Doomed Cities in India

The world, that we live in today, has drastically changed and it isn’t easy to fathom that our memories are replete with some of the long lost cities of India that have gone completely extinct and forgotten. Many of the cities, with great political, historical and cultural significance, have been abandoned. Centuries ago due to several reasons including natural calamities, wars, climate change, some cities were known and some were discovered. 

Here, I have compiled an interesting list of such long lost cities that were once inhabited and have been discovered after many years, some of them are as follows :- 

• Muziris, Kerala 

• Hampi, karnataka 

• Kalibangan, Rajasthan

• Lothal, Gujarat

• Pattadakal, Karnataka

• Dwaraka, Gujarat 

• Mohenjo - daro, sindh

• Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu

It is considered that Lothal was one of India’s most important archaeological sites from the Indus Valley civilization, which extended into Pakistan now.

 After many years,  archaeologists  discovered that these cities were washed away by progressive erosion, floods or destroyed by an earthquake. These abondoned cities were of great importance at one point in time in the history of India. 

By :- Simranjot Kaur

Last Breathe of the NationSoldiers

Soldier is the guardian of a nation. He protects the country from enemies. A soldier's duty is very hard and dangerous. He has to live under harsh conditions to serve his nation.

Every soldier is a true patriot. They maintain a peaceful environment around our country. Whenever our country faces any huge problem like terrorism, these soldiers come to our rescue.

It is our duty to respect every soldier and ray for their and their family’s wellbeing, not just because they protect us but because they do their duty of protecting us so selflessly.

SOLDIER ' S FEELING

IF I die  in a war zone,  box me up and send  me home.

Put my medals on my chest,tell my mom I did my best.

Tell my dad not to bow,he won't get tension from me now.

Tell my bro to study perfectly,key of my bikes will be his permanently.

Tell my sister not to be upset, her bro will take a long sleep after sunset.

Tell my nation not to cry, " because, I 'm a soldier  born to die ."

By: Ms. Manju Prashar

Billionaires in the Space~~Millionaires will be Next

Just imagine a world where people of all ages, all backgrounds, from anywhere, of any gender of any ethnicity, have equal access to space. Welcome to the new dawn of New Space age. 

Two competing billionaires have launched successful trips to space in the race for commercial space travel. On July 11, 2021 British entrepreneur Richard Branson along with his five  crewmates including Indian origin aeronautical engineer Sirisha Bandla has successfully flown to to the edge of space and back in his Virgin Galactic passenger rocket plane. 

 On July 20, 2021 Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos blasted off into space on the New Shepard spacecraft along with his team constitued of his brother Mark Bezos, an 18-year old from the Netherlands, Oliver Daeman and an 82- year aviation pioneer from Texas, Wally Funk. With this at 18 Oliver became the youngest Astronaut ever and Wally Funk became the the oldest Astronaut ever into the space. 

 Jeff Bezos has already stepped down as Amazon CEO and is now focusing more on his space firm Blue Origin.He aims to transform space travel and colonize the solar system.

Both Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson have mentioned in their interviews that they will organise a few more trips to space this year and many more of these will come in the following years but the passengers have to pay around 2.5 million dollars for a few minutes trip. So of course not everyone but Millionaires can surely be the next into the space. 

By: Ms. Kirandeep Kaur

MOTIVATION

For any strategy or operation

The key to success is MOTIVATION.

Motivation inspires and transforms the thinking.

It brings prosperity even if business is sinking.

Sometimes even saying 'well done' is enough.

To motivate someone who is a bit rough.

Motivated people deliver their best,

While all others keep taking rest,

Even a lazy one will work hard,

With words of appreciation as a reward.

Motivation leads to attainment of goal,

This clearly shows that it plays a vital role.

Motivation can be applied to every field,

Just apply and see what rewards it will yield.

Thus, MOTIVATION is the master key.

For the tough tasks to become easy.

Thanks.

By: Ms. Neeraj Khanna

SOCIAL STOCK EXCHANGE

Recently, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) made public the Technical Group (TG) report on Social Stock Exchange (SSE). 

• The proposal to set up SSEs was first floated during the Union Budget in 2019.  

• In September 2019, SEBI constituted a working group (WG) to lay out the modalities for creating an SSE. WG submitted its report in June, 2020. 

• In September 2020, SEBI set up the TG for further advice and clarity on recommendations made by the WG. 

About Social Stock Exchanges (SSE) 

• SSE functions as a regulated funding platform to allow For-Profit Social Enterprises (FPEs) and not-for-profit organisations (NPO) with a social purpose, to raise funds. 

o At present, avenues through which the social sector (FPEs and NPO) receive funding include Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), impact investing, philanthropic/Government grants etc. 

It brings together social organizations (FPEs and NPO) and impact investors,  

especially institutional investors whereby latter can buy stake in the form of bonds from listed organizations. 

• It provides a mechanism to preserve the social and environmental  mission of the organizations, giving the investors opportunities to mitigate socio-economic problems through investments that also have the potential to produce financial returns. 

• Some of the most prominent SSEs are: UK (Social Stock Exchange), Canada (Social Venture Connexion), South Africa (South African Social Investment Exchange), Singapore (Impact Investment Exchange). 

Why do we need an SSE? 

• Improved market access: An SSE would facilitate a meeting ground between social sector (FPEs and NPO) and investors with inbuilt regulation and will ensure larger visibility of investor and investees. 

• Synergy between investor and investee in social aims: Canvas of choice would be much wider allowing investor and investees with similar visions  and missions to connect seamlessly. 

• Transparency and accountability: Because of rigorous due-diligence and performance metrics that an SSE would be installing for background checks for investors. 

• Performance- based Philanthropy: As performance of the enterprises listed on an SSE would be closely monitored, it will result into better project implementation. 

• Reduced burden on government: SSE would leverage private sector participation in some key areas, engendering a collaborative approach with government in achieving the developmental goals. 

• SSE for COVID-19: A COVID-19 Aid Fund can be set up to activate solutions such as Pay-for success bonds with philanthropic foundations, CSR spenders and impact investors etc.

BY: GURPREET KAUR 

Dyes

Dyes are coloured compounds use for important colour to the textile ,silk, woo,l foodstuffs etc however all substances not act as dye for a substance to act as dye certain condition must be satisfied

1) It must have a suitable colour

2) It must be able to fix itself from the solution to the fabric

3) When fixed it must be fast to light resistance to the action of water during washing or to the organic solvents during dry cleaning .

How a dye exhibit colour

A dye is an organic compound which can absorb a certain portion of the visible light falling on it and the rest of the light is reflected  the colour of the dye give the colour of the dye which is complementary to the colour of the light absorb in fact no dye reflect only one band of wavelength Hence no  dye gives a pure shade.

Classification of dyes

Natural dyes  -   indigo and alizarin are the two well known example of natural dyes

Synthetic dyes are of the following types

Direct dyes. These are those dyes which can be directly applied to the fabric from an aqueous solution . For example Congo red and martius yellow.

Disperse dye. Water insoluble dyes which are dispersed in suitablereagents before application to the synthetic fibre. These dyes are used for nylon, polyester

Fibre reactive dyes.  These are those dyes which contain a reactive group which combine directly with the the hydroxyl or amino group of the fibre because of the chemical reaction the colour is fast and has a long life

VAT dyes. These are are insoluble dyes which are first reduced to a colourless soluble form in large vats with a reducing agent such as alkaline sodium hypophosphite and then applied to the fabric a well known example of this dye is Indigo

Mordant dyes. These dyes do not dye the fabric directly but require a mordant the mordant act as binding agent between the fibre and the dye. For acid dyes metal ions act as mordant and for basic dyes tannic acid is used as mordant these are used to dye wool .for example alizarin gives Rose red colour with aluminium ions but gives blue colour with barium ions

By Rajesh Prashar

Adopt Naturopathy

Naturopathy is a science and art of drugless system or Alternative therapy of healing for healthy living. It teaches us how we should live, what we should eat and how our daily routine should be. Its main emphasis is to change the living habits of people and educate them to adopt healthy lifestyle. It is simple and easy to practice at the same time within the reach of everyone.

Our body is made up of five natural elements, earth, water, sun, air and sky. Perfect balance of these elements keeps the body in good order. For healthy living our daily activities and dietetic program should be such that balance of these elements continues to be restored.

Naturopathy has evolved out of forest research laboratories of the Sage and the ancient healing traditions. It has a preventative approach to health care and Alternative therapy to other medical streams like Alopathic and Homeopathic. World over, it is now recognized as a valuable and effective treatment for a variety of chronic disorders. Moreover Naturopathic medicine have no side effects.

Why Naturopathy?

Naturopathy focus on maintaining a balance between the human body and the nature. The latent force in the human body and the nature is actually utilized to cure ailments and restoring lost health, vitality and vigour. It thrives to create the positive effect of the five elements of nature on the human body by creating the natural (as made by nature) balance. This is achieved basically by obeying the natural laws and discipline in life so that healing takes place within. 

By: Ms. Rajbir Kaur

Challenges to life on Mars

First of all, almost all plants and animals cannot survive the conditions on the surface of Mars. This is due to the extremely harsh conditions on the surface of Mars.

Another major problem is the gravity of Mars. Most noteworthy, the gravity on Mars is 38% to that of Earth. Furthermore, low gravity can cause health problems like muscle loss and bone demineralization.

The climate of Mars poses another significant problem. The temperature at Mars is much colder than Earth. Most noteworthy, the mean surface temperatures of Mars range between −87 and −5 °C. Also, the coldest temperature on Earth has been −89.2 °C in Antarctica.

Mars suffers from a great scarcity of water. Most noteworthy, water discovered on Mars is less than that on Earth’s driest desert.

Other problems include the high penetration of harmful solar radiation due to the lack of ozone layer. Furthermore, global dust storms are common throughout Mars. Also, the soil of Mars is toxic due to the high concentration of chlorine.

To sum it up, life on Mars is a topic that has generated a lot of curiosity among scientists and experts. Furthermore, establishing life on Mars involves a lot of challenges. However, the hope and ambition for this purpose are well alive and present. Most noteworthy, humanity must make serious efforts for establishing life on Mars.

By: Ms. Prabhpreet Kaur

Robotics

How are Robots Used in Space Exploration?

Historically, the role of robotics in space exploration has been significant due to the uninhabitable conditions of non-terrestrial planets in the solar system. According to AZO Robotics, a robot is defined as “a self-controlled device consisting of electronic, electrical or mechanical units that can function in place of a living agent.”

Before scientists began sending robots to space, animals such as dogs or monkeys were often sent to complete tasks and conduct experiments in order to increase human knowledge of conditions on other planets and the Moon.

As robotic technology has improved, more of these experiments and tasks have been delegated to robots rather than to living beings; in this way robotics preserves lives. While humans have set foot on the Moon, scientific knowledge of conditions on planets including Mars, Venus, Titan and Jupiter comes almost exclusively from exploration conducted by robots. 

5 Incredible Space Robots Used for Space Exploration and Travel

Space Robot 1: Sputnik 1

Space Robot 2: Mariner 2 and 4

Space Robot 3: Viking 1 and 2

Space Robot 4: Voyager 1 and 2

Space Robot 5: Dextre

By: Mr. SUKHBIR SINGH

प्रकृति

जीवन ईश्वर का दिया अनमोल वरदान है । प्रकृति भी जीवन से भरी  हुई है । जीवन का हर पल सौंदर्य से परिपूर्ण है । चाहे वह पेड़ -पौधे , कीट -पतंगे  , पशु - पक्षी प्रत्येक में जीवन है , परंतु इन सब में से सबसे उत्तम मनुष्य का जीवन ही माना जाता है । मनुष्य जीवन पाकर अपने को धन्य मानता है और उस जीवन को और अधिक धन्य  बनाने के लिए अच्छे से अच्छे कर्म करता है और उन कर्मों के आधार पर ही मनुष्य अमर हो जाता है । धन्य है वे जीवन जो दूसरों के लिए जीएं । संघर्ष करने का नाम जीवन है । जो मनुष्य अपने जीवन में मरने  से नहीं डरता , दुनिया उसके सामने झुकती हैं । अपने जीवन को सफल बनाना है तो अकेले ही जीवन की चुनौतियों का सामना करना पड़ता है । यह अवश्य नहीं कि आज हमारे साथ है तो कल हमारे साथ होगा । अपने जीवन का लक्ष्य प्राप्त करना है ,तो रास्ता स्वयं ही बनाना पड़ता है  । जीवन को धन्य बनाने के लिए क्रोध, अहंकार, लोभ- लालच सब कुछ त्याग कर प्रेम को अपनाना पड़ता है ।

कबीर जी के अनुसार

पत्ता टूटा डाल से ले गई पवन उड़ाय ।

अब के बिछड़े ना ही मिले दूर पड़ेंगे जाय ।।

जीवन एक बार ही मिलता है और उस जीवन में हमेशा दूसरों के प्रति प्रेम ,दया , त्याग भाव रखकर अपने जीवन को धन्य  बनाओ ।।

Poonam Sharma

ਸੱਚ

ਜ਼ਿੰਦਗੀ ਲੰਬੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਬਹੁਤੀ ,

ਦੁੱਖ ਲੱਗ ਜਾਵੇ ਤਾਂ ਲੰਬੀ ਲੱਗਦੀ ਐ ,

ਇਹ ਦੁਨੀਆਂ ਮੌਕਾ ਭਾਲੇ ਲੁੱਟਣ ਦਾ , 

ਮੌਕਾ ਮਿਲਦਿਆਂ ਹੀ ਠਗਦੀ ਏ , 

ਗੱਡੀ ਚੜ੍ਹੇ ਅੰਬਰੀਂ ਤਾਂ ਖੁਸ਼ੀ ਮਿਲਦੀ ,

ਬਾਕੀ ਦੁਨੀਆਂ ਅੰਦਰੋਂ ਅੰਦਰੀ ਸੜਦੀ ਏ ,

ਬਹੁਤ ਖੁਸ਼ ਨਸੀਬ ਹੁੰਦੇ ਨੇ ਉਹ ਮਾਪੇ ,  

ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਔਲਾਦ ਰੋਕਣ ਤੇ ਖੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਏ,

ਮਾਂ ਦੀ ਰੋਟੀ ਨਾਲ ਹੀ ਭੁੱਖ ਭਿੱਜਦੀ ਏ ,

ਜਿਸ ਮਕਾਨ ਵਿਚ ਨਾ ਹੋਵੇ ਸੁੱਖ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ,

ਉਹਦੇ ਅੱਗੇ ਕੁੱਲੀ ਵੀ ਵੱਡੀ ਲੱਗਦੀ ਹੈ  ,

ਫੁੱਲ ਖਿੜਿਆ ਤਾਂ ਲੱਗੇ ਬਹੁਤ ਸੋਹਣਾ , 

ਟੁੱਟ ਜਾਵੇ ਤਾਂ ਪਲਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੁੱਕ ਜਾਂਦਾ,  

ਮੂੰਹੋਂ ਮਿੱਠਾ ਜਦੋਂ ਦੱਸੇ ਅਸਲੀ ਚਿਹਰਾ , 

ਜਣਾ ਖਣਾ ਵੀ ਉਹਦੇ ਤੇ ਥੁੱਕ ਜਾਂਦਾ ,

ਬੰਦਿਆ ਮਾਣ ਨਾ ਕਰੀਂ ਮਿੱਟੀ ਦੇ ਸਰੀਰ ਦਾ ,

ਇਹਦਾ ਸਫਰ ਸ਼ਮਸ਼ਾਨ ਤੇ ਜਾ ਕੇ ਮੁੱਕ ਜਾਂਦਾ!

    

 Bimaljit Kaur

Importance of Environmemt

All living things that live on this earth comes under the environment. Whether they live on land or water they are part of the the environment. The environment also includes air, water, sunlight, plants, animals, etc.

Moreover, the earth is considered the only planet in the universe that supports life. The environment can be understood as a blanket that keeps life on the planet sage and sound.

We truly cannot understand the real worth of the environment. But we can estimate some of its importance that can help us understand its importance. It plays a vital role in keeping living things healthy in the environment.

Likewise, it maintains the ecological balance that will keep check of life on earth. It provides food, shelter, air, and fulfills all the human needs whether big or small.

Moreover, the entire life support of humans depends wholly on the environmental factors. In addition, it also helps in maintaining various life cycles on earth.

Most importantly, our environment is the source of natural beauty and is necessary for maintaining physical and mental health.

The environment gives us countless benefits that we can’t repay our entire life. As they are connected with the forest, trees, animals, water, and air. The forest and trees filter the air and absorb harmful gases. Plants purify water, reduce the chances of flood maintain natural balance and many others.

Moreover, the environment keeps a close check on the environment and its functioning, It regulates the vital systems that are essential for the ecosystem. Besides, it maintains the culture and quality of life on earth.

The environment regulates various natural cycles that happen daily. These cycles help in maintaining the natural balance between living things and the environment. Disturbance of these things can ultimately affect the life cycle of humans and other living beings.

The environment has helped us and other living beings to flourish and grow from thousands of years. The environment provides us fertile land, water, air, livestock and many essential things for survival.

Human activities are the major cause of environmental degradation because most of the activities humans do harm the environment in some way. The activities of humans that causes environmental degradation is pollution, defective environmental policies, chemicals, greenhouse gases, global warming, ozone depletion, etc.

All these affect the environment badly. Besides, these the overuse of natural resources will create a situation in the future there will be no resources for consumption. And the most basic necessity of living air will get so polluted that humans have to use bottled oxygen for breathing.

Above all, increasing human activity is exerting more pressure on the surface of the earth which is causing many disasters in an unnatural form. Also, we are using the natural resources at a pace that within a few years they will vanish from the earth.

To conclude, we can say that it is the environment that is keeping us alive. Without the blanket of environment, we won’t be able to survive.

Moreover, the environment’s contribution to life cannot be repaid. Besides, still what the environment has done for us, in return we only have damaged and degraded it.

By: Ramandeep Kaur

Science Teacher

Importance Of A Positive Attitude In Life

Maintaining a positive attitude all through life impacts one 's social status, physical health, and long term success. Having a good attitude shows a person’s character in a positive way. A good attitude is the start of a good future, and a lot of success. Positive attitudes create a lot of wonderful opportunities in and outside of the workforce. 

Positive attitude brings out the creativity in thinking and you will get new ideas for improving the subjects. Positivity will also help in finding better solutions to the problems. Even in the school or college project or assignment, a positive attitude will bring out better results. It will also help in keeping your mind relaxed and calm in negative situations.

Having a positive attitude will attract more people to you.  You can remove the negativities in yourself and others too. It will improve your life to a large extent. With a more positive attitude, you will get more able to solve any problem in life.

A positive attitude will gain more friends. It is because negativity will reduce the self-confidence and you will get discouraged. People will like staying with positive people. Positivity will spread happiness and joy all around the place.

By: Manisha Bedi

Problem with Maths!

Mathematics is one of the core subjects in academic curriculum of school education. But it is the most hated subject also. Why some people have bitter memories associated with Maths? Why is it dreadful to many? These are the questions which keep crossing my mind, when I listen to hate stories of Maths from many.

But for some people on the other side of fence, including me, this is the favourite subject. Learning and teaching Maths for the past many years has led me to some answers.

The problem with Maths lies with some misconceptions and some technical errors. I have identified four reasons. 

The first relates to technicalities. Situational problems in Maths are mostly set up in some third world. Like learners are given problems such as, a person bought a dozen bananas for rupees 10 and a kilogram of apples for rupees15 and sold these for rupees 12 and rupees 20 respectively. Find his profit or loss.

Now, the tiny souls who are supposed to solve it have not seen so liberal prices in their lifetime. They can reach to correct answer of rupees 7 by the procedure they have been taught, or if in some way, it goes wrong they can reach to an answer of rupees 70 or even rupees 700. Because it is just a statement and has some answer. It has nothing to do with real world around them which have prices of bananas and apples many times of these. Problem solver will not think about situation or relate it to the real world but just go by the procedure told and could reach at any bizzare conclusion. 

But if the same problem is given with prevalent price in the market, and the learner is made to think about the inputs and outputs of sellers and buyers from such deals, it may become more realistic and interesting.

Second thing is cultural influences. Most people think that some persons have ability by birth to understand nuances of maths and some do not. Often parents talk about it in front of their children that 'they could understand everything but not Maths in their school years.' Student who is already struggling with the subject starts thinking that he or she also lacks this ability to understand it. In fact this is not the case, those students who are fortunate enough to get good environment and good teachers of the subject in their formative years, find it very simple. Small consistent wins of getting correct answers to the mathematical problems give immense happiness and confidence. But it is possible through correct guidance. On the other hand, if there are loopholes at this stage the confidence takes a hit and one starts believing in popular perceptions that something is wrong with ability to understand it.

Third thing which could be identified is that mostly teachers go by one rule method to solve different problems. Only one method is taught which consists of fixed set of steps and procedures. The brains become machines to follow these steps. If anything goes a little bit awry, the path is lost and the problem is not solved. So instead of one set of steps, multiple ways to solve a problem should be encouraged. Each situation should be analysed from different perspectives. Creativity needs to be encouraged in problem solving. 

Fourth point is that mostly there is no counter analysis of problems after solving them. Sometimes students calculate the age of a person in negative, or age of a mother less than that of the child, and submit it as their answer without giving a thought to it. If the habit is formed to analyse the answers with respect to questions, after attempting each and every question the learners will think about it for a while, and if they are getting illogical answers, they themselves will correct it at this stage.  

Mathematical concepts are involved in every aspect of our life, study of mathematics is not only study of numbers but it plays a major role in the development of brain. I call upon all stakeholders to think about it and do concerted efforts to make this magnificent subject  well accepted among learners.

By: Kawalpreet Kaur

FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness means to remove negative thoughts about people who have hurt us and forget their mistakes.It means to let go of the problem that someone has caused in our life and give that person a second chance. Forgiveness has a strong connection with person’s physical and mental health. If a person does not have a strong heart to forgive others then he/she will stay in constant anger, depression and anxiety. This will also affect his/her health. Forgiveness can help to repair damaged relationships. It brings peace of mind to forgiver. If we forgive others then it sets us free from stress and anger.

Now a days, people prefer to stay apart from their relatives rather than forgiving them. In this fast world, everyone is so busy in work that they do not have time for each other.

If there is a misunderstanding between people then they prefer to cut communication with that person instead of forgiving him/her. Many people also consider it their defeat to admit that they have hurt other person.

It is important to remember that there is no loss in admitting and apologizing for your mistake.

To be able to forgive others, we should first forgive our self.

It means that if a person is guilty about something then he/she should accept that mistake and move forward.

All of us have some people in our life who we do not like for different reasons. We do not want to talk to them because they have hurt us through their actions.

Instead of ignoring them, we think of plans to get even and let them feel the same pain that they have caused us. It is not a right thing to do.

This is not what our religion teaches us to do. Anger is not something that we should hold in. We should understand that forgiving someone does not make a person weak.

It means that a person is strong and brave enough to forget the mistakes of others. Indeed, forgiving is not an easy task.

Understanding the situation in which other person has lied, understanding the whole situation and trusting the same person again are some of the hard aspects of this subject.

In order to forgive others, it is important to think about the whole situation with a calm mind. The best thing to do is think about what happened and try to understand that why other person would such thing, then it will get easier to decide why he/she should be forgiven.

As a human being, we should accept that it is in human nature to make mistakes. No one is perfect in this world.

Therefore, we should forgive others with big heart instead of taking the issue to heart. If we forget mistakes of others and free our mind from all the negative thoughts then this world would become a happy place to live in peacefully.

By: Harsimran Kaur