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Across space and time

Meghnath learns how sages used to communicate and meet with ethereal beings…

Meghanth is curious to know the story of King Kakudmi. Sukracharya’s words keep echoing in his head: “The faster you travel, the slower time flows as per time dilation. That is why the sages never seem to age.”

Meghanth (to himself): But if they travel at such speeds, how do they meet the heavenly beings? Dad also told me he met Lord Shiva and gained much knowledge from him. How is this possible? Will the Kakudmi story give me the answers?

Sukracharya: So, Prince of Lanka, shall I begin the story of Kakudmi?

Meghnath: I am eager to listen to it, Guru.

Sukracharya: As I mentioned earlier, this story takes place in the Satya Yuga, a period where Gods/ethereal beings stay in accessible places.

Meghnath: Where?

Sukracharya: Vishnu in Vaikunta, which is somewhere near the constellation of Capricorn. Brahma in Brahmaloka, which is 337318502.4 km away from Vaikunta, and so on.

Meghnath: Then how did the sages on Earth meet these beings?

Sukracharya: You need to know the right path.

Meghanth: Like a shortcut or secret passage?

Sukracharya: Yes, somewhat like that. There are some underworld cities like Agartha and Shambala where you can find those secret passages. In modern science, they call it wormholes. These wormholes can connect light years of distance in a few seconds. Scientists of the future like Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawkins strongly believe in these.

Meghnath: Wow! They sound like teleportation portals.

Sukracharya: Yes. Now back to the story. King Kakudmi was looking for a good and accomplished man to marry his daughter Revathi. He wanted to meet Brahma regarding this. So, he sent a message to him mentally.

Meghnath: How?

Sukracharya: It’s a separate topic called electromagnetic waves. I’ll tell you about it another time. So assuming it reached him, he traveled to Brahmaloka. But Brahma was busy watching a dance performance.

Meghanth: Scope for some confusion…

Sukracharya: Exactly! Since Brahma was busy, Kakudmi waited outside. After 27 minutes, Brahma spotted Kakudmi and asked how long he had been waiting for. When Kakudmi told him and also the reason for this visit, Brahma laughed.

Meghanth: Why?

Sukracharya: Keep thinking. I will come back and tell you…

Meghanth (to himself): Why did Brahma laugh?

Now that you’ve read the story, try your hand at these puzzles, and put them in the right order to get the full picture.


Come to the table

A table game is any game that is played on a table, with counters, balls or any other playing pieces.

What is a table sport? Well, it is exactly what it is called…a sport played on a table against an opponent or opponents and it involves some sort of physical activity or mimics a classic sport.

Some of these games, like table tennis, air hockey and so on, require physical dexterity. While others like Bridge require a quiet mind and some serious thinking.

Table games include foosball, table shuffleboard, bubble hockey, cup pong, pool, air hockey and more.

Can you identify the game in the grid by using the picture clue given?

Christmas Story? Part 1

One day, well before Christmas, one of the male reindeer woke up to the fact that they had never pulled Santa’s sleigh. So, he decided to do something about it.

Here’s a Christmas special story just for you. However, before we go on, here are a few reindeer facts: Male reindeer cast their antlers before Christmas. The mating season is in autumn and male reindeer use their antlers to fight and once that’s over they cast them off. Santa’s reindeer are female.

Go on! Read this special story

As the tune struck up, Dancer started with ballet and moved over to foxtrot and then ballroom and finished with a waltz. It was skillfully executed and everyone clapped. HipHop brought joie de vivre. He came into the ring doing the hip hop and quickly changed to an Irish jig, then a Scottish fling, some Zumba and finished with tap dancing. HipHop’s mood and excitement spread to the crowd and many of them were dancing too.
“This round goes to HipHop,” announced Mrs. Santa. There was wild cheering from Team B.
(To be continued)

Bank on it

India has a number of foreign banks that conduct business in this category. Do you know where the more well-known ones are from? Try this activity to learn more…

A bank is a place where people put their money to keep it safe. Each individual has an account in a bank. When they put money in, it is called a deposit. When they take money out, it is called a withdrawal. Banks not only keep our money safe, they also offer us a way to grow our money. There are different kinds of banks.

In India, we have nationalised banks like State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Canara Bank and others. Then there are private ones like Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. But there are some that have their headquarters in foreign countries. These banks have their origin in other countries but function in India. Here are the names of some foreign banks that have offices in India. But where do they have their headquarters? Find out with this activity.

The golden triangle

The three Great Living Chola temples are a testimony to the brilliance of the great Chola Empire of Southern India.

Three architectural marvels that have stood the test of time are the Great Living Chola Temples: the Brahadeeswarar, Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara. All three – also known as the Golden Triangle – are part of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list. These structures were built by kings of the Later Chola dynasty who ruled in South India between 1070 to 1279 CE.

The Big Temple

Originally known as the Peruvidaiyar Kovil, the Brahadeeswarar temple in Thanjavur is also popularly known as the Thanjai Periya Kovil and Rajarajeshwaram Koil. Its tower (vimana) is the tallest in the world at 200ft. It holds an 80-tonne stone ball on top, which is known as the kumbam. A statue of Nandi, the sacred bull, at the entrance has been carved out of a single stone. The statue weighs 20 tonnes and is 16ft in length and 13ft in height. Nestled in the sanctum in a linga soaring to a height of 29ft.

 

Conqueror of the Ganga

Situated 36 km from Kumbakonam, in Ariyalur district, is Gangaikondacholapuram, built by Raja Raja Chola’s son Rajendra Chola. Gangaikondacholapuram means “the city of the Chola who conquered the Ganga” and was meant to commemorate his victory over the Pala rulers of West Bengal. The temple here is smaller than the Thanjavur temple and researchers say that Rajendra Chola did this out of respect for his father. The lingam here is 13 ft tall and has a base circumference of 59ft.

 

Divine elephant

The third temple in the Golden Triangle is the Airavatesvara located in Darasuram, Kumbakonam built by Rajaraja Chola II. This incorporates a chariot structure with the morning and evening sundials as the wheels. According to mythology, Indra’s elephant Airavata, after whom the temple is named, bathed in the temple tank. This legend is depicted in carvings in the inner shrine. On the base are reliefs that show the stories of the 63 Nayanars. The steps leading to the bali pitham (sacrificial place) are intricately carved and produce musical notes when one walks on them. Therefore they are known as Singing Steps. Though in ruins, the temple holds its own among the Chola temples.

Sum of its parts

Do you know all the ingredients that make up a dish? Play this game and find out.

Cooking is Chemistry. Different ingredients come together to create one dish that may or may not look anything like its ingredients.

Can you guess the dishes based on their ingredients? Drag and drop the dishes into the right slot.

Fun with Numbers

There are 6670903752021072936960 Sudoku grids. This is one of the many designed just for you!

Sudoku is a number game in which missing numbers are to be filled into a 9 by 9 grid of squares which are subdivided into 3 by 3 boxes so that every row, every column, and every box contains the numbers 1 through 9. Sudoku is a logic game and involves absolutely no math or language skills. This grid is a 6 by 6 one. Go ahead, get started…

Quiz Whizz – December 10, 2021

It’s quiz time, folks! Check your general knowledge with these questions.

Here is this week’s quiz to test your knowledge of current affairs and the world in general. Time to get your grey cells going. Here are six questions that will do the job.

Way of the world

Have a ‘kip’ this ‘arvo’! Clueless about what this means? Take this quiz to find out.

Slang means informal language. It is typically used while speaking rather than writing, and among particular groups of people. For example, if something is ‘lit’, it means it is amazing or exciting. If your outfit is described as being ‘on point’, it is extremely good or stylish.

There are some slang words and expressions that are common in specific countries. The quiz below is based on such words from around the world. Can you try and guess the answers?