost the second Anglo-Sikh War leading to the annexation of the Punjab by the British. Under the aegis of Lord Dalhousie, the Last Treaty of Lahore was signed, officially ceding the Kohinoor to Queen Victoria along with the Maharaja’s other assets. The treaty specified,

“The gem called Kohinoor which was taken from Shah Shuja-ul-Malik by Maharaja Ranjit Singh shall be surrendered by the Maharajah of Lahore to the Queen of England.”

On 6 April 1850, the Kohinoor left the shores of India on board of the HMS Medea. So shrouded in mystery was its departure that even the Captain of the ship did not know the priceless cargo his ship carried.

n a grand event organized in Hyde Park in London, the Kohinoor was formally handed over to Queen Victoria by the officials of the East India Company.

Disappointed by its Mughal-style cut, the Queen, along with Prince Albert and others in the court, decided to refashion the diamond to enhance its brilliance. The re-cutting of the Kohinoor, that took a mere 38 days and costed £8000, resulted in an oval brilliant that weighed 108.93 carat. Despite the efforts of the Dutch jeweler, Mr Cantor, the results reduced the diamond drastically in weight. In 1853, it was mounted on a magnificent tiara for the Queen that contained over two thousand diamonds.

Queen Victoria wore the diamond frequently afterwards and left it in her will that the Kohinoor should only be worn by a queen of the royal family. This was due to rumour of an ancient curse associated with the Kohinoor that said,

“He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity.”

As a result, the diamond is worn only by the female members of the British Royal Family. Since getting into British hands, the Kohinoor was been worn by Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.

It is now displayed along with the other British crown jewels in the Tower of London. Crystal replicas of the diamond set in the oldest crowns as well as the original bracelet given to Queen Victoria can also be seen at the Tower’s Jewel House.

During the Second World War, the Crown Jewels were moved from their home at the Tower of London to a secret location. The biography of the French army general, Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, by his widow Simonne says that George VI hid the Kohinoor at the bottom of a lake near Windsor Castle where it remained until after the war. The only people who knew of the hiding place were the king and his librarian, who apparently revealed the secret to the general and his wife on their visit to England in 1949.

The subject of bitter battles and court intrigues, today Kohinoor casts its brilliance on the millions of tourists who, for the most part, are unaware of its long history in shaping the destinies of men.

Source…..www.the betterindia.com

natarajan

A Syrian refugee who was swimming across borders a year ago is now in the Olympics…

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One year ago, Syrian refugee Yusra Mardini was swimming for her life as she fled Damascus, Syria with her older sister. Today, she is a member of the Olympic refugee team competing in Rio.

The 18-year-old is one of ten athletes competing for the Refugee Olympic Athletes in three sports.

Below, read about Mardini’s tenacious and heroic journey, via Alexander Hassenstein of Getty.

Before that, Mardini and her sister have been swimmers for many years. They were known as shining stars at their swimming club in Syria, until the war disrupted their training.

Their parents tried their hardest to keep them away from the intense war zones — they moved multiple times to avoid the conflict, but the war shortly became too dangerous. They decided to pick up and move all together after their house was destroyed.

Mardini and her sister left Damascus, Syria in early August. They boarded an inflatable boat in Turkey that was headed for the Greek island of Lesbos, alongside 20 other refugees.

Not too long into their journey, the motor on the boat broke down. Mardini and her sister were the only two swimmers on the boat, so they jumped into the water to swim the boat to shore.

They swam while helping the boat stay above water for three and a half hours, saving everyone on the boat.

After swimming all of the passengers to safety, the sisters continued their journey to make it to Germany.

They then travelled through five more countries, on land.

They faced many problems — they were arrested at borders, lost money, and had many items stolen from them. Despite all of these problems, the sisters remained strong. They were not going to give up.

After 35 days of fleeing, the sisters finally made it to Germany.

Now, they are safe with their parents in Berlin.

Shortly after their arrival in Berlin, they were introduced to a swimming coach at a local swimming club.

Mardini’s goal was originally to make it to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but her coach said she had progressed so well that there was a good chance that she could qualify for the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) refugee team for the 2016 Olympics in August.

Since she lost everything and faced a treacherous journey, she was given a IOC Olympic Solidarity scholarship — a scholarship to help athletes qualify for the Olympics.

Her daily schedule leading up to the Olympics involved school and intensive training.

Mardini hopes to encourage refugees and make them proud of her.

In the meantime, she seems to be having the time of her life in Rio.

Source…www.businessinsider.com.au

Natarajan

படித்து ரசித்த கவிதை…” புறங்கூற்று ” !

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புறங்கூற்று…

………………….
* குற்றம் சொல்லவும்
குறைகள் பேசவும்
முற்றம் தேவையில்லை
இவர்களுக்கு!

* வென்றவனைக் கண்டால்
அதிர்ஷ்டம் என்று
அலட்டிக் கொள்வர்!

* தோற்றவனை கண்டால்
தேவை தானா என்று
எகத்தாளம் பேசுவர்!

* உள்ளவனைக் கண்டால்
கொள்ளை அடித்த பணமென்று
குற்றம் சொல்வர்!

* இல்லாதவனைக் கண்டால்
பிழைக்க தெரியாதவனென்று
இகழ்ந்து பேசுவர்!
* தப்பு செய்தவன்
தண்டனை பெற்றால்
சட்டம் சரியில்லை என்பர்!

* தப்பு செய்யாதவன்
தண்டனை பெற்றால்
சரியான நீதி என்பர்!

* பிழைப்பு தேடி
பிற நாடு சென்றால்
பேராசை பிடித்தவன்
என்று பிதற்றுவர்!

* உழைப்பு தேடி
உள்நாட்டில் உலவினால்
ஊர் சுற்றியென்று
உதாசினம் செய்வர்!

* ஊருக்கு உதவினால்
ஊர்கழுதை என்று
பட்டம் சூட்டுவர்!

* சும்மா சுற்றினால்
சோம்பேறி என்று
முத்திரை குத்துவர்!

* மற்றவர் குறைகளை
மணிக்கணக்கில் பேசும்
இவர்களுக்கு
ஒரு நிமிஷம் கூட
கிடைப்பதில்லை
தம் குறைகளை
நினைத்துப் பார்க்க!
— க.அழகர்சாமி,
கொச்சி. in http://www.dinamalar.com

Natarajan

 

How Much are Olympic Gold Medals Worth….?

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As far as the value of the raw materials in them, this varies from Olympiad to Olympiad.  For the recent 2012 Olympics in London, the medals were the largest of any in Summer Olympic history up to that point, weighing in at 400g for the gold medal.  Of this 400g, 394g was sterling silver (364.45g silver / 29.55g copper) with 6g of 24 karat gold plating.  At the price of gold and silver when these medals were won by various Olympians, this means a gold medal in the London Olympics was worth about $624, with $304 of the value coming from the gold plating and about $320 coming from the sterling silver. Since then, the price of gold has dropped about 18% and the price of silver has dropped about 39%.

For the current 2016 Rio Olympics, the gold medals are one-upping the London Games, weighing in at a a half a kilogram, with about 462g of it silver, 6g gold, and the rest copper.  So by current gold and silver prices as of July 13, 2016, these medals are worth about $561 total, with approximately $301 of the value from silver and $260 from gold. So, despite being 1/5 more massive than the London Games Olympics medals, and having the same amount of gold and much more silver, due to the significant drop in gold and silver prices since 2012, the Rio gold medals are worth less at their awarding than the London Games medals were worth when they were awarded.

Of course, athletes can often get much more than this selling the medals on the open market, particularly for momentous medals, like the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 men’s U.S. hockey team gold medal.  Mark Wells, a member of that team, auctioned his medal off in 2012 and received $310,700 for it, which he needed to help pay for medical treatment.
Most auctioned medals don’t go for nearly this much, though.  For instance, Anthony Ervin’s 50 meter freestyle gold medal won in 2000, even with all proceeds going to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, only sold for $17,100.  John Konrads’ 1500 meter freestyle gold medal won in 1960 only sold for $11,250 in 2011.  This is a great return in terms of what the raw value of the materials are worth, but certainly nowhere close to Mark Wells’ medal.

Gold medals in the Olympics weren’t always made mostly of silver.  Before the 1912 Olympics, they were made of solid gold.  However, they tended to be much smaller than modern medals.  For instance, the 1900 Paris gold medals were only 3.2 mm thick, with a 59 mm diameter, weighing just 53g.  For perspective, the London 2012 medals were 7 mm thick, with a diameter of 85 mm and, as mentioned, weighed 400g.  The 1900 Paris gold medals at today’s value of gold are worth about $2300.  For the 1912 games in Stockholm, the last year the gold medals were made of solid gold, the value of the gold medals at current prices of gold would be around $870.

If the current 2016 Olympic gold medals were made out of solid gold, they’d be worth about $21,625 each.  This may seem feasible, considering how much money the Olympics brings in, until you consider just how many medals are awarded during each summer Olympics.  For instance, in these 2016 Olympics, about 2,488 medals have been produced, including 812 gold medals. At $21,625 each, that would be just shy of $18 million dollars for the gold medal materials alone.

As it is, with the current gold medals having about $561 worth of materials, then $305 for the silver medals, and about $5 for the bronze (which are mostly made of copper, with a very small amount of zinc and tin), about $708,000 is still being spent on the raw materials alone for these medals, not to mention the cost of having them minted.

Source……..www.today i foundout.com

Natarajan

Joke of the Day …” Old people are not Stupid ” !!!

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படித்து ரசித்தது …புராணங்களில் தேடுங்கள் அறிவியலை…!!!

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புதியவைகள் கண்டுபிடிக்க வேண்டுமெனில் கனவு காணுங்கள் என்றார், நமது முன்னாள் ஜனாதிபதி அப்துல் கலாம். கனவு காண்பதன் அடிப்படையே கற்பனையில் பிறப்பதுதானே. நமது புராணங்களும் இதிகாசங்களும் வெறும் கற்பனையில் தோன்றியதுதானே என சிலர் வாதிடுவதுண்டு. அவைகள் வெறும் கற்பனைகளாகவே இருந்துவிட்டுப் போகட்டுமே. ஆனால் புராணங்களிலும் நமது தமிழ் இலக்கியங்களிலும் புதைந்து கிடக்கும் அறிவியல் உண்மைகளைக் காணும் போது பெரும் வியப்பு மேலிடுகிறதே! எங்கேயோ நடக்கும் கிரிக்கெட் போட்டி, கோயில் கும்பாபிஷேகம் போன்ற நிகழ்வுகளை தொலைக்காட்சிகள் இன்று நேரடியாக ஒளிபரப்பு செய்கின்றன. இந்த விஞ்ஞான வினோதத்தை வீட்டிற்குள் இருந்தபடியே நாமும் அனுபவித்து வருகிறோம். நேரடி ஒளிபரப்பு நிகழ்வதைப் போன்ற காட்சியை நமது புராணங்களும் சொல்லியிருக்கின்றன. சிவபெருமானுக்கும் பார்வதிக்கும் இமய மலையில் உள்ள கைலாயத்தில் திருமணம் நடக்கிறது. அந்தத் திருமணத்தை அகத்திய முனிவர் பொதிகை மலையில் இருந்தபடியே பார்த்துப் பரவசப்பட்டாராம். வட கோடியில் நடந்த ஒரு நிகழ்ச்சியை தென் கோடியில் இருந்து ஒருவர் உடனுக்குடன் கண்டதும், உள்ளம் களிப்படைந்ததும் நேரடி ஒளிபரப்பு போன்றது அல்லாமல் வேறென்ன?

வயர்ெலஸ் தொடர்புகள் : ஆதிரை என்பவளின் கணவன் சாதுவன் வியாபாரம் நிமித்தமாக நண்பர்களுடன் சேர்ந்து கடல் பயணம் மேற்கொள்கிறான். திடீரென்று கப்பல் மூழ்கி

விடுகிறது. ஆபத்திலிருந்து தப்பித்த சாதுவன், நாகர்கள் என்ற ஆதிவாசிகள் வசிக்கும் ஒரு தீவில் கரையேறுகிறான். சாதுவனைப் போலவே ஆபத்திலிருந்து தப்பித்த அவனது நண்பர்களில் சிலர் ஊர் திரும்புகின்றனர். சாதுவன் மூழ்கி விட்டதாக ஆதிரையிடம் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர். கணவர் இறந்தபின் தான் மட்டும் வாழ்ந்து என்ன பயன் என்று ஆதிரை தீக்குளிக்க முயல்கிறாள்.

அப்போது வானத்திலிருந்து ஒரு அசரீரி கேட்கிறது. உன் கணவன் சாகவில்லை பத்திரமாக திரும்பிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறான் என்கிறது அக்குரல். அந்த வார்த்தையை நம்பி ஆதிரை தீக்குளிப்பதை நிறுத்துகிறாள். சாதுவனும் உயிருடன் திரும்புகிறான். இந்த அசரீரியின் வாக்கு எந்த தொடர்பும் இல்லாமல் ஒருவர் மற்றவருடன் உரையாட முடியும் என்கிற உண்மையை உள்ளடக்கியதாகவே தென்படுகிறது. இக்கதை, வயர்லெஸ் கருவிகள் வழியாக இன்று நாம் பேசிக் கொள்வதற்கும் எந்த விதக் கம்பித் தொடர்புமே இல்லாமல் அன்று அசரீரியின் குரலை ஆதிரை கேட்டு ஆறுதல் அடைந்ததற்கும் பெரிய வித்தியாசம் இருப்பதாகத் தெரியவில்லை.

அணுஆற்றல் : அணுவைப் பிளக்க முடியும், அதன் மூலம் ஆற்றலைப் பெற முடியும் என்கிற கருத்தெல்லாம் விஞ்ஞானி ஐன்ஸ்டீன் காலத்திற்குப் பின்னரே உலகின் வலுப்பெற்றது. ஆனால் தமிழ் மூதாட்டி அவ்வையார் ‘அணுவைத் துளைத்து எழு கடலைப் புகட்டி’ என்று பாடி அணுவைத் துளைக்க முடியும் அதைப் பிளக்கவும் முடியும் என்கிற உண்மைகளை எல்லாம் இரண்டாயிரம் ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பே புட்டு புட்டு வைத்து விட்டாரே.அணுகுறித்த மேலும் ஒரு வியப்பூட்டும் தகவலும் நமக்குக் கிடைத்திருக்கிறது. மகாபாரதச் சண்டை நடந்த இடத்தில்

ஆய்வுகள் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டன. அதிசயம் என்னவென்றால், அந்த இடத்தில் இப்போதும் கூட கதிரியக்கம் இருக்கிறதாம். கதிரியக்கம் வெளிப்படுவதால் அணு ஆயுதங்கள் போன்ற சண்டைக் கருவிகள் மகாபாரத யுத்தத்திலும் பயன்படுத்தப் பட்டிருக்கலாம் எனவும் யூகிக்கப்படுகிறது.

வான்வெளி பயணம் : ராவணன் சீதையைக் கவர்ந்து சென்ற இடத்திற்கு ராமரும், லட்சுமணனும் வருகிறார்கள். அங்கே தேர்ச்சக்கரங்களின் தடம் மட்டுமே தென்படுகிறது. தடம் போகும் திசையில் இருவரும் நடக்கிறார்கள். சிறிது துாரத்தில் தடம் மறைந்து விடுகிறது. அப்படியானால் தேர் என்னவாயிற்று? ஒன்று பூமிக்குள் புதைந்திருக்க வேண்டும் அல்லது வானத்தில் பறந்திருக்க வேண்டும். ராவணன் சீதையை இலங்கைக்கு கடத்திச் சென்றது ஊர்ஜிதமாகிவிட்டதால், தேர் பூமிக்குள் புதைய வாய்ப்பேயில்லை. வான் வெளிப்பயணம் மட்டும்தான் ஒரே வழி. அப்படியானால் சிறிது துாரம் ஓடி, பின் மேலெழும்புகிற மாதிரியான வடிவமைப்புடன் ராவணனின் தேர் உருவாக்கப்பட்டிருக்க வேண்டும். எனவே ரன்வேயில் ஓடி பின் ‘டேக் ஆப்’ ஆகிற தற்கால விமானங்களுக்கு முன்னோடியாக ராவணனின் தேர் இருந்திருக்கிறது.

சீவக சிந்தாமணியில் உலவும் கதாபாத்திரமான சச்சந்தன் ஆபத்துக் காலத்தில் தப்பிப்பதற்காக தனது மனைவிக்கு மயில் பொறி என்னும் வாகனத்தைப் பரிசளிக்கிறான். ஹெலிகாப்டரைப் போலவே அந்த மயில்பொறியும் நின்ற இடத்திலிருந்து ஜிவ்வென்று வானத்தில் எழும்பும் இயக்கத்தைப் பெற்றதுதானாம்.

கண் மருத்துவம் : உலகில் முதல் கண் மருத்துவர் யார் தெரியுமா? சாட்சாத் கண்ணப்ப நாயக்கனார்தான். அவர்தான் முதன் முதலில் கண் மாற்றும் அறுவைச் சிகிச்சையை அறிமுகப்படுத்தியவர். கண்ணப்ப நாயனார் சிவபெருமானின் தீவிர தொண்டர். சிவனுக்கு தொண்டு செய்வதையே பெரும் பாக்கியமாக கருதுபவர். ஒருநாள் சிவலிங்கத்தின் கண்ணிலிருந்து ரத்தம் வழிவதைப் பார்த்து விடுகிறார். நெஞ்சம் பதறி விடுகிறார். செய்வதறியாது நின்ற கண்ணப்பரின் மனதில் ஒரு எண்ணம் தோன்றுகிறது. தனது கண்களைப் பிடுங்கி எடுத்து சிவபெருமானின் முகத்தில் ஒட்டுகிறார். உடனே விக்கிரகத்தில் ரத்தம் வழிவது நின்று விடுகிறது. முதல் கண் மாற்று அறுவைச் சிகிச்சை பற்றிய இந்த செய்தி கண்ணப்ப நாயனார் புராணத்தில் வருகிறது.

அண்டங்கள் : பல்வேறு புராணங்களும் வெளிப்படுத்துகின்ற ஒரு தகவல், வான் வெளியில் 1008 கோடி அண்டங்கள் உள்ளது என்பதுதான். விஞ்ஞானி கலிலியோ காலத்தின் பின்பே வான்வெளி ஆய்வுகள் உலகில் தீவிரப்படுத்தப்பட்டன. டெலஸ்கோப், செயற்கைக்கோள் இன்றி அன்றே எப்படி அண்டங்களைப் பற்றி ஆராய்ந்தார்கள் என்பது புதிர். பூலோக மனிதர்கள் வானுலகம் சென்றதாகவும் வானுலகத் தேவர்கள் பூலோகம் வந்ததாகவும் புராணங்கள் கூறுவதை நம்பும்படியாகவா உள்ளது என்று கேட்கலாம். இன்று நிலவில் காலடி வைத்து விட்டானே மனிதன்? செவ்வாய்க் கிரகம் செல்வதற்கும் முயற்சி எடுத்து விட்டானே?

புராணங்களில் வரும் செய்திகள் எல்லாம் உண்மையாகி வருவதைப் பார்த்தால், பூலோக மனிதரும், வானுலகப் பிறவிகளும் சந்தித்துக் கொள்ளும் நிலை வரலாம். புராணங்களில் தேடுங்கள் அறிவியலை! அவற்றில் பல அற்புதங்களுக்கு விடையும், வழிமுறைகளும் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டிருக்கலாம்.

Source…..

எல். பிரைட்,எழுத்தாளர்

தேவகோட்டை,   in http://www.dinamalar.com

Natarajan

This is how much time it should take to escape a crashed airliner….

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A Emirates Boeing 777-300 crashed landed and burst into flames at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday.

Fortunately, the airline has confirmed that all 300 passengers and crew on board the flight made it to safety before the aircraft became engulfed in flames.

Which leads us to the question, how long does it take to evacuate a crashed airliner?

Believe it or not, federal regulations dictate that all modern airliners capable of carrying more than 44 passengers must be able to be fully evacuated in less than 90 seconds.

In addition, in order to be certified to fly, new airliners or even new derivatives of existing airliners must pass an evacuation test. The tests involve simulated emergency situations in which all passengers and crew must exit the aircraft in pitch-black darkness using only half of the available emergency escapes.

In 2006, the Airbus A380 superjumbo managed to pass the test by evacuating 853 passengers, 18 crew, and two pilots in just 78 seconds, Flight Global reported.  The Boeing 777-200 passed the evacuation test in 1994 in 84 seconds, Quartz reported. The aircraft involved in the Emirates crash is an elongated 777-300. According to the AP, the aircraft was not subject to its own evacuation test. Instead, it was certified by extrapolating the test results of the 777-200 with the addition of two emergency exits.

These tests are generally conducted using the aircraft type’s maximum passenger capacity which means that aircraft in service are equipped with far fewer seats. For instance, the A380 was evacuation tested with 853 passengers. In operation these days, most of the superjumbos fly with around 500 seats.

However, it should also be noted that these test are also conducted in a laboratory conditions that are calm and organised. The hectic nature of an actual emergency evacuation may slow down the time it takes to empty an aircraft.

As a result, experts recommend that passengers select seats within three rows of an emergency exit. In addition, passengers should be aware of the location of the nearest emergency exit at all times.

Here’s a video of the Airbus A380 evacuation test:

Source….www.businessinsider.com.au

Natarajan

Joke of the Day…” Best Business Plan ….” !!!

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As a boat docked into a tiny seaside village, a visiting businessman complimented the local fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

“Not very long,” answered the fisherman.

“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the businessman. The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The businessman asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs… I have a full life.”

The businessman interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”

“And after that?” asked the fisherman.

“With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to the city, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.

How long would that take?” asked the fisherman.

“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the businessman.
“And after that?”

“Afterwards? Well my Friend, That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the businessman, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?” said the fisherman.

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoying your friends.”

Source…….www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

வாரம் ஒரு கவிதை…” காகிதங்கள் ” !!!

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காகிதங்கள்
………..
Natarajan….My Kavithai in http://www.dinamani.com ….published on 1st August 2016