Jungle Book is an all time favourite and the characters are unforgettable. Take this fun personality quiz to find out which of them you are most like.
The Jungle Book is a collection of short stories written by Rudyard Kipling. With his writing he brings alive the characters in his book. The protagonist is a ‘man-cub’ named Mowgli who is brought up by a pack of wolves. There is also Shere Khan, the tiger; Kaa, the snake; Baloo, the bear; King Louie, the orangutan; and Raksha, the she-wolf who takes care of Mowgli, and many more.
This book has been made into a movie (many movies, in fact) and the characters portrayed have strong characteristics. Like us, they too have their good points and their bad points.
If you want to know which of the characters you are most like take this for-fun-only personality test.
In the mood for some number fun? Try your hand at this Sudoku.
Love numbers? Then this is perfect for you. Try your hand at this popular game and see if you can ace it. A Sudoku is a grid consisting of columns, rows and blocks. This is a 6*6 grid.
How to play
The objective of the game is to fill the missing digits into the grid. Use digits 1 to 6 to fill this 6×6-grid.
In each column, row and block you can use a digit only once.
Sudoku Rules
1. Each row will, upon completion, contain all of the digits from 1 to 6.
2. Each column will, upon completion, contain all of the digits from 1 to 6.
3. Each coloured block will, upon completion, contain all of the digits from 1 to 6.
August 22 is Madras Day — an opportunity to celebrate the many quirks of this vibrant city.
What are your plans for September? Use this planner to figure out what to do in the next month.
Here’s a quiz to end this week. How many of these do you know the answer to?
Up your GK quotient with these six questions. Get, set, go.
We know that birds can burst into melody, but what about other animals? Discover this surprising list of creatures that sing.
We sing along during road trips and have karaoke parties with friends, but did you know that bursting into song isn’t the sole talent of humans? Many creatures on Earth use their musical prowess to communicate with each other. We know for a fact that birds do this, and we are used to their melodic trills and whistles. But what about other animals?
Scroll through these slides to learn about some of Nature’s best voices.
Here’s a specially curated set of news from across the world. Read on to know what’s going on….
Are you keeping track of what’s going on in the world around you? Here’s some help to do so. A quick round up of news from across the globe.
D. Gukesh, who overtook Viswanathan Anand as the number one chess player in India, is on a winning streak.
Meet 17-year-old D. Gukesh from Tamil Nadu, the third-youngest person to qualify for the title of Grandmaster. He is now ranked ninth in the world and Number One in India. Earlier this month, he became India’s No. 1 chess player, replacing Viswanathan Anand, in the game’s live ratings. That is a remarkable feat because Anand has been the best Indian player for nearly four decades now.
Anand, of course, is the man behind the chess revolution in India. It is amazing that he continues to be an active player, taking part in occasional tournaments, though he is 53. Fortunately for Indian chess, he is also involved in the training of the country’s best young talents, including Gukesh.
Though he had been coming up with impressive shows for quite some time, Gukesh’s exceptional talent became a talking point in Indian sport some time last year. He scored eight successive wins at the Chennai Chess Olympiad to lead India 2 to a bronze medal. He also won the individual gold medal on the top board for his incredible performance.
Learn more about the mesmerising Kalbelia Dance from Rajasthan, which is part of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.
(Unravel the shuffle puzzles as you read)
The black-and-red skirts swirl and flow, as the women twirl faster and faster in keeping with the music. The audience is mesmerised as the dancers sway in imitation of the serpent’s movements. The Kalbelia dance, also known as the Sapera Dance, is performed by the Kalbelias, a tribe of snake charmers from Rajasthan. The traditional occupation is snake catching and selling venom. In the villages of Rajasthan, the Kalbelias were called if a snake was found within human habitation. The Kalbelia dance is central to their culture and the movements and costumes are meant to resemble snakes.
After the Wildlife Act 1972 was enacted, the members of the tribe were prohibited from handling snakes. The performance of the dance, then, became a major source of income. The women perform while the men give the musical accompaniment. The dancers wear flowing lehengas in a mixture of red and black, richly embroidered and set with mirrors. Above the lehenga is the angrakhi and the head is covered with an odhani. The women also adorn themselves with tattoos and heavy jewellery.
The music is provided by instruments such as the pungi or been, a wind instrument traditionally used to capture snakes; the morchang, which is similar to a Jew’s harp; and the dafli or dholak, which are percussion instruments. Special performances are held during Holi. The songs sung during the performance are based on stories from folklore and mythology. However, the musicians tend to improvise and create spontaneous compositions even during the performance. Part of an oral tradition that is handed down across generations, the Kalbelia dance is not documented through writing or training manuals.
In 2010, the UNESCO added the Kalbelia dance to its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List.
Star performer
In 1980, the folk art shot to prominence when officials from the Rajasthan Tourism Department spotted seven-year-old Gulabo Sapera dancing along with other women during a fair in Pushkar.
In 1985, Gulabo was part of a cultural contingent that went to the U.S. and performed in Washington for over two months.
She has become a cultural icon and received the Padma Shri award from the Government of India in 2016.
Photos: Photo : A.M.FARUQUI, Wikimedia Commons
Immerse yourself in a world where the symphony of flavours will take you on a gastronomic adventure.
Spices enhance the flavours of dishes make them delectable. How many of these commonly used aromatic ingredients can you recognise? Try your hand at this memory game.