With National Mango Day round the corner, indulge yourself with this yummy treat made with the King of Fruits.
Have you been indulging in mangoes this summer? With the King of Fruits in season and National Mango Day not too far away (July 22), here is a delicious recipe that you can whip up easily.
Photos: Freepik
Sports fan? With this career option, you could turn your love for sports into an exciting and rewarding profession.
Ever wondered how commentators pull off those incredible insights during matches? They rely on sports statisticians! This career combines a love for sports with a passion for numbers, offering a unique way to be part of the action.
Scroll through these slides to find out the basics of this career option.
DId you know that July 18 celebrated as Nelson Mandela International Day? Learn more about this icon of inspiration.
Nelson Mandela strongly believed in democracy, equality and learning. We celebrate Nelson Mandela International Day on July 18 to honour the life and legacy of a man who stood up for what he believed. This day calls individuals, communities and organisations to reflect and act on Mandela’s values and principles and make a difference in our own circle.
Quick facts
Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in Eastern Cape, South Africa. He had a Bachelor’s degree from Fort Hare and an LLB from the University of South Africa.
In 1944, he helped form the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and rose through its ranks. Because of him, the ANC adopted a more radical mass-based policy, the Programme of Action, in 1949.
He was in the forefront of the fight against apartheid organising campaigns and civil disobedience movements.
Photos: AFP, AP, PTI, Wikimedia Commons, B. Jothi Ramalingam
This crossword is all about words related to Civics. Use the clue to find the correct word for the grid.
Council, civil, law, citizen…what are common to these words? They are all related to the civic side of the Constitution. This crossword will help you understand them better.
Take it to pieces and put it back together. How soon can you solve this jigsaw?
Madhubani is an area in Bihar well known for the art form named after it. Originally called Mithila painting, the form uses natural dyes and pigments. It has a Geographical Index (GI tag). The topics in the painting are primarily scenes from Nature and scenes from the epics. There are no empty spaces in a Madhubani painting; the gaps are filled with motifs of animals, birds, flowers and geometrical pattern.
This activity has a Madhubani painting as its base. Take a good look at it and click on Start. Now put the pieces back together to form the painting.
Photo: GettyImages/iStockPhoto
An end-of-the-week quiz to keep your grey cells active. Check it out now.
Check out this set of six questions. How many do you know the answer to?
Explore timeless themes of ambition, ethics, and the consequences of playing God in this captivating tale from the 19th century.
Busting some common myths about exercise. Find out if what you’ve heard is true or not.
Regular exercise is integral to a healthy lifestyle. However, what constitutes fitness? Is working out in the gym the only way to getting your daily dose of exercise? Is cardio more important than lifting weights? What are some common fitness myths?
Move the slider from right to left to uncover the reality behind some beliefs.
Stormy winds, turbulence and bird hits… Meghnath and his brothers have to face multiple tough situations as they take off in Prahasta’s vimanas.
Story so far: Meghnath and his brothers have learned about various wing shapes from their grand-uncle Prahasta and are sitting in their vimanas, waiting to hear the whistle that will signal the start of their contest.
Prahasta: For the next eight hours, Sukracharya will control all five elements in the flying area. You know how he is when it comes to assessments. So be prepared for anything in terms of the weather.
Illustration: Sahil Upalekar
The boys look at each other confidently. Meghnath hugs his younger brother, Akshayakumara, and takes the pilot’s seat in the cockpit, with Trishira as his co-pilot. In the other vimana, Atikaya is having a discussion with his team.
Atikaya: Even though Meghnath is strong, he will underplay his strengths today. We are basically fighting Akshayakuamara and Trishira. We need to play to our strengths. I will take care of the aircraft’s movements and speed. Narantaka, you keep an eye on the human area (that is the ground level and upto 12km). Above that, Devantaka, it is your responsibility. In case of any conflict, I will take the final call.
Devantaka and Narantaka agree. Devantaka sits in the pilot’s seat with Narantaka as his co-pilot. Prahasta orders the engines to be started and begins a countdown. As he counts, the bright weather suddenly becomes windy and the sound of thunder is heard. It begins to rain. Only Meghnath is not surprised at the mysterious weather change. Worried for his brothers in the other vimana, he wonders if he should ask the clouds to be gentle with them.
Akshayakumara: They are our competition.
Meghnath decides to leave it to Prahasta. As their grand-uncle gives the command to launch…
Atikaya: Devantaka, keep it at high wing so that we can lift off quickly. Once we reach the 3km mark, shift to mid wing.
Devantaka presses high wing and the vimana lifts off but the speed is less.
Akshayakumara: Meghnath, keep it at low wing. Let’s hover with the ground effect (gaining the air cushion effect due to airflow below the wing and less clearance to the ground. Once we gain speed, we can lift off.
Atikaya’s vimana has risen very fast but not covered much in terms of distance. Akshayakumara’s craft has covered more distance without gaining height.
Atikaya: Narantaka, shift to mid wing.
Narantaka obeys but speed doesn’t cross 340m/s (subsonic or slower the speed of sound)
Atikaya: Make it straight wing swept back, which cannot go supersonic.
Devantaka follows his order and the craft begins to cruise at high speed and crosses the other vimana.
Akshayakumara: Meghnath, increase our speed slowly – straight wing to swept back to delta to reach hypersonic speed (more than five times the speed of sound)
Meghnath smiles and obeys.
Prahasta claps and the wind becomes turbulent, hitting the vimanas from all directions. Both planes begin to lose balance.
Atikaya (shouts): Dihedral…
Akshayakumara: Meghnath, what should we do now?
Meghnath: Dihedral for balance; then make it high straight wing for lateral stability.
Though Atikaya’s vimana is flying faster with a certain level of stability it seems half balanced. Akshayakumara’s vimana suddenly dropped speed from delta to high straight wing. But both crafts manage to stabilise during the turbulence. Prahasta claps and normal wind conditions are restored.
Then, he claps again and a huge flock of birds appears, blocking the light from the sun and flying towards the vimanas. Before the boys can react, the birds hit the wings of the aircrafts. Atikaya stares blankly at them.
Devantata (shouts): Lift up! Majority of the birds cannot fly above the 12km height.
Akshayakumara: Meghnath, turn back and raise the speed. Trishira, keep an eye on me.
He jumps out holding on to a rope. Standing on top of a wing, he fights the birds with a sword. As Trishira – with his three heads allowing him a 360-degree vision – relays his movements, Meghnath carefully balances the plane, trying to avoid bird hits.
When Prahasta claps once more, the birds disappear. Atikaya’s plane has not suffered much damage but Akshayakumara’s vimana has been badly hit.
Prahasta: Take a five-minute break before the next level.
Meghnath jumps out, takes his tool kit and starts to fix the damaged body while Akshayakumara and Trishira look on sadly.
The author is the founder and CEO of Vaayusastra Aerospace, an IIT-Madras incubated ed-tech start up that offers Air Science workshops for children between five and 14 years.
Now that you have read about this, here is something you can do. Follow the steps in the slider below to make your own Tapered swept-back wing plane.
What is the old name of Sri Lanka? Which country used to be known as Siam? Try this activity now.
Several countries around the world have had some name changes over time. This happens for various reasons. Sometimes they change names to reflect their independence, or other times due to new leaders, or even because of cultural shifts.
Activity for you! On the left are the old names, and on the right the new. Let’s see how many you can match.
