GOVERNMENT MUSEUM,CHENNAI

Government Museum, established in 1851, is located in Egmore, Chennai, South India. The Museum complex consisting of six buildings and 46 galleries covers an area of around 16.25 acres (66,000 m²) of land. The objects displayed in the museum cover a variety of artifacts and objects covering diverse fields including archeology, numismatics, zoology, natural history, sculptures, palm-leaf manuscripts and Amravati paintings.

FRIENDSHIP THROUGH SPORTS....................

The 2007 Military World Games are scheduled to be held at the twin-cities Hyderabad - Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India from October 14 - October 21, 2007. Some parts of games were also held in Mumbai. According to press release by the organizers nearly 5000 athletes from 101 countries participated. The motto of the games was 'Friendship Through Sport'. Russia emerged on top of the Medal Tally with 42 Gold, 26 Silver and 28 Bronze medals. China, second with 36 Gold, 22 Silver and 13 Bronze while Germany came a distant third with 7 Gold, 10 Silver and 13 Bronze.

Flower of the Blue mountains.................

Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) is a shrub that used to grow abundantly in the shola grasslands (the origin of Water) of Western Ghats in South India above 1800 metres. The Nilgiris, which literally means the blue mountains, got its name from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji that blossoms gregariously only once in 12 years.
Neelakurinji is the best known of a genus that has flowering cycles ranging from one to 16 years. Plants that bloom at long intervals like kurinji are called plietesials. The genus has around 300 species, of which at least 46 occur in India. Besides the Western Ghats, Neelakurinji is seen in the Shevroys in the Eastern Ghats. It occurs at an altitude of 1300 to 2400 metres.
The plant is usually 30 to 60 cm high on the hills. They can, however, grow well beyond 180 cm under congenial conditions.
Once they used to cover the entire Nilgiris like a carpet during its flowering season. However, now plantations and dwellings occupy much of their habitat. The Save Kurinji Campaign Council organises campaigns and programmes for conservation of the Kurinji plant and its habit.
In 2006, Neelakurunji flowered again in Tamil Nadu and Kerala after a gap of 12 years. Apart from Nilgris, Neelakurinji grow in grass lands of Eravikulam, hills between Klavarai in Tamil Nadu and Vattavada, near Munnar in Kerala during the season from August to December.
Kurinjimala Sanctuary protects the approximately 32 km² core habitat of the endangered Neelakurinji plant in Kottakamboor and Vattavada villages in Devakulam Taluk, Idukki district of Kerala

we cannot always build the future for our children,but we can build our children for the future.............

The United Nations General Assembly recommended in 1954 (resolution 836(IX)) that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day, to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children and of activity promoting the welfare of the world's children. It suggested to governments that the Day be observed on the date which each considers appropriate.
The date of 20 November marks the day in which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989 and is often the day chosen by countries as their own designated day to observe Universal Children's Day.
State governments are responsible for passing legislation providing a day and name appropriate for their compliance with the United Nations General Assembly resolution. United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights / UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

In India Children's Day day is celebrated on November 14 every year. This date the marks the birth anniversary of independent India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Children's day is celebrated on this day in recognition of his lifelong passion and work for the welfare, education and development of children and young people.

5300 years ago, the Ice Man used natural laxatives and antibiotics...........Birds use herbs to protect their nests...LET US KNOW ABOUT HERBS..

The use of herbs to treat disease is almost universal among non-industrialized societies. A number of traditions came to dominate the practice of herbal medicine at the end of the twentieth century:
The herbal medicine system, based on Greek and Roman sources
The Ayurvedic medicine system from India
Chinese herbal medicine (Chinese herbology)
Unani-Tibb medicine
Shamanic Herbalism
Many of the pharmaceuticals currently available to physicians have a long history of use as herbal remedies, including opium, aspirin, digitalis, and quinine. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the world's population presently uses herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care.Herbal medicine is a major component in all traditional medicine systems, and a common element in Ayurvedic, homeopathic, naturopathic, traditional Chinese medicine, and Native American medicine.
The use of, and search for, drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Pharmacologists, microbiologists, botanists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and leads that could be developed for treatment of various diseases. In fact, according to the World Health Organisation, approximately 25% of modern drugs used in the United States have been derived from plants.
Three quarters of plants that provide active ingredients for prescription drugs came to the attention of researchers because of their use in traditional medicine.[verification needed]
Among the 120 active compounds currently isolated from the higher plants and widely used in modern medicine today, 80 percent show a positive correlation between their modern therapeutic use and the traditional use of the plants from which they are derived.
More than two thirds of the world's plant species - at least 35,000 of which are estimated to have medicinal value - come from the developing countries.[verification needed]
At least 7,000 medical compounds in the modern pharmacopoeia are derived from plants


Few herbal remedies have conclusively demonstrated any positive effect on humans. Many of the studies cited refer to animal model investigations or in-vitro assays and therefore cannot provide more than weak supportive evidence.
Artichoke may reduce production cholesterol levels in in vitro studies. Clinical evidence of reduction in serum cholesterol is lacking.
Soy and other plants that contain phytoestrogens (plant molecules with estrogen activity) (black cohosh probably has serotonin activity) have some benefits for treatment of symptoms resulting from menopause.
Butterbur (Petasites )
Calendula
Cranberry may be effective in treating urinary tract infections in women with recurrent symptoms.
Echinacea extracts may limit the length and severity of rhinovirus colds; however, the appropriate dosage levels, which might be higher than is available over-the-counter, require further research.
Elderberry may speed the recovery from type A and B influenza. However it is possibly risky in the case of avian influenza because the immunostimulatory effects may aggravate the cytokine cascade.
Feverfew is sometimes used to treat migraine headaches.However, many reviews of these studies show no or unclear efficacy. However a more recent RTC showed favorable results,Feverfew is not recommended for pregnant women as it may be dangerous to the fetus.
Garlic may lower total cholesterol levels
Ginger
Purified extracts of the seeds of Hibiscus sabdariffa may have some antihypertensive, antifungal and antibacterial effect. Toxicity tested low except for an isolated case of damage to the testes of a rat after prolonged and excessive consumption.
Magnolia
Milk thistle
Nigella sativa (Black cumin) has demonstrated analgesic properties in mice. The mechanism for this effect, however, is unclear. In vitro studies support antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and immune modulating effects. However few randomized double blind studies have been published.
Oregano may be effective against multi-drug resistant bacteria.
Pawpaw can be used for insecticidal purposes (killing lice, worms).
Phytolacca or Pokeweed is used as a homeopathic remedy to treat many ailments. It can be applied topically or taken internally. Topical treatments have been used for acne and other ailments. It is used to treatment tonsilitis, swollen glands and weight loss.[citation needed]
Peppermint oil may have benefits for individuals with irritable bowel syndrome.
Pomegranate
Rauvolfia Serpentina, high risk of toxicity if improperly used[citation needed], used extensively in India for sleeplessness, anxiety, and high blood pressure.
Salvia lavandulaefolia may improve memory
St. John's wort, has yielded positive results, proving more effective than a placebo for the treatment of mild to moderate depression in some clinical trials A subsequent, large, controlled trial, however, found St. John's wort to be no better than a placebo in treating depression However more recent trials have shown positive results or positive trands that failed significance. A 2004 meta-analysis concluded that the positive results can be explained by publication bias but later analyses have been more favorable.The Cochrane Database cautions that the data on St. John's wort for depression are conflicting and ambiguous.
Saw Palmetto can be used for BPH. Supported in some studies, failed to confirm in otherrs.
Shittake
Valerian root can be used to treat insomnia. Clinical studies show mixed results and researchers note that many trials are of poor quality.
Vanilla
Ocimum gratissimum and tea tree oil can be used to treat acne.
Green tea components may inhibit growth of breast cancer cells and may heal scars faster.
Lemon grass can lower cholesterol.[citation needed]
Honey may reduce cholesterol. May be useful in wound healing.

Universal Postal Union.

The Universal Postal Union (UPU, French: Union postale universelle) is an international organization that coordinates postal policies between member nations, and hence the world-wide postal system. Each member country agrees to the same set of terms for conducting international postal duties. Universal Postal Union's headquarters are located in Berne, Switzerland

The UPU established that
1. There should be a more or less uniform flat rate to mail a letter anywhere in the world;
2. Postal authorities should give equal treatment to foreign and domestic mail; and
3. Each country should retain all monies it collected for international postage.

One of the most important results of the UPU treaty was that it ceased to be necessary, as it often had been previously, to affix the stamps of any country through which one's letter or package would pass in transit; the UPU provides that stamps of member nations are accepted for the whole international route.
After the foundation of the United Nations, the UPU became its specialized agency.
In 1969 the UPU introduced a new system of payment by which fees were payable between countries according to the difference in the total weight of mail between the respective countries. These fees were called terminal dues. The new system was fairer when traffic was heavier in one direction than the other. As this affected the cost of the delivery of periodicals, the UPU devised a new "threshold" system, which was implemented in 1991.
The system sets separate letter and periodical rates for countries which receive at least 150 tonnes of mail annually. For countries with less mail, the original flat rate has been maintained. The United States has negotiated a separate terminal dues formula with thirteen European countries that includes a rate per piece plus a rate per kilogram, and has a similar arrangement with Canada.

THE NAME IS MADHUBALA...................

Mumtaz Begum Jehan Dehlavi, was a popular Hindi film actress who starred in several successful films in the 1950s and early 1960s. Many have achieved classic and cult status today. With her contemporaries, Nargis and Meena Kumari, she is widely regarded as one of the most talented and influential actresses to have appeared on the screens of Indian cinema.

It was the film Mughal-e-Azam that marked what many consider to be her greatest and difinitive characterization as the doomed courtesan Anarkali. Director K. Asif, unaware of the extent of Madhubala's illness, required long and grueling shooting schedules that made heavy physical demands on her. Whether it was posing as a veiled statue in suffocating make-up for hours under the sweltering studio lights or being shackled with heavy chains. From 1951 through to 1959 Madhubala invested her best efforts into Mughal-e-Azam. Post 1957 and her separation from Dilip Kumar, the films remaining intimate romantic scenes were filmed under much tension and strain between Madhubala and her now, estranged co-star. This emotionally and physically taxing experience is widely perceived as a major factor in her subsequent decline in health and premature death.
On August 5, 1960, Mughal-e-Azam released and became the biggest grossing film at that time. A record that went un-broken for 15 years until the release of the film Sholay in 1975. It still ranks second in the list of all time box-office hits of Indian cinema (inflation adjusted). Despite performing alongside the most respected acting talent of the industry, Prithviraj Kapoor, Durga Khote, and Dilip Kumar, critics recognised and appreciated Madhubala's intelligent and multi layered performance. She received some recognition as a serious actress when she was nominated for a Filmfare Award. However she did not win losing out to Bina Rai for her performance in the film Ghunghat (1960). In Khatija Akbar's biography on Madhubala (see reference section), Dilip Kumar paid tribute to her talent: "Had she lived, and had she selected her films with more care, she would have been far superior to her contemporaries. Apart from this she also had a warm and cheerful nature. God had gifted her with so many things..."
In 1960, Mahubala hit the peak of her career and popularity with the release of back to back blockbusters Mughal E Azam and Barsaat Ki Raat. She was offered strong, author backed roles, but her deteriorating health did not permit her to enjoy this period and develop as an actress. At this point Madhubala became so ill that she could not accept any new films or even complete her existing assignments. In the biography by Khatija Akbar, her frequent co-star Dev Anand recalled "She was so robust and full of life. One could never conceive she was seriously ill. Then one day she just disappeared...".
She did have intermittent releases in the early 60s. Some of these, like Jhumroo (1961), Half Ticket (1962) and Sharabi (1964), even performed above average at the box-office. However most of her other films issued in this period were marred by her absence in later portions when her illness prevented her from completing them. They suffer from compromised editing and in some cases the use of "doubles" in an attempt to patch in scenes that Madhubala was unable to shoot. Her last released film Jwala, although filmed in the late 1950s, was not issued until 1971, two years after her death. Incidentally, apart from some Technicolor sequences in Mughal-e-Azam, Jwala is the only time Madhubala appeared in a colour film.

The great Mughals Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb lived here....................WELCOME TO AGRA FORT.

Agra Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra, India. The fort is also known as Lal Qila, Fort Rouge and Red Fort of Agra. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its much more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled palatial city.
It is the most important fort in India. The great Mughals Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb lived here, and the country was governed from here. It contained the largest state treasury and mint. It was visited by foreign ambassadors, travellers and the highest dignitaries who participated in the making of history in India.

This was originally a brick fort and the Chauhan Rajputs held it. It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 AD when a Ghaznavide force captured it. Sikandar Lodi (1487-1517) was the first Sultan of Delhi who shifted to Agra and lived in the fort. He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the 2nd capital. He died in the fort in 1517 and his son, Ibrahim Lodi, held it for nine years until he was defeated and killed at Panipat in 1526. Several palaces, wells and a mosque were built by him in the fort during his period.
After Panipat, Mughals captured the fort and a vast treasure - which included a diamond that was later named as the Koh-i-Nor diamond - was seized. Babur stayed in the fort in the palace of Ibrahim. He built a baoli (step well) in it. Humayun was coronated here in 1530. Humayun was defeated in Bilgram in 1530. Sher Shah held the fort for five years. The Mughals defeated the Afghans finally at Panipat in 1556.
Realizing the importance of its central situation, Akbar decided to make it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. His historian, Abdul Fazal, recorded that this was a brick fort known as 'Badalgarh' . It was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone. Architects laid the foundation and it was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces. Some 1444000 builders worked on it for eight years, completing it in 1573.
It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site finally took on its current state. The legend is that Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble, often inlaid with gold or semi-precious gems. He destroyed some of the earlier buildings inside the fort in order to make his own.
At the end of his life, Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son, Aurangzeb, in the fort, a punishment which might not seem so harsh, considering the luxury of the fort. It is rumored that Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with an excellent view of the Taj Mahal.
This was also a site of one of the battles during the Indian rebellion of 1857, which caused the end of the British East India Company's rule in India, and led to a century of direct rule of India by Britain
TITBITS..............
Agra Fort should not be confused with the much smaller Red Fort at Delhi. The Mughals never referred the Red Fort as a fort; rather, it was referred as the 'Lal Haveli', or the Red Bungalow. The Prime Minister of India addresses the nation from Delhi's Red Fort on August 15, India's Independence Day.
The Agra Fort plays a key role in the Sherlock Holmes mystery, The Sign of the Four, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The Agra Fort was featured in the music video for Habibi Da, a hit song of Egyptian pop star Hisham Abbas.

FORTS OF INDIA

Forts are repositories of history. They stand witness to great events of valour and sacrifice, treachery and cowardice. Built in hilly areas or on hilltops, in arid deserts or in waters along the coast, they have a charm and beauty of their own. Almost each one witnessed great battles and abundance of bloodshed. Some have stories of love and intrigue hidden in their stonewalls. The forts have held out a great attraction for everyone – the local who stands in awe of the past glory reflecting the pride that belonged to their forefathers and the person from far away, who comes to see, understand, admire and then become a part of that history at heart.
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines the ‘Fort’ as “a building or buildings specially made or strengthened for the military defence of an area.” In many cases, it also served as a palace or official place of residence of the ruler but all palaces were not located in forts. The same dictionary defines a ‘castle’ as “a large building or group of buildings with thick walls, towers, battlements, and sometimes a moat for defence.”
Forts have played an important part in the development of localities, be it the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk around which Mughal Delhi flourished or Fort William around which British Kolkata grew up. There are numerous towns ranging from Jhansi to Chandragiri which grew around forts. Some towns even acquired the names from the forts. Durg is fort in Hindi. Satara was so named because of the seventeen walls of the fort. Then there are famous monuments in certain cities and towns that overshadow the importance of the forts. Agra Fort pales into comparative insignificance against the glory of the Taj Mahal. Khajuraho temples overshadow Rajgarh Fort. In many places, only a few pieces of brick-and-mortar remain to remind us that a fort once stood there. Forts have been fascinating objects of study.

BUDDHA............A MESSENGER OF PEACE.....

Buddha was a spiritual teacher from ancient India and the founder of Buddhism. He is generally recognized by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha (Sammāsambuddha) of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians date his lifetime from circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE; more recently, however, at a specialist symposium on this question, the majority of those scholars who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death, with others supporting earlier or later dates.
According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha announced that he would soon enter Parinirvana or the final deathless state abandoning the earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which, according to different translations, was either a mushroom delicacy or soft pork, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha.
The Mahayana Vimalakirti Sutra explains, in Chapter 3, that the Buddha doesn't really become ill or old but purposely presents such an appearance only to teach those born during the five defilements the impermanence and pain of defiled worlds and to strive for Nirvana.

Buddha then asked all the attendant Bhikshus to clarify any doubts or questions they had. They had none. He then finally entered Parinirvana. The Buddha's final words were, "All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence." The Buddha's body was cremated and the relics were placed in monuments or stupas, some of which are believed to have survived until the present. For example, The Temple of the Tooth or "Dalada Maligawa" in Sri Lanka is the place where the relic of the right tooth of Buddha is kept at present.

Handicrafts of India

Handicraft, also known as craftwork or simply craft, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or using only simple tools. Usually the term is applied to traditional means of making goods. The individual artisanship of the items is a paramount criterion, such items often have cultural and/or religious significance. Items made by mass production or machines are not handicrafts.
Usually, what distinguishes the term handicraft from the frequently used category arts and crafts is a matter of intent: handicraft items are intended to be used, worn, et cetera, having a purpose beyond simple decoration. Handicrafts are generally considered more traditional work, created as a necessary part of daily life, while arts and crafts implies more of a hobby pursuit and a demonstration/perfection of a creative technique. In practical terms, the categories have a great deal of overlap

SANDALWOOD.............THE FRAGRANCE OF INDIA.......

Sandalwood is a name for fragrant woods and their essential oil. These are mostly derived from trees of the Santalaceae family. The name most frequently refers to species of the genus, Santalum; particuarly Santalum album and Santalum spicatum. Species of this tree are found in Nepal, Southern India, Sri Lanka, Hawaii, South Pacific islands and Australia. It is used as fragrance in perfume and incense, and for woodworking. Some temples have been built with sandalwood in India and these retain the aroma for centuries. Jewelry boxes, fans, and ornate carvings continue to be made in many parts of Asia, especially India, using sandalwood.

Indian sandalwood, is currently endangered and consequently very expensive. Although all sandalwood trees in India and Nepal are government-owned and their harvest is strictly controlled, many trees are illegally cut down and smuggled out of the country. Sandalwood essential oil prices have risen up to $1000-1500 per kg in the last 5 years. Some countries regard the sandal oil trade as ecologically harmful because it encourages the overharvesting of sandalwood trees. Sandalwood from Mysore region of Karnataka, Southern India is generally considered to be of the highest quality available. New plantations have been set up with international aid in Tamilnadu, in order to facilitate the economic benefits of sandalwood. To produce commercially valuable sandalwood with high levels of fragrance oils, harvested santalum trees have to be at least 40 years of age, but 80 or above is preferred. However, inferior sandalwood produced from trees at 30 years old can still fetch a decent price due to the demand for real sandalwood.

In Hinduism, sandalwood is often used for rituals or ceremonies. Its use as an embalming paste is used in temples on idols. A vast majority of hindus wear a small mark of this paste on their forehead right above the middle of the eyes. It is supposed to keep cool the body and the mind.

Flora & Fauna of INDIA.

India encompasses some of the world's most biodiverse regions. The political boundaries of India encompass a wide range of ecozones—desert, high mountains, highlands, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands, riverine areas as well as island archipelago. It hosts three biodiversity hotspots: the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas, and the hilly ranges that straddle the India-Myanmar border. These hotspots have numerous endemic species.
India's 3,166,414 square kilometres shows a notable diversity of habitats, with significant variations in rainfall, altitude, topography, and latitude. The region is also heavily influenced by summer monsoons that cause major seasonal changes in vegetation and habitat.
India forms a large part of the Indomalayan biogeographical zone and many of the floral and faunal forms show Malayan affinities with only a few taxa being unique to the Indian region. The unique forms includes the snake family Uropeltidae found only in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. Fossil taxa from the Cretaceous show links to the Seychelles and Madagascar chain of islands. The Cretaceous fauna include reptiles, amphibians and fishes and an extant species demonstrating this phylogeographical link is the Purple Frog. The separation of India and Madagascar is estimated to have taken place about 88 million years ago. A fossil tooth of what is believed to be of from a Lemur like primate from the Bugti Hills of central Pakistan however has led to suggestions that the Lemurs may have originated in Asia. These fossils are however from the Oligocene (30 million years ago) and have led to controversy. Lemur fossils from India in the past led to theories of a lost continent called Lemuria. This theory however was dismissed when continental drift and plate tectonics became well established.
The flora and fauna of India have been studied from very early times and recorded in folk traditions and later by researchers following more rigorous scientific approaches (See Natural history in India).
A little under 5% of this total area is formally classified under protected areas.
India is home to several well known large mammals including the Asian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Leopard and Indian Rhinoceros. Some of these animals are engrained in culture, often being associated with deities.
These large mammals are important for wildlife tourism in India and several national parks and wildlife sanctuaries cater to these needs. The popularity of these charismatic animals have helped greatly in conservation efforts in India. The tiger has been particularly important and Project Tiger started in 1972 was a major effort to conserve the tiger and its habitats. Project Elephant, though less known, started in 1992 and works for elephant protection. Most of India's rhinos today survive in the Kaziranga National Park.
Other well known large Indian mammals include ungulates such as the Water Buffalo, Nilgai, Gaur and several species of deer and antelope. Some members of the dog family such as the Indian Wolf, Bengal Fox, Golden Jackal and the Dhole or Wild Dogs are also widely distributed. It is also home to the Striped Hyaena. Many smaller animals such as the Macaques, Langurs and Mongoose species are especially well known due to their ability to live close to or inside urban areas.

Gandhi's Campaign Begins.......................

Mahatma Gandhi, along with many members of the Congress Party, had a long-standing commitment to non-violent civil disobedience, which he termed satyagraha, as the basis for achieving Indian independence. Referring to the relationship between satyagraha and Purna Swaraj, Gandhi saw "an inviolable connection between the means and the end as there is between the seed and the tree." He wrote, "If the means employed are impure, the change will not be in the direction of progress but very likely in the opposite. Only a change brought about in our political condition by pure means can lead to real progress."
Satyagraha is a synthesis of the Sanskrit words Satya (truth) and Agraha (holding firmly to). For Gandhi, satyagraha went far beyond mere "passive resistance" and became strength in practicing non-violent methods. In his words:
Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) engenders and therefore serves as a synonym for force. I thus began to call the Indian movement Satyagraha, that is to say, the Force which is born of Truth and Love or non-violence, and gave up the use of the phrase “passive resistance”, in connection with it, so much so that even in English writing we often avoided it and used instead the word “satyagraha”....
His first significant attempt in India at leading mass satyagraha was the Non-cooperation movement from 1920-1922. Even though it succeeded in raising millions of Indians in protest against the British created Rowlatt Acts, violence broke out at Chauri Chaura, where a mob killed 22 unarmed policemen. Gandhi suspended the protest, against the opposition of other Congress members. He decided that Indians were not yet ready for successful non-violent resistance. The Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928 was much more successful. It succeeded in paralysing the British government and winning significant concessions. More importantly, due to extensive press coverage, it scored a propaganda victory out of all proportion to its size. Gandhi later claimed that success at Bardoli confirmed his belief in Satyagraha and Swaraj: "It is only gradually that we shall come to know the importance of the victory gained at Bardoli...Bardoli has shown the way and cleared it. Swaraj lies on that route, and that alone is the cure..." Gandhi recruited heavily from the Bardoli Satyagraha participants for the Dandi march, which passed through many of the same villages that took part in the Bardoli protests.

On March 12, 1930, Gandhi and 78 male satyagrahis set out on foot for the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat, 390 kilometres (240 miles) from their starting point at Sabarmati Ashram. According to The Statesman, the official government newspaper which usually played down the size of crowds at Gandhi's functions, 100,000 people crowded the road that separated Sabarmati from Ahmedabad. The first day's march of 21 kilometres (13 miles) ended in the village of Aslali, where Gandhi spoke to a crowd of about 4,000. At Aslali, and the other villages that the march passed through, volunteers collected donations, registered new satyagrahis, and received resignations from village officials who chose to end cooperation with British rule.
As they entered each village, crowds greeted the marchers, beating drums and cymbals. Gandhi gave speeches attacking the salt tax as inhuman, and the salt satyagraha as a "poor man's battle." Each night they slept in the open, asking of the villagers nothing more than simple food and a place to rest and wash. Gandhi felt that this would bring the poor into the battle for independence, necessary for eventual victory.
Thousands of satyagrahis and leaders like Sarojini Naidu joined him. Every day, more and more people joined the march. At Surat, they were greeted by 30,000 people. When they reached the railhead at Dandi, more than 50,000 were gathered. Gandhi gave interviews and wrote articles along the way. Foreign journalists made him a household name in Europe and America. The New York Times wrote almost daily about the Salt March, including two front page articles on April 6 and April 7. Near the end of the march, Gandhi declared, "I want world sympathy in this battle of Right against Might."
Upon arriving at the seashore on April 5, Gandhi was interviewed by an Associated Press reporter. He stated:
I cannot withhold my compliments from the government for the policy of complete non interference adopted by them throughout the march .... I wish I could believe this non-interference was due to any real change of heart or policy. The wanton disregard shown by them to popular feeling in the Legislative Assembly and their high-handed action leave no room for doubt that the policy of heartless exploitation of India is to be persisted in at any cost, and so the only interpretation I can put upon this non-interference is that the British Government, powerful though it is, is sensitive to world opinion which will not tolerate repression of extreme political agitation which civil disobedience undoubtedly is, so long as disobedience remains civil and therefore necessarily non-violent .... It remains to be seen whether the Government will tolerate as they have tolerated the march, the actual breach of the salt laws by countless people from tomorrow.
The following morning, after a prayer, Gandhi raised a lump of salty mud and declared, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." He then boiled it in seawater, producing illegal salt. He implored his thousands of followers to likewise begin making salt along the seashore, "wherever it is convenient" and to instruct villagers in making illegal salt.

WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES............

The Indian Air Force is the air-arm of the Armed Forces of India and has the prime responsibility of conducting aerial warfare and securing the Indian airspace. It was established on October 8, 1932 as the Indian Air Force. It was granted the prefix "Royal" in 1945 in recognition of its services during the Second World War. The prefix Royal was dropped after India became a Republic in 1950. With its headquarters in New Delhi, the Indian Air Force has a strength of approximately 170,000 personnel and 1,350 combat aircraft (2006 figure) making it the fourth largest air force in the world.

IndiaPost released the miniature sheet on the eve of 75 years of INDIAN AIR FORCE on 08 oct, 2007

THE MOUNT EVEREST....................................

The Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height of its summit above sea level, which is 8,848 meters or 29,028 feet. The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Nepal and Tibet, China. By the end of the 2007 climbing season there had been 3,679 ascents to the summit by 2,436 individuals. There have been 210 deaths on the mountain, where conditions are so difficult that most corpses have been left where they fell; some are visible from standard climbing routes.
Climbers range from experienced mountaineers to relative novices who count on their paid guides to get them to the top. This means climbers are a significant source of tourist revenue for Nepal, whose government also requires all prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, costing up to $25,000 (USD) per person.

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, (July 20, 1919 – January 11, 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt
Tenzing Norgay (May 1914 – May 9, 1986), often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese / Tibetan [mountaineer]. Near his 39th birthday on 29 May 1953, he and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first people known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

OUR RAILWAYS TRAVEL THE LENGTH AND BREADTH OF THE COUNTRY......

A plan for a rail system in India was first put forward in 1832, but no further steps were taken for more than a decade. In 1844, the Governor-General of India Lord Hardinge allowed private entrepreneurs to set up a rail system in India. Two new railway companies were created and the East India Company was asked to assist them. Interest from investors in the UK led to the rapid creation of a rail system over the next few years. The first train in India became operational on 22 December 1851, and was used for the hauling of construction material in Roorkee. A year and a half later, on 16 April 1853, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder, Bombay and Thane. Covering a distance of 34 km (21 miles), it was hauled by three locomotives, Sahib, Sindh and Sultan. This was the formal birth of railways in India.

The British government encouraged new railway companies backed by private investors under a scheme that would guarantee an annual return of five percent during the initial years of operation. Once established, the company would be transferred to the government, with the original company retaining operational control. By 1875, about £95 million were invested by British companies in Indian guaranteed railways. The route mileage of this network was about 14,500 km (9,000 miles) by 1880, mostly radiating inward from the three major port cities of Bombay (Mumbai), Madras (Chennai) and Calcutta ( Kolkata). By 1895, India had started building its own locomotives, and in 1896 sent engineers and locomotives to help build the Uganda Railway.

Soon various independent kingdoms built their own rail systems and the network spread to the regions that became the modern-day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. A Railway Board was constituted in 1901, but decision-making power was retained by the Viceroy, Lord Curzon. The Railway Board operated under aegis of the Department of Commerce and Industry and had three members: a government railway official serving as chairman, a railway manager from England and an agent of one of the company railways. For the first time in its history, the Railways began to make a tidy profit. In 1907, almost all the rail companies were taken over by the government.
The following year, the first electric locomotive appeared. With the arrival of the First World War, the railways were used to meet the needs of the British outside India. By the end of the First World War, the railways had suffered immensely and were in a poor state. The government took over the management of the Railways and removed the link between the financing of the Railways and other governmental revenues in 1920, a practice that continues to date with a separate railway budget.
As Vivek Narnolia puts in, The Second World War severely crippled the railways as rolling stock was diverted to the Middle East, and the railway workshops were converted into munitions workshops. At the time of independence in 1947, about 40 per cent of the railways then went to the newly independent republic of Pakistan. A total of forty-two separate railway systems, including thirty-two lines owned by the former Indian princely states, were amalgamated as a single unit which was christened as the Indian Railways.
The existing rail networks were abandoned in favour of zones in 1951 and a total of six zones came into being in 1952. As the economy of India improved, almost all railway production units were indigenised. By 1985, steam locomotives were phased out in favour of diesel and electric locomotives. The entire railway reservation system was streamlined with computerisation in 1995.
Indian Railways is the second largest employer in the world, after the Chinese military.

And today,It is one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting sixteen million passengers and more than one million tonnes of freight daily. IR is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.6 million employees.
The railways traverse the length and breadth of the country; the routes cover a total length of 63,140 km (39,233 miles). As of 2002, IR owned a total of 216,717 wagons, 39,263 coaches and 7,739 locomotives and ran a total of 14,444 trains daily, including about 8,702 passenger trains.

Snakes of India...........

A snake is an elongate reptile of the suborder Serpentes. Like all reptiles, snakes are ectothermic and covered in scales. All snakes are carnivorous and can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids, limbs, external ears, and vestiges of forelimbs. The 2,900 species of snakes spread across every continent except Antarctica ranging in size from the tiny, 10 cm long threa snake to pythons and anacondas over 7 meters long. In order to accommodate snakes' narrow bodies, paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side.
While venomous snakes comprise a minority of the species of snakes and are typically small innocuous creatures, some possess potent venom capable of causing painful injury or death to humans. However, venom in snakes is primarily for killing and subduing prey rather than for self-defense.
Snakes may have evolved from a lizard which adapted to burrowing during the Cretaceous period (c 150 Ma), though some scientists have postulated an aquatic origin. The diversity of modern snakes appeared during the Paleocene period (c 66 to 56 Ma).
A literary word for snake is serpent (a Middle English word which comes from Old French, and ultimately from *serp-, "to creep"). In modern usage, the term serpent usually refers to a mythic or symbolic snake. In Christianity, the serpent is often identified with the devil, as in the Biblical account of Adam and Eve

Save trees..................Save forests!!!

The success or value of any project, be it the construction of the pyramids of ancient Egypt or the nursing of a baby, can only be gauged after as long a time as possible; the pyramids have endured centuries of weathering and man's destructive activities, the health of the grown up human being is greatly the result of infant care.
The productivity of any ecosystem is taken for granted, until when the system begins to deteriorate and perceptive people sound the alarm. This happened with the mangroves; as early as the seventies UNESCO sounded the alarm. It took some ten years of persuasion to convince funding agencies that mangroves far from being wastelands, provide directly and indirectly for the livelihood of millions of people of the coastal area of the tropical belt. Obvious and hidden services and benefits provided by the mangrove ecosystem had always been taken for granted by the local people, but the same mangrove swamps had been hotly condemned as hazards to navigation and unhealthy places for humans, by the early European navigators of the age of discoveries and others after them.

Mangroves (generally) are trees and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics. The word is used in at least three senses,

(1) most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal , for which the terms mangrove swamp and mangrove forest are also used,

(2) to refer to all trees and large shrubs in the mangal,

(3) narrowly to refer to the mangrove family of plants, the Rhizophoraceae, or even more specifically just to mangrove trees of the genus Rhizophora. Mangals are found in depositional coastal environments where fine sediments, often with high organic content, collect in areas protected from high energy wave action.

Once established, roots of mangrove plants provide a habitat for oysters and help to impede water flow, thereby enhancing the deposition of sediment in areas where it is already occurring. Usually, the fine, anoxic sediments under mangroves act as sinks for a variety of heavy (trace) metals which are scavenged from the overlying seawater by colloidal particles in the sediments. In areas of the world where mangroves have been removed for development purposes, the disturbance of these underlying sediments often creates problems of trace metal contamination of seawater and biota.

Mangroves protect the coast from erosion, surge storms, especially during hurricanes, and tsunamis. Their massive root system is efficient at dissipating wave energy. Likewise, they slow down tidal water enough that its sediment is deposited as the tide comes in and is not re-suspended when the tide leaves, except for fine particles. As a result, mangroves build their own environment. Because of the uniqueness of the mangrove ecosystems and their protection against erosion, they are often the object of conservation programs including national Biodiversity Action Plans.

An ambassador of India's rich maritime heritage.....

INS Tarangini is the first sail training ship of the Indian Navy. Her name has been derived from the Hindi word tarang which means ‘waves’. Constructed by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), she was commissioned in the Indian Navy on November 11, 1997. The ship's complement includes 6 officers, 27 crew and 30 trainees. She provides an ideal setting for the first-hand experience to the cadets embarking on a Naval career. The training onboard aims not only to expose young officers and sailors to the use of sails and various types of operations of the ships of bygone era but also to inclucate in each trainee, esprit de corps, physical and mental agility and leadership qualities

INDIAPOST released this INS TARANGINI miniature sheet on April 25,2004.

Each wrinkle on her face tells a story..............

MOTHER TERESA was a Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata(Calcutta), India in 1950. For over forty years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries.
By the 1970s she had become internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless, due in part to a documentary, and book, Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity continued to expand, and at the time of her death it was operating 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, orphanages, and schools.
Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

A Life for the people.....A Life for the country

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha—a philosophy that is largely concerned with truth and 'resistance to evil through active, non-violent resistance—which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is commonly known in India and across the world as the Mahatma("Great Soul" - an epithet given by Tagore)and as Bapu ("father"in gujarati)In India, he is officially accorded the honour of Father of the Nation and October 2, his birthday, is commemorated each year as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday. On 15 June 2007, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution declaring October 2 to be the "International Day of Non-Violence."
indiapost released this minature sheet in the year 1995.