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Why is ATMA Atyrau Airport special?

Located 8 km northwest of Atyrau in Kazakhstan, the ATMA Atyrau Airport is the lowest international commercial airport in the world. It is 22 m below sea level and is the only airport in Atyrau.

In 1994, the company named ATMA got the operational rights of the airport when it was privatised as a build and operate model. In 2007, the company completed the construction of the new terminal building along with a new, longer runway. The terminal has a total area of 2,000 square metres and can serve 600 passengers in an hour. As per data available, it was the 5th busiest airport in Kazakhstan in 2009, where 937,032 passengers passed through the airport.

The airport and its surrounding areas are crucial for Kazakhstan’s economy because of the oil exploration sites and platforms on the Caspian Sea that are located nearby. The city is the base town for the oil and construction companies of the region.

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What is the story of Pandora’s box? What is the most important message of Pandora’s box?

Is curiosity a blessing or a curse? The paradoxical nature of this trait is personified in Greek mythology by the tale of Pandora, the woman whose blazing curiosity set a chain of Earth-shattering events.

The birth of Pandora

Pandora was breathed to life by the God of fire. Hephestus, who called for gifts from his divine companions to make his creation extraordinary.

The pantheon of Gods blessed her with her name, a capacity for deep emotion, and creativity. Finally, when Zeus’s turn came, he blessed the mortal with not one but two gifts.

First was the trait of curiosity and the second was a heavy sealed box which came with a warning that she must never open it under any circumstances. Pandora’s life on Earth brimmed with excitement, but her thirst for knowledge often made her wonder about the contents of the sealed box. Her wandering mind was often plagued by the question: What treasure was so great that it could never be seen by mortals? And why was it in her care?

Mystery of the box

The mystery of the box was madding to the point that she was convinced that she heard the contents rattling around inside, trying to get free.

One day she could bear it no longer. As she opened the lid, monstrous screeching creatures were let loose. Turns out Zeus had used the box as a vessel to imprison every calamity and evil being that was ever created.

Crippling anxiety took hold of her as she helplessly tried to direct these creatures back into the box. All seemed lost until a warm beam of light arose from the vessel and a tiny butterfly fluttered away easing Pandora’s mind. This beautiful creature was hope. Ever since then humans have been able to hold on to hope in order to thrive in the darkest hours and to endure and overcome the hardships in life.

In modern times…

The term Pandora’s box refers to the extreme consequences of tampering with the unknown.

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Monarchy & Shakespeare

Royal patronage bestowed upon Shakespeare’s Globe theatre the prestige, and popularity it required to reach a wider audience. This is the reason why literary critics believe that Macbeth which is easily one of the greatest plays written by the bard was skillfully designed to flatter the reigning monarch King James I.

King James I succeeded Queen Elizabeth I as the royal head of the nation following the latters death in 1603. Known for his love for art and generosity towards actors, playwrights and other performers of the day, within ten days of ascending to the throne he offered his patronage to Shakespeare’s acting troupe, which the bard graciously accepted. Overjoyed by the sanction of the royal patent, the legendary playwright changed the name of his troupe to The King’s men, in honour of the reigning monarch.

The role of a patron

A patron was usually a wealthy aristocrat or royal court official who would fund the playwright’s or artist’s work and livelihoods. Acting companies based in London at the time would also require their patrons to get them a licence to perform and this was the reason why many such companies would then be named after their benefactors.

Macbeth

Royal patronage bestowed upon Shakespeare’s Globe theatre the prestige, and popularity it required to reach a wider audience. These favours are the reason why literary critics believe that Macbeth which is easily one of the greatest plays written by the bard around 1606 (his first play under his new patron) and set in King James I’s native land of Scotland, was skilfully designed to flatter the king. It also featured like treason, revolt and downfall of the monarch’s murderers – legitimising the divine right of kings as dictated by the European Christianity of the time.

Shakespeare’s history plays

Ten plays that are referred to as Shakespeare’s history plays cover English history from the 12th to 16th Century and each of these is named after and revolves around, the reigning monarch of the period. These political plays were seen as patriotic exercises that celebrated past greatness and sympathised with the suffering of the bygone days. In An Apology for Actors (1612), Shakespeare’s contemporary Thomas Heywood wrote, that history plays are written with the aim to teach their subject obedience to their king. Some examples of these plays include Richard II, Hendry V, and Richard III. Although critics are still divided about whether or not the bard’s chronicle plays were merely tools of propaganda, one cannot deny the huge impact the works of this legendary wordsmith have had on our collective understanding of these historic figures.

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Carving a legacy

Since it was first written in the early 1880s, Italian author Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio has remained one of the most universally recognisable works of Italian literature. Let’s look at what has made this classic endure the test of time.

Between the Covers is a weekly column that introduces young readers to the world of literary classics. It focusses on one celebrated book each week and finds out what makes.

About the Author

Carlo Lorenzini was born November 24, 1826, in Florence, Tuscany. Both of his parents worked for the marchese (Italian nobleman) Ginori Lisci His mother Angiolina Orzali Lorenzini was a seamstress and his father Domenico Lorenzini was a cook. Carlo was the eldest of his 10 siblings and spent most of his childhood with his maternal grandmother in Collodi. At the age of 30, the Italian author and journalist adopted the pseudonym Carlo Collodi, after his beloved mothers hometown near Pistoia in Tuscany.

Today he is best known as the creative mind behind The Adventures of Pinocchio, a classic tale of a marionette child brought to life. This puppet is known for his long nose, which (only) on one occasion in the novel although more frequently in other adaptations) grows when he lies.

Pinocchio’s story was first published in 1881 in a serialised format in Giornale Dei Bambini (Italian for children’s magazine) before it was published as a novel in 1883. Collodi’s masterpiece is held as one of Italy’s literary national treasures and is credited with being one of the most iconic works of children’s literature of all time, inspiring plays, movies, and hundreds of new editions making the titular puppet one of the most reprinted characters in the pantheon of children’s literature. With its slapstick humour and instructive themes, The Adventures of Pinocchio was a turning point in Italian literature and commented on the pathetic conditions of the lower working class at the time, through the character of Geppetto. However, Disney’s 1940 adaptation of the Italian classic, critics say, censors, sugar coats, and trivialises Collodi’s original tale to present a very Americanised and domesticated version of Pinocchio’s story as “a paean to impossibly idealised childhood”.

Once upon a time…

A marionette called Pinocchio comes to life because it was carved out of a piece of enchanted wood by a carpenter named Geppetto. The life-affirming story chronicles the adventures of the titular character and elaborates how our hero rises above different kinds of temptations (such as leading a life of leisure in the land of toys) to become human.

What makes it a classic?

Transformation

This story shows how things can very quickly go from bad to worse, but also from terrible to wonderful through acts of kindness and how sometimes this much-needed kindness can come from strangers. In the story, we witness how Pinocchio (like most kids) suffers and learns from the compulsive habit or the insatiable need to do something he had been told not to do over and over again. The protagonists’ behaviour and inspiring journey from ignorance to knowledge is very relatable and helps us as readers redefine how we perceive the pitfalls of life.

The lure of temptations

The story has an eerie quality and a folklore-like nature. The authors use of the ideas of rebirth, ghosts, and fairies along with manipulative characters such as the fox, the cat, and the giant serpent demonstrates the power of temptations. Crafting a children’s story while talking about the base reality of existence through complex themes such as poverty, the difference between good and evil, child abuse, and the role of one’s conscience, Collodi emphasises how the difference between adult and children’s literature was quite an alien idea in Italian literary tradition at the time.

What is it to be human?

Pinocchio’s story brilliantly exemplifies the multiplicity of meaning in the written word as it tries to answer the intriguing question: What is it to be human?

Through this straightforward narrative, which is deceptively simple but truly complex, Collodi seems to suggest that being human is to expose oneself to the good, bad, and ugly realities of the world and gain wisdom through experience. Pinocchio becomes human when he is able to think freely and also weigh the consequences of his actions.

The relationship with the conscience

Clinical psychologist Dr. Jordan B Peterson says that the learning relationship that Pinocchio shares with the cricket (which stands in as a personification of the puppet’s conscience) demystifies the widely accepted idea of an omniscient or all-knowing conscience that can guide one to redemption, to suggest that in life, you and your conscience mature together through critically thinking and learning from the ebb and flow of life. This kind of growth is an indispensable part of our journey on this planet.

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The short life of a prolific storyteller

Guy de Maupassant is known for depicting human life, emotions and social forces and creating drama out of it. His birth anniversary was observed on August 5. Mathilde was born into a family of clerks. She largely despised her social setting, unable to enjoy all the luxuries of life. She dreamt of dainty dinners, shining silverware, gowns and jewels. Then one night, Mathilde gets an invitation to go to a party with her husband. She borrows a diamond necklace from her friend. But Mathilde loses it at the party. Instead of telling the truth, the duo replaces the necklace by buying a diamond necklace and end up working the rest of the years to pay for it, living a miserable life. You can always see a Mathilde if you look around, one who aspires to live above their station and later pays the price for it. Mathilde is a character in the short story “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant. But the story doesn’t end there.

The greatest reveal comes towards the end when Maupassant unveils with a flourish that the necklace is a fake. The friend tells Mathilde that it was paste jewellery and not real diamonds that she lost.

The short story is known for its twist ending and the irony of life. “The Necklace” is just one among the 300 short stories written by Maupassant. A master storyteller, Maupassant is considered the father of short story writing.

Maupassant is known for weaving narratives around human life, emotions and social forces and creating drama out of it. The life of the lower and middle classes figure as one of the central themes of his stories.

Maupassant studied law in Paris. The Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870 while he was studying law and he enlisted himself in the army. This military experience would later on become fodder for many of his literary works. Some of his stories are set during the Franco-Prussian War and the narratives delve into the futility of war.

Maupassant underwent an informal apprenticeship under French novelist Gustave Flaubert which left a great influence on his literary career.

His stories were crafted in the naturalist style, meaning they are more realistic. With prose that is devoid of any frills, his writings are simple. His stories always delve into the many emotions of the human mind such as greed, ambition and desire. Apart from short stories, he wrote novels and travel books.

It was his short story ‘Boule de Suif (Ball of Fat) that first gained him attention.

Some of his famous short stories are the The Necklace’, The Horla’, The False Gems’, and ‘Useless Beauty’. He also worked in newspapers where his short stories were published. His works are said to have influenced writers such as O Henry, William Somerset Maugham, Anton Chekhov and so on.

Maupassant is regarded as one of the greatest storytellers the literary world has ever seen. Sadly, he died at the young age of 42.

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What are natural dyes?

As the name indicates, natural dyes are those obtained from naturally available sources. Though plants are among the most common sources of natural dyes, insects, fungi and minerals contribute too. As for plant sources, the options are plenty from leaves, seeds, and bark to flowers fruits, vegetables, and roots. And if you think the number of colours could be limited since they are of natural origin, here’s a little surprise for you- the variety is almost endless. Different shades of red, green, blue, purple, and brown can all be obtained naturally!

A few common sources

Cochineal and lac insects are a source for shades of red. While the former is used largely in textile, the latter is used in ornaments and for wood finish. Shellfish plays an important role as a natural source for shades of purple. The use of all three goes back at least a few centuries.

One of the oldest and most widely used, indigo comes from a variety of flowering plants of the genus indigofera, and it’s believed to have been in use since prehistoric times. Pomegranate rind, turmeric, onion skin, tamarind seed, myrobalan fruit, marigold, bluebellvine flower, annatto seed, teak leaf, and madder root are some of the sources of natural dyes. These dyes have a wide variety of application.

Where are natural dyes used?

Many Indian textile traditions originally used only natural colours-while some may embrace synthetic colours now, some continue the tradition. Such traditions include ajrakh and kalamkari. In addition, several everyday products, including soaps, bags, and baskets, lend themselves to natural dyes.

Since synthetic colours have been proven to cause skin and health concerns, natural dyes offer a much safer alternative for use in food, cosmetics, and medicine.

Just like textile traditions, several of our toy and art traditions have used natural dyes. These include Etikoppaka and Channapatna (toys), and Patachitra, Gond, Patua, and Warli (painting traditions). Many floor and wall art traditions across our country, practised and popularised exclusively by women, have traditionally used natural sources of colours such as rice flour, clay, red soil, cow dung, etc. These traditions include kolam, mandana, and aripana.

Why natural dyes?

Kinder to Earth: Since they are natural, the dyes are biodegradable, and disposing them of may not cause pollution. In the case of a plant source other parts of that plant may have their uses too, leading to waste reduction. Many of the sources are said to use less water when compared to synthetic dyes.

Gentle on humans: Many synthetic colours are said to contain chemicals that can harm our skin (through textiles, cosmetics, or toys) or internal organs (when consumed as food), both during the production stage and when used. Such chemicals are almost absent in natural dyes.

Tradition meets innovation: The traditional process of preparing, testing, and using natural dyes is labour-intensive, and the people involved are artisans in their own right. Add to this contemporary experiments, and what we have is a unique result that beautifully straddles the old and the new.

Did you know

  • Synthetic dyes have their origins invariably in non-renewable petrochemical compounds, and are available in many forms such as liquid powder, pastes, or granule. So, they cost less and are more widely used than natural dyes. But they are not environment-friendly in the long run. Their effluents may cause harm to marine creatures
  • Synthetic or artificial dyes were invented less than 200 years ago, becoming particularly popular around the time of the Industrial Revolution. And for thousands of years before that, our ancestors had used colours obtained only from natural and local sources.
  • Our country has evidence of madder-dyed textiles found at Mohenjo-daro nearly 5,000 years ago, a clear indication of our ancient knowledge of dyeing fabric.

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