In the present day world, where the number of birds and animals is dwindling fast due to environmental issues and man-made calamities, a bird lover has made an attempt to provide shelter to sparrows at his home.
Salauddin, class I civil contractor of Manvi town of the district, is the Good Samaritan, who has given shelter to sparrows in his house for the past four and a half years. He has installed bamboo, tires, pots etc and feeds water and food to these birds through these equipment. In addition, he has built a small house for these birds. The birds use water and have food in this house. Salauddin is well known for his love of birds in the district like another bird lover Saleem Ali.
Salauddin’s house has become a tourist spot. Everyday hundreds of school children visit his house during school days.
Salauddin says that protecting the birds is his aim. In addition to sparrows, he also has Myna, Robin and Bulbul birds making nests in his house. His wife and children provide him full support in his noble work.
Salauddin opines that birds and animals have as much right to live on this earth as human beings. He says that everyone has to at least make arrangements to provide water to birds especially during summer.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> Top Stories / by Daijiworld Media Network – Raichur (MS) / August 14th, 2021
This is the fifth part of the series called `Scientist Says’ where we bring for our readers the significant and commendable research works of young scientists.
Dr. Ahamed Irshad is a research associate in the department of chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He has been associated with National Science Foundation, US Army, and Department of Energy on various battery projects. He has authored several articles in international journals published by American Chemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry and Electrochemical Society. He served as the topic editor for Journal of Energy and Power Technology, and reviewer for international journals. He is also a recipient of Cottrell scholar award, Bristol-Myers-Squibb fellowship, Dr. J. C. Gosh medal, and Indian Academy of Science award. He shares some of his significant research works with Rashida BakaitofIndia Tomorrow.
Q. Please briefly explain your research.
Ans: My research interest is on developing novel materials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices. The research area can be broadly classified into two: (i) hydrogen fuel production from water and (ii) high energy batteries for electric vehicles.
The first project on hydrogen fuel was carried out during my PhD at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Hydrogen is considered as a fuel for the future. While burning petrol or diesel release huge amount of greenhouse gases, the only by-product of hydrogen fuel is water. Currently, hydrogen is produced from methane by steam-methane reforming. This method also produces CO2 and hence cannot be counted as a green method. My research topic was on utilizing carbon free, inexpensive, and abundant water (H2O) molecules as the hydrogen source and use electricity to split water. The process requires energy close to 237 kJ mol-1 or theoretical voltage of 1.23 V. However, practical voltage is as high as 1.8-2 V due to sluggish kinetics. This limits the efficiency to 65-70 % and necessitates expensive catalysts such as IrO2 or RuO2. My research goal was to design and develop highly active, low-cost, and stable cobalt and nickel-based catalysts to improve the efficiency. The use of inexpensive catalysts would also reduce the overall cost and make hydrogen an attractive fuel.
The battery research was done in collaboration with US Army and Department of Energy at University of Southern California, Los Angeles. There is a growing demand for high energy batteries for electric vehicles. Current lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology has limited range (200-300 miles) and high cost of $130/kWh. In addition, LIBs use toxic cobalt-based materials. In recent years, lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries have emerged as a promising substitute to LIBs due to its five times high energy density. In addition, sulfur is earth abundant and less expensive. Commercialization of Li-S batteries is still hindered by its inability to charge/discharge quickly for several cycles. This has been attributed to high internal resistance and dissolution of soluble polysulfides. We proposed an electrode design with different carbons to reduce the resistance and developed an interlayer to improve the cyclability.
Q. What was the objective of your research?
Ans: Although water electrolysis is used to produce high purity hydrogen, its widespread deployment is impeded by the high cost. My goal was to develop cost-effective and robust catalysts based on nickel and cobalt instead of expensive platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru), and iridium (Ir) . I also wanted to investigate the key factors that affect the stability and activity. Similarly, Li-S battery technology has a high potential to replace LIBs(Lithium batteries). My primary objective was to identify the fundamental origin of the high internal resistance in Li-S batteries using a technique called electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It was also intended to develop an advanced electrode structure to reduce the resistance that would allow to charge and discharge battery fast. Then again, we proposed a novel interlayer to stop soluble polysulfides diffusing from cathode to anode.
Q. What were the new findings of your research?
Ans: We prepared a series of novel materials such as cobalt-phosphate, cobalt-acetate, manganese-phosphate, etc. for water electrolysis. Our electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance studies suggested that the cobalt-phosphate catalysts are not stable at high voltage. In addition, the catalyst deposition was slow due to poor solubility of Co2+ in phosphate. We proposed the catalyst preparation from an acetate solution because the solubility of Co2+ in acetate is high and a large quantity of materials can be prepared in a short time. Cobalt-acetate also exhibited higher activity than cobalt-phosphate. In the case of Li-S battery, we used electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to probe the internal resistance. Our studies indicated that the high resistance originate from poor interparticle contact and sluggish battery reaction kinetics. When we added high surface area carbon, battery performed much better than before due to improved interparticle contact and high number of reaction sites. Adding an interlayer between electrodes stopped diffusion of soluble polysulfides. As a result of advanced cathode design and additional layer, our Li-S battery could be charged and discharged quickly for several cycles.
Q. What kind of challenges did you face?
Ans: The ideal catalyst should have high activity, stability, and preferably made of earth abundant, inexpensive, and non-toxic materials. It was a great challenge to incorporate all the features in a single material. For instance, cobalt-phosphate was very active but not stable. Low-cost manganese-phosphate didn’t show any catalytic activity or stability whereas highly expensive iridium-phosphate exhibited highest activity. Among all the materials tested, we identified cobalt-acetate as the most promising catalyst that showed high activity, stability, and relatively low cost. In the case of Li-S (Lithium-Sulfur) battery testing, identifying the key factors affecting the battery performance was a bit challenging. Impedance spectroscopy aided us to isolate a few factors that affected battery performance significantly. Fabrication of electrodes with different compositions and optimizing the electrode design was a herculean task.
Q. Any scholarship or award for research.
Ans: The battery project was financially supported by various federal and private agencies such as National Science Foundation, US Army, Department of Energy, and a battery startup called STAQ Energy. I was awarded the prestigious Cottrell award by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and Research Corporation in 2020. I am also a recipient of Dr. J. C. Gosh gold medal in Physical Chemistry and Bristol-Myers-Squibb fellowship. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, provided me fellowship for five years during my PhD. I also received Indian Academy of Science fellowship.
Q. How do you think your research would be beneficial to the society or industry?
Ans: There is a gradual increase in the CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The transport sector contributes almost 30 % of the greenhouse gases. Moreover, the petrol and diesel price keep increasing every day, and these fuels will run out soon. It is the time to look for clean fuel like hydrogen. My research findings on low-cost catalysts will reduce the hydrogen fuel price and improve the efficiency of electrolyzer. It is also possible to interface the electrolyzer with solar panel or wind turbine to store renewable energy. Similarly, high energy batteries are essential for electric vehicles and portable applications. Our results on Li-S batteries will advance the battery technology beyond lithium-ion battery and reduce the weight and cost of car batteries. The use of high energy batteries will increase the driving range as well. These batteries will be useful for drones and other aerial vehicles also.
Q. When did you begin and complete your research?
Ans: I have been doing battery research since I joined USC in 2017. My PhD started in 2011 and I submitted thesis in 2016. During five years of PhD, I entirely focused on developing catalyst for hydrogen production.
Q. Any other new research you are working on now?
Ans: Currently, I am investigating materials for fluoride-ion battery. In this case, the negatively charged fluoride ions are the charge carriers instead of positively charged lithium ions in lithium-ion battery. This is a new concept that has not been well explored. Another project is on alkaline batteries that are suitable for large scale stationary energy storage. I also continue to work on Li-S batteries for electric vehicles.
Q. How do you think your research can be carried forward further?
Ans: We have an extensive collaboration with scientists and research groups across the world. Currently, we are trying to utilize the technology and skills from different groups to understand the detailed molecular and crystal structure of the catalyst. This would allow us to establish structure-property relationship in these catalysts and investigate the fundamental reaction mechanism. We also communicated with battery companies and federal agencies to examine the feasibility of commercialization of our battery technology.
Q. Tips and suggestions for the budding scientists.
Ans: Career as a scientist is challenging yet a very rewarding experience. To be successful, you need to nurture scientific curiosity, creativity, deep passion, and perseverance. Always make sure that you learn the basic concepts thoroughly and keep yourself updated with scientific literature. Use the early years’ research career to learn as many techniques as possible that will help to tackle many scientific problems in future. Don’t hesitate to expose yourself to different ways of thinking by discussing ideas with peers, gaining experience in different research groups, and creating a network of friends. Communication is also important. You should learn to give presentations and write papers to share your research outputs with others. Just like in any other career, life as a scientist will have many ups and downs, but it’s your choice to scream or enjoy the journey.
source:http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> Education> Featured / by Rashida Bakait, IndiaTomorrow.net / April 16th, 2021
Glossier, more attractive birding books have been published in the 80 years since Ali’s guide first appeared, but it remains indispensable.
The first edition of Salim Ali’s book appeared in 1941. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
It is a small book, my copy of Salim Ali’s The Book of Indian Birds — a hardcover version, bound in green, a mere 187 pages. I have the 1979 edition. The cover is long gone, leaving behind a few tatters of the original, but I am hard put to think of a book I have treasured and used as much. The book and an old pair of Bushnell binoculars acquired some 20 years ago are a part of my essential travelling kit, as essential as a toothbrush and comb.
The first edition of the book appeared in 1941. Jawaharlal Nehru , a keen nature lover, gifted a copy to his daughter while lodged in Dehradun jail.
Ali was quite matter-of-fact in his autobiography, The Fall of a Sparrow. According to him, the book was “acknowledged as largely responsible for creating and fostering much of the interest in birds and birdwatching seen in the country today”. Indeed, for people of a certain generation, no other guide has been valued and loved in the same way, and even among Ali’s other classic works, it is this book that has iconic status among Indian birdwatchers. While setting off on a birding trip, we would ask each other: “Have you taken your Salim Ali?” Or: “Oh, no, I forgot my Salim Ali.” It was always the small green book that we were talking of. It is the essential — the foundational — field guide for Indian birders. It is now in its 13th edition. No other book can take its place.
I came to birdwatching by serendipity. No one on either side of my family was even remotely interested in birds. By a throw of the dice, I was allotted Bharatpur for my district training in the IAS. The Keoladeo Ghana National Park beckoned. I was hooked. Ali, who had done more than anyone alive to create this “Garden of God” out of a Maharaja’s private wetlands reserve, was still alive, and visited a few times while I was there. Two bird guides, Sohan Lal and Bholu Khan, still active today, were being trained by him and other naturalists. They were to mature into fine birding guides, much in demand.
The Book of Indian Birds is where we learned our basic vocabulary of birdwatching. For instance, we learned that “pied” meant black and white, that “rufous” meant reddish-brown as in rust or oxidised iron, and that “fulvous” indicated tawny. Every carefully chosen word signified something. The clarity and the precision of expression meant that in a short half-page entry, we would have all the necessary information about a species. Each write-up was organised around five or six points — size, field characters or appearance, distribution, habits, food, call and nesting. Size was always charmingly described as myna plus, or house crow minus, or with reference to a sparrow, a bulbul or other common bird. Under “field characters”, Ali beautifully and accurately described the appearance: Colour of the feathers, the shape of the bill, silhouette in flight. A crimson-breasted barbet was “heavy-billed”, a blue-throated barbet “a gaudily coloured, dumpy green, arboreal bird” and the common grey hornbill a “clumsy brownish-grey bird”. Birds are described variously as handsome, squat, soft-plumaged, lively, dapper, dainty, spruce, slim, perky, well-groomed. The common roller or blue jay (neelkanth) is described as a “striking, Oxford and Cambridge blue bird”.
People who have always noticed the easy readability of the prose might not be aware that Ali himself gave credit to his wife, Tehmina, for ironing out the “stilted passages” and for “moderating the language”. He did not fail to praise her “remarkable feeling for colloquial English prose style”.
My Salim Ali bears the marks of the trajectory of my life, where I went, what I did. It is not merely well-worn and well-thumbed, with an unravelling spine and precarious binding; it also bears the added signs of pickle stains and tick marks in ink and pencil. Like me, it has seen better days. I know that many bird guides have been subsequently published with much better production values and better colour plates. I am aware that many of the illustrations in the Salim Ali book are decidedly not true to life. For instance, never did a rosy pastor look as pink in real life as it does in the book. But this is mere quibbling. The core and kernel of the book is that it communicates to us so successfully the magical universe of the birds of India.
The international jury which selected Ali for the J Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize of the World Wildlife Fund in 1975 said in its citation: “Your message has gone high and low across the land and we are sure that weaver birds weave your initials in their nests, and swifts perform parabolas in the sky in your honour.”
On his 34th death anniversary on June 20, it is time to remember the book that Ali gave us, which took us on this magical journey to the birds.
This column first appeared in the print edition on June 19, 2021 under the title ‘Birding with Salim Ali’. The writer is a former IAS officer.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Opinion> Columns / by Malovika Pawar / June 19th, 2021
Locals claim ‘Noorjahan’ mangoes are of Afghan origin and cultivated only in the Katthiwada region of Alirajpur district adjacent to the Gujarat border, approximately 250 km from Indore.
The ‘Noorjahan’ mango, cultivated in Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur district, is fetching a higher price this year thanks to the good yield and sheer size of the fruit compared with the last year.
The ‘Noorjahan’ mango is priced at Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 apiece this season, a farmer said on Sunday, adding unlike the last year, the yield of this variety of mangoes has been good this time due to favourable weather conditions.
Locals claim ‘Noorjahan’ mangoes are of Afghan origin and cultivated only in the Katthiwada region of Alirajpur district adjacent to the Gujarat border, approximately 250 km from Indore.
“The three Noojahan mango trees in my orchard have produced 250 mangoes. The fruit has been priced between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per piece. Bookings have already been done for these mangoes,” Shivraj Singh Jadhav, a mango cultivator from Katthiwada, told PTI.
He said people who have booked ‘Noorjahan’ mangoes in advance include fruit lovers from Madhya Pradesh as well as neighbouring Gujarat.
“This time the weight of a Noorjahan mango is going to be between 2 kg to 3.5 kg,” Jadhav added.
Ishaq Mansoori, an expert in cultivating ‘Noorjahan’ mangoes in Katthiwada, said, “This time the crop of this variety has been good but the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the business”.
He said ‘Noorjahan’ trees could not flower properly due to unfavourable climatic conditions in 2020.
“In 2019, one mango of this variety weighed around 2.75 kg at an average and buyers paid as high as Rs 1,200 apiece for it,” he added.
The ‘Noorjahan’ variety produces fruits towards the beginning of June.
These trees start flowering in January- February.
A ‘Noorjahan’ mango can grow up to a foot long and its kernels weigh between 150 to 200 grams, local cultivators claimed.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by PTI / Indore – June 06th, 2021
What started as documenting his own life in Europe while pursuing his Masters gradually gained direction and came to focus on wildlife photography.
Hyderabad:
His photographs of a snow leopard from Spiti, Himachal Pradesh broke the internet, literally. Yet the man is still calm, unassuming.
Ismail Shariff, Hyderabad-based nature and wildlife photographer, is known to wildlife and photography enthusiasts as the ‘Snow Leopard Man of India’. His long and passionate association with photography began in his student days. What started as documenting his own life in Europe while pursuing his Masters gradually gained direction and came to focus on wildlife photography.
Picking up his first camera in 2005, Ismail was treated to the magnificent sight of a huge male tiger in 2008 while on a trip to the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh. That was the defining moment of his life. “It became one of the reasons for me to move back to India to pursue of wildlife photography and tourism here,” he said.
Ismail, an alumnus of the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, has been part of nine snow leopard expeditions in the last seven years with the recent one being in 2020, apart from several other wildlife expeditions. The first thing that strikes his mind about snow leopards is the long fluffy tail, blue eyes, thick fur and a true-blue cat attitude. Snow leopards are one of the world’s most elusive animals and the most common way to spot one is high up on the mountain ridges. After an hour or more of patient stalking in Spiti in 2017, he finally spotted a snow leopard passing by. The shots he posted on various wildlife photo websites are trending even today.
“I was obsessed with snow leopards ever since a photograph taken in 2012 by Dhritiman Mukherjee, India’s leading wildlife photographer,” said Ismail, adding that seeing the mysterious ghost of the mountains for the first time in Hemis National Park, Ladakh, was an unforgettable experience in itself.
Ismail said the snow leopard is a notoriously elusive creature. It is also listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List since the global population is estimated to be between 4,000 to 6,000. India is believed to have less than 1,000. That adds stars to his journey from just another photographer to being called the Snow Leopard Man of India.
“There were struggles. My parents were expecting me to get a corporate job. But I chose photography as my career. It was tough initially, since you’ve to invest a lot of time and money with very uncertain returns to make a name. But at the end of the day, if you want to be successful, you have to be willing to work hard, even if it means making more than a few sacrifices along the way,” said Ismail, a Computer Science engineer from Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.
He moved to Paris to work there for two and half years before wildlife photography took over him.
Ismail, who has had solo photography exhibitions on Snow Leopards even in Los Angeles and New York, also indulges in fine art printing. He also works with the Snow Leopard Trust in helping raise funds for their conservation efforts.
source: http://www.telanganatoday.com / Telangana Today / Home> Hyderabad / by Sowmya Sangam / May 01st, 2021
Twenty-year-old Azharuddin from Meerut in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is good with his hands. He created an electric cart from junk and he is now receiving online orders from abroad. Apart from this, the 21-year-old has also made an electric bicycle that can cover a distance of 100 km on a single charge.
Uttar Pradesh:
His father laboured all his life and his mother never went to school, yet the twenty-year-old Azharuddin from Muradnagar near Meerut in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh battled all odds and went on to become a mechanical engineer. His is a story of fighting poverty with talent and hard work and emerging victorious.
Azharuddin studied at a government school and today he is a second-year B.Tech. student at Subharti University, Meerut. The university management does not take fees from him. Instead, they provide all the facilities.
Azharuddin is good with his hands. He has created an electric cart from junk and is now receiving online orders from abroad. The twenty-year-old has also made an electric bicycle that can cover a distance of 100 kilometer on a single charge.
In addition to the electric cart, Azharuddin has also made a solar cart, which does not need to be charged. His feat is remarkable as he has accomplished it all by himself.
Presently, the boy from Muradnagar is working to get his e-cart verified by the government.
Electric cart made by Azharuddin
“The e-cart is basically solar powered, but it can also be charged. It will benefit the environment immensely. It is cheaper and more robust. It can be used as an auto. Currently, its demand is coming from societies of large size, where these non-polluting carts are of great importance. Apart from this, they have great importance in places like Zoos, Taj Mahal etc. Till now such carts were running on battery. We have a cheaper alternative to solar and electricity,” Azharuddin told TwoCircles.net.
Azharuddin’s accomplishments have not been in vain. He has received an offer of 6 solar carts from a society in Hyderabad.
For his first electric cart, it cost him INR 1.5 lakh. He has improved its cost of making and his e-cart now has space for more people to sit. An e-cart made by him has been sent to Dubai.
Azhar says that if the government cooperates with him, they can build something that can contribute to pollution reduction in the country and improve the environment.
Azharuddin says that he has made his electric bicycle in the same manner. It can charge up to 100 kilometres at a time, while the company’s cycle runs 30-40 kilometre. It can run-up to the speed of 25-30 kilometre per hour and is pollution-free. He has started getting orders for his e-cycle.
He says his e-cart was used at the Taj Mahal in Agra for six months. “I had built a one-seater helicopter in 11th grade, which was greatly appreciated at the exhibition in Ghaziabad,” he said.
His e-cart is now being used in Haryana’s Hisar Cantt. and Engineering College. His e-carts are also today used at his college Subharti Meerut.
Azharuddin’s father Amirudin Kassar told TwoCircles.net that “Azhar has brought him only joy and pride.”
“People in the village know me because of my son. I respect him more,” he says.
Talking enthusiastically about his e-cart, Azharuddin explains that in the event of solar energy being interrupted, its work will be done by charging and this cart will keep running. “Two batteries of 12 volts and five batteries of 140-ampere lead-acid have been used in the solar panel. This is the biggest feature of this e-cart that it operates from both solar and electricity as well and is cheap,” he says.
At Subharti University, Azharuddin’s work is discussed with excitement.
A staffer at the University Sanjay Kumar points out that Azhar’s talent is natural. “The natural talent inside him is going to take him to places. He has earned a name for himself through his work. His difficult time has passed. We wish him a bright future,” he said.
The story of Azharuddin exemplifies that passion and hard work pays, no matter how humble your beginnings.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story> TCN Positive / by Aas Mohammad Kaif, TwoCirlcles.net / March 30th, 2021
Kerala-based Traditional Prophetic Medicine Association Trust (TPMAT) has launched the Supreme Twibb Council in order to promote Prophetic medicine or Tibb-e-Nabawi.
The initiative aims to provide a platform to doctors and physicians involved in Prophetic medicine and will also give training to those doctors who are interested in practising Tibb-e-Nabawi.
Dr Muhammed Gafoor Saquafi, the council’s president highlighted that the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has recognized Prophetic medicine as one of the alternative medicine as ordered by the ruling of the Supreme Court. TPMAT had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in this regard and after winning the case they decided to initiate Tibb Council.
“Moreover the Prophetic medicines institutes have received various orders from the Central Government in this connection. Based on this and Central Act1882, the TPMAT is registered and Supreme Twibb council is formed under it.
Advice and remedy given by Prophet Muhammad on the matters of health including sickness, hygiene, and treatment are called Prophetic medicine. These remedies are given by the Prophet, which is mentioned in the books of Hadith, and the writings were undertaken by non-physician scholars to collect and explicate these traditions.
In 2014, the Prophetic medicine was recognized as a complementary medicine senate via the Alma Atta Declaration of the World Health Organization. A letter of recognition and appreciation was also provided by the World Health Organization via the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Sidha and Homeopathy (AYUSH).
Prophetic medicine was enlisted as an alternate medicine by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2017 and gains the status of independent practice. This liberty to practice prophetic medicine was given by Supreme Court itself. There are many Prophetic Medicine institutions initiated at various locations of India.
The Court managed to draft bylaws of the Council in contrast with a pending petition given by TPMAT to the Supreme Court earlier, that constitute the legal part of the Prophetic medicine.
The council will also provide memberships to the scientific scholars and traditional scholars in different categories. Moreover national memberships will also be given for the structural expansion of the training institutes in the Country with a head-quarter in the national capital, Delhi.
source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> News / by Ghazala Ahmad / March 13th, 2021
Bengaluru’s zero-waste advocate Sahar Mansoor has brought out a guide book that provides personal insights and interactive activities to help the reader transition to a more sustainable lifestyle.
Sahar Mansoor
Bengaluru :
Health and environmental issues have come to the fore in the last one year. With increasing number of people becoming conscious about their choices, the recently-released book, Bare Necessities: How to Live a Zero-Waste Life, by Sahar Mansoor and Tim de Ridder aims to provide personal insights, interactive activities and solutions that can help you transition to a more sustainable lifestyle.
”The book has taken a staged approach where the reader journeys through topics that are intimate such as personal care routines and fashion choices, to more communal areas of life such as the kitchen, home care and festival occasions. It also looks at broad aspects of life, including the community and global impacts of waste. One of the fantastic things that we have achieved is to provide a toolkit of zero-waste information and insights throughout, such as my personal stories about how to make zero-waste products such as toothpaste and food such as holige,” says Mansoor.
Published by Penguin, the guide (Rs 299) includes activity sheets to share ideas with friends and families throughout the text. “We have provided recipes, tips and tricks and other ideas to help people learn, and enjoy the zero-waste journey,” says Mansoor, who has been working in the sustainability sector since 2015, participating in areas like waste reduction and climate change.
Ridder and she began putting pen to paper in September 2019. “Unfortunately he had to work abroad from October to January last year. We had to face challenges such as scheduling meetings across time zones.
When the borders were closed in March 2020, he stayed permanently in Australia,” she says. The situation also provided them a new perspective, and prompted them to add valuable sections in the final version. “We would love the book to be used in schools, where kids can learn about the wealth of resources available in India. There are opportunities to learn how to compost, create a community garden and make sustainable gifts,” says Mansoor.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / March 09th, 2021
Minicoy (Lakshwadeep) / Olavanna (Kozhikode), KERALA :
Another major interest of Manikfan is Lunar calendar and he has built one calendar based on the New moon and on astronomical algorithms
Thiruvananthapuram :
The locals of Olavanna in Kozhikode used to see an upright, lean person wearing Arabian clothing walking towards his home. They only knew that he was a retired official from Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) living here and was from Lakshadweep.
But, when television screens flashed the name of Ali Manikfan among the Padma awardees, the people were lost in words as to who they had ignored albeit unknowingly.
Mohammed Basheer and P.R. Ramachandran, employees of a private firm in Olavanna said, “He is lean and frail but walked straight and with a twinkle in his eyes but we never knew who he was until the news flashed that he was awarded the Padma Shri.”
Manikfan, who is currently living in a rented accommodation along with his wife in Olavanna, was sent to Kannur in Kerala for studies but after fifth standard he did not pursue formal education and returned to Minicoy, his home town in Lakshwadeep Islands.
He was a keen observer, knew almost every fish that inhabited the sea off the Minicoy islands and this observation turned into a passion for fishes. This motivated him to study more about fishes, their origin and everything in and out about them.
The research in fishes got him a job at the CMFRI where he discovered a rare fish which has been named after him – Abudefduf Manikfani.
He can speak, read and write 14 languages including French, German, English, Arabic and other languages and uses seven of them to communicate.
In 1981, he was invited to Oman to make a ship, a replica of the one believed to be used by Sinbad, the Sailor, during his voyages. He was invited by the Irish voyager Tim Sirven who wanted it to be made without metals. Ali and his made a 27-m long ship using timber and coir in an year. Named “Sohar” after the town of Sohar in Oman. Tim and his team travelled 9,000 km from Oman to China on it and it is now kept in a museum in Oman.
Manikfan told IANS, “Those days metal was not used for making ships and hence we had to replicate one using timber. This ship sailed up to China from Oman and is still kept at Oman museum.”
Another major interest of Manikfan is Lunar calendar and he has built one calendar based on the New moon and on astronomical algorithms.
The multifaceted personality had invented a bicycle with roller motor and travelled to New Delhi along with his son Musa.
Another of his interest is agriculture and he has converted a barren 15 acre land at Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu into a lush green farm land using indigenous methods of cultivation. He also built a residential premises using traditional materials.
He is now basking in the glory of Padma Shri award but local people vouch that there is no difference in his attitude even after this honour.
Ramachandran said, “He is a great personality and down to earth, we never knew who he was until media reported about him. The local people are planning a grand programme to felicitate him.”
–IANS
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Featured / by Muslim Mirror / February 07th, 2021
It’s well furnished inside and leaves one wondering in awe, says a visitor
With the minimum temperature plummeting to minus 18 degree Celsius in north Kashmir’s tourist hotspot Gulmarg, a spherical 22-feet-wide and 15-feet-high igloo restaurant has become a major attraction among the tourists, more for selfies than food served inside.
“We threw the igloo restaurant open to the public two days ago. It’s the country’s biggest igloo ever made. It took 15 days to construct it with the help of 20 workers,” Waseem Shah, managing director of the Kolahoi Resorts, told The Hindu.
The all-snow covered restaurant has eight tables, serving lunch and dinner inside it, and can accommodate 18 people simultaneously. The novel idea has been picked from the cold places of Europe.
“I have travelled to Switzerland, Norway and Finland and saw similar snow sculptures. We too have snow in abundance and can experiment on such projects,” Mr. Shah said.
He said the cafe shall make it to the Limca book of records as Asia’s biggest igloo. “So far tourists come more for selfies than food. But I am happy they are leaving with cherishable memories,” he said.
Sonia Kapoor, a tourist from Delhi, said the restaurant is a must for a selfie. “The sight of igloo is amazing. The fact that it’s well furnished inside, leaves one wondering in awe,” Ms. Kapoor said.
The idea has come as a shot in the arm of tourism, which was struggling in Kashmir, first due to the abrogation of special status in 2019 and then by the pandemic.
Director, Tourism, Kashmir, G.N. Itoo said Kashmir is fast emerging as “an all season destination”.
“Kashmir is offering visitors not only mesmerising beauty of its natural landscape, its perennial rivers and lakes, gardens and meadows, mountains and valleys, forests and wildlife but also diversity of tourism products with its adventure potential, cuisine, heritage, pilgrimage circuits and plenty of leisure tourism,” Mr. Itoo said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Other States / by Peerzada Ashiq / Srinagar, January 28th, 2021
