Indian hokey history

In 1900, Norman D. Pritchard, probably an Anglo-Indian, who was living in England at the time, represented India, and came second in both the 200 m. sprint and the 200 m. hurdles. The IOA was formed in 1927, and thus it was only in 1928 in Amsterdam that India first participated officially in the Olympic Games. This event was marked by the Indian hockey team who won the first gold medal for their country. In 1952, K.D. Jadav won a bronze medal in wrestling at the Olympic Games in Helsinki. During the 1956 Games in Melbourne, India met Pakistan for the first time in the hockey final and won by one goal to nil.India was placed quite respectably in the football tournament and qualified for the final rounds. However, they were beaten into fourth place by Bulgaria. At the Olympic Games in Rome 1960, the Indian hockey team was finally beaten by their traditional rival, Pakistan, who won by one goal, thus ending India’s 32-year monopoly of the game.In athletics, the flying Sikh, Milkha Singh, who was placed 4th in the 110 m. hurdles, created a new record for Asian athletes by finishing the race in 14.6 seconds.India regained her reputation in hockey by wresting the title from Pakistan in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. The other performance worthy of note was also during the 1964 Olympics when Gurbachan Singh, Then came an innovative move and the Premier Hockey League was launched four years ago.The Premier Hockey League (PHL) is a domestic field hockey tournament conducted by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) with active support from sports news channel ESPN India. The tournament was initiated to revive interest in the sport, which was losing spectator interest. PHL is considered to be one of the best Hockey League played across the globe. This new tournament has benefited a lot to the national sports and excellent coverage with innovative rules and foreign players make it more exciting. Innovations introduced in the Premier Hockey League (PHL) have not only made the game more interesting but is now catching the fancy of Europeans who want to emulate a lot of things from here. who competed in the 110 m. hurdles final, came 5th in a time of 14 seconds. In the Munich Olympics held in 1972, India was able to secure a bronze medal only in hockey.

Gandhi's Ashram

While his political views were yet unformed, Gandhi’s immediate problem was to settle the small band of relatives and associates in the South African struggle who had cast their lot in with him. He decided to found an ashram and locate it at Kochrab, a village near Ahmedabad. Later the ashram was shifted to a more permanent site on the bank of the river Sabarmati.Gandhi once defined an ashram as "group life lived in a religious spirit". The word "religious" was used here in the widest sense. The ashram did not enforce on its inmates any theology or ritual, but only a few simple rules of personal conduct. Some of the vows administered in the ashram, such as those to truth, non-violence and chastity, were of universal application; others, such as those to eradicate untouchability, to do physical labour and to practise fearlessness were intended to meet the peculiar conditions of the Indian society, which was caste-ounted dignity of labour and was dominated by an alien government.All these vows were to be observed in an intelligent and creative way. They were not intended to be mechanical formulae, but as practical aids to moral and spiritual growth. They may appear to be platitudes, but nevertheless they embodied ancient truths which were none the less valid for not having been realized by the common run of mankind in workaday life.A mere enumeration of the vows is enough to indicate that life in the ashram was austere. It was also busy. Everyone had to put in some manual work. There was a spinning and weaving department, a cowshed and a large farm. Every inmate of the ashram cleaned his own plates and washed his own clothes. There were no servants. The atmosphere was, however, not so much of a monastery but that of a large family under a kindly but exacting patriarch. Gandhi was Bapu, the father of the household, Kasturba was Ba, the mother. It was a motley group including little children and octogenarians, graduates of American and European universities and Sanskrit scholars, devout whole-hoggers, and thinly disguised sceptics.

HISTORY OF JADE GEMS

Since at least 2950 BC, jade has been treasured in China as the royal gemstone, yu. The character for jade resembles a capital I with a line across the middle: the top represents the heavens, the bottom the earth, and the center section, mankind. The word yu is used in Chinese to call something precious, as in English we use gold. Jade was thought to preserve the body after death and can be found in emperors' tombs from thousands of years ago. One tomb contained an entire suit made out of jade, to assure the physical immortality of its owner. For thousands of years, jade was a symbol of love and virtue as well as a status symbol.In Central America, the Olmecs, the Mayans, the Toltecs all also treasured jade and used it for carvings and masks. The Aztecs instituted a tax in jade, which unfortunately led to the recycling of earlier artworks.The history of jade in Europe is not quite as distinguished. Although prehistoric axes and blades carved from jade have been found by archaeologist, most Europeans were unfamiliar with jade as a gemstone for jewelry use until the sixteenth century when jade objects were imported from China and, later, Central America.The Portuguese, who brought home jade pieces from their settlement in Canton, China, called jade piedre de ilharga, or stone of the loins, because they believed it to be strong medicine for kidney ailments. Jade objects brought back to Spain from the new world were called by the Spanish version of this phrase piedra de hijada. This became the French ejade and then, finally, jade.The ancient jade carved in China was what we today call nephrite jade: an amphibolite mineral. (Interestingly enough, the word nephrite comes from the Greek word for kidney, nephros, a bit more scholarly version of the same thing.) In the 19th Century , it was discovered that the material from the new world was not the same mineral as the jade from China. The mineral from Central America, a pyroxene, was called jadeite to distinguish it from the original nephrite.The Chinese knew about jadeite, travellers had brought back some jadeite from Burma as early as the thirteenth century.

Nature of Silk Fiber

The perfect raw silk fiber is a very fine filament with two parts that can readily be seen under a microscope. This filament is composed of a substance called fibroin, and the outside is covered with a waxy substance called sericin. Silk fiber in its raw state is for its size the strongest textile fiber in existence.It is said that it is as strong as an iron wire of the same size would be. Notwithstanding that in the processes of manufacture much of this strength is lost, unless very badly treated, the fiber remains remarkably strong. It is also very elastic and durable. It has a high natural luster which is improved upon in some manufacturing processes. The fabrics into which it is made are beautiful even in the natural silk colors.Absorptive power of silk.-Silk fiber readily absorbs water; wherefore, in commerce, rules are necessary regarding the amount of water allowable in the fiber offered' for sale. The usual amount allowed by weight is about eleven per cent.It can easily be understood that when raw silk fiber sells for more than three dollars a pound, a large fraction of the total weight, such as one-third, one-fourth, one-fifth, or even one-tenth of water, would make a big difference in the price. Silk markets, therefore, are always equipped with the necessary apparatus for telling just what part of the weight of the silk is water. For example, the Silk Association of America has a large laboratory in New York in which the principal work is the determination of the proportion of moisture in raw silks brought from the market. The process of getting the silk into the proper standard condition as regards moisture is called "silk conditioning."

History of Rameshwaram

Rameshwaram is a city belonging to the state of Tamil Nadu. It is an island city situated at the Gulf of Mannar at the end tip of the Indian peninsula. It is one of the most important pilgrimage centers of India. Here, Lord Rama built a bridge with the help of his devotee apes to regain his consort Sita from the grip of Ravana. Rameshwaram is a big pilgrimage center for the Hindus as both the devotees of Rama and Lord Shiva comes here for worship. Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva in this place to cleanse his sin of killing Ravana. It is also known as the Varanasi of the south.The history of Rameshwaram draws back to the golden age of the epic Ramayana. It is mainly based on mythology. Lord Shiva thanked Lord Rama for killing the demon Ravana at the battle of Sri Lanka here in this holy place of Rameshwaram. Based on this belief, all the devotees of Rama and the devotees of Shiva are attracted towards this holy eventful place of Rameshwaram. The kingdom of Ravana is 24 km away. Rameshwaram is very significant in the story of Ramayana as it was full of events of Rama in his process to conquer Sri Lanka. It is in fact the most devoted place of Hindus.Madurai airport at 173 km away is the nearest airport. The railway line in Rameshwaram connects with all the major cities of India like Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy and Tanjavur. The state transportation as well as private bus services operates in Rameshwaram. This is the cheapest mode of transportation for local and out city transportation. The people speak Tamil, Hindi and English. The climate of Rameshwaram is hot and humid round the year. The climatic temperature ranges from 25 to 37 degree Celsius. As per the season of visiting is concerned, it is favorable throughout the year but the best is from October to March.Ramanathaswamy Temple is famous for its massive granite columns. It was built in 17th century in the eastern side of the island near the sea. The water of the temple tastes different. The building of the temple is worth visiting. Agniteertham Temple is built a hundred meters away from the place where Rama worshiped Lord Shiva to purify his sin for killing Ravana. Gandamadana Parvatham is a shrine where a foot imprint of Lord Rama is found in a wheel. It is built on the highest point of the island 2 km away from Rameshwaram.

Kamaraj in children school

One of the first political acts of Kamaraj during his tenure as chief minister was to widen representation of the rising non-Brahmins in the cabinet. Ministerial berths were given to the non-Brahmin caste-based parties, Tamil Nadu Toilers Party and Commonweal Party. Both the parties were subsequently 'subsumed' by the Congress.19 In a move to counter Tamil cultural politics espoused by the DMK, Kamaraj made conscious attempts to partake in the linguistic cultural matters. In order to placate Tamil aspirations, Kamaraj effected some measures.20 The efforts towards introducing Tamil language as a medium of instruction in schools and colleges was accompanied by the publication of textbooks on 'scientific and technical subjects' in Tamil.21 In 1960 the state education minister took steps to introduce Tamil in government arts colleges as a medium of instruction.The introduction of the Tamil typewriter in government offices was another effort to change the language of administration gradually.22 Similarly the usage of Tamil in the courts received encouragement. To affirm his role in the linguistic politics of the state, Kamaraj did introduce a bill in February 1962 in the legislative assembly for changing the name of Madras to 'Tamilnad' for 'intrastate communication', the bill also proposing Madurai as the capital.23 But no decision was taken on it. However these moves were on a low key and inadequate to woo the masses. The DMK made capital out of this, routing Congress in the 1967 elections four years after Kamaraj relinquished his office as chief minister in accordance with the Kamaraj Plan to concentrate on Congress organisational work.Committed to his version of 'socialism' meaning that "those who are backward should progress", Kamaraj remained truthful to the simple dictum of his 'socialism', providing 'what is essential for man's living' such as 'dwelling, job, food and education'.24 The great feature of Kamaraj rule was the ending of the retrogressive educational policies and setting the stage for universal and free schooling. Six thousand schools closed down by Rajagopalachari were revived and 12,000 schools added.25 The percentage of school going children in the age group between 6 and 11 increased from 45 per cent to 75 per cent within a span of seven years after he became the chief minister.26

Kamaraj industrial development

Kamaraj's other major feat was his role in facilitating developmental programmes chiefly electrification and industrial development. Thousands of villages were electrified. Rural electrification led to the large-scale use of pumpsets for irrigational purposes and agriculture-received impetus. Large and small-scale industries were flagged off generating employment opportunities. Kamaraj made the best use of the funds available through the Five-Year Plans and guided Tamil Nadu in deriving the maximum benefit.His efforts in these directions not only enhanced the profile of Tamil Nadu as one of the best-administered states in the post-independent era, but it also raised it high in social and economic rankings compared to other states.32 As chief minister for nine years Kamaraj headed a stable administration and managed two elections successfully and his reputation soared high as 'shrewd and competent' and "one of the most effective chief min! isters in India."33 He proved himself more than equal to the task and his detractors retracted the statements made about this 'village-green trundler'34 and his capacity to govern the state when he took the mantle from Rajaji.His competent ministerial colleagues and the excellent set of senior state officials saw in Kamaraj 'a man with a mission' who could set aside any stricture in order to serve the common people. He was able to invoke cooperation, dedication and willingness ungrudgingly.Importantly his approach to governance and party control was never tainted with religious overtones and a secular commitment was natural and integral to his mission in life. Among his cherished political mentors, Kamaraj held George Joseph, a Kerala Christian nationalist who chose Madurai as his base for practising law and for his political activities, in high esteem.35