environment – Page 58 – Take off with Natarajan

The Golden Temple’s Community Kitchen Goes Organic, Grows Its Own Vegetables without Pesticides…

March 15, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Visitors of the Golden Temple in Amritsar are soon to be served healthy, freshly produced organic food at the community kitchen. The management committee has made a landmark decision to adopt organic farming to grow its own grains, fruits and vegetables, free of chemicals.

A new mission undertaken by The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), they also aim to inspire farmers to take up organic farming and cut down on the use of chemical products.

The SGPC now grows its own organic vegetables and fruits on 40 acres at Gurdwara Gurusar Satlani Sahib and Patiala.

The Golden Temple, Amritsar. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

In the first phase of its experimental model, carrots, cabbages, spinach, and fenugreek or methi seeds from this farm have been successfully grown. About 10 quintals of organic produce are sent to the gurudwara every one or two days, according to SGPC officials.

The Punjab Agro Industries Corportation Limited (PAIC) was instrumental in helping the SGPC to test its soil and suggest options for organic farming. The experts at PAIC also advise them on how to replace pesticides and the use of organic fertilisers. They’ve suggested the use of neem patta, lassi and cow urine, among others.

The langar, or community kitchen, at the Golden Temple is the world’s largest free kitchen. It is popular for serving food to everyone irrespective of caste, religion or background. The gurudwara’s community kitchen, Guru Ramdas Langar Hall, receives nearly 100,000 people. It serves 200,000 roti made of 7000 kilograms of wheat flour, 1200 kilograms of rice, and 1300 kilograms of daal. The kitchen is manned by 450 dedicated people and many volunteers.

The SGPC is the apex organisation of Sikhs that manages all the gurudwaras in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. After its success at the Golden Temple, the move would be replicated to other gurudwaras in the country.

Source….Neeti Vijaykumar in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

How One Man Is Making Indian Museums Fun, Interactive and Inclusive…..!!!

March 15, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

The dismal and decrepit state of most Indian museums is no secret. But architect and designer Abhishek Ray and his team are trying to change the experience of museum visits by creating spaces with appropriate exhibition displays, good lighting and graphics, and interactive audio visual systems that keep visitors engaged.

Antiques trafficking, damage from seepage and other maintenance issues, lack of qualified staff – Indian museums suffer from many woes. A 2011 UNESCO report on Indian museums was also scathing in pointing out a long list of deficiencies, among them poor lighting and maintenance, incorrect signage and lax security. In 2012, a parliamentary committee report said, “Our museums are in a bad shape. Only 10% of the acquisitions are put on display and those are not even rotated regularly. Museum stores and galleries are in poor condition.”

Meet the man who is trying to address at least some of these issues. Abhishek Ray, an architect and designer, wants to make Indian museums more fun, interactive and inclusive.

“I want to change the way museums are perceived today. Museums tell a story and it should be an interesting one,” he says.

Abhishek Ray

Abhishek is the principal architect at Matrika Design Collaborative. Over the last decade, Abhishek and his team have been working on museum development projects from their inception to their execution. With comprehensive services – ranging from historical and art research to creating spaces using appropriate exhibition displays, lighting and graphics accentuated with interactive audio visual systems to keep visitors engaged in learning about our cultural heritage of India – the team has been changing the experience of a museum visit.

The team works on providing better lighting and displays

“We noticed that museums have not changed at all since decades in India. I have no living memory of visiting museums in my childhood and today we need to engage children with our museums and cultural spaces at a very early age. We work with the government and non governmental organisations to redesign existing cultural spaces and to develop new ones in order to conserve our heritage,” he says.

Matrika Design Collaborative is now developing one of the first dedicated textile museums that showcases the history and conservation of embroidery from the western region of Kutch, Gujarat at Bhuj.

The museum is a part of the Living and Learning Design Centre for local embroiderers and craftspeople, where visitors will gain extensive understanding of the rich heritage of embroidery from the communities themselves.

Innovation, says Abhishek, comes through engaging the community in the development of the museum or cultural space.

“If we intend to showcase their culture and traditions it is imperative for us to involve them at various stages of inception. A classic example is how the LLDC museum in Kutch has been developing around documenting the lives of embroiderers by recording their oral histories, their art and lifestyles,” he says.

Abhishek and his team convert a museum from a static space to an interactive one.

They also recently commissioned a small exhibition for Godrej Industries, wherein they designed a humble exhibition focused on the pioneering work carried out by Shri Ardershir Godrej in developing India’s first safe, which, till today, is one of the mainstays of the products rolled out by the industrial giant. Coupled with a trivia based display on the events around the year 1914 (the year when the first safe was fabricated in India), they put together a host of rare documents that profiled the story of safe-making at Godrej.

Overall, by using presentations, online art guides, mobile apps, and making the places more comfortable for people with special needs, Abhishek and his team are making museums both physically and intellectually inclusive.

Their USP lies in museum design

They are currently developing a unique outreach programme, a Museum on Wheels for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai (formerly Prince of Wales Museum), where the self contained museum bus would travel to urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Maharashtra to spread education by means of an interactive mobile museum.

The bus is fitted with exhibition cases, audio video hardware, etc. It will cater to municipal schools, adult education camps and artists’ conclaves in rural districts of India.

From improving existing museums to coming up with new ones, the team has been preserving Indian heritage in amazing ways.

The development of the Shastra Museum (Museum on Arms and Armory of the Sikhs) in Amritsar, alongside the Toshakhana (Royal Treasury), is a project that Abhishek and his team are proud of. It holds some of the most exquisite weapons used by the Sikh armies under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

The narrative here builds around the development of traditional weapons and their transition to mechanised weapons and modern artillery in the late 19^th Century.

“We have designed unique solutions where children are given an understanding of the science behind weapons and fortification systems, categorically ruling out their association with violence and war,” says Abhishek.

Innovation has found a new meaning through inclusion of children and people with special needs at the New Shri Pratap Singh Musuem in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.

The team has dedicated a complete gallery to children’s activities. The 100,000 square feet museum is also completely accessible to people with special needs.

Abhishek and his team are now working on more innovative ideas.

The challenge for the future, says Abhishek, lies in demystifying the realm of heritage and culture for people at large. Implementation of unique ideas and changing mindsets of people who sit at the helm of affairs is going to be a big challenge.

“We need to redefine the experience of the cultural space by reinventing the narrative and this can be achieved when policy makers, curators, archivists, designers, and users come together in a collaborative format to work out the best ways to tell the story of our culture and heritage through tangible and intangible ways,” he concludes.

To know more about the team’s work check out their website – www.matrika.in

Source…..Shreya Pareek in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day….” Contemplate on Spiritual wisdom…”

March 15, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Devote your time to the service of the world, with faith in the Lord, regardless of its fruits. Then you become blessed. Otherwise, though the body may be inactive, the mind will be very busy, committing acts on its own. People with such minds fall prey to karma in spite of their not doing anything! When a person has the mind fixed on contemplation of God and the pursuit of truth, though the body and senses do acts that are of service to the world, they won’t be affected by them; though they do actions (karma), they are still non-doers of action. This is the lesson from Bhagavad Gita. The heart of the person who doesn’t strive to cultivate the mind with holy thoughts is certain to be the paradise of evil and wickedness. Everyone who hopes to rise to greatness, seeks one-pointedness and aspires for salvation, must bear this in mind. Spiritual wisdom alone is the cause of liberation.

Sathya Sai Baba

Image of the Day… Total solar eclipse of March 9 2016 …

March 14, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

View larger. | March 9, 2016, total solar eclipse from Palu, Indonesia. Photo by Justin Ng of Singapore, who wrote: “Sun’s corona extends millions of kilometers into space and it is visible to the unaided eye during a total solar eclipse. During totality, temperature at my location dropped by 10 to 15 degrees Celsius and I was able to see planet Venus and Mercury when the area became dark. I took 12 different exposures during totality to cover as much dynamic range as possible and stacked them in Photoshop to produce this image.”

Source…..www.earthsky.org

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” Play ….It is Good for you …”!!!

March 14, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Beneful takes play to new places with this inventive Dog Goldberg machine powered by dogs and their favorite toys.

Play. It’s good for you.

Source….www.youtube.com

Natarajan

The Health Benefits of Olive Oil…….!!!

March 14, 2016March 14, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Olive oil is widely thought of as being good for our health. In fact, in terms of its health benefits, olive oil is unrivaled. New research continues to reveal more benefits almost every day. Nevertheless, we are only beginning to understand the countless ways olive oil can boost our health and quality of life. What is it that makes olive oil so beneficial to our health?

olive oil benefits

Nutrient composition of extra virgin olive oil

Olive oil contains modest amounts of Vitamins E and K, as well as a wealth of beneficial fatty acids. To start, let’s take a look at the nutritional facts of extra virgin olive oil:

100g of olive oil contains:

13.8% saturated fat
73% monounsaturated fat
9.7% Omega 6
0.76% Omega 3
72% RDA Vitamin E
75% RDA Vitamin K

*RDA: Recommended Daily Allowance

However, one of olive oil’s well-known benefits is its antioxidant content, which helps the body fight serious diseases. Olive oil’s main antioxidants protect the body from oxidation (more on this below) and against LDL (bad) cholesterol. With these facts in mind, let’s look at how olive oil can benefit the body:

10 Health Benefits of Olive Oil

1. It reduces the risk of Type 2 Diabetes

A low-fat diet is typically recommended to prevent diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. In fact, studies have shown that high fat diets may increase the risk of certain diseases, such as cancer and diabetes. With that being said, it’s worth pointing out that it’s the type of fat intake rather than the amount that affects health most severely. Consequently, it has been found that a diet rich in monounsaturated fats (such as those found in olive oil, nuts and seeds) actually offers protection from many chronic diseases. Furthermore, according to a study published in the scientific journal Diabetes Care, it was shown that a Mediterranean-style diet rich in olive oil reduced the risk of Type II diabetes by almost 50% when compared to a low-fat diet. Type II diabetes is the most common and preventable form of diabetes.

2. Olive oil may help prevent a stroke

According to a study from France, published in the online issue of Neurology, older individuals who consume olive oil daily may be able to protect themselves from stroke. The study gathered information from medical records of 7,625 individuals over the age of 65 from three cities in France – Bordeaux, Dijon and Montpellier – none of whom had a history of stroke. The individuals were then categorized into three groups, based on their olive oil consumption. After five years, 148 strokes were reported. The results showed that individuals who frequently consumed olive oil had a 41% lower risk of stroke, compared to those that did not consume olive oil at all.

3. It keeps the heart young and healthy

As we grow older, our heart goes through a normal aging process. Artery function tends to decline with age, leading to a number of health problems. In a recent study, Spanish researchers discovered that a diet rich in olive oil or other monounsaturated fats could improve arterial function in elderly individuals.

olive oil benefits

4. It helps fight osteoporosis

A disease predominantly characterized by a decrease in bone mass, osteoporosis causes the architecture of bone tissue to become fragile, increasing the possibility of fractures, making even the slightest of bumps or falls potentially fatal. However, olive oil supplementation was found to positively affect the thickness of bones. While olive oil is not the only solution, scientists have concluded that it is very promising for the development of future treatments of the disease.

5. Olive oil helps fight depression

While olive oil has been found to be beneficial for a number of physical ailments, what about emotional health benefits? Spanish researchers from the University of Navarra and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, found that a diet rich in olive oil can protect from mental illness too. It was recently discovered that a higher intake of olive oil and polyunsaturated fats found in fatty fish and vegetable oils lowered the risk of depression. According to the findings, cardiovascular disease and depression share some common mechanisms related to diet.

6. Olive oil has been found to prevent skin cancer

A recent study found that olive oil may contribute to the prevention of malignant melanoma (the most dangerous type of skin cancer). Nevertheless, the use of sunscreen remains the best way to prevent sunburn, however, consuming olive oil and other Mediterranean food could help counter the oxidizing effect of the sun.

7. It can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Numerous studies have been conducted on olive oil and how it may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. One study published in the journal of Chemical Neuroscience showed that the oleocanthal (a type of natural phenolic compound found in extra-virgin olive oil) has the potential to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and the cognitive decline that comes with aging. Olive oil polyphenols are powerful antioxidants, which may help reverse oxidative damage that occurs due to the aging process.

olive oil benefits

8. It may potentially protect against breast cancer

A diet rich in fats is directly related to a higher risk of cancer. However, the types of fats consumed can actually play a protective role against the development of tumors. Virgin olive oil is rich in oleic acid – a mono-unsaturated fatty acid, containing several bioactive compounds such as antioxidants. Research shows that a moderate and regular intake of olive oil reduces the risk of certain types of cancer, including breast cancer.

9. Olive oil has been found to reduce oxidative stress

Studies suggest that olive oil can protect the liver from oxidative stress. To test this theory, scientists exposed rats to a moderately toxic herbicide known to deplete antioxidants and cause oxidative stress. The findings showed that rats fed a diet containing olive oil were partially protected from liver damage.

10. It contains anti-inflammatory substances

Chronic inflammation is believed to be one of the leading causes of many diseases, including heart disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and arthritis. However, one of the benefits of olive oil lies in its ability to fight inflammation. The oil’s anti-inflammatory effects seem to be mediated by the antioxidants in olive oil. One such antioxidant is oleocanthal – which has been shown to work like ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug. In fact, it has been found that 50ml of extra virgin olive oil has an effect similar to 10% of the adult ibuprofen dosage for pain relief.

Source……www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day….” Dharma and Adharma …”

March 14, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

In the world the progeny of Dharma and Adharma (Righteousness and Unrighteousness) are continually growing. Consider this lineage: Unrighteousness (Adharma) married delusion (Mithya). Mithya is neither truth nor untruth. This couple had two children, a son calledAhamkara (egoism) and a daughter called Moha (infatuation). As both are the children of Ignorance, with no capacity to judge what is right and wrong, the unholy alliance between them resulted in the birth ofLobha (avarice) and Vanchana (deceit) as son and daughter. From the wrongful union of these two, Irshya (jealousy) and Krodha (anger) were born. Out of their union, Bheeti (fear) and Mrityu (death) were born. This lineage is known as Adharma Santhathi (the progeny of unrighteousness). Following this lineage of Unrighteousness, every union is improper.

Sathya Sai Baba

Your Next Must-Visit Destination in India: A Unique Garden Made of Threads in the Nilgiris…

March 13, 2016Natarajan2 Comments

Flowers that never wilt and leaves that don’t dry up, can only be found in a dimly lit greenhouse in the heart of Ooty. This evergreen artificial plant kingdom is the only one of its kind in the world. All the plants here are fabricated with thread and look so natural that they rival real ones in beauty.

One of the most fascinating tourist attractions of Ooty is the Thread Garden, located right opposite the Ooty Boat House. This magnificent display of flowers, plants and lawns is fabricated entirely from thread, with the help of canvas, wire and glue. This amazing garden is indeed a sight to behold.

A unique technique known as ‘four dimensional hand wound embroidery’ is used to make the plants in this garden.

Welcome to the unique garden. Photo credit : Sonika Sharma

Welcome to the unique garden.

Photo credit: Sonika Sharma

Mr Antony Joseph, the man who created this spectacular wonder, used to work as a lecturer in a private college. He gave up his job when his father passed away, to look after the family’s textile brushes and wooden accessories business. Production in this unit was mainly for Coats Vivella Group Companies, which helped him develop his relationship with Coats India.

Around this time, Antony started developing other items too because of his interest in handicrafts.

Antony Joseph making a bouquet of flowers. Photo Credit: Thread Garden

Antony Joseph making a bouquet of flowers.

Photo Credit: Thread Garden

“Handicrafts have always been a passion and my initial research was in designing caps, wigs and brushes using Coats threads. The success of these items, at an exhibition conducted by Coats Vivella India Ltd, prompted me to increase the scope of my research. This resulted in the innovative technique of ‘hand wound embroidery.’ The company encouraged me to continue my research for designing novel hand wound embroidery crafts, supplying me the main raw material – the embroidery threads,” adds the proud designer.

In 1988, he started a unique research and work centre with nine ladies, making plants and flowers using this technique. Canvas is cut in the shape of the leaf or the petal. Glue is applied and the thread is wound neatly onto the piece of canvas. No needles and no machinery are used to make these beautiful plants. This painstaking technique is done with only the nimble fingers of the artisan and hence it takes very long to complete a project. Grass and stems, as well as the stamen and filaments of the flowers, are made with a wire base and embroidery thread is wound on the wire to complete the pieces.

The various parts of the plant, once ready, are glued together in such a manner that they look extremely natural. When a bunch of flowers is placed in a flowering pot it is very difficult to differentiate it from a natural bouquet, since the design and the colours of the threads used are so perfect.

Keen concentration and patience are the hallmark of every one of the artisans. They have to make sure the winding is perfect, without any overlapping of threads, knots and gaps between the threads.

Bird of Paradise created with threads Photo Credit: Sonika Sharma

Bird of Paradise created with thread

Photo Credit: Sonika Sharma

In the initial years, Antony Joseph had several opportunities to display these spectacular works of art in many parts of the country.

“People really wondered at these novel creations and my experimental pieces sold easily anywhere they were exhibited. This helped me to run my work centre back home in Koratty, near Thrissur, in Kerala,” he says.

In 1993, Coats India accepted this newly developed craft technology and published an article with colour transparencies in its magazine Needle ‘N’ Embroidery. The Crafts Council of India sent him a special message congratulating him on his invention of hand-wound embroidery, without the use of needles or machinery.

He received appreciative messages from almost every part of the country and this encouraged him to continue his research and create new varieties of plants.

Beautiful white flowers made of thread. Photo credit : Sonika Sharma

Beautiful white flowers made of thread.

Photo credit: Sonika Sharma

Antony wanted to establish a garden with many varieties of flowering and non-flowering plants using his unique embroidery technique. He was able to employ 50 women and train them in this craft. After 12 years of untiring work, they were able to successfully fabricate around 100 different plant species and were ready to set up a garden. He initially set up the Thread Garden in Mallampuzha, a popular dam site in Kerala. However, due to floods, he had to shift from there. In 2002, he chose the present location opposite the Ooty Boat House and ever since then this place, which looks so unassuming from the outside, has been on the tourist map of the Nilgiris.

For this amazing feat, Antony Joseph and his artificial garden have been mentioned in the following books of records – India Book of Records, Tamilnadu Book of Records, and Unique World Records – as the first thread garden in the world.

Plants in pots and water lily's in the water Photo credit: Thread Garden

Plants in pots and water lilies in the water

Photo credit: Thread Garden

Antony Joseph hopes that this garden gets a mention in the Limca Book of Records as well as the Guinness Book of World Records. There are some criteria yet to be met to achieve these accolades, which he is striving for.

“Making artificial pieces of flora look natural is the real challenge! This Thread Garden is a success story of overcoming this formidable challenge. Creation of each piece of art is an imaginative expression of nature as it is. To achieve the ultimate goal a permutation and combination of forms, light, shades and patterns has been used” he emphasizes.

The one of its kind evergreen garden.

Photo credit: Thread Garden

The garden, as such, is complete and there is nothing more to be added to it. However, the artisans still work on making these flowers, back home in Kerala. Their products are encased in glass cases and sold at the sales counter in the garden premises. A list of instructions on how to take care of the flowers in the glass case are given to every buyer.

The sale of these glass encased flowers helps promote the craft.

Encased in glass, flowers sold at the sales counter.

Photo credit: Aparna Menon

Mr Antony Joseph can be reached on his mail id mail@threadgarden.com.

About the author: Aparna Menon is a freelance writer, writing for various newspapers for the past 10 years. Her main fields of interest are wildlife, heritage and history. A keen traveller, she loves to read and write and does a lot of art work too.

Source…..Aparna Menon in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day…” Let our life be dedicated to ideals…”

March 13, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Do not feel proud about your cleverness or intelligence or about your ability to win laurels in studies. Good character and righteous thinking are more valuable than scholastic achievements, wealth, power or intellectual abilities. Utilise your intelligence and thoughts for achieving bliss which comes from leading a life of righteousness and goodness. Let your life be dedicated to ideals. The Lord is secured and bound only by the intensity of your devotion. The Ganges of true devotion must flow from your heart. Everything that is associated with Divinity has its origin in the heart. Hence the heart should be emptied of all evil and kept pure and unsullied by right action. It may not be possible to escape the consequences of one’s good and bad actions. But even a mountain of sin can be wiped out by winning the grace of the Divine. Hence one should strive to earn the love of God, which is all-embracing and all-powerful.

Sathya Sai Baba

Image of the Day… Lunar shadow across Earth..

March 12, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Lunar shadow moves across Earth

This is way cool. Watch the moon’s shadow move across Earth during the March 9 total solar eclipse. A first ever animation from deep space.

March 9, 2016. Image credit: NASA

A camera aboard the DSCOVR satellite captured a unique view of this week’s solar eclipse. On March 9, 2016, residents of the Western Pacific looked up in the early morning hours to observe the only total solar eclipse of 2016, while DSCOVR looked down from a million miles away and captured the shadow of the moon crossing the planet.

In the animation above, the shadow of the new moon starts crossing the Indian Ocean and marches past Indonesia and Australia into the open waters and islands of Oceania (Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia) and the Pacific Ocean. Note how the shadow moves in the same direction as Earth rotates. The bright spot in the center of each disk is sunglint — the reflection of sunlight directly back at the satellite’s camera.

NOAA’s DSCOVR satellite is the Nation’s first operational satellite in deep space. DSCOVR hovers between the sun and Earth at all times, maintaining a constant view of the sun and sun-lit side of Earth.

Adam Szabo is NASA’s project scientist for DSCOVR. He said:

What is unique for us is that being near the sun-Earth line, we follow the complete passage of the lunar shadow from one edge of the Earth to the other. A geosynchronous satellite would have to be lucky to have the middle of an eclipse at noon local time for it. I am not aware of anybody ever capturing the full eclipse in one set of images or video.

The animation above was assembled from 13 images acquired on March 9, 2016, by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four-megapixel charge-coupled device (CCD) and Cassegrain telescope on the DSCOVR satellite.

Japan’s Himawari-8 satellite also captured a series of images showing the procession of the shadow during this eclipse, which you can view here.

Bottom line: On March 9, 2016, a camera aboard the DSCOVR satellite captured the shadow of the moon crossing Earth from a million miles away during the only total solar eclipse of 2016.

Source…..www.earthsky.org

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