Month March 2021

Known as the “Pink City of India” due to its distinctive pink coloured buildings, Jaipur is the largest city in the state of Rajasthan and one of India’s most stunning cities.

You may be wondering why it is called the “Pink City,” and this is all down to Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh who had the whole city painted pink in 1876, to entice Prince Albert and Queen Victoria to visit Jaipur as part of their tour of India, as pink was considered the colour of hospitality at the time.

There is so much to see in Jaipur and it has an amazing variety of palaces, forts, temples, monuments, museums, arts and crafts, and various market places to explore.

The city is known for its beauty, and it is unique in its straight-line planning. Its buildings are predominantly rose-coloured, and it is sometimes called the “pink city.” The chief buildings are the City Palace, part of which is home to the royal family of Jaipur; Jantar Mantar, an 18th-century open-air observatory that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010; Hawa Mahal (Hall of Winds); Ram Bagh palace; and Nahargarh, the Tiger Fort. Other public buildings include a museum and a library. Jaipur is the seat of the University of Rajasthan, founded in 1947.

The city is surrounded by fertile alluvial plains to the east and south and hill chains and desert areas to the north and west. Bajra (pearl millet), barley, gram (chickpeas), pulses, and cotton are the chief crops grown in the region. Iron ore, beryllium, mica, feldspar, marble, copper, and garnet deposits are worked. In addition to Amer, other nearby attractions include Sariska National Park to the northeast.

 

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New York City is known by many nicknames—such as “the City that Never Sleeps” or “Gotham”—but the most popular one is probably “the Big Apple.” How did this nickname come about? Although uses of the phrase are documented in the early 1900s, the term first became popular in the 1920s when John J. Fitz Gerald, a sports writer, started a column about horse racing called “Around the Big Apple.” However, it wasn’t until a tourism campaign in the 1970s that the nickname came to be synonymous with New York City.

The most populous city in the U.S. also goes by the name Gotham, which was first used by Washington Irving in an 1807 issue of his literary magazine about the legends of an English village named Gotham.
New York City is frequently shortened to simply “New York”, “NY”, or “NYC”. New York City is also known as “The City” in some parts of the Eastern United States, in particular New York State and surrounding U.S. states. Other monikers have taken the form of “Hong Kong on the Hudson” or “Baghdad on the Subway”, references in different cases to the city’s prominence or its immigrant groups.

 

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Cottonopolis was a 19th-century nickname for Manchester, as it was a metropolis and the centre of the cotton industry.

Early cotton mills powered by water were built in Lancashire and its neighbouring counties. In 1781 Richard Arkwright opened the world’s first steam-driven textile mill on Miller Street in Manchester. Although initially inefficient, the arrival of steam power signified the beginning of the mechanisation that was to enhance the burgeoning textile industries in Manchester into the world’s first centre of mass production. As textile manufacture switched from the home to factories, Manchester and towns in south and east Lancashire became the largest and most productive cotton spinning centre in the world using in 1871, 32% of global cotton production. Ancoats, part of a planned expansion of Manchester, became the first industrial suburb centred on steam power. There were mills whose architectural innovations included fireproofing by use of iron and reinforced concrete.

The number of cotton mills on Manchester peaked at 108 in 1853. As the numbers declined, cotton mills opened in the surrounding towns, Bury, Oldham (at its zenith the most productive cotton spinning town in the world, Rochdale, Bolton (known as “Spindleton” in 1892) and in Blackburn, Darwen, Rawtenstall, Todmorden and Burnley. As the manufacturing centre of Manchester shrank, the commercial centre, warehouses, banks and services for the 280 cotton towns and villages within a 12-mile radius of the Royal Exchange grew. The term “Cottonopolis” came into use in about 1870.

The commercial centre of Cottonopolis was the exchange’s trading hall. The first of Manchester’s exchanges was built in the market place by Sir Oswald Mosley in 1727 for chapmen to transact business. It was subsequently re-built three times. Thomas Harrison built an exchange in the Greek Revival style between 1806 and 1809. After it opened, membership was required and trading was not restricted to textiles. Its early members were the owners of mills and warehouses, but later business was conducted by their agents and managers. Harrison’s exchange was enlarged between 1847 and 1849 by Alex Mills. After a visit in 1851, Queen Victoria granted the exchange the title the Manchester Royal Exchange. The third exchange, designed by Mills and Murgatroyd, opened in 1874. It was built in the Classical style with Corinthian columns and a dome. The Royal Exchange was lavishly re-built by architects Bradshaw Gass & Hope in 1914–21 and at the time had the largest trading room in the world. Its vast hall was 29.2 metres high and had an area of 3683 square metres. The exchange had a membership of up to 11,000 cotton merchants who met every Tuesday and Friday to trade their wares beneath the 38.5-metre high central glass dome. It was badly damaged in World War II and ceased operation for cotton trading in 1968.

 

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Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra is called the “city of dreams” or “Mayanagri” as they call. It has gained this epithet over the years not just because it offers limitless opportunities for the Indian citizens across the states, but also for people across the borders.

Now it would seem that his writerly evocation has been borne out by the revelation that Mumbaikars work the maximum hours in the world, The Price And Earnings 2018 report by the Swiss investment bank UBS avers that at an average of 3,314.7 hours a year, Mumbaikars work longer than denizens of 77 cities around the world, which certainly bears out its claim to be the ‘City that Never Sleeps’. But it does nothing to burnish its reputation of being the City of Dreams considering the report also reveals Mumbaikars have to work the maximum to earn enough to afford everything from a haircut to a top-end smartphone as it ranks just above Cairo at the bottom in terms of average hourly earnings, with Geneva at the top.
Parisians, the report revealed, put in only half as many working hours as Mumbaikars but take a month off on average. Mumbaikars, however, take a mere 10 days off annually, only marginally more than Beijing, Los Angeles and Hanoi residents. The inhabitants of Lagos take the fewest leaves—a suspiciously meagre six six days—but then practically every day is a holiday there obviously as they work only an average of 609 hours annually. Going by these numbers, maximum work and minimum play could very well turn Mumbai into Dull City.

 

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Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. With more than one million inhabitants in its urban area (and almost two and a half million inhabitants in its metropolitan area), it is the country’s largest city and its financial, cultural, and creative centre.

Amsterdam derives its name from the city’s origin as “Dam” of river “Amstel”. In the past, the name was “Amstelredamme” which later changed as “Amsterdam”. Amsterdam is one of the most popular destinations in Europe, attracting over 7 million international travellers annually.

Amsterdam is colloquially known as Venice of the North because of its lovely canals that criss-cross the city, its impressive architecture and more than 1,500 bridges. There is something for every traveller’s taste here; whether you prefer culture and history, serious partying, or just the relaxing charm of an old European city.

Settled as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important trading centres in the world during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, with the first stock exchange and the joint ventures that gave birth to modern day Capitalism. The city’s small medieval centre rapidly expanded as the Jordaan and the Canal Belt neighbourhoods were constructed; the latter’s cultural significance was acknowledged when it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded in all directions, with many new neighbourhoods and suburbs designed in modernist styles.

Amsterdam is not the seat of the government, which is in The Hague. It has always been a city that attracted many people from outside its borders. Nowadays it’s the city with the most different nationalities in the world (178 in 2010). The city has an informal atmosphere unlike other capital cities its size. In fact, Amsterdam has a history of non-conformism, tolerance and progressivism, all of which come together in its liberal policies concerning cannabis and teleiophilic prostitution. Other attractions include the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, the Flower Market, Albert Cuyp Market, and the Vondelpark.

 

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The age profiles of the Dickinsonia fossils in the Maihar sandstone, determined using Zircon dating, make them comparable to those from Russia’s White Sea region, at about 555 Ma. Further proof comes from comparable Dickinsonia tenuis and Dickinsonia costata fossils in South Australia, estimated to be from 550 Ma. Studies of the rock characteristics in and around Bhimbetka show that they shared several characteristics with rocks in Australia, including “old elephant skin” texture and also a trace fossil, Prasinema gracile, the research paper notes.

Dickinsonia fossils from India were found by the scientists to be identical to the Rawnsley Quartzite in South Australia, providing evidence of their age, and the proximity of the two land masses in Gondwanaland in that era. The evidence however did not support reconstructions adjusted for the polar wander phenomenon [which involves motion of continents over geologic time and its impacts].

One distinguishing characteristic of these creatures is the absence of hard protective parts such as skeletons and carapaces (exteriors), perhaps because there were no predators. This was also the time that evidence shows some of the earliest multicellular organisms, or metazoa. The evidence comes from life forms in water when land lacked life.

 

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Dickinsonia is an extinct genus of basal animal that lived during the late Ediacaran period in what is now Australia, China, India, Russia and Ukraine. The individual Dickinsonia typically resembles a bilaterally symmetrical ribbed oval. Its affinities are presently unknown; its mode of growth is consistent with a stem-group bilaterian affinity, though some have suggested that it belongs to the fungi, or even an “extinct kingdom”. The discovery of cholesterol molecules in fossils of Dickinsonia lends support to the idea that Dickinsonia was an animal.

They are nearly bilaterally symmetric, segmented, round or oval in outline, slightly expanded to one end (i.e. egg-shaped outline). The rib-like segments are radially inclined towards the wide and narrow ends, and the width and length of the segments increases towards the wide end of the fossil. The segments are separated by a thin ridge or groove along the axis of symmetry into right and left halves.

Some spectacular fossils attributed to Dickinsonia appear to preserve internal anatomy, believed to represent a tract that both digested food and distributed it throughout the organism.

 

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Researchers have discovered three fossils of the earliest known living animal — the 550-million-year-old ‘Dickinsonia’ — on the roof of the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, about 40 km from Bhopal.

One can identify the fossils from the white leaf-like patches with a central vertebra (central midrib) and connecting veins. While one fossil is 17 inches long, the other two are much smaller.

The new discoveries, published in a journal, Gondwana Research, can be seen right at the beginning of the ‘Auditorium Cave’, the first of such caves at Bhimbetka, a UNESCO heritage site, located about 3.5 metres above the ground.

Geological Survey of India’s Bhopal in-charge Tapan Pal, who had come to visit the site, told The Hindu that they were the only such fossils available in the country, and were similar to those seen in south Australia.

 

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By defeating Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in the men’s singles final of the 2021 Australian Open on February 21. 2021, Novak Djokovic claimed his ninth Australian Open and 18th Grand Slam title overall.

MAGICAL NUMBERS

Nine and counting – Victory at the 2021 Australian Open gave Novak Djokovic his ninth Australian Open title, allowing him to extend his existing record of most Australian Open titles won by a male player. Djokovic, in fact, is only the fourth player to win nine or more titles at the same Grand Slam. Rafael Nadal heads that list with 13 French Open men’s singles titles, with Margaret Court (11 Australian Open women’s singles titles) and Martina Navratilova (9 Wimbledon women’s singles titles) coming in second and third. Djokovic however, is only the third player to achieve the feat in the Open Era (1968 onwards), as seven of Court’s 11 Australian Open victories came before the Open Era began.

Final frontier? No problem! Djokovic has now made it to the final of the Australian Open on nine different occasions. On each of these nine occasions. Djokovic has emerged victorious and lifted the title 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2020, giving him a 9-0 record at Australian Open finals. Only Nadal, who has a 13-0 record in French Open finals, has a better record for most wins without a loss in finals at any major in the Open Era.

WITHIN REACHING DISTANCE

Two short of Federer, Nadal – Already second in the list of Grand Slam winners in men’s singles in the Open Era, Djokovic closed in on leaders Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with his 18th Grand Slam victory. With both Federer and Nadal having 20 Grand Slam titles so far, Djokovic will be eyeing to close in further later this year.

One behind Serena – With nine Australian Open titles and three US Open titles, Djokovic has won 12 of his 18 Grand slam titles on hardcourts. His latest victory helped him break the tie with Federer and Djokovic now has the most for any man. When considering men and women, however, Djokovic is second behind Serena Williams, who has won 13 majors on hardcourts.

PLAYING DJOKOVIC AT AO ISN’T A JOKE

Top dog – Out of Djokovic’s nine Australian Open titles, six have come when he has entered the tournament as the top seed. This means that Djokovic has a 42-0 record (you need to win seven matches at a Grand Slam event to lift the title) in the Australian Open as the No. 1 seed.

Getting faster – Djokovic required just an hour and 53 minutes to dispatch Daniil Medvedev in the final, making it the shortest of 28 Grand Slam finals that he has been a part of. His previous shortest also came at the Australian Open when he defeated Nadal in two hours and four minutes in the 2019 final.

 

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Bulletproof clothing are designed to protect the wearer from the impact of bullets on his/her vital organs Bulletproof vests are made of many Layers of tightly-woven fibres such as Dyneema and Kevlar. Kevlar is considered seven times stronger than steel while Dyneema is 15 times stronger. These fibres are basically a type of plastic (polyethylene) with high tensile strength owing to their tightly bound, parallel molecules. Layers of fibre are sealed together into a vest shaped sheet or panel. This panel is inserted into a carrier, ensuring it is tightly held at proper position on the wearer’s body. This carrier and the panels constitute bulletproof clothing.

So, what do these layers of fibre do? The layers of this tough material deform the incoming bullet, stripping it of its energy. They absorb the energy from the bullet, slow it down through friction and bring it to a stop. However, some layers may be penetrated. Hence, unlike the name suggests, a bulletproof vest is not truly bulletproof but actually bullet resistant. It can prevent bullets from penetrating the body however, even after a bullet is stopped, the impact can sometimes injure the wearer. There are different vests for different guns. Some higher level armours allow for metal plates to be inserted, providing extra protection.

 

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