Ajay Dasgupta on Pitara Kids Network

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Fri, 25 Mar 2005 20:48:41 +0000

If you touch a hot metal object, you will yank your hand away immediately. When this happens to you the first time, the sequence of events and the result (the burning of your hand) gets stored in your brain. This is what we call an experience.

When you see a hot metal object next time, you will not touch it. You will use the knowledge of your previous experience and decide to not repeat it again.

Which Mammal lays Eggs?

Fri, 16 May 2003 08:54:38 +0000

Mammals are creatures who give birth to their young ones as opposed to other animals who lay eggs. Birds, reptiles and insects lay eggs. But as with every other rule, this one has exceptions* too.

An exceptional exception

The duck-billed platypus of Australia walks out of fresh waters to build its nest on the ground. But it has retained its love of water and returns to streams and ponds to eat crayfish, snails, and shrimp. The most remarkable feature in the platypus is that although it is a mammal, it lays eggs!

What is Cloning?

Sun, 07 Sep 2003 11:55:52 +0000

Which is the most famous sheep in the world? A sheep called Dolly. But why is Dolly famous?

That is because unlike other sheep’s, Dolly was not born in the usual manner. She is actually a carbon copy of her mother, like an identical twin. This means that she is the twin sister of her mother who is older by six years and she does not have a father!

Scientists at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, UK, made history on 27th February 1997, when they successfully cloned a sheep. So what is cloning?

Why do Ants walk in a Line?

Thu, 07 Mar 2002 00:40:25 +0000

When I woke up one summer morning, I noticed a string of dashes on my bedroom wall. The line ran from the ceiling to the wall behind my bed and then disappeared under it.

As I watched, I saw one of the dashes move. It was a small red ant walking up the line. Soon, another one followed and then another, till it grew into an army of ants marching up the wall.

I noticed that while walking in a line the ants were cleaning the wall paint underneath them and, in the process, making a path. And there is a very good reason for them walking in a line.

What is Water Harvesting?

Fri, 09 May 2003 05:03:49 +0000

Come summer and the entire nation seems to have just one word on its lips – water. Year 2000 saw one of the worst summers recorded in the history of India. The drought in the state of Gujarat and Rajasthan was the worst in decades.

Fresh water, they say is a scarce resource. Is it?

During the monsoons every year, we allow huge amounts of fresh water to run off our roads and pavements into the drains where it mixes with the sewage and heads straight for the rivers where we dump waste. Did you know that this rain water is enough to see us through the summers?

Is Potato a Fruit or Vegetable?

Thu, 02 May 2002 06:52:02 +0000

Pick up a potato and you notice eyes with little lashes on it. In fact, the lashes look like tiny roots. Have you ever wondered why the potato has roots on it?

The potato is actually a stem. A stem in disguise, that grows under the ground!

Many plants are masters at adapting themselves to their surroundings. They can change their structure to suit their needs.

Himalayas Have a Deep Impact on the Climate of the World

Sun, 27 Oct 2002 03:58:51 +0000

Tibet is known as the roof of the world. That is because it is on a region which has the highest altitude in the world. The Himalayan mountain range merges into the Tibetan plateau to form this region known as the Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau.

Besides being the roof of the world, this plateau also has a deep impact on the climate of the world, says a report published in the May, 2001, edition of Nature, a science and environment journal. How the scientists made this connection is a very exciting story.

Why doesn't our stomach get digested?

Mon, 04 Apr 2005 18:26:52 +0000

All the food we eat goes into our stomach. Here, it is broken into smaller and simpler substances and get absorbed into the blood. Then, the blood carries these food particles to the different cells of the body, where they are used to provide energy to our body.

Why doesn’t our stomach get digested?

How is food broken into smaller particles?

Is Pluto a Planet?

Tue, 25 Nov 2003 09:10:50 +0000

Which is the planet farthest from the Sun? For a long time, the answer was Pluto. Not any more.

In 2006, the world’s astronomers met and agreed on exactly what a ‘planet’ is. Pluto did not fit the new rules, so it was given a new title — a dwarf planet.

Why the change? Mostly Pluto’s small size. It is only about 2,377 kilometres across — about five times smaller than Earth, and even smaller than our own Moon. Scientists had long suspected that something so tiny did not belong in the club of major planets.

How Far Away are the Stars?

Thu, 04 Dec 2003 12:42:03 +0000

The sun is a star, just like the thousands of others we see in the sky each night. But it looks so very big. Is it the biggest star? No. The only reason the sun appears so big is because it is closer to us than any other star.

The sun is just 93,000,000 miles (or 14,88,000,000 km) away from the earth. That seems an awful lot of distance, but light can travel so quickly that the sun’s rays reach the earth in a little more than eight minutes! That is the wonder of light.

Why does Milk spill over when it Boils?

Wed, 09 Oct 2002 20:50:36 +0000

How many times have you seen milk boil and spill over, and wondered why this happens? To answer this question we have to know a little more about the composition of milk.

Milk and its composition
Unlike water, milk is not a simple liquid. It is a colloid and contains many substances in suspended form. These substances are mainly protein, sugar and fat. When milk is heated slowly, the proteins and fat get separated. Since they are lighter than the milk they collect on the surface in the form of a layer called cream.

A Fish with Three Hearts: Cuttlefish

Mon, 18 Mar 2002 05:06:42 +0000

It is said to be a royal among sea animals because it has blue blood, literally. And the cuttlefish has a large heart. Actually, it is not one but three hearts.

And it is not even a fish but belongs to the same family as the squid and the octopus. They are called the cephalopods, which literally translated means head-foot.

The blood of the cuttlefish is blue because of the huge amount of copper in it. While it uses two of its hearts to pump blood into the gills (the lung of the fish) where it absorbs oxygen, the third heart pumps blood into the other organs.

How does a Submarine Work?

Sat, 12 Apr 2003 20:16:50 +0000

Jules Verne in his science fiction, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, mentions a ship, Nautilus, which could dive beneath the waves and surface again when it wanted to.

Even before submarines were thought about, Verne had created the blueprint of this technological marvel. Not only did he describe the machine, but he also explained, in great detail, how it worked. In fact, today’s submarines use exactly the same technology as Verne’s Nautilus did!

What is a Volcano?

Wed, 24 Sep 2003 17:37:09 +0000

What is nature’s most powerful, most destructive, most dangerous form? Some would say an earthquake, others a cyclone. However, these phenomenon are relatively smaller and less destructive in scale compared to the fury of a volcano.

Fourteen miles southeast of Naples in Italy, lie the remains of an ancient town called Pompeii. The city flourished under the shadows of the towering Mount Vesuvius. In 79 AD, the volcano erupted, destroying the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and Torre Annunziata.

Why do Humans Sweat?

Tue, 15 Oct 2002 01:52:22 +0000

It is an annual ritual in most Indian homes. With the onset of summer it is time to bring the rusty, rickety old coolers down from the terrace and get them repaired. The reason is obvious – it is difficult to live through the hot, sweaty Indian summer without an air cooler. But did you know that the human body has its own cooler as well?

How Does Satellite TV Work?

Fri, 15 Aug 2003 20:18:50 +0000

Nine ‘o’ clock. It’s time for your favourite serial on television. Have you ever wondered how the same serial can be viewed by millions of people across the world?

This is possible because of satellite television technology. It uses man-made or artificial satellites to send your favourite serial to your television set. But why do we need satellites for this purpose?

What is the Weight of Air?

Fri, 14 May 2004 14:07:53 +0000

As you stand in the middle of a playground or while you are sitting in your class, there is an immense weight right over your head, but you do not feel it! This is the weight of the atmosphere, or air, as we know it.

Composed of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gases, it surrounds the earth like an envelope. And, it extends almost a thousand kilometres above the Earth’s surface.

An Organism that is visible from Space

Sat, 10 Aug 2002 10:30:36 +0000

The elephant is the largest land animal. The Blue whale is the largest sea animal. But however big these animals may be, they can not size up to the colonies built by tiny little sea creatures – the coral. The colonies built by corals are called coral reefs. Coral reefs can be as huge as big islands or even as big as a country!

These reef-building corals are not single animals. A coral is a colony made up of many individual animals called polyps. These are connected to each other.

How do Earthquakes Happen?

Thu, 15 Aug 2002 04:16:22 +0000

Simply put, the shaking of the earth caused by a sudden shifting of rocks below its surface, is called an earthquake. The earths crust or outermost layer, is not made of one single piece of solid rock. It is actually made up of independent sheets of rocks called tectonic plates.

The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century.

These plates slide against each other, giving rise to physical changes in the earths topography. The places where these tectonic plates meet each other, are called fault lines.

What is the Ozone Hole?

Mon, 14 Oct 2002 11:03:48 +0000

On beaches as well as on the cricket ground, it is always possible to spot people with some kind of cream on their bodies or faces. Remember the South African pace bowler Alan Donald or ‘White Lightning’ as he is called, with “war-paint” on his face? No, it is not an attempt at camouflage, simply an effort to gain protection from the ultraviolet rays of the sun.

Why do We Cup Our Hands When We Shout?

Wed, 21 Aug 2002 23:23:05 +0000

“Go on Sanjay, go on,” we shouted. It was the annual sports meet in our school and the 100 metres sprint was on. The White House runner Deepak was giving our Blue House sprinter, Sanjay, tough competition.

As the sprinters neared the finishing line, and the shouts turned into screams, I noticed something remarkable. Everyone had cupped their hands around their mouths while shouting.

Why do Meteorites Strike the Earth?

Sat, 27 Apr 2002 10:32:14 +0000

On a hot summer afternoon, I sat down with my elder brother to play carom. I took the first strike and pocketed two coins. Then I did a little war dance. Wow!

Suddenly dada (Bengali for elder brother) had an idea. “How would it be if a fast-travelling object hit the earth? Quite like the way the striker hit the coins.”

How do Animals Camouflage?

Sat, 12 Jan 2002 02:47:52 +0000

Remember the last time you played hide and seek. You hid behind a bush while your friend tried to find you. If you were wearing a green dress, the chance of you being seen was automatically reduced as you could be mistaken for a bunch of leaves.

Hide and seek is a very old game and it seems human beings are not the only ones to play it. Small fish use the tactics of the game to hide from bigger ones, while moths and butterflies use them to hide from birds and other attackers.

Tale of the Woolly Mammoth

Sat, 30 Mar 2002 01:49:17 +0000

Almost 20,000 years ago, a group of hunting tribesmen attacked an enormous elephant like animal called the Woolly Mammoth. A fierce battle was fought as the prehistoric tribesmen armed with spears and stone catapults attacked the Mammoth.

The Mammoth, almost twice the size of a modern African Elephant, charged and stomped. And as a spear pierced its heart, it gave one last heart wrenching cry and fell to the ground with a loud thud, a sound that reverberated through the mountains.

What is the Trail behind a Jet?

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 04:45:07 +0000

When we were small, we used to look up to the sky and often see a white trail left by a jet aircraft. Rocket! Rocket! We used to yell, jump up with joy, clap our hands and strain our eyes as the ‘rocket’ disappeared into the horizon.

Soon, the white streak would change into a broken, twisted cloud path. And we were told that it was the fairies’ trail.

Why do Airplanes have Wings?

Tue, 23 Apr 2002 01:14:32 +0000

I remember my trip to Goa. The flight was scheduled for six a.m. As the aeroplane taxied on the runway it gained speed. I felt a kick in the stomach and then we were airborne. It was my first flight and I was very excited. My father who was sitting next to me, asked, “Can you tell me how the aircraft flies?”

What is the Secret of the Windmill?

Thu, 03 Oct 2002 17:16:10 +0000

It was a particularly windy day in late July when my cousin and I sat down to make a pinwheel. The paper was folded into a wheel, the pin inserted at the heart of it and the entire structure fixed to the broomstick.

As our pinwheel took shape we ran out braving the sun and the hot wind. The pinwheel caught the wind and rotated. Seeing it, our hearts pin-wheeled as well.

What is Ham Radio?

Sat, 04 Oct 2003 20:40:32 +0000

Consider this, your state has been hit by a cyclone with wind speeds measuring 300 kilometres per hour. All modern means of communication – telephone, cellphone, wireless sets – lie dead as the cyclone has destroyed all connecting stations and links.

This is what happened during the Orissa cyclone. All communication links broke down as dish antennas, radio stations, telephone lines, satellite links were destroyed.

There was no way people could contact the outside world. This was when a bunch of amateurs, students and radio enthusiasts got together to set up something called an amateur radio or ham radio station.

How do Animals Communicate?

Tue, 27 Feb 2001 04:32:58 +0000

Humans have invented new and advanced ways of communicating with each other. Television, radio, telephones and of course email. You will be surprised to know that animals who seem to have very simple methods of communication – using their bodies and voices – are also capable of long distance communication.

How do Animals Communicate? [Illustration by Shinod AP]

Foot stomping and low frequency rumbling created by elephants can travel upto 20 miles and is used by elephants to signal other herds or members, says an article in the Hindu newspaper.

Do Whales and Dolphins see Blue?

Wed, 23 Jun 2004 16:30:16 +0000

Dolphins and whales live in the deep blue sea, but strangely these animals are not able to see the colour blue!

Leo Peichl of the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt and his colleagues discovered during routine tests that seals do not respond to the blue colour. Intrigued, they carried out similar tests on few other species, such as dolphins and whales, and found the same results.

Why is the Ball-point Pen Called So?

Tue, 14 Oct 2003 05:05:22 +0000

Writing is one of the most important inventions. Humans first used brushes for writing, then thick reeds were used. Feathers were used in medieval Europe for writing.

In the mid-19 century, metallic pens and nibs were widely used, while the fountain pen was produced in 1884 by the American, LE Waterman. However, these pens had a lot of problems. The ink would spill and blot very frequently and writing was cumbersome.

The first ball-point pen was invented by an Hungarian journalist, Ladislo Biro, in 1938. Biro had noticed that the type of ink used in newspaper printing dried quickly and did not smudge the paper. He decided to make a pen using the same type of ink. However, that thick ink could not flow through the normal pen nib, so he tried something else. And that is how the ball-point-pen was born.

Everything is made of something

Wed, 04 Sep 2002 14:54:10 +0000

How do you make tea? Simple, put a teaspoon of tea into a boiling cup of water. Strain the water, pour some milk and sugar to taste and the tea is ready! Interestingly, everything that we prepare has a recipe and is made up of simpler ingredients.

For example, what is sugar made of? It is made of sugar molecules, which in turn, are made up of atoms. The atom is the building block of all substances.

What were the Voyager Missions?

Sat, 19 Jul 2003 22:32:53 +0000

Imagine a journey that takes you a billion kilometres away from earth, to the edge of the solar system, from where you can look back over your shoulder and see our sun as just another star in the sky.

We are not talking about a science fiction movie but the Voyager space mission. On August 20, 1977, the Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched. Close on its heels, the Voyager 1 was launched on September 5, 1977. Both the unmanned spacecraft were launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA.

How Will our Sun Die?

Wed, 08 May 2002 00:54:36 +0000

Everything that is born must die. Not only living beings, but inanimate objects like stars too.

The birth of a star

The universe has massive clouds of hydrogen floating around. Sometimes, these clouds come together and form very dense and huge balls of hydrogen gas. As the clouds come close, their temperature increases. This is called a proto-star (original star).

The increase in temperature triggers off nuclear reactions at the core of the star. Nuclear reactions inside the star occur when the nucleus of two hydrogen atoms fuse to produce a helium atom. This reaction which is actually the same as that inside a hydrogen bomb, release huge amounts of heat and light. This is what makes a star glow.

All Human History is Just 10 Seconds Old!

Fri, 14 Dec 2001 05:37:22 +0000

Look at the dial of a clock. Imagine that the 12 hours showing on the dial are equal to earth’s history of four-and-a-half billion years. Now, this is how the earth’s evolution happened…

We know very little about what happened in the first three hours of the earth’s existence. The first signs of life appeared in the form of bacteria when the earth was four hours old.

Then came the first vertebrates (animals with skeletons). They were born when the earth was 10 hours and 35 minutes old. The huge dinosaurs arrived at 11 hours and 25 minutes and birds and mammals at 11 hours and 50 minutes.

Why does a Cricket Ball Swing?

Sun, 11 Mar 2001 20:21:37 +0000

How many times have all of us heard that the former captain of the Indian cricket team, Kapil Dev, was one of the greatest out-swing bowlers of all times. Indeed! He took more than 430 wickets in Test cricket. But, do you know how a cricket ball swings?

The term ‘swing’ refers to the movement of the cricket ball in the air after it leaves the bowler’s hand, which takes the ball away from or towards the batsman. If the ball moves away from the batsman it is called an out-swinger; if the ball moves towards the batsman it is called the in-swinger.

What is a Kangaroo Rat?

Mon, 17 Jun 2002 14:37:03 +0000

It looks like a small kangaroo for its hind legs are longer than its fore legs. And it uses its tail to balance itself. In fact, unlike other rats it does not run on all four legs but jumps around from bush to bush in search of food – like a kangaroo. And that’s why it is called the kangaroo rat.

It has another unique feature. Unlike most animals, the kangaroo rat does not need to drink water.

Little Blue Daisies

Sat, 29 Sep 2001 19:34:09 +0000

Little blue daisies

in my flowerbed
First came the ladybird
red red red
Fly away ladybird
said the daisy blue
Poor little ladybird flew flew flew

Then came the grasshopper
green green green
He hid in the leaves
not to be seen
Hop away grasshopper,
said the daisy blue
Poor little grasshopper
Went hop, hop hop

Third came the bumblebee
black black black
Humming to himself
a brand new song
Fly away bumblebee, said

What is Geothermal Energy?

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 03:20:53 +0000

In winter, all of us warm water in the geysers in the bathroom for bathing. Nature too has geysers which throw up a huge amount of hot water and steam. The ‘Old Faithful’, as one of the geysers in the Yellow Stone National Park in the United States of America is called, spews out boiling water at intervals of 33 to 120 minutes.

How can We Use Water to run Cars?

Thu, 16 Jan 2003 16:00:01 +0000

Huge amounts of polluting gases are being released into the earth’s atmosphere by the large scale burning of fossil fuels or natural fuels found under the earth. These gases are the main culprits behind the phenomenon of global warming and other climatic changes.

In order to find cleaner fuels, scientists around the world are trying to find a fuel or source of energy which produces little or no pollution on being burnt.

Who stole the Candle Wax?

Wed, 30 Oct 2002 17:03:57 +0000

On every Diwali, known as the festival of lights, our family has a big discussion on the kind of lighting we should have. And after talking about candles or electric bulbs we invariably choose the _diya_s or earthen lamps for their beautiful flames. But last year, we reached the kumhara or potter’s roadside shop a bit too late. The lamps had been sold out and the potter had a big smile on his face. So we decided to light candles.

What is the Software for Life?

Thu, 02 Jan 2003 15:20:13 +0000

We all use computers. If you use Windows on your machine, like me, you will have a small button at the the bottom of your screen called ‘Start’. Every machine in the world which has the Windows software installed has to have that button. However, we can have different screen colours, different text sizes, wallpapers etc.

Similarly our bodies are essentially the same, but we have different colours, sizes, shapes and structures. Our body also has a software which is responsible for these differences between one human being and another. It is called the DNA.

What is an ISBN number?

Sat, 11 Sep 2004 22:48:45 +0000

There are hundreds of thousands of publishers across the world, and millions of books get printed every year. Moreover, a book like The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a book that has been printed by several publishers. This makes the task of identifying a book very difficult.

To overcome the problem of identifying books, publishers have came up with a unique numbering system. For instance, if 50,000 copies of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are printed by a publisher at one time (called an edition), all of them are identified by one number code. This number code is like your home address that cannot be shared by anyone else apart from your parents and siblings.

Tiger Move

Wed, 10 Jan 2001 02:44:51 +0000

Santhals are a tribe found in rural Orissa and West Bengal. They believe that every individual born on earth comes destined to die by some specific stroke of fate. How the individual dies is determined at birth and this is called Dana or move (like the moves of a chess game). This move determines the kind of death the person would get – at the hands of a tiger, snake, a fall from a tree or just from old age.

What is Ribotyping?

Tue, 01 Jan 2002 20:07:16 +0000

Consider this, in a murder case, the culprit has left no clues. There are no fingerprints or eye witnesses.

A perfect crime, you would say. But on close inspection, the crime branch discovers a tiny strand of hair. Back in the forensic laboratories, scientists use this strand of hair to track down the criminal and solve the murder case.

But, how can you crack a mystery with a strand of hair, you would exclaim.

The technique used by forensic scientists to track down the culprit is called DNA-fingerprinting. DNA stands for deoxy-ribo-nucleic acid. The DNA is present in every cell of our body and contains information needed by the cell to go about its activities.

Dealing With the Potential Danger of a Meteor Hitting Earth

Sun, 01 Dec 2002 02:08:49 +0000

Our solar system is like a busy traffic round-about. The sun is at the centre of this round-about which drives a large number of heavenly bodies, including planets, comets and large and small rocks around it.

While the earth and the other planets chart fairly fixed paths around the sun, our smaller solar siblings, like rocks, do not believe in staying in their lanes. As a result, a large rock – the size of a small city – bangs into the earth every once in a while.

Man's Best Friend

Mon, 10 Jun 2002 14:44:10 +0000

Who is man’s best friend? Of course there are no points for guessing that one – the dog. The dog is the most popular domestic animal in the world. For more than 12,000 years the dog has been a companion, a protector and above all, an honest friend.

But different civilisations and cultures have treated the dog in different ways. In some countries, dogs are used as guards or beasts of burden, whereas in others they are even eaten as food. However, in most societies, dogs are protected and admired. Ancient Egyptians considered them sacred.

Marine Militants: Bioinvasion propagated through Cargo Ships

Fri, 01 Nov 2002 21:59:37 +0000

What would happen if all the lions in Africa are carried away to some other place? The deer population will rise as there will not be anyone to kill them. With this population boom, the deer would need more food.

After a point, there will no grass left to feed subsequent generations. This would lead to the destruction of the entire ecosystem which thrives and sustains itself on the grass. And the grasslands will turn into a desert.

What does a Train Whistle tell us about the Universe?

Tue, 26 Nov 2002 15:33:03 +0000

I remember my first visit to the railway station as a child of five. The excitement of the approaching train was an experience I have never quite forgotten. At first I heard a train whistle far away, low and distant. As the train got closer, the sound of the whistle not only increased, it became shriller, and difficult to bear. So much so that I covered my ears in alarm!

Which Galaxy is Visible to the Eye?

Sun, 16 Nov 2003 01:16:32 +0000

The sun we see everyday is just one of the thousands of stars we see at night. Such a huge collection of stars is called a galaxy. And the stars we see belong to a galaxy called the Milky Way. There are millions of galaxies in the sky, most of whom are hidden from our view.

However, there are some galaxies which can be seen with the naked eye. The most famous and the brightest of these is the M31 or the Andromeda galaxy.

The Earth Is Getting dimmer

Fri, 14 Jun 2002 11:52:34 +0000

If you have viewed a crescent moon on a clear night, you would have observed an eerie glow around the moon. This is called earthshine. Do you know why the moon glows?

The eerie glow around a crescent moon is called earthshine.

Our earth and the moon act as giant mirrors that reflect sunlight. Actually most objects reflect light. A mirror reflects almost all the light that falls on it. And an object that does not reflect light is called opaque.

Why does a Kentish Plover Parent Desert its Family?

Wed, 27 Feb 2002 19:03:49 +0000

When couples exchange vows on the marriage day, they generally say ’till death do us part’. For a species of shore-dwelling bird called the Kentish Plover, it is ’till divorce do us part'.

Indeed, birds of this species usually leave their partners after the incubation (hatching) of the eggs and usually it is the female who moves on, while the male stays on to look after the babies. A recent study conducted by Andras Kosztolanyi of the University of Debrecen, in Hungary, sheds light on the reason behind this behaviour.

Screen Saver that saves

Tue, 19 Mar 2002 21:46:12 +0000

You can find a cure for cancer. Sounds impossible? But, it could become true. Now, there is a way in which you can be a part of a high-tech research team and perhaps hit upon the right combination to make a cancer drug.

Screen Saver that saves [Illustration by Shinod AP]

All you have to do is download a certain software and use it as a screen saver. This way your computer might find the way to make that wonder drug. So how does it work?

The Luckiest Men?

Thu, 20 Mar 2003 07:30:43 +0000

St Pierre was a town of some 30,000 inhabitants, lying in a mile-long, crescent-shaped strip in the Martinique Islands, in the Caribbean or West Indies. The city had a grand backdrop: the 4,430 feet high Mount Pelee or ‘bald’ mountain. The mountain lives on but the town has become a part of its fiery history. Mount Pelee is a dormant volcano that erupts once in a while and then lies cold for a long time and without any activity.