Bindu Mishra on Pitara Kids Network

The Exotic Peacock

Mon, 04 Sep 2000 18:58:57 +0000

Come monsoons, and we immediately think about the beautiful peacock, dancing in the rain, with its luscious tail spread out behind it. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful birds in the world and a native of the Indian sub-continent, it is not surprising that the Peacock was anointed as the national bird of India in 1963.

Hailing from the pheasant family, these exotic birds are cherished for their colourful plumes and eggs. The peacocks, more appropriately called peafowls, (peacock refers to the male) are found in lowland forests and hills usually in small groups consisting of one male and several females.

The lazy monk — a tale from the Panchatantra

Mon, 07 Jun 1999 05:38:49 +0000

Note: This folktale has been adapted from the Panchatantra story originally titled “The lazy brahmin”.Panchatantra is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit.

There once lived a lazy monk named Khushi. Every day he would set out in the morning with his begging bowl. Some generous neighbours used to take pity on him and give him food. However, there were days when he didn’t get anything to eat. On those days he preferred to starve rather than going out and doing some work.

Onam — The Harvest Festival

Sun, 22 Aug 1999 00:18:26 +0000

The harvest festival of Kerala, Onam, falls on Shravan day in the month of August or September. After a lush harvest, Onam is the time for the farmers to celebrate the bounties of nature and make merry. Like most festivals of India, Onam too has a legend associated with it.

The story goes: A long time ago an Asura king named Mahabali ruled Kerala. He was dearly loved by his subjects and was known to be a just and wise ruler. His popularity soon spread far and wide. Mahabali, however, incurred the wrath of the gods when, besides earth, he extended his rule to the heavens and the nether world. Indra, the king of gods, did not appreciate the growing power of the asura king. The gods approached Lord Vishnu the preserver in the Hindu trinity — to help them out of the situation and to curb the growing power of the asura king. Lord Vishnu in the guise of Vamana (a brahmin dwarf) approached Mahabali for alms. Now Mahabali was a very generous man. He told Vamana to ask for anything. The Vamana asked for three paces of land and the king agreed to it.

What is a Tornado?

Mon, 22 May 2000 10:14:36 +0000

If you ever happen to see a dark often greenish sky, wall cloud, large hail and a loud roar similar to a freight train then run to a safe place as it could be a tornado.

Popularly known as twisters, tornado is derived from Spanish word ‘Tronada’ meaning thunderstorm and ‘Tornar’ meaning to turn.

Tornadoes [Illustrations by Amarjeet Malik]

A tornado is defined as a violently rotating column of air that can spin faster than 300 m.p.h., extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. They are generally observed as tube-or funnel-shaped clouds. At ground level they usually leave a path of destruction about 50 m wide and travel an average of about 8 to 24 km.

Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Thu, 17 Aug 2000 04:57:43 +0000

Born on September 5, 1888 in Tirutlani (now in Andhra Pradesh), Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan rose to become one of modern India’s most respected scholars and statesmen.

He was born to teach as a major part of his life was spent as an academic. He taught philosophy at the universities of Andhra, Mysore and Calcutta. He also held a professorship in eastern religion and ethics at Oxford.

His distinguished academic career included the Chancellorship of Delhi University and vice–chancellorship of Benares Hindu University.

The Deadly King Cobra

Mon, 24 Jan 2000 17:09:40 +0000

Belonging to the family Elapidae, the name Cobra is popularly applied to African and Asian snakes that are capable of spreading long ribs in their necks into a hood when threatened. There are six species of cobras: the Naja, the south African ringhal (Hemachatus), king cobra (Ophiophagus), water cobra (Boulengerina), tree cobra (Pseudohaje), and shield-nose cobra (Aspidelaps).

The king cobra or Hamadryad holds a record length of 5.58 m (18.3ft) for a venomous snake.

Does the Black Widow Spider Kill her Mate?

Tue, 06 Jun 2000 06:08:59 +0000

Largest of the cobweb weavers, the black widow or Latrodectus Mactans is a poisonous spider. They get their ignoble name because the females commonly eat their mates after mating (as is common among spiders) and hence are often widows. They comprise about six species and inhabit warmer regions of the world.

Shiny black in colour with a reddish hourglass shape on the underside of her spherical abdomen, the female black widow is about one inch long. The male is about half her size and may have a pair of reddish stripes on the side of his abdomen.

The Bed Bug and the Mosquito

Fri, 01 Oct 1999 01:31:34 +0000

A long, long time ago there lived a bed bug. He had a huge family. There were children, grandchildren, and great grand children. They all lived together on a beautiful bed. They lived in the corners and crevices of the bed. And the huge, beautiful bed belonged to the king of the country.

When the king slept, the bug and his entire family used to crawl out of their home. They would wait for the king to drift off to deep sleep and then feast on the king’s blood. The king’s blood was sweet, as sweet can be and they relished their meal.

The Wise Doves

Sat, 16 May 1998 03:34:17 +0000

Once upon a time, there lived many doves in the jungle. One day they went out in search of food. They flew long distances but did not get anything to eat. All of them were now completely exhausted.

A young dove asked the King Dove, “Your majesty, please permit us to take some rest.”

The king replied, “Have courage, my dear young fellow. We shall definitely get something to eat very soon.”

The Wise Doves [Illustrations by Amarjeet Malik]

The young dove started flapping his wings with force and soon left everyone behind.

Ho Chi Minh

Sat, 22 Apr 2000 12:44:00 +0000

Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Vietnam revolutionary nationalist party of Indo-China, which struggled for independence from France during and after the second world war, was born Nguyen Sinh Cung on May 19, 1890 in a village in central Vietnam. The French through a puppet emperor indirectly ruled the area during that time. Inheriting his father’s rebellious bent, Ho participated in a series of tax revolts, acquiring a reputation as a troublemaker. In 1911 he left Vietnam to work abroad. Toward the end of World War I he went to France where he joined the Socialist Party. In 1919 at Paris Peace conference, he unsuccessfully agitated for civil rights in Indo-China. Rebuffed, Ho joined the newly created French Communist Party and visited the USSR to study revolutionary methods. Soon Ho was roaming the earth as a covert agent for Moscow.

Banaras The Eternal City

Tue, 21 Sep 1999 06:18:01 +0000

City of many names, Banaras as it is most commonly called, was officially renamed in 1956 as Varanasi, a name from antiquity. It was first known as Kashi, the city of light, when it was the capital of the kingdom of the same name about 500 BC.

For over 2000 years, Banaras the eternal city has been the religious capital of India. Built on the banks of sacred Ganga it is said to combine the virtues of all other places of pilgrimage and anyone who ends their earthly cycle here is said to be transported straight to heaven.

The Singing Donkey

Fri, 08 May 1998 22:46:12 +0000

Long ago there was a small little town called Devpur. In this town lived a washerman and his old, lean donkey called Bhola. Bhola helped the washerman with his work. Every morning Bhola carried a pile of dirty clothes to the ghats and got back washed clothes in the evening. At nights Bhola was allowed to roam around and do whatever he wanted.

One night during his usual nightly stroll he met a fox named Bijli. Bhola and Bijli soon became friends. They would meet regularly at nights and jointly look for something to eat.

Lech Walesa

Wed, 17 May 2000 23:33:20 +0000

Born to a family of peasant farmers on Sept 23, 1943 in Popowo in Poland, Lech Walesa started of as an electrician at shipyard in Gdansk. A devout Roman Catholic, he was shocked by the repression of workers’ protests and made inroads with small opposition groups. Despite being sacked from his job, he climbed over the perimeter wall of the Lenin shipyard at the age of 37 to join the occupation strike. With his electrifying personality, quick wit and gift of the gab, he was soon leading it. He moved his fellow workers away from mere wage claims towards a daring political demand: free trade unions. When Polish communists agreed to this, the new union was christened Solidarnosc (solidarity). Soon it had 10 million members and he became the undisputed leader of the Solidarity. For 16 months they struggled to find a way to co-exist with the Communist state, under the constant threat of Soviet invasion. In 1981 martial law was declared and Walesa was jailed for 11 months and then released.

Ronald Reagan

Fri, 30 Apr 1999 01:31:32 +0000

Ronald Wilson Reagan was elected the 40th president of the United States on November 4, 1980. At the age of 69, he was the oldest man and the first movie star ever sworn into that office. During his two terms in office, the popular president helped raise the nation’s spirits. He also oversaw the creation of large budget and trade deficits and ultimately effected a historical truce in cold war with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Born on February 6, 1911in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan worked his way through Eureka college, had some success as a sportscaster and began an acting career with Warner Bros. in 1937. He was to appear in 53 films with an interlude in the US army. He married actress Jane Wyman in 1940, divorced in 1948 and in 1952 wed Nancy Davis. He moved into television in the 1950s and became the popular host of ‘Death Valley Days’ and spokesman for General Electric Company. Inheriting from his father a orientation in politics, Reagan shifted his views and spoke out against ‘big govt’ and Communism. By the 1960s he was a favorite Conservative speaker.

The Truth About Bats

Wed, 26 May 1999 21:30:39 +0000

Bats are among the world’s least appreciated and most endangered animals, thanks to centuries of myth and superstition. Contrary to common misconceptions, bats are not blind, they are not rodents and they won’t get tangled in your hair. The truth is that bats are mong the most gentle and beneficial animals on earth.

A bat is a winged mammal with the ability to fly. It’s ability to maintain sustained flight, unique among mammals, results from the modification of hand-like forelimbs into wings. Bats are mammals just like humans which means all bats are warm blooded, have hair, bear young ones and nurse them.

Janamashtmi – The Day Krishna was Born

Sun, 15 Aug 1999 17:02:37 +0000

Janamashtmi, or the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna — the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu — is celebrated with traditional gaiety and fervour all over India. It falls on the eighth day of the waning moon in the month of Shravan in August/ September. Lord Krishna is believed to have been born at midnight on this day. The day is marked by fasting, feasting, dancing and singing hymns and prayers.

Lord Vishnu is invoked in his human incarnation as Krishna on his birth anniversary.

The Tiny World of Ants

Sat, 06 Mar 1999 03:06:29 +0000

It is believed that ants evolved from wasps and have lived in the Earth for at least 100 million years. It is said that at any one time there are at least 1 quadrillion living ants on the Earth.

Ants are no doubt the most successful of all social insects of Hymenoptera, an order that also includes wasps and bees. Ants are colony makers and their colonies may contain from a few to 20 million individuals. The ant family contains more than 4,500 described species that can be found in tropical or temperate areas of the world.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thu, 17 Aug 2000 19:59:21 +0000

The 35th president of United States (1961-63) was at the age of 43, the youngest and the first Roman Catholic to be elected to the presidency. Rich, handsome, elegant and articulate, he aroused great admiration at home and abroad. His assassination in Dallas, Texas in November 1963 provoked outrage and widespread mourning. His term of office as president was too short.

Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1917, a descendant of Irish Catholics who had immigrated to America in the 19th century. He had worldwide pre-eminence and gave the American people a sense of purpose to meet the challenges of a scientific age.

The Hot and Sizzling Volcano

Sun, 31 Jan 1999 04:43:51 +0000

Despite being the subject of considerable scientific study, Volcanoes continue to remain both dramatic and unpredictable. In 1991 Mount Pinatubo, 100 km north of the Philippines capital Manila, suddenly burst into life after lying dormant for more than six centuries. Most of the world’s active volcanoes occur in a belt around the Pacific Ocean, on the edge of the Pacific plate called the Ring of Fire. Indonesia has the greatest concentration with 90 volcanoes, 12 of which are active. The most famous, Krakatoa erupted in 1883 with such force that the resulting tidal wave killed 36,000 people and tremors were felt as far away as Australia.

The Dark Kingdom of Uranus

Wed, 31 Mar 1999 06:44:15 +0000

Named after the father of the Titans in Greek mythology, Uranus is the seventh planet in the solar system. It was first observed through a telescope by Sir William Herschel on March 13, 1781. Although Herschel wished to call the newly discovered planet Georgium Sidus (Georgian Star) for King George III of England, Johann Bode’s proposal of the name Uranus gained more acceptance over the years and finally became universal in the mid-19th century.

The Uranian realm is a dark kingdom, so remote from the sun that daylight there approximates a total solar eclipse on Earth. Such distance from the sun also makes Uranus unimaginably cold. Sample this: The temperature in Uranus would be minus 250 C (-346F) i.e. if a space traveler were to stick his hand out in that environment he would find it instantly freeze-dried.

Bill Clinton

Tue, 14 Mar 2000 20:41:20 +0000

Born on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas, to Virginia Blythe and named for his father, who had recently died in an auto accident, William Jefferson Blythe was reared from the age of seven in Hot Springs, Ark.. He took his stepfather’s last name Clinton, after the birth of a stepbrother. After high school he went to Georgetown University, University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar and Yale University Law School where he met his future wife Hillary Rodham.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill

Mon, 20 Dec 1999 16:00:55 +0000

Churchill was born on November 30, 1874 in Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England. His father Randolph Churchill was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough. As a young man of undistinguished academic accomplishment, he entered the army as a cavalry officer. He took enthusiastically to soldiering and managed to see three campaigns. He served as a cavalry officer in India and Sudan but resigned his commission in 1899 to become a war correspondent in the Boer war. Send to cover the South African war for the Morning Post, the Boers captured him in 1899. A daring escape from the prison made him an overnight celebrity.

The Unknown Soldier

Sun, 30 Aug 1998 21:08:42 +0000

The year was 1989. China witnessed a major pro-democratic student uprising. The Chinese leaders in a horrific show of force vented their fury and frustration on student dissidents and their pro-democracy supporters who had gathered in the Tiananmen Square. Several hundred people were killed and thousands wounded when the People’s Liberation Army moved on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. As the first armoured vehicles smashed their way through a ring of burning buses into Tiananmen Square itself, student occupiers began to fight. Beijing was in a state of siege.

Margaret Sanger

Thu, 28 Jan 1999 07:33:12 +0000

Born into an Irish working class family on Sept 14, 1879 in Corning, New York, Margaret Sanger is known for her crusade to legalise birth control which later spurred the movement for women’s liberalisation. As a young girl Margaret witnessed her mother’s slow death worn out after 18 pregnancies and 11 live births. Later while working as a nurse and midwife in the poorest neighbourhoods of New York city before World War I she saw women deprived of their health, sexuality and ability to care for children already born. She was appalled at the death from self-induced abortions.

Fox

Sun, 04 Apr 1999 00:04:34 +0000

If there is one animal that lives by its wits then it is our very own Fox. Sheer ingenuity has made him a survivor literally. And it is due to its own dexterity that the Red or common fox is doing very well in Britain, North America and North Africa unlike it’s cousins the wolf and the wild cat. Man is his only enemy. Ironically though, he still prefers to stay close to humans.

The fox is the smallest member of the dog family, Canidae. They are agile predators that usually weigh under 7kg. They scavenge carrion, wild fruits and hunt small rodents, rabbits, birds and invertebrates. They hunt small prey sufficient to feed only one animal and hence are solitary predators who do not hunt in packs.