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Soaring high

January 6 – 13 saw many colourful and crazy kites in the skies of Ahmedabad, Gujarat at the International Kite Festival. Take a peek to see a few of the unusual ones…

Every year, Gujarat celebrates more than 200 festivals. The International Kite Festival (Uttarayan) is seen as one of the biggest and takes place in January. Since 1989, the city of Ahmedabad has hosted the festival as part of the official celebration of Uttarayan, bringing master kite makers and flyers from all over the world to demonstrate their unique creations and wow the crowds with highly unusual kites. The festival of Uttarayan marks the end of winter and the beginning of summer, according to the Indian calendar. It is a sign to farmers that the sun is back and that the harvest season is approaching. This day is considered to be one of the most important days in India.

This year marked 30 years of the festival. Take a look at some of the kites that took flight.

In each of these images, move the slider from right to left and see the the colourful kites that soared across the skies this past Uttarayan.

 

 

All the world’s a stage

Take a look at perhaps, one of the most famous playhouses in the world. A theatre dedicated to some of the most famous plays by the playwright, William Shakespeare. Read on…

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” – William Shakespeare

In 1599, the Globe Theatre was built in London, England, for the acting company of William Shakespeare. The theatre became famous because Shakespeare’s plays were performed there. Shakespeare designed many of his plays — including “Hamlet”, “Othello”, “King Lear”, “Macbeth”, “Twelfth Night”, and “All’s Well That Ends Well” — for performance, in the Globe Theatre. Although the original Globe Theatre was torn down in the 17th century, a replica of the theater was built in the late 20th century.

The Globe Theatre could hold an audience of perhaps about 3,000 people, with 1,000 people standing in the central yard (or pit) around the stage to watch the play. There were three levels of seating in the theater’s galleries, with wooden benches raking upward toward the rear. A few rooms were reserved for the most privileged on the stage balcony itself. The yard had no roof; when it rained, the audience in the yard could pay more and take shelter in the lowest gallery.

While there are drawings of the outside of the theatre, historians do not really know what the inside of the Globe looked like. Unravel the image below to get an idea of what the original Theatre looked like.

In 1613 the Globe Theatre burned to the ground but it was reopened in 1614. The English Civil War broke out in 1642, and two years later the Globe Theatre was pulled down. A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named “Shakespeare’s Globe”, opened in 1997 not too far from the site of the original theatre.

The following images show what the outside and inside of the modern Globe Theatre looks like. Solve them for a better look.

The light has gone out…

Here is the story of Gandhiji’s assassination according to Last Glimpses of Bapu, a memoir by Manuben Gandhi, the Mahatma’s great-niece.

January 30, 1948

Gandhiji was staying at Birla Bhawan, Delhi.

Early morning: The day began as usual, with Bapu listening to a recitation of the Bhagavad Gita.

He then worked on a Congress Constitution he wanted to publish in The Harijan.

At lunch, he discussed the Noakhali violence with his private secretary Pyarelal.

After a nap, he met with Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

Two Kathiawar leaders wanted to meet him, and when Manuben informed Gandhiji he said, “Tell them that, if I remain alive, they can talk to me after the prayer on my walk.”

The meeting with Patel went on longer than the scheduled time and Gandhiji was ten minutes late to the prayer meeting.

He walked to the prayer location with Manuben on his right and Abha Chatterjee on the left.

Just then a stout young man in khaki pushed his way through the crowd, and when he came close, bent over with his hands folded.

Manuben pushed him aside saying, “Bapu is already late, why do you embarrass him?”

The man pushed Manuben and she lost her balance and the rosary, notebook and Gandhiji’s spitoon she was carrying fell out of her hands. She bent to pick up the fallen items…

She heard four shots ring out and saw smoke everywhere.

When she looked she saw Gandhiji and Abha had fallen. Gandhiji lay on Abha’s lap, his hands folded, saying “Hei Ram…ma! Hei Ra…”.

Herbert Reiner Jr, a 32-year old, newly arrived vice-consul at the American embassy in Delhi, rushed forward and seized the shoulders of the man in the khaki coat and shoved him toward several police guards.

The man was Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a right-wing advocate of Hindu nationalism who believed that Gandhiji favoured the political demands of India’s muslims during the Partition.

Everything was over in minutes. The crowd rushed forward. Manuben looked at the watch. It was 5:17 p.m. There was blood all over their white clothes. Everyone was crying loudly.

Gandhiji was carried back into the house. There was no doctor available. Manuben and the others read the Gita as Gandhiji’s body lay in the room.

Spot the errors

Test your English grammar with this quick ‘spot the error’ exercise.

English-Matters_July-7_Inside

Being error-free is important if you are looking to perfect your grammar. How many errors can you spot, in the sentences below?

Deal with health

Crosswords are fun, especially theme based ones. And, that’s why you must try your hand at this.

To be your happiest and healthiest self, understand the nitty gritty of fitness, food and hydration.

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Across

  • 1-11 :What causes a negative impact on your mood and energy levels.
  • 34-41 :This activity is good for the heart and can increase blood flow by 20%.
  • 61-64 :The largest organ in the body.
  • 69-77 :The antioxidants in them improve blood flow.
  • 103-109 :As important as Vitamin D in determining bone health.
  • 129-133 :To reduce levels of bad cholesterol eat this fruit.
  • 161-164 :It can boost your cognitive function and lower stress.
  • 171-175 :To remember things you must _____ it down.
  • 196-203 :Being an ______ can help you live longer.
  • 226-233 :What gives you more energy?

Down

  • 3-83 : Staying in touch with family and friends is good for your memory, _______ and longevity.
  • 7-151 :It is found in eggs and helps improve reflexes.
  • 13-77 :Nearly 30 % of the world’s population is _________.
  • 47-127 :Filters your blood up to 300 times a day.
  • 49-161 :Smell this herb to increase alertness and improve memory.
  • 69-149 :Drinking this can reduce the risk of depression.
  • 137-233 :If you have negative thoughts and need to boost your self esteem, walk ________.
  • 142-238 :Eat this for a serotonin boost to calm the brain and improve mood.
  • 162-226 :This extra virgin oil is the healthiest of all fats.
  • 171-235 :To maintain you pH balance, drink this.

Who am I?

Sports buff? Then identifying these sportspersons would probably be a piece of cake for you! Try it now.

Flightless, yet fiesty

Humboldt, Emperor, Little, Fiordland — let’s celebrate them this January 20, for, it is Penguin Awareness Day.

“Penguins of Madagascar”, “Happy Feet”, “Surf’s Up”, “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” — these movies have made us an adoring audience, and creating awareness about them is the best way to celebrate them. January 20 is Penguin Awareness Day. Let’s check out a few of these amazing, woffly, cut4e-as-a-bug creatures

Glow of good health

Are you familiar with words that describe your health? Welfare, liveliness and cheer are some of the words. Now, take a look at the clues and see if you can find the answers.

Good health and good sense are two of life's greatest blessings.

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Across

  • 1-11 : In good humour (4,7)
  • 33-42 :The natural colour, texture, and appearance of a person's skin. (10)
  • 72-80 :Promoting health (9)
  • 115-123 :To endure difficult situations (8)
  • 141-144 :Humour (4)
  • 149-155 :Healthy enough to do a particular task (7)
  • 180-185 :Sturdy and tough (6)
  • 209-212 :Shape; something to be filled in (4)
  • 218-221 :In the _____ of health (4)

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  • 4-116 :A feeling or state of intense excitement (8)
  • 6-86 :"E" to Einstein (6)
  • 31-111 :Condition (6)
  • 33-129 :Cheerful and lively. Pre chip (anag) (7)
  • 45-157 :Brawn (7)
  • 72-200 :The state of being in good condition (9)
  • 128-256 :Comfortable, healthy and happy (4,5)
  • 155-251 :Endurance (7)
  • 162-226 :Physical strength and good health (5)
  • 164-228 :The best possible quality (5)
  • 182-246 :Great loveliness (5)

Try your hand at this crossword. All the words here relate to health. So look sharp.

Friends together

Celebrate the soft-voiced, cuddly, and loveable bear and his friends. January 18 was Winnie the Pooh Day!

Guess who: a golden furred bear who wears a red crop shirt and loves eating honey more than anything else. That’s right, it’s the one and only Winnie-the-Pooh! January 18 is marked as Winnie the Pooh Day as it is the birth anniversary of the fictional bear’s creator, A.A. Milne. The Winnie-the-Pooh books were created in 1926 and this silly old bear has been entertaining us ever since.
Milne’s lovable Pooh Bear, as he is so often called, got his name “Winnie the Pooh”, from a stuffed teddy bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin, who, incidentally is the little boy in the book. In fact, many of Pooh’s friends — Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga and Roo — were a part of Christopher’s toy collection. Owl, Rabbit
and Gopher were the exceptions, as they were created and later added by Milne. Christopher named his toy bear
“Winnie” after a Canadian black bear he would often see at the London Zoo and the name “Pooh” came from a swan they
met while on vacation.

Friends like these

Pooh and his friends live together in Hundred Acre Wood, which is inspired by Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England. How about we get to know a little bit more about Winnie and his friends? Click on the hotspots on the image below to read more about each of them.

A day of fun and frolic
Here are some ideas on how to celebrate the cuddly bear and his friends.

Back to the beginning: A classic way to spend the day is by reading some classic Winnie-the-Pooh stories or perhaps watch the ever thrilling movies such as “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”, “The Tigger Movie”, “Piglet’s Big Movie”, “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie” or even the latest live action movie “Christopher Robin”.

Out and about: Winnie the Pooh Day is the perfect opportunity to get outside for some fun. How about inviting friends over, packing a picnic basket with some yummy treats (perhaps with honey too) and setting off to a park or a nice quiet green space.

A friendly game of Pooh-sticks: This is a game Pooh and his friends love to play, and you can too! All you need is to find a bridge that goes over a stream, sticks and friends (the more the merrier!).
How do you play it, though? It’s simple, you and each of your friends choose a stick, check which way the stream is flowing and face the stream upstream. Make sure everyone is standing on the side facing upstream. On the count of three everyone must drop their stick into the water. Quickly cross over to other side of the bridge and see whose stick emerges from under the bridge first.

Globescan – January 19, 2019

Click on the hotspots to find out what’s happening around the world.

The year has just begun and there is so much happening around the world. While the US sounds the alarm about China’s military and economic inroads in the Indo-Pacific, and Seoul crossed out a reference to nuclear-armed North Korea as its enemy in a defence white paper published, the Saudi teen who caused an international sensation by defying her family and seeking asylum abroad on Tuesday vowed to fight for women’s freedoms in her first public address since she was taken in by Canada.