Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Location of Garsain
Mains level: Issues over multiple capitals
The Uttarakhand Governor has given her assent for declaration of Bhararisen (Gairsain) in Chamoli district as its summer capital.
Practice question:
Q. Discuss the feasibility of having multiple administrative capitals for some states in India.
Gairsain
- Gairsain is situated at the eastern edge of the vast Dudhatoli mountain range, located almost at the centre of the state, at a distance of approximately 250 kilometres from Dehradun.
- It is easily accessible from both the Garhwal and the Kumaon divisions, and in a way, acts as the bridge between the two regions.
- The state Assembly is located in Dehradun, but sessions are held in Gairsain as well.
Why Gairsain is held as summer capital?
- Gairsain was best suited to be the capital of the mountainous state as it was a hilly region falling on the border of Kumaon and Garhwal regions.
- Even when Uttarakhand was carved out as a separate state from UP on November 9, 2000, statehood activists had contended that Gairsain was best suited to be the capital.
- But it was Dehradun in the plains that were named the temporary capital. The issue is largely political.
What are the other examples of multiple capital cities?
- Several countries in the world have implemented the concept.
- In Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the official capital and seat of the national legislature, while Colombo is the de facto seat of the national executive and judicial bodies.
- Malaysia has its official and royal capital and seat of the national legislature at Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya is the administrative centre and seat of the national judiciary.
- Among Indian states, Maharashtra has two capitals– Mumbai and Nagpur (which holds the winter session of the state assembly).
- Himachal Pradesh has capitals at Shimla and Dharamshala (winter).
- The former state of Jammu & Kashmir had Srinagar and Jammu (winter) as capitals (remember Darbar Move).
Also read:
Concept of three capitals in Andhra Pradesh
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ARPIT
Mains level: Not Much
The Indian Air Force has developed and inducted an Airborne Rescue Pod for Isolated Transportation (ARPIT).
This rescue pod ARPIT can be used as an example of self-sufficiency under the ambitious Atmanirbhar Abhiyan.
What is ARPIT?
- ARPIT is a lightweight isolation system made from aviation certified material.
- It has a transparent and durable cast Perspex for enhanced patient visibility which is larger, higher and wider than the existing models.
- The isolation system caters for the suitable number of air exchanges, integration of medical monitoring instruments, and ventilation to an intubated patient.
- In addition, it generates high constant negative pressure in the isolation chamber for prevention of infection risk to aircrew, ground crew and health care workers involved in air transportation.
- It utilizes High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) H-13 class filters and supports invasive ventilation using Transport Ventilator.
It’s utility
- This pod will be utilized for the evacuation of critical patients with infectious diseases including COVID-19 from high altitude area, isolated and remote places.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Serotonin
Mains level: Locusts invasion and its threats
Scientists have attempted to answer an important scientific question of how and why locusts collect together by the thousands in order to make a swarm.
Quite often, Oxytocin hormone is seen in the news for its commercial uses and associated ethical concerns. Kindly go through Oxytocin and issues over its commercial use
What causes Locusts to form huge swarms?
- When lone locusts happen to come near each other (looking for food) and happen to touch each other, this tactile stimulation, even just in a little area of the back limbs, causes their behaviour to change.
- This mechanical stimulation affects a couple of nerves in the animal’s body, their behaviour changes, leading to their coming together.
- The central nervous system of the locust, the most important among them being serotonin which regulates mood and social behaviour is the mystery behind swarms.
- Their coming together triggers a mechanical (touch) and neurochemical (serotonin) stimulations to make crowding occur.
What is Serotonin?
- It is a monoamine neurotransmitter.
- It has a popular image as a contributor to feelings of well-being and happiness.
- Its actual biological function is complex and multifaceted, modulating cognition, reward, learning, memory, and numerous physiological processes such as vomiting and vasoconstriction.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Malabar Naval Exercise
Mains level: India-Australia bilateral relations
India is prepared to expand the Malabar trilateral naval exercise involving India, the U.S. and Japan, to permanently include Australia.
Go through the list for once. UPSC may ask a match the pair type question asking exercise name and countries involved.
[Prelims Spotlight] Defence Exercises
About Ex. Malabar
- Exercise Malabar is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners.
- Originally begun in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States, Japan became a permanent partner in 2015.
- Past non-permanent participants are Australia and Singapore.
- The annual Malabar series began in 1992 and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises.
Significance of Australia’s inclusion
- Earlier, India had concerns that it would give the appearance of a “quadrilateral military alliance” aimed at China.
- Now both look forward to the cooperation in the ‘Indo-Pacific’ and the strengthening of defence ties.
- This has led to a convergence of mutual interest in many areas for a better understanding of regional and global issues.
- Both are expected to conclude the long-pending Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) as part of measures to elevate the strategic partnership.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Superconductivity
Mains level: Not Much
On a larger scale, electric grids, such as high power lines, lose over 5 per cent of their energy in the process of transmission.
In India, we often get to hear about the transmission losses in DISCOMS. Such losses can be zeroed with the application of superconducting cables (which is practically impossible unless we find a normal working one). The phenomena, superconductivity, however is not new to us, UPSC may end up asking some tricky statements in the prelims regarding it.
Heat losses
Waste heat is all around you. On a small scale, if your phone or laptop feels warm, that’s because some of the energy powering the device is being transformed into unwanted heat.
Where does this wasted heat come from?
- These elementary particles of an atom move around and interact with other electrons and atoms.
- Because they have an electric charge, as they move through a material — like metals, which can easily conduct electricity — they scatter off other atoms and generate heat.
Understanding Superconductivity
- A superconductor is a material, such as a pure metal like aluminium or lead, that when cooled to ultra-low temperatures allows electricity to move through it with absolutely zero resistance.
- Kamerlingh Onnes was the first scientist who figured out exactly how superconductor works in 1911.
- Simply put, superconductivity occurs when two electrons bind together at low temperatures.
- They form the building block of superconductors, the Cooper pair.
- This holds true even for a potential superconductor like lead when it is above a certain temperature.
What are Superconductors?
- Superconductors are materials that address this problem by allowing energy to flow efficiently through them without generating unwanted heat.
- They have great potential and many cost-effective applications.
- They operate magnetically levitated trains, generate magnetic fields for MRI machines and recently have been used to build quantum computers, though a fully operating one does not yet exist.
Issues with superconductors
- They have an essential problem when it comes to other practical applications: They operate at ultra-low temperatures.
- There are no room-temperature superconductors. That “room-temperature” part is what scientists have been working on for more than a century.
- The amount of energy needed to cool a material down to its superconducting state is too expensive for daily applications.
Future scope
- In a dramatic turn of events, a new kind of superconductor material was discovered in 1987 at IBM in Zurich, Switzerland.
- The material was a kind of ceramic. These new ceramic superconductors were made of copper and oxygen mixed with other elements such as lanthanum, barium and bismuth.
- They contradicted everything physicists thought they knew about making superconductors.
- Since then, curiosity regarding the superconductors has been ever increasing.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pashmina Goats
Mains level: NA
The Chinese Army’s intrusion in Chumur and Demchok has left Ladakh’s nomadic herding Changpa community cut off from large parts of summer pastures.
Pashmina shawl is a landmark product of the Kashmir Valley. But make a note here. It carries only a BIS certification and not a Geographical Indicator.
Also try this PYQ from CSP 2014:
Q. With reference to ‘Changpa’ community of India, consider the following statement:
1. They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand.
2. They rear the Pashmina goats that yield fine wool.
3. They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Changpa Tribes
- The Changpa of Ladakh is high altitude pastoralists, raising mainly yaks and goats.
- Among the Ladakh Changpa, those who are still nomadic are known as Phalpa, and they take their herds from in the Hanley Valley to the village of Lato.
- Hanley is home to six isolated settlements, where the sedentary Changpa, the Fangpa reside.
- Despite their different lifestyles, both these groups intermarry.
- The Changpa speak Changskhat, a dialect of Tibetan, and practice Tibetan Buddhism.
What is the issue?
- The Chinese Army has taken over 16 kanals (two acres) of cultivable land in Chumur and advanced around 15 km inside Demchok, taking over traditional grazing pastures and cultivable lowlands.
- In a cascading effect, this has resulted in a sharp rise in deaths of young Pashmina goats this year in the Korzok-Chumur belt of Changthang plateau in Ladakh.
- This incursion has destabilized the annual seasonal migration of livestocks, including yaks and Pashmina goats.
Back2Basics: Pashmina
- The Changthangi or Ladakh Pashmina is a breed of Cashmere goat native to the high plateau of Ladakh.
- The much-valued wool from the Ladakh herds is essential for the prized Pashmina shawls woven in Kashmir and famous for their intricate handwork.
- They survive on the grass in Ladakh, where temperatures plunge to as low as −20 °C.
- These goats provide the wool for Kashmir’s famous pashmina shawls. Shawls made from Pashmina wool are considered very fine and are exported worldwide.
- Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has recently published an Indian Standard for identification, marking and labelling of Pashmina products to certify its purity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Deccan Queen
Mains level: NA
The historic Deccan Queen train between Mumbai and Pune completed 90 years on June 1.
Take the opportunity to revise some of reformative measure in the Indian Railways taken through these years. Click here to read more .
The Deccan Queen
- The Deccan Queen was introduced between Mumbai and Pune on June 1, 1930 by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR), the forerunner of the Central Railway.
- This was the first deluxe train introduced to serve the two important cities of the region, and was named after Pune – also known as the “Queen of Deccan”.
- It is among the rare Indian trains that have never been hauled using steam traction and were always electric-powered; on rare instances running on diesel.
- The GIPR in the 1940s would run Race Special trains for Mumbai’s horse racing enthusiasts who would come to Pune on weekends and race days.
- This train holds many a record, including that of being India’s first superfast train, first long-distance electric-hauled train, first vestibuled train, the first train to have a ‘women-only’ car, and the first train to feature a dining car.
Back2Basics: Railways in India
- Indian Railways started its service 164 years ago on 16 April 1853.
- The first railway proposals for India were made in Madras in 1832.
- The first train was run over a stretch of 33 kilometres from Mumbai to Thane and was hauled by three steam locomotives named Sahib, Sindh and Sultan.
- Indian Railway now has the 4th largest rail network in the world after the United States of America, China and Russia.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Antifa
Mains level: Racial antagonism across the world
As massive protests following the death of a person in racial discrimination continued to rock the US, President Donald Trump has announced that the alleged far-left group Antifa would be designated as a terrorist organisation by his government.
One can expect a similar prelims question:
Q. The Antifa movement recently seen in news is an: Free trade movement/Anti-terror movement etc.
Why the US seeks to ban Antifa?
- Trump has blamed for the protests that have convulsed cities across the US,
- Antifa is considered the loosely affiliated group of far-left anti-fascist activists.
Antifa: The group
- Antifa is an acronym for ‘Anti-Fascist’. It is not an organisation with a leader nor does it have a defined structure or membership roles.
- Antifa has been around for several decades, though accounts vary on its exact beginnings.
- The term dates the term as far back as Nazi Germany, describing the etymology of ‘Antifa’ as “borrowed from German Antifa, short for antifaschistische ‘anti-fascist’.
- Rather, Antifa is more of a movement of activists whose followers share a philosophy and tactics.
- They have made their presence known at protests, including the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
Its members
- It is impossible to know how many people count themselves as members.
- Its followers acknowledge that the movement is secretive, has no official leaders and is organised into autonomous local cells.
- It is also only one in a constellation of activist movements that have come together in the past few years to oppose the far right.
- Antifa members campaign against actions they view as authoritarian, homophobic, racist or xenophobic.
Activism over years
- Antifa members typically dress in black and often wear a mask at their demonstrations, and follow far-left ideologies such as anti-capitalism.
- The movement has been known to have a presence in the US in the 1980s.
- It shot into prominence following the election of President Trump in 2016, with violence marking some of its protests and demonstrations.
- Criticizing mainstream liberal politicians for not doing enough, Antifa members have often physically confronted their conservative opponents on the streets.
- The group also participates in non-violent protests. Apart from public counter-protests, Antifa members run websites that track white extremist and ultra-right groups.
Criticisms
- The movement has been widely criticised among the mainstream left and right.
- Conservative publications and politicians routinely rail against supporters of Antifa, who they say are seeking to shut down peaceful expression of conservative views.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: D10 Club
Mains level: Not Much
Britain said that it was pushing the U.S. to form a club of 10 nations that could develop its own 5G technology and reduce dependence on Huawei.
We can expect prelims question asking the purpose of the D10 group like-
Q. The D10 Club recently seen in news is a- Environment NGO/ Group of Democracies/ etc.
The D10 Club
- The Britain is proposing a ‘D10’ club of democratic partners that groups the G7 nations with Australia and the Asian technology leaders South Korea and India.
- It would include G7 countries – UK, US, Italy, Germany, France, Japan and Canada – plus Australia, South Korea and India.
- It is aimed for channelling investments into existing telecommunication companies within the 10 member states.
- The group aim to create alternative suppliers of 5G equipment and other technologies to avoid relying on China.
Ruling out Huawei
- Britain has allowed the Chinese global leader in 5G technology to build up to 35% of the infrastructure necessary to roll out its new speedy data network.
- But their PM Boris Johnson was reported to have instructed officials to draw up plans to cut Huawei out of the network by 2023 as relations with China sour.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
Mains level: NA
The Oil India Ltd (OIL) leak in Assam has contaminated water bodies that flow into the Maguri Motapung Beel, a large wetland, and the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park (DSNP).
Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:
Q. Which of the following are in Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve?
(a) Neyyar, Peppara and Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuaries; and Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve
(b) Mudumalai, Sathyamangalam and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuaries; and Silent Valley National Park
(c) Kaundinya, Gundla Brahme-swaram and Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuaries; and Mukurthi National Park
(d) Kawal and Sri Venkateswara Wildlife Sanctuaries; and Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve
About Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
- DSNP is a national park in Assam located in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.
- It was designated a Biosphere Reserve in July 1997 with an area of 765 sq.km.
- The park is bounded by the Brahmaputra and Lohit Rivers in the north and Dibru river in the south.
- It mainly consists of moist mixed semi-evergreen forests, moist mixed deciduous forests, canebrakes and grasslands.
- It is the largest Salix swamp forest in north-eastern India, with a tropical monsoon climate with a hot and wet summer and cool and usually dry winter.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Band-tail scorpionfish
Mains level: NA
A rare band-tail scorpionfish was recently found in the Gulf of Mannar.
A stand-alone species being mentioned in the news for the first time (and that too from Southern India) find their way into the prelims. Make special note here. Usually, note the species and its habitat location (IUCN status if available), in the purview of a generic prelims question.
Band-tail scorpionfish
- The band-tail scorpionfish (Scorpaenospsis neglecta) camouflages within the seagrass meadows.
- It is well-known for its stinging venomous spines and ability to change colour.
- The fish has the ability to change colour and blend with its surrounding environment to escape from predators and while preying.
- The fish is called ‘scorpionfish’ because its spines contain neurotoxic venom.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Amaltas Tree
Mains level: NA
The Amaltas or Indian laburnum has begun blooming this summer.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2018:
Q. Why is a plant called Prosopis juliflora often mentioned in news?
(a) Its extract is widely used in cosmetics.
(b) It tends to reduce the biodiversity in the area in which it grows
(c) Its extract is used in the pesticides.
(d) None of the above
Amaltas Tree
- The Amaltas (Cassia fistula linn), native to South-East Asia is one of the most widespread trees in India and South-East Asia, with their presence both in cities as well as in moist and dry forests.
- It has drooping clusters of bright fragrant yellow flowers with five petals and characteristic cylindrical fruits.
- The Amaltas is known by so many names — Indian Laburnum, Golden Shower, Purging Fistula, Pudding-pipe tree, Girmala, Rajbrikh, Alash, Kiar, Kirwara, Ali — showing us how common and loved it is.
- It is both the national tree and the national flower of Thailand and is also the state flower of Kerala.
Features of Amaltas
- This middle-sized deciduous tree is leafless only for a brief time, between March and May.
- The new leaves are glossy, a trait that they lose on maturing, and are mostly bright green, though sometimes a rich copper too.
- It flowers from April to June, partly alongside the emergence of new leaves, but it’s not uncommon to find the Amaltas in flower as late as September.
- The bark is yellowish at first, slowly coarsens with age and turning dark grey.
Significance
- The tree is mostly known to be ornamental and few know of its benefits as a medicinal plant, and one that’s loved by some mammals, bees, and butterflies.
- The bark is used to make dye and the pulp in the fruit pod also serves as a strong purgative agent, which also helps animals that feed on it.
- A medicinal preparation with the roots of the tree is used to cure leprosy and skin diseases and the leaves are used to get rid ulcers, in traditional medicine.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Demo 2 Mission
Mains level: Not Much
NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight has now been rescheduled for May 31, due to weather conditions. Apart from the test flight itself, what’s getting attention are the spacesuits that the astronauts will wear while travelling in the SpaceX capsule, called Crew Dragon.
Try this question from CSP 2014:
Q. Which of the following pair is/are correctly matched?
| Spacecraft |
Purpose |
| 1. Cassini-Huygens |
Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth |
| 2. Messenger |
Mapping and investigating the Mercury |
| 3. Voyager 1 and 2 |
Exploring the outer solar system |
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
The SpaceX spacesuit
- The so-called “Starman suits” the astronauts will wear on the Demo-2 mission have been designed by a famous Hollywood costume designer.
- The SpaceX spacesuits are different from other spacesuits typically worn by astronauts because of their sleek design and are being described as resembling a tuxedo.
- These spacesuits are meant to be lighter and more flexible, are equipped with touchscreen gloves, have vents that allow astronauts to be cooler while maintaining pressure inside the suit, and have an incorporated helmet and visor.
- The helmets of these suits are 3D printed with touchscreen-sensitive gloves and the suit is all in one piece, customised for the wearer.
How are launch-and-entry spacesuits different from EMUs?
- The SpaceX suits are only meant to be worn inside the space shuttle and are not suitable for carrying out spacewalks.
- Spacesuits for spacewalks, called Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), are heavier than launch-entry suits (LES) and are already present aboard the ISS.
- While inside the spacecraft, the atmosphere can be controlled, to explore and work in space, humans require that they take their environment with them because there are atmospheric pressure and no oxygen to sustain life.
- Such spacesuits – EMUs — are worn for spacewalks or extravehicular activities (EVA) conducted outside a space shuttle.
- These provide astronauts with oxygen supply and protect them against extreme temperatures, radiation and space dust.
Back2Basics
Demo-2 Mission by SpaceX
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cordyceps militaris
Mains level: NA
A university in Assam has developed a fungal powder to help people boost their immunity to disease.
Try this question from CSP 2019:
Q.) Recently, there was a growing awareness in our country about the importance of Himalayan nettle (Girardinia diversifolia) because it is found to be a sustainable source of
(a) anti-malarial drug
(b) bio-diesel
(c) pulp for paper industry
(d) textile fibre
A similar question related to Cordyceps militaris can be asked. UPSC may ask whether it is a Fungi, Algae, a Moss or a Lichen.
Cordyceps militaris
- The powder is from a parasitic but rare “super mushroom” called Cordyceps militaris.
- The militaris underwent powdering through lyophilisation or freeze-drying at –80°C.
- The earth has more than 400 species of Cordyceps, a fungus parasitic on insects as well as other fungi.
- Often referred to as a super mushroom, Cordyceps known for its anti-ageing, anti-viral, energy and immunity-boosting effect.
- Natural Cordyceps is hard to get and if dried, costs at least ₹8 lakh per kg.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Asian Koel
Mains level: NA
Asian Koel, the state bird of Puducherry, is now breeding across Delhi-NCR.
For such species, related question, always focus on their habitat, endemic area, IUCN/Wildlife Protection Acr status.
Another caution: Imp birds in the news that are almost “Least Concerned” eg. Amur Falcon (Nagaland), Asian Koel
Asian Koel
IUCN status: Least Concerned
- The Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes.
- It is found in the Indian Subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia.
- It forms a superspecies with the closely related black-billed koels, Indian cuckoos, and Pacific koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies.
- The Asian Koel like many of its related cuckoo kin is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of crows and other hosts, who raise its young.
Key Features
- Sexual dimorphism is evident, where males are a glossy black with a greenish sheen to their bodies and females are brown with white dots on their wings and heavy streaking on their head and throat.
- Both sexes have strong long greenish bills and captivating ruby-red eyes.
- In the bird world, the males are generally more pleasant looking than the females, considering they woo females.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cicadas
Mains level: NA
A brood of periodical cicadas, noisy insects that breed underground for as long as 13-17 years are expected to emerge into some states of the US this year.
A stand-alone species being mentioned in the news for the first time may find their way into the prelims. Make special note here.
What are Cicadas?
- Cicadas are insects that spend most of their lives underground and emerge from the soil mainly to mate.
- Once out of the ground, their life span is fairly short, somewhere between two-four weeks.
- At present, there are about 15 active broods of these cicadas as some have gone extinct.
- The insects are found in America’s as well as New Zealand and Australia.
- The name 13 and 17 year refers to the number of years that cicada nymphs take to reach adulthood.
- It is not clear why their development period is so long, researchers suspect that it may be linked to avoiding predators above the soil.
How are the fed?
- During this time underground the nymphs feed on sap from plant roots.
- After this developmental period, the cicada nymphs construct a “cicada hut” and burrow their way out from the soil and climb onto any nearby tree or vegetation.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kheer Bhawani Mela
Mains level: NA
In the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, the Annual Kheer Bhawani Mela in Tulmulla village of Ganderbal district has been cancelled by its religious trust.
Match the pair based question can be asked from festivals as such. Recently, the following festivals were in the news: Ambubachi Mela, Thrisoor Puram, Meru Jatara, Nagoba Jatara etc.
Try this:
Q. Consider the following pairs:
Traditions Communities
1. Chaliha Sahib Festival — Sindhis
2. Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra — Gonds
3. Wari-Warkari — Santhals
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched ? (CSP 2017)
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) None of the above
Kheer Bhawani Mela
- The festival witnesses lakhs of Hindu pilgrims from across the country largely the Kashmiri Pandit Community, who throngs the famous Ragyna Devi Temple which is popularly known as “Mata Kheer Bhawani”.
- The festival falls on the auspicious day of “Zeshta Ashtami”.
- The term kheer refers to rice pudding that is offered in the spring to propitiate the Goddess, which became part of the name of the temple.
- The devotees have been asked to cooperate with the authorities and perform the worship of the Goddess at their homes only.
- However, the holy rituals and Aarti of the Deity will be conducted as per the tradition which will be shared with the devotees via social media.
Significance
- Kheer Bhawani Mela is one of the biggest religious functions of Kashmiri Pandit Community.
- It is believed and rather has been seen that the colour of the water in the spring around the Kheer Bhawani Temple changes its colour with the change in the circumstances of the Kashmir valley.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Purandara Dasa
Mains level: Bhakti Saints of South India
The Department of Archaeology, Karnataka has commenced field research work regarding the birthplace of Purandara Dasa who is held as the father figure of Carnatic music.
Recently there was a news on Lord Basaveshwara. Now comes the other popular saint.
Vaishnavism and Shaivism are the two most profound strands of Bhakti Movement in Indian history. Enlist all the Bhakti Saints and their theistic philosophy and teachings. Try to spot the minute differences between them.
Purandara Dasa
- Purandara Dasa (1484 –1565) was a Haridasa, a renowned composer of Carnatic music, a great devotee of the Supreme Lord Krishna, a Vaishnava poet, a saint and a social reformer.
- He was a disciple of the Dvaita philosopher-saint Vyasatirtha, and a contemporary of yet another Haridasa, Kanakadasa.
- He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-proponents of South Indian classical music (Carnatic music).
- In honour of his significant contributions to Carnatic music, he is widely referred to as the Pitamaha (lit. “father” or “grandfather”) of Carnatic music.
- He is respected as an Avatara (incarnation) of the great sage Narada (a celestial being who is also a singer).
Confusions over his birthplace
- As ‘Purandara Vithala’ was the pen name of his compositions, it was widely believed that the mystic poet was born in Purandar (near Pune), Maharashtra.
- However, many in Malnad claimed that he hailed from this region.
- According to historians, Araga in Malnad was a buzzing commercial centre during the Vijayanagar rule, the period to which the poet belonged to.
- Prior to his initiation to Haridasa tradition, Purandara Dasa was a rich merchant and was called as Srinivasa Nayaka.
Back2Basics: Bhakti Movement
- The Bhakti movement refers to the theistic devotional trend that emerged in medieval Hinduism.
- It originated in eighth-century south India and spread northwards.
- It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.
- It has traditionally been considered as an influential social reformation in Hinduism and provided an individual-focused alternative path to spirituality regardless of one’s birth or gender
- The salvation which was previously considered attainable only by men of Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya castes, became available to everyone.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Rail adukku pathiram
Mains level: NA
The rail adukku pathiram a traditional set of kitchen utensils in Tamil Nadu has become the gathered attention of all over the past few days.
The traditional ‘rail adukku pathiram’ set of utensils are very unique in itself. However, one must note that it does NOT carry any GI tag and is completely out of use. Still, there is a possibility of it being asked in match the pair type questions asking – Q) Which among the following artefacts from Tamil Nadu carries a GI Tag?
Rail adukku pathiram
- The rail adukku pathiram consists of 14 vessels of different sizes, neatly placed in a compact manner inside the largest container.
- The vessels were earlier used by families to carry groceries and cook food during train journeys.
- These vessels were used to cook food for a mini-wedding. The interesting aspect is the compact size and easy to carry.
- It has two vessels to cook vegetables, a sippal plate to boil rice, a frying pan, a sombu, a bronze pot to carry water and vessels of varying sizes to cook food.
- Many in Tamil Nadu had forgotten about the existence of these multi-layered vessels until a video surfaced online recently.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ramkinkar Baij and his artworks
Mains level: Modern artforms in India
Ministry of Culture’s has organised virtual tour titled “Ramkinkar Baij | Journey through silent transformation and expressions” to commemorate his 115th Birth Anniversary.
We can expect a description based question in prelims like-
Q. “In 1925, he made his way to Kala Bhavana, the art school at Santiniketan and was under the guidance of Nandalal Bose. Encouraged by the liberating, intellectual environment of (Tagore’s) Santiniketan, his artistic skills and intellectual horizons blossomed, thus acquiring greater depth and complexity. One of the earliest modernists in Indian art, he assimilated the idioms of the European modern visual language and yet was rooted in his own Indian ethos.”
Who is the imminent personality discussed?
Who was Ramkinkar Baij?
- Ramkinkar Baij (1906-1980), one of the most seminal artists of modern India, was an iconic sculptor, painter and graphic artist.
- He was born in Bankura, West Bengal, into a family of little economic and social standing and grew by his sheer determination into one of the most distinguished early modernists of Indian art.
- In 1925, he made his way to Kala Bhavana, the art school at Santiniketan and was under the guidance of Nandalal Bose.
- Encouraged by the liberating, intellectual environment of (Tagore’s) Santiniketan, his artistic skills and intellectual horizons blossomed, thus acquiring greater depth and complexity.
His works
- One of the earliest modernists in Indian art, he assimilated the idioms of the European modern visual language and yet was rooted in his own Indian ethos.
- His themes were steeped in a deep sense of humanism and an instinctive understanding of the symbiotic relationship between man and nature.
- Both in his paintings and sculptures, he pushed the limits of experimentation and ventured into the use of new materials.
- For instance, his use of unconventional material, for the time, such as cement concrete for his monumental public sculptures set a new precedent for art practices.
- The use of cement, laterite and mortar to model the figures, and the use of a personal style in which modern western and Indian pre-classical sculptural values were brought together was equally radical.
Popular recognition
- Although his work was passed over for quite a while, gradually it began to get both national and international attention.
- He was invited to participate in the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in 1950 and in the Salon de Mai in 1951.
- In the national honours began to come his way one after the other.
- In 1970, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan for his irrefutable contribution to Indian art.
- In 1976 he was made a Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi.
- In 1976, he was conferred the honorary Doctoral Degree of ‘Desikottama’ by Visva Bharati, and in 1979 an honorary D. Litt by Rabindra Bharati University.
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