Kids - The Unsung Heroes of Corona Virus

This Corona Virus pandemic has left us speechless and helpless. The doctors, medical care workers, police and soldiers and essential service workers have been fighting on the front line trying to offer us services and help that we need. But in this testing times, we have to acknowledge our kids who have been patient beyond their age and understanding for all these days. It is not easy for those young minds to stay indoors throughout their vacation time when they could actually enjoy being with friends and travel places with their family. 

Vacation is a time when kids get to play in open spaces and visit their native places. But none of this could happen because COVID struck us badly. Everything changed overnight and everyone got stuck at home. It must have been hard on them being home all the time playing just with the toys or watching TV. They frankly don't deserve this as it is not their fault. The harsh world that we have created has affected them badly. They deserve an apology for our mistakes. But these young minds irrespective of their age have been patient, learning and wondering what would happen next. They have been a helping hand, who did not add to our problems but in fact their tighter hugs provided encouragement and a will to survive.

So, what we need to do is provide them with a space for themselves where they could have fun. Let them play with colors and crayons. Let them paint or draw. Allow them to investigate, learn and get answers. Allow them a space within the house which could be made dirty by their science experiments. Read them stories and spend time with them as much as you could. Consider this time to be a blessing as you can spend some creative time with your kids. Make them feel special at times and show them that they are appreciated. Make it a point to cook their favorite dish which brings smile on their face. Allow them to be part of your daily chores in anyway they could. As they are our heroes who should be appreciated for showing maturity at such a young age.

Essay - The Change in Gender Role

In this evolving world, not only women but men too must prepare themselves for the change. Today's scenario one witnesses a lot of change and confidence building in women. Women are meeting challenging roles successfully, but one can't say the same about the men. It has been a matter of two generations especially in the urban scenario, where women changed their gender based role. It could be the result of perfect parenting where women were raised to be confident and made aware to stand for their rights. But has this parenting been biased when it came to boys? Has it been made clear to them about the change that was imbibed in women and how it was going to effect in the future run?

 When the daughters of the house were taught to shape into this new role, no one bothered to notify the men that their sisters were changing and evolving. No more the women in the house needed the so-called protection and dependency. Where women were taught to grow beyond their roles in kitchen and work in male dominated areas, men were never taught to cook and house-keep. Why is cooking and housekeeping considered solely to be a women's job? If women can work and walk hand in hand with men today by earning equals, men don't seem to approve the idea where they could cook and clean when their wives or mothers were out working.

Theoretically men accepted the role of their wives or mothers or sisters as working women; but they were completely unprepared for the role of a homemaker. Men were never taught to honor and accept living with women who earned more. Men were never taught that it was okay to stay home and manage the house and kids while their wives continued to work. A women is so good with multi-tasking. She can successfully handles a field job, prepare reports, manage house, manage kids, prepare lunches, come home and cook dinner. But men seem to lack this potential.

 When a woman gets a promotion or a career boost which may take her away from the city or which may mean less family indulgence, it gets quite clear that she has to select her family first and turn down such opportunities. But have the men been taught to do the same? No. And hence men need to be made aware that they too need to come out of their shelves and evolve. When we speak of empowering women, we must also help men to prepare for the change in gender role so to set their expectations right.

What are Snow Donuts

Snow donut image

Snow donuts are commonly referred as 'snow rollers', 'snowballs' or even 'snowbales'. This natural phenomenon occurs rarely in certain specific weather conditions. Snow donuts resemble donut shaped spiral that rolls the icy ground in unusual cold weathers. This happens when wind pushes snow, making it roll across the vertical ground of the hill surface. But these phenomenons are rare and requires the right mixture of climatic conditions including wind, temperature, snow and moisture.



The snow that rolls across the hill starts gathering in a shape of a hollow cylinder to form a snow donut. But not all of the snow lands to the bottom surface shaped as a snow donut. Most of the cylindrical balls get squashed up. Very few manage to roll on the icy surface down the hills leaving behind a trail.Once the climatic conditions are just right enough to successfully transform the snow clump into a snow donut, the snow doughnut resembles a cylindrical ball with a hole in the center. The shapes of snow doughnuts or snow donuts could vary right from small ball to big wheels.

Snow donuts are usually found in Canada, Poland and on the  Prairies of North America.

The Gloomy Frog Story - A Story About Being a Victim

The gloomy frog story is one of the inspirational stories one can come across. I recently read it in a library under the section - 'short children inspirational stories'! The story sounded so good, I thought of sharing it here. Enjoy..

Freddie the frog was hopping past a pond when he heard a loud sigh.

He stopped and saw a sad looking frog named Frank sitting on a lily pad.

“What’s wrong?” Freddie asked.

“Life is so hard here on this pond,” said Frank, “there used to be more insects to eat, now I’m starving.”

“I live in the pond down the road, we have plenty of insects to share,” explained Freddie.

“I wish that there were more insects here, then I wouldn’t have to move.”

“But if you move there will be plenty of insects to eat.” said Freddie.

“I wish that my tongue was longer.  That would fix everything, then I could catch more insects without having to move.”

“But you will never have a longer tongue and if you move, you will have enough insects,” said an increasingly frustrated Freddie.

As they spoke, a large heron landed at the other end of the pond.

“Oh great, “said Frank, “Now the heron is going to eat me.”

“It doesn’t have to.  Quick come with me, there are no herons at my pond,” said Freddie as he hopped away to safety.

Frank watched the other frog hop to his pond and sighed loudly.

“That frog is so lucky,” he said before being eaten by the heron.

Expansion of Idea - Life is Beautiful, Don't Be Sad Living It

"The flower that blooms in adversity is 

the rarest and most beautiful of all."

                -Walt Disney

Not everything goes the way you planned, but that doesn't mean you should quit planning. Giving up on planning means giving up on life.Giving up on life eventually means forgetting how to live. Abandoning your dreams and accepting the present even if it is painful and unacceptable, makes you a loser. Life is a beautiful wish. A wish that some pray to have. And this one unique thing we have and we are ungrateful about makes us a loser.

Not everyone will stand by you  the way they used too, but that doesn't mean you should abandon those who support and pray for you. We need to respect feelings of those who love us and support us. Very few people do that. They do it because they believe in us. I don't think there is anything valuable than someone's trust and we need to respect that.

And we should be thankful for everything that we had or will have in life. Our past, our present. Our friends our enemies. They make us what we are. They teach us and leave us with experience, which can play a vital role in our life and to shape our future. These life lessons are important and cannot be learned in any classroom.



Life is beautiful, Don't be sad living it.

Expansion of Idea - Life is a Wonderful Journey

We are meant to come into life and live it fully through exploration according to our own joy and satisfaction. We are not meant to come into life in order to fulfill our duty begrudgingly and to wait for our destiny whether we like it or not. It is all upon us to make the right choices and decisions to make this life worth living. And what if we do not make right choices… Though we cannot go back and undo them, yet we can still right the wrong by being positive and attentive to our own wants and desires. We do not always get second chances, but still it is in our hand to either keep feeling guilty about what is already done and waste our time crying  and repenting or to right it when we still have time. The decision is up to you my friend.

Remember what is done is done, you cannot undo it. But what you can do is try to make peace with your past. Otherwise memories of past haunt you till your last breath making your life a living hell. Grudges, repentance and jealousy are enemies. Keep them at bay! Don't let them rule over your thoughts. The mind games can be cruel and trust me, they would never let you rest in peace. So let the bygones be bygones. Meditate, relax and try to be happy. Think of happy moments that you had in life and enjoy your life to fullest. Happiness isn't a destination, it is a journey. Remember life does not always give you second chances! Life is a wonderful journey and all you have to do is explore, connect and reach your destination in meaningful and exhilarating way. Do enjoy and commence your journey now before it is too late. 

Story of The Super Hero Earth - The Long Awaited Sandman

Couple of years back, as a part of my freelancing project, I wrote this story of Super Hero Earth - The Long Awaited Sandman for a site. This story was enjoyed by kids very much. I am planning to share the story and the site link here. This was my first attempt to write a story on my own for children. Enjoy the story!

Super Hero Earth - The Long Awaited Sandman

With the strong winds and current, the sand came alive. High and high it rose and assembled in a form of a large monstrous super human. It baked under the sun until it was hard like the Earth.

On Pongo Beach, he wandered endlessly, hard as a rock, looking for an answer to who he was. Confused and unknown of his own identity, he walked through the warm sands, in the glazing sun.

A bit confused on what he was, he sat on the sand! Fishermen ran helter-skelter as they were scared of such a monstrous sight. Being on these islands for ages, these fishermen had never seen such a monster on the beach. They wondered where it came from, "Was it because of the storm?" Some cried, "God help us!"

No one dared to walk on the beach. The super human wondered what was wrong, whether he was really harmful and scary. "No," he said to himself. But how could he convince them that he was just like them and that he wanted to help? He didn't have any answers.

But suddenly, he heard cheers and claps from a distance. He saw a small group of kids rushing towards him. "Aren't they scared of me?" He asked himself. But the kids continued to make their way to the Earthly creature. They came toward him and swarmed him. They all screamed in excitement and laughed with joy. "Our own sandman!" "He's made out rocks!" "No, he's made out of dirt." "He's a super hero!" "Our own super hero is here!" "He could stay with us."

The super hero was overjoyed. Now he knew who he was and why he was here. He's was here for these lovely children who accepted him as one of their own. He was their hero. He knew he was there just for them, to protect them from harm. He decided to exist for these kids, no matter what is to unfold in the future!

Read the original story written by me here www.pongobeach.com

Ten Easy Riddles for Kids Part II

Hope you enjoyed part one of the riddles for kids. These riddles with answers are seriously silly and yet fun. You may make faces while reading them, but trust me not everyone can guess the answers in first try. You definitely need to scratch your heads for few of these questions. Enjoy!

Ten Easy Riddles for Kids

Q.1 What has many keys but can't open any door?

Ans. A keyboard


Q.2 What has killed elephants, defeated lions and attacked soldiers, but yet gets imprisoned in the spider's web?

Ans. A housefly


Q.3 What everyone of us has and can never lose it?

Ans. A shadow


Q.4 What goes up and doesn't come back down?

Ans. Your age


Q.5  What type of fish can never swim?

Ans. Dead Fish


Q.6 What has two banks but no money?

Ans. River


Q.7 What type of bed can fly?

Ans. A bed bug


Q.8 What is the center of Gravity?

Ans. The letter V


Q.9 Which letter of the alphabet has the most water?

Ans. The letter 'C'


Q.10 What comes in the center of American and Australia?

Ans. The letter 'r'

Ten Easy Riddles for Kids Part I

Kids love riddles. They enjoy thinking about the answer and challenging friends with riddles. Such silly yet head scratching questions are always enjoyable and can be a great way to spend quality time with kids.  Here are ten riddles that are easy and fun.

Ten Easy Riddles for Kids

Q. 1  What do policeman apply on their bread?

Ans. Traffic jam


Q.2  Who drinks water and dies?

Ans. Fire


Q.3  Who looks like half chopped apple?

Ans. Other half of apple


Q.4  Two rooms in which we can't enter?

Ans. Mushroom and Broom


Q.5  Which is the brightest day of the week?

Ans. Sunday


Q.6  Who has a head but cannot think?

Ans. Coin


Q.7  Which city shocks you?

Ans. Electricity


Q.8  What can run but has no feet?

Ans. River


Q.9  What has a face and two hands but no legs?

Ans. Clock


Q.10  What has thumb and four fingers but is not a living thing?

Ans. A glove

5 Amazing Facts about Puffin Bird

Puffins are pelagic seabirds that feed on fish which they catch by diving in the water. They have black and white feathers and a large and colorful beak(shaped more like parrot's beak). Puffin birds are found in three species, out of which two species the tufted puffin and horned puffin are found in the North Pacific Ocean where as the Atlantic puffin is found in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Atlantic Puffin

5 Amazing Facts About Puffin Birds 

1. Many misinterpret puffin bird with penguins. This could be because they share the same black and white body color. Penguins have black and white skin coat, while puffins have black and white feathers. One more similarity between both penguin and puffin bird is their love for eating fish. But penguins are penguins and puffins are birds. Penguins have wings but can't fly, but puffins are seabirds that fly. They don't even belong to the same family. While penguins belong to the family Spheniscidae, puffin bird belongs to family Alcidae.

2. Puffin birds always breed in large colonies usually on coastal cliffs or offshore islands. They nest in burrows(empty rabbit burrows), or even in rock crevices. They are found in a much larger number and mostly the areas or islands they breed are referred to as Puffin Islands.

Tufted Puffin

3. After the breeding season, puffin birds shed the colorful part of their beak leaving it to look dull and small.  Only during the breeding season the puffin birds have a colorful beak.

4. Puffins feed on fishes like herring, capelin, hake etc and also zooplankton. They have this unique ability to hold and carry as many as dozen small fishes at a time crosswise in their bill.

5. Puffins have the ability of swimming underwater as well as fly in the air. Their webbed feet enables them to swim effortlessly underwater, where they catch many fishes at a time. 

15 Spiritual Quotes to Lift Your Mood

There are times in your life when you wonder what is going on with your life. You try to seek answers but find none. This is when feeling connected to something bigger gives life new sense and new meaning. Spirituality makes you feel real. It helps you get rid of anxiety, depression and inner turmoil. Our thoughts make us vary. They give us sleepless nights and worries. But connecting to spiritual side helps us deal with these problems. Here are some spiritual quotes from great thinkers which will help you feel connected and pour wisdom in your life.

15 Spiritual Quotes to Lift Your Mood

1. “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.”  Louis L'Amour




2.

3. “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

4. 

5.  "Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know." - Pema Chödrön

6.   "You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks."                    - Winston S. Churchill 

7.                   

                       

8.                                         “Life is not easy for anyone. 

Sometimes you don't see the challenges on the outside, 

but every single one of us has both those 

and everything that goes on inside as well. 

Give it your all.

                             Dare to be all you can be.” – Hillary Clinton

9. 

10.   "Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience."

                - Jon Kabat-Zinn       

11.                                                "What you think you become.

What you feel you attract.

                What you imagine you create." - Buddha

12. 

13.   "You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." 

               -Buddha

14.      "A positive mind finds opportunity in everything. A negative mind finds fault in everything." 

             - Buddha

15.              

10 Funny Phobias One Cannot Believe Existed

Phobia is an extreme fear of something. One could get anxious or extremely upset or even fear persistently about any object or certain situations. Phobia is one such situation which an individual would go to lengths to avoid. But not all phobias may sound serious to us. There are certain phobia which we may at times find too weird or funny. Here are ten such funny phobias which one cannot believe existed.

1.  Ablutophobia

Ablutophobia is the fear of bathing. With this phobia an individual may persistently fear bathing or cleaning oneself. This kind of phobia is more common in children and females. Wonder whether it is this phobia that keeps dogs away from bathing!

2. Arachibutyrophobia

Peanut butter lovers would never imagine, someone would have a phobia related to it. Well not entirely about eating peanut butter but arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.

3. Chrometophobia

Chrometophobia is one such phobia one may find funny, as it could affect one's life at a great extent. Chrometophobia is the phobia where a man fears money. Now money is used by us in our day to day life to buy commodities, and also to live and make a living. A phobia as such can affect an individual vastly. How can one survive like that, I wonder!

4. Chronophobia

Now even this phobia is weird! Chronophobia is a phobia where an individual suffering from it fears of time passing. Such person may fear watches and clocks. Existence of such phobia can really put an individual's life in great trouble, I must say!

5. Lachanophobia

Meat lovers won't mind this at all! Lachanophobia is one such phobia where an individual may have great fear of vegetables. A  person suffering from this phobia may suffer panic attacks at the sight of certain vegetables, for example say peas, potatoes, cereals. This phobia could relate to one or two such vegetables or many. Now, vegetables is one such thing that provides us with nutrition and good health, but some people may indeed be afraid of them.

6. Peladophobia

Now how can one survive with such a thing! Peladophobia is the fear of bald people or baldness. Being bald or having bald people around cannot be helped. But imagine some people actually getting anxious around bald people or fearing the thought of becoming bald themselves. 

7. Photophobia

This phobia I wished never existed! Photophobia is a phobia where one is afraid of light. This fear resembles a condition known as light sensitivity where a person could get over-sensitive around light. He or she may feel that light is hurting their eyes and would prefer remaining in dark.

8. Pogonophobia

Pogonophobia is one such funny phobia where an individual may take extreme dislike for beards or even fear the presence of someone who has beards. Though we may find such a phobia silly, but for those who suffer from it it is not funny at all. Such people suffering with pogonophobia can get extremely upset around people with beards.

9. Syngenesophobia

Maybe I have this phobia! Syngenesophobia is a phobia where one individual may get extremely afraid or upset around relatives. This fear could be about being around relatives or even siblings. In such condition a person may really get anxious about meeting relatives - either all or some of them. For example this fear could be related to fear of aunts, fear of cousins, fear or uncles or anyone else in particular. Such person may get extremely anxious in such people's company.

10. Tonsurephobia

Tonsurephobia is a phobia where a person can be extremely upset or afraid  about getting haircuts. The existence of such phobia in an individual could really affect his or her physical well-being. But such phobia does exist, however weird it may sound.

35 Motivational Quotes for Students

Children need motivation. Whenever a child feels upbeat, parents should motivate their child.  Their are certain situations in life of students when they want to be encouraged. These situations could include the time during exams or even while making decisions. Exam time could be stressful for children. It is the time of the year when children go through a lot of ups and downs. Even though a child is well-prepared for, yet stress levels rise during exams. It could be due to the fear of attempting the paper or simply the thought of not doing well. This is the time when a child requires lot of motivation, encouragement and positivity.

Motivational quotes from great thinkers gives one a lot of encouragement and strength. Their wise words makes us think and rethink about the decisions we take. And hence such quotes of motivation are as valuable as any treasure.

Here are some motivational quotes for students by famous people that a student can always look forward to in every step of his life, be it weakness, be it exam fear, be it failure, be it taking decisions or so.

Motivational Quotes for Students on Failure

1. "Failure doesn't mean the game is over, it means try again with experience." - Len Schlesinger


2. "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." - Henry Ford


3. "I will not say I failed 1000 times, I will say that I discovered there are 1000 ways that can cause failure" - Thomas Edison


4. "Failures are part of life.
     If you don't fail, you don't learn.
     If you don't learn, you'll never change." - Anonymous


5. "Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their failure." -                   Napoleon Hill


6. 

Motivational Quotes For Students on Believing

7. "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve." - Napoleon Hill

8. "Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle." - Christian D. Larson

9. "Believe in yourself and you are unstoppable." - Anonymous

10. 

Motivational Quotes for Students on Fear

11. "The fears we don't face become our limits." - Robin Sharma

12. "Fear is nothing more than an obstacle that stands in the way of progress. In overcoming our fears we can move forward, Stronger and Wiser within ourselves." - Unknown

13. "Never feed the fear, it only grows, 

       rather let the fear teach you how to overcome it. 

       Let it be the stepping stone to your bright future." - Unknown

14. 

15. "Never let fear decide your future." - Unknown

Motivational Quotes for Students on Taking Efforts

16. "Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction." - John F. Kennedy

17. "The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra." - Jimmy Johnson

18. "It's not about perfect. 

        It's about effort. 

        And when you bring that effort every single day, 

        That's where transformation happens. 

        That's how change occurs." - Jillian Michaels

19. "Success is the sum of small efforts - repeated day in and day out." - Robert Collier 

20. "Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking potential." - Winston Churchill

21. 

Motivational Quotes for Students on Trying New Areas

22. "The expert in anything was once a beginner." - Helen Hayes

23. "We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." - Jawaharlal Nehru

24. "It is never too late to be who you might have been." - George Elliot

25. 

Motivational Quotes for Students on Courage

26. "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." - E.E.Cummings

27. "Courage is not having the strength to go on. It is going on when you don't have the strength." - Theodore Roosevelt 

28. "It's easy to stand with the crowd. It takes courage to stand alone." - Mahatma Gandhi

29. "With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity." - Keshavan Nair

Motivational Quotes for Students on Weakness

30. 

Motivational Quotes for Students to Study Hard

31. "Push yourself because, no one else is going to do it for you." - Unknown

32. "Don't stop when you are tired. Stop when you are done." - David Goggins 

33. "Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow" - Doug Firebaugh

34. "Work hard until lamp light of your study table becomes spot light of stage."

35. 

Expansion of Idea - For Some The Journey is Quicker, For Some The Journey is Slow

Life is a journey. Each day you try and reach a new milestone. For some the journey of life is quick for some it is slow. Each one of us live life our own way. Everyone has their own goals, dreams and objective they wish to achieve. We try to fulfill our objectives and achieve our goals depending on our merit. Our skills and abilities provide us with the opportunity to make the most out of our life.

For some the journey is slow and for some the journey of achieving success is fast. This speed depends on how important it is for one to reach the goal. For some the only purpose of life is to make their dreams come true. But not everyone think that way and then they stagnate and live a dreary life. Then there are few who reach success on a slower pace, because they face many obstacles and yet never back out.

The journey of life allows us to come across varied experiences and vast opportunities. We meet people and learn different lessons. It is all about how you take each and every opportunity and try to enrich your life. Some let opportunities go and repent their whole life. Opportunities once lost can never be found again. Hence it is important that we take life in a positive way and make the most out of it. By doing so we can continue with the journey of life on a much faster pace. 

How Do We Get High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the force of our blood that pushes against the arteries. We do need some blood pressure so that it helps the blood to move throughout the body. But at times, the pressure rises more than one needs and stays high over time. This high pressure keeps pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. In many ways this high rise in the blood pressure can damage our body. This process of the rise in the regular blood pressure and staying high over the time is known as high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is also referred as 'hypertension'. This condition of high blood pressure in one is dangerous as it makes one's heart pump and push more than normal stages. Understand this, the higher one's blood pressure, the greater is the damage risk. High blood pressure needs to be controlled to avoid major damage such as a heart stroke, heart attack or other complications. The situation at times could be fatal.

Symptoms and Causes of High Blood Pressure

Some symptoms of high blood pressure include severe headache, chest pain, tiredness, irregular heartbeat and difficulty in breathing. Some foods that may get you blood pressure higher include intake of salt, packaged foods, frozen food items, heavy creams, etc. Packaged foods and canned foods are the many culprits as they have heavy doses of sodium in it. Foods like canned beans, canned fruits, frozen meats, soft drinks, pastries should be avoided as much as possible.

One can include fresh fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, leafy vegetables, fishes with omega 3s, cow milk and berries to maintain a healthy heart. Other than foods, some other factors that lead to high blood pressure include body temperature, mental state, sleep apnea, over exertion and certain medications or drugs.

How is Blood Pressure Measured?

Blood pressure is measured with an instrument known as the sphygmomanometer, commonly also known as the blood pressure monitor or blood pressure gauge. The blood pressure is measured as systolic and diastolic pressures. Here 'systolic' refers to blood pressure while pumping blood and 'diastolic' means blood pressure when heart is at rest in between beats. 

What is a Sinkhole

Also known to be a swallow hole, shake hole, sink or even a doline, a sinkhole is a depression caused in the Earth's surface. These sinkholes that form on the earth's surface do not usually form due to natural process. They can be natural or even man made. These depressions formed in the earth's surface, are due to the dissolution of carbonate rock. And this process is also known to be the Karst process. Sinkholes either could form gradually or may appear sudden.

When water flows underground and starts dissolving the rocks, slowly and gradually sinkholes form. These rocks that dissolve are mostly limestone, salt beds, gypsum or clay.  When rocks start dissolving, small caverns form within the surface. This process carries on over a period of time and the land later caves in. This sudden collapse happens when pressure hits on the earth's surface. Small cracks may emerge to show the beginning of the sinkhole. These small cracks are not dangerous in the beginning. But as the cracks keep expanding and forming a hole, a weight of certain object would make the land cave in.

Sinkholes can differ in size and at times could be big enough to swallow even a house or a swimming pool. The process is so dramatic that it would not give out a warning at times, and suddenly would break out into a big, enormous hole creating chaos. 

Tales of Tenali Raman - Tenali Raman And Challenge of The Linguist

Once in the court of King Krishnadevaraya, came a linguist who was known to have traveled all over India and learnt many languages. He conversed with the king's courtiers in many languages fluently. Everyone was thoroughly impressed with him including the king. Now the linguist challenged the court to find out what his mother tongue actually was. The court accepted the challenge and each one of them tried their best to find out the linguist's mother tongue.

One courtier who spoke to the linguist in Bengali said that the linguist was indeed a Bengali. Another one spoke to him in Hindi and declared that the linguist was Hindi.  Each one of the courtier came up with many languages they thought could have been the linguist's actual mother tongue. So no one reached to any solution. The linguist was smart and kept replying without actually revealing any truth. Later on he said to the king, "Dear Lord! There definitely going to be a lot of guessing. But I want more than just guessing".

So now the king turned towards Tenali Raman and asked him to try. Tenali Raman accepted the linguist's challenge. The linguist put a condition in front of the king, that if Tenali Raman failed in proving so, the king would have to reward the linguist with whatever he asked for. The king readily agreed as he had full confidence in Tenali.

Tenali turned to the linguist and said, "Sir, I really appreciate your superior linguistic skills. You indeed are very well read and intelligent. Though you are a master of lots of languages I still believe that you love your mother tongue very much. Please give me a day's time and I promise that I will give my reply tomorrow in this court." The linguist readily agreed and was made to stay in the palace as a royal guest. Tenali Raman himself made sure that all the staying arrangements made for the linguists were comfortable. The linguist was happy with the hospitality he received and enjoyed lovely dinner and soundly retired in his bed.

Tenali Raman had worked out a plan. He waited outside the quarters of the linguist until midnight. He made sure that the linguist was deep asleep. Then he tiptoed towards the linguist's bed. Tenali tickled the linguist slowly with a rough duster. Not once but he repeated the action twice. Suddenly woken from a deep slumber, the linguist started shouting, "Kon Che! Kon Che! Chowkidar! Ma Jagdambe, Raksha karo!" Tenali hid himself behind a cupboard and witnessed the whole act. Once he made sure that the linguist had gone back to sleep, he slid back, went to his house and slept well.

Next day in the court,  everyone including the king anxiously waited for Tenali. Even the linguist was eager about what was going to happen. Tenali Raman entered the court as his usual self and bowed down to the king. The king asked him," Tenali, can you tell us what his mother tongue is?" Tenali calmly answered, "Yes my lord. I can." The King said, "Then tell us," Tenali turned towards the linguist and said, "O Scholar of languages! You are an expert and I bow down to you. But I know your mother tongue is Gujarati. Please confirm it." The linguist replied, "My mother tongue is indeed Gujarati."

Everyone including the king was shocked and surprised to hear it. The king asked, " How did you know, Tenali?" Tenali Raman replied, " Everyone of us love their mother tongue. It is the most dearest to us. Though one may be proficient in many languages, yet he would always turn back to his mother tongue in dire circumstances. I used the same trick with our guest. Last night, I woke up our guest. Being disoriented and frightened he resorted to his mother tongue and shouted in Gujarati."

The linguist came forward and hugged Tenali. He admired his quick wit and praised him. The linguist regarded Tenali as a genius and as usual Tenali Raman proved that to be true. 

What is Soundproof Glass

There are numerous occasions when we wish, we were sitting in a room with soundproof glass; especially when we are with friends spilling out secrets. Soundproof glass help us achieve that level of privacy where conversation stay intact with no secrets been revealed to the outside world.

Soundproof glass is a type of glass which refrains sound from penetrating from one side to the other. This could either be from inside to outside or from outside to inside. Such type of glass are used by people who spend time in noisy environment. For example, people living on busy streets or cabins of noisy offices.

How Does Soundproof Glass Work 

Sound in the form of energy pass through various mediums such as solid, liquid or gas. The closer the molecules in the medium, the faster the sound energy pass from one point to another. Since the molecules of a solid medium are closely held, the sound travels faster through it. But when a soundproof glass is installed, it absorbs the sound waves and reduces vibration thus working as a barrier and preventing the sound from passing.

How can Soundproof Glass be Made

A sound proof glass can be made by simply using a thicker glass. The thicker the glass, the stiffer it would be and lesser the vibration. One of the other option to make a sound proof glass is using a material between two panes of glass. One of the most common material used for glass sound proofing is lamination. Lamination of glass is where a thin piece of plastic is placed between two glass panes. This cuts down significant amount of sound and allows noiseless atmosphere. Laminated glass work as the best soundproof glass and best soundproof windows.

What are Waterspouts

Tornadoes that form over water are called as waterspouts. A waterspout is a strong columnar whirlpool that resembles funnel shaped cloud and move over water. At times they form over water and move over land from water. A waterspout could be accompanied by heavy hail storm, lightnings and strong winds. A waterspout has a five part life cycle, which include a dark spot formation on the water surface followed by spiral pattern of water surface and formation of a spray ring along with a development of visible cloud like condensation funnel which finally decays.

Waterspouts can form in an area less than 2 km in width. The column of rotating cloud that is funnel shaped, descends over water. This cloud that develops could be mild or even harmful. Some of the waterspouts formed are strong and usually tornadic in nature. At times these waterspouts could be mild and weak. Such mild waterspouts are caused by different atmospheric pressures and develop in moisture laden environment. Though weaker than a tornado, waterspout can still manage to cause considerable damage to it's surroundings.

Where are waterspouts witnessed?

Waterspouts are witnessed in tropics and subtropical areas. Europe, Australia, New Zealand have common occurrences of waterspout. One of the area which witness waterspouts frequently is Florida Keys with around 400 waterspouts approximately around the world. 

What is Chromite

Chromite is an oxide mineral. The main composition of Chromite is chromium along with iron and oxygen. It is the only ore of Chromium. The color of chromite varies from grey to black  and has a sub-metallic lustre with a high specific gravity. Chromite is relatively hard and metallic. It is found in basic and ultra-basic igneous rocks or metamorphic rocks and even sedimentary rocks. Their occurrence is a result of altering of these rocks by heat or weathering.

Being the only ore of chromium, chromite is highly used in the production of stainless steel, nichrome and chrome plating. Given it's high heat stability, it is also used as a refractory material.