More Horse Power to you. With the game of chess being in the news, this week add a Knight to your collection.
With the Chess Olympiad having concluded recently in Chennai, here’s a DIY based on the game. Cut out the paper and paste on a thick sheet of paper. Now cut along the black lines and fold along the dotted lines. Follow the pictorial instructions to make your knight.
Get a round-up of the 2022 Commonwealth Games and find out how India fared. Complete these interactive tasks now.
The curtains have come down on the 2022 Commonwealth Games that took place in Birmingham, England, from July 28 to August 8 this year. The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event that takes place every four years among members of the Commonwealth of Nations, a political association that mostly includes countries that were former territories of the British empire, including India.
With 72 nations participating, the 2022 edition of the Games was the largest ever. Athletes from India produced a dazzling performance, bagging 61 medals in all.
Here are some interactive tasks based on a round-up of the Games. Can you solve them correctly?
2. Out of India’s 61 medals, how many are gold, silver and bronze? Guess the number correctly.
Photos: Special arrangement, Wikimedia Commons
Many years before the tricolour came into existence, several different flags were unfurled in India. Take a look at some of the flags of our freedom struggle.
July 22, 2022, marked 75 years since the national flag of India as we know it was adopted. During the course of our freedom struggle, several flags were designed and hoisted, representing the collective mindset of people at the time and the evolution of nationalistic sentiment. Read about these below and solve the shuffle puzzle to know what they looked like.
A symbol of aspiration: Sister Nivedita’s flag
Irish-born Sister Nivedita, originally Margaret Elizabeth Noble, was a follower of Swami Vivekananda. She became a spokesperson for India’s national consciousness and freedom. Between 1904 and 1906, she designed and presented a flag to the Indian National Congress. It was a red and yellow flag with a vajra (thunderbolt), 108 oil lamps, and ‘Vande Mataram’ in Bengali. The colours stood for freedom and victory while the thunderbolt symbolised strength.
Unofficial first: The Calcutta flag
The first national flag of India is said to have been hoisted on August 7, 1906, at the Parsee Bagan Square in Calcutta. Known as the Calcutta flag, it had an orange, a yellow and a green band. The top stripe had eight half-opened lotuses, the middle stripe had the words ‘Vande Mataram’ and the bottom stripe had the sun and a crescent moon. The next year, another tricolour that had slight variations was designed by Bhikaiji Cama, Veer Savarkar and Shyamji Krishna Varma, and unfurled in Germany, becoming the first Indian flag to be hoisted in a foreign land.
Gaining momentum: The Home Rule movement flag
The Indian Home Rule movement was led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant between 1916 and 1918. It began in the backdrop of World War I and set the stage for the independence movement, providing an impetus for nationalist sentiments. The flag designed for the movement had the Union Jack in the upper left corner along with five horizontal red stripes and four horizontal green stripes. It also had a crescent with a seven-pointed star and seven white stars. When a magistrate in Coimbatore banned the use of this flag, it marked the first governmental initiative against a nationalistic flag. This also led to a public debate on the importance of a national flag.
Taking shape: Flag of 1921
In 1921, Gandhiji wrote about how India needed a national flag. Subsequently, Pingali Venkayya designed a flag that contained a spinning wheel against a red and green background – red to signify Hindus and green for Muslims. Gandhiji decided to add a white band to signify other religions. Eventually, the colours went on to represent purity (white), hope (green) and sacrifice (red). Though this flag was not adopted as the official flag of the Indian National Congress, it was widely used during the struggle for freedom.
Did you know that five other countries share their Independence Day with us?
Besides India, five other countries celebrate their day of independence on August 15. Let’s take a look at them. Click on the green hotspot buttons to find out…
Here’s an Independence Day-themed crossword just for you!
Monday is India’s Independence Day. How much do you know about our freedom movement. Try your hand at this crossword and find out.
Which freedom fighter does your personality relate to most? Try this quiz…
Innumerable freedom fighters have been responsible for India’s independence. From Alluri Sitarama Raja, Birsa Munda, to Rani Gaidinliu, and so many more, they have fought bravely, and beaten back the British with sheer perseverance and courage.
Komaram Bheem, for instance, in association with other Gond leaders, led a rebellion against the feudal Nizams of Hyderabad in the 1930s. Saraswathi Rajamani was so impressed by Netaji’s Indian National Army and also impressed Netaji that, in 1942, she was recruited the INA’s Rani of Jhansi regiment which was a part of the Army’s military intelligence wing. KM Munshi leaned towards revolutionary groups and became involved into the process of bomb-making, but later, joined the Indian Home Rule movement and in 1915, became its secretary. Tiruppur Kumaran is also renowned as Kodi Kaatha Kumaran as, he was holding the flag of the Indian nationalists even as he died. Manikarnika, the rani of Jhansi, was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and became a symbol of resistance to the British Raj for Indian nationalists. Matangini Hazra, did not go without a fight even whilst she was shot down by the British: she died with the flag of the Indian National Congress held high and flying.
Which among these freedom fighters can you most relate to? Take this fun-only personality quiz to find out.
Take time to brush up on your history, especially how India won its independence and who were the people who led the fight for freedom.
With Independence Day round the corner, it is time to brush up on our facts about how India won its independence. Who were the heroes? What were the major obstacles faced? How was it circumvented? This is as good a time as any to go back in time and delve into our nation’s history.
To get you started here’s a small pictorial quiz. Let’s begin.
Click here for the story of India’s independence…
Our Independence was not won in a day or a year. It was a journey of over 100 years – a journey dotted with revolts, protests, violence, non-violence, determination and a collective dream of a free India.
Follow this timeline to learn about a few highlights of India’s journey towards independence…(Scroll right to navigate)
Where is the trachea? What about the cardiac notch? Label the parts of the lung with this interactive task.
The lungs are a part of the respiratory system, a group organs that help us breathe. They are a pair of spongy, pinkish-grey organs in the chest. Their major function is respiration, which is what we do when we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.
The trachea (or windpipe) is the tube that carries air in and out of the lungs. The lungs are divided into lobes. The right lung has three lobes while the left lung has two. The cardiac notch is a concavity in the lung that accommodates the heart.
Based on what you have just read, can you try and label the parts of the lung?
Solve these fun puzzles and learn some tricks on the way
This week, we bring you an easy maths quiz that is sure to get your grey cells ticking.
