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Into the deep blue

The ocean is far deeper than you can even imagine. What gems of nature is it home to?

Quiz Whizz – December 6, 2023

A quick round of questions to check your GK quotient.

A mid-week quiz to get your grey cells buzzing. How many of these can you answer?

On that long, dark night

Considered to be one of the greatest disasters of the century, the victims of the Bhopal gas leak are still suffering the consequences. And awaiting justice.

Thirty years after the world’s greatest chemical catastrophe nothing much has changed.

On the night of December 2, 1984, an accident at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, released at least 30 tons of a highly toxic gas. The pesticide plant was surrounded by shantytowns, leading to more than 600,000 people being exposed to the deadly gas cloud that night. The gases stayed low to the ground, causing victims throats and eyes to burn, inducing nausea, and many deaths. Estimates of the death toll vary from as few as 3,800 to as many as 16,000, but government figures now refer to an estimate of 15,000 killed over the years.

Aziza, mother of three-year-old Ruby and eight-month-old Mohsin says, it was a Sunday evening like any other. The family watched a Hindi movie till late at night and then went to bed. Around midnight, Aziza woke up hearing Ruby coughing. There was a strange white cloud in the room. Outside she could hear people shouting, “Bhaago! Bhaago!” (run, run). Then, Mohsin began to cough. Soon the whole family was coughing. With every breath, it seemed they were breathing in fire. They closed the doors and windows but it did not help. They decided to rush to the hospital. Outside, there was chaos. People were running, screaming, vomiting and falling unconscious. Ruby and Mohsin too began to vomit. They were unable to talk or see because their throats and eyes were inflamed. They had no idea what had happened.

All around them people lay motionless. Trucks overflowing with people passed by. Aziza and her family managed to board a vehicle that was already full of people. They arrived at the hospital at 2.30 a.m. But there was no one there. They dragged themselves to the park nearby and collapsed onto a pile of leaves. Later, they heard an announcement on a public address system. ‘We are in control of the gas leak from Union Carbide. Go back to your houses.’

Take the bread out

When we think of bread, we usually think of the loaf of sandwich bread available in our supermarkets. But there’s much more.

Did you know that the sandwich is named after the English Earl of Sandwich? The story goes that the earl, who was a gambler, did not like to rise from the table. So his staff would give him meat tucked between two slices of bread to eat as he played on. Voila! A new dish was born.

But there’s lots more to bread than the sandwich or the loaf we are all familiar with. In India, we have chapatis, khakras, theplas, which are all some form of bread. Each country has its own varieties. So here’s a game to tell you more about the different kinds. Match the bread with the country of origin and learn a quick fact about each kind.

The twins make an entry

In Episode 49, Kaikeyi and Manthara realise that the twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna, were responsible for the arrows flying at Manthara. But the twins quickly charm the two with a lecture on the science of archery.

Story so far: Just after Dasaratha finishes the story of how he defeated Shambara, arrows fly in towards Manthara’s legs. Kaikeyi pulls her to safety and turns to see who shot them.

Lakshmana and Shatrughna, the twin sons of Queen Sumitra, come running in , looking discomfited. Noticing that Kaikeyi is angry and that an argument is about to begin, Dasaratha edges away and leaves quietly.

Kaikeyi: Who shot the arrows? Do you realise you are spoiling your Guru Vasishta’s name?

Lakshmana: We were having target practice with the bows and arrows. It was an accident.

Manthara: Is this what Guru Vasishta taught you? To attack and injure people needlessly?

Shatrughna (angrily): Manthara, you have to right to talk about our guru. Mother Kaikeyi is like our mother and is also a skilled archer.

Kaikeyi: Shatrughna, you should not talk to your elders like this.

Shatrughna is about to respond when Lakshmana jogs him and whispers in his ear.

Lakshmana: We are sorry Manthara and Mother Kaikeyi.

Shatrughna: Why are you saying sorry? Let’s teach her a lesson.

Manthara: Is this how Sumitra brought you up? To be rude to your elders?

Lakshmana (whispers to Shatrughna): I told you to keep quiet. She will twist our words and drag mother into it. Let me handle this.

Lakshmana (to Manthara): That’s not what he meant. He wants to teach you about archery and the science behind it.

Manthara: What lies! He was being rude.

Lakshmana: No Manthara. It’s the way he speaks. It’s not about the words but about how you receive it. You can either be negative and get us into trouble or be positive and learn something. Which would you prefer?

Kaikeyi’s anger dissipates and she smiles at Lakshmanaa.

Kaikeyi: Very smart, Lakshmana. Now Manthara has to take that in a positive way. Are you ready for your lesson, Manthara?

Manthara: Whatever you say.

Kaikeyi: All right, boys, start your lesson.

Shatrughna: Let’s start with the parts of an arrow and how aerodynamics has a role to play.

Lakshmana: An arrow has five parts: arrowhead (also known as point or grain), insert, shaft, fletching, and nock.

Shatrughna: Do you know how the bow and arrow work?

Manthara: Pull the string and let go.

Shatrughna: Yes but technically the string’s elastic potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.

Lakshmana: Also do you know what we call the arrow’s movement?

Manthara: Straight movement?

Lakshman: It’s called the projectile motion. Have you noticed that, when an arrow is released, it doesn’t travel in a straight line?

Manthara: Yes. I thought it was because the string was not of good quality or that it had not been pulled properly.

Lakshmana: No. It is because of a gravitational force that moves the arrow in a curved path called projectile.

Shatrughna: And then there are fletchings. They are the ones that stabilise the arrow so that it moves in a specific direction if released properly.

Manthara: I have had enough of science for a day. Let’s stop here.

Even as she speaks, two arrows fly in again and scratch her back. Both Kaikeyi and Manthara look towards that side in anger.

The author is the founder and CEO of Vaayusastra Aerospace, an IIT-Madras incubated ed-tech startup that offers Air Science workshops for children between five and 14 years.

Now that you’ve read the story, try your hand at this activity. The grid below contains the names of famous archers from mythology, folklore and popular culture. Can you find them all?

Know your idioms

A fun crossword that’s all about idioms. How many can you get right?

Are you as busy as a bee that you missed the boat? Then, you really need to get your act together! How familiar are you with idioms? Try your hand at this crossword to find out.

Name the game

It’s fun to be out playing games, right? So, let’s see how good your memory is. Give this game a go.

How familiar are you with the games we play? Try your hand at this memory game and find out. Match the pictures with the names.

Winter visitors

With winter having set in, India is welcoming winged visitors across the country. Take a look at some of our feathered guests.

Winter in India brings with it some exciting guests to our land. Yes, we are talking about birds. Did you know that birds use a sort of a highway to migrate, which is guided by monsoon winds and the flow of jet streams? Imagine a bird super-highway from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean! That’s the Central Asian Flyway (CAF), one of the nine migration flyways in the world. It is also one of the richest in terms of diversity, hosting over 180 species from breeding grounds in Siberia to warmer realms in West Asia, India, and the Maldives.

So let’s take a look at some of our flamboyant high-flying winged visitors. Click on the name of the bird to read about it.

With inputs from Byju H.