Category Social Sciences

Why Periyar Tiger Reserve is famous?

Spanning over 725 sq. km., the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala is one of the rich biodiversity hotspots of the Western Ghats. Comprising a range of tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, grasslands and eucalyptus plantations, it is amply nourished by rivers such as the Periyar running through the region. The reserve is a green zone that’s home to more than a 100 varieties each of grasses and orchids – perfect to welcome several species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and butterflies. The region also hosts a large number of Asiatic elephants, making it one of the most significant elephant reserves of the country.

Wildlife

Garganeys, little grebes, nightjars, swift, coucal, malkohas, crakes, bitterns, cormorants, snipes, sandpipers, harriers, hornbills, woodpeckers, barbets, bee-eaters, falcons, minivets, orioles, woodshrikes, shrikes, treepies, flowerpeckers, sunbirds, leaf birds, munias, pipits, wagtails, tits, larks, prinias, warblers, swallows, babblers, starlings, nuthatches, flycatchers, robins and thrushes are among the species of birds that can be seen here. In addition to the Royal Bengal tiger and the Asiatic elephant, one can spot mammals such as leopard, bison, sambar, barking deer, Indian wild dog, wild boar, Nilgiri marten, Nilgiri langur and otter. A variety of reptiles such as cobra, viper, krait, and Indian monitor lizard, and amphibians such as frogs and toads too are found in the region.

Cause for concern

report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in 2019 A said that the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), an autonomous body that manages 1,248 temples including the Sabarimala Ayappa Temple, has been violating the Master Plan for Sabarimala for over a decade. This is affecting the ecology of the Periyar Tiger Reserve”. The report on the implementation of Wildlife Protection Act in Kerala says that the “impact of Sabarimala pilgrimage ranked first in the list of 18 major threats identified by Periyar Tiger Reserve authorities in Tiger Conservation Plan”. It added that due to the lack of drainage facilities, overflowing waste water and sewage was mixing with the rivers in the region. Further, electric lines had not been laid underground, and the existing “overhead cables without insulation” could pose a threat to wildlife species in the area.

Poachers to protectors

The Periyar Tiger Reserve is an example of an unusual success story. According to Mongabay, a conservation and environment news and features service, the story begins towards the end of the 20th Century, when a forest brigand operating near the reserve is captured. He led a 23-member gang of poachers and sandalwood smugglers. And was willing to give it all up if they were assured of a job with a steady income. However, back then there was no provision to include poachers and smugglers in forest management. Several discussions happened and a few years passed before Vidiyal Vanapathukappu Sangam was set up. It would be the country’s first eco-development committee constituted solely of former poachers and sandalwood smugglers””. The group underwent training and was exposed to the need for conservation. It’s been 17 years since. The members have helped crack at least “230 cases of poaching and smuggling”. In addition to patrolling, they also double up as tourist guides and elephant safari providers. Most importantly, they have managed to educate their children – some are postgraduates today! The success of this model has been so encouraging that several other reserves and sanctuaries too have emulated it.

 

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What is the rarest naturally occurring element in Earth’s crust?

Astatine is the rarest, naturally occurring element in the Earth’s crust, occurring only as the decay product of various heavier elements. There are only about 25 grams of naturally-occurring astatine in Earth’s crust at any given time. It is a radioactive chemical element with symbol At and atomic number 85. It is the heaviest known halogen (a non-metal), but it has more metallic character than other elements in the halogen group.

The bulk properties of astatine are not known with certainty. Many of them have been estimated based on the element’s position on the periodic table as a heavier analog of iodine, and a member of the halogens (the group of elements including fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine). Astatine is likely to have a dark or lustrous appearance and may be a semiconductor or possibly a metal; it probably has a higher melting point than that of iodine. Chemically, several anionic species of astatine are known and most of its compounds resemble those of iodine. It also shows some metallic behavior, including being able to form a stable monatomic cation in aqueous solution (unlike the lighter halogens).

 

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In which country is the Cup Noodles Museum located?

Traveling around Japan, we find we spend a lot of time eating, planning what we are going to eat, learning about local foods, and well, eating some more. Planning this trip, we all knew that we wanted to learn more about that iconic Japanese food – Ramen! Luckily, just a few minutes from Tokyo station by train, you can not only learn about these famous instant noodles but make them at the Cup Noodles Museum. 

A museum and interactive soup designing experience at the Cup Noodles Museum is a must do for children of all ages!  The building is four stories high, the first floor is the ticket booth and the gift shop. The museum is only ¥500 for adults, and free for high school and younger children. But! You can also schedule your time to make-your-own Cup Noodles at the front desk, so make sure you do that! Registering is free, but you will need ¥300 for each Cup Noodles you want to make when you get there.

 

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In which Indian city has Madame Tussauds museum been set up?

Madame Tussauds Delhi is a wax museum and tourist attraction located on Regal Theatre in New Delhi, India.It is the twenty third location for the Tussauds , which was set up by sculptor Marie Tussaud.

Housed in the heritage building Regal Cinema, which shut its doors earlier this year to make way for this global attraction, the two-storeyed exhibition has been specifically designed and structured with Indians in mind. Enter, and you will be greeted by cricketers Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, along with actor Richard Gere. Walk further to meet and greet Bollywood’s best with Salman Khan riding a rickshaw to Anil Kapoor from Slumdog Millionaire conducting Kaun Banega Crorepati?

The other sections/rooms have been divided into sports, history, bhangra, music and, eventually, a party of Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities. However, the exhibition is not solely visual. There are various interactive stations, where people can find out more about the wax model and also play some games. For instance, while posing with Marilyn Monroe, you can try out wigs matching her hair and even get yourself clicked in front of a vanity mirror placed right behind. Similarly, while checking out Milkha Singh’s wax model, you can play hockey or practise some shots as if you were there on the field with him. Moreover, there is a special section where you get personalised hand sculptures done and take them home. Making sure that the museum is accessible to all, the building has been made handicap-friendly along with functional lifts installed for all floors.

 

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Johannes Vermeer’s renowned painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is housed at Mauritshuis, an art museum in which country?

The ‘Girl with the Pearl Earring’, also referred to as the ‘Mona Lisa of the Low Countries’, is one of the most famous paintings in the Netherlands. During the Dutch Golden Age, a significant shift occurred in both the technique of painting and in subject matter, particularly as secular subjects began to replace religious themes. Portraiture focused increasingly on ordinary people, like the man depicted in Rembrandt van Rijn’s Portrait of an Elderly Man. The sitter seems not to be posed, but presented in a matter-of-fact way that differs from the idealized formality of traditional portraiture. The hierarchical social structure in other European countries no longer monopolized art production in the Netherlands during this time, and as the middle class prospered, an unprecedented market for portraiture developed. Successful individuals, married couples, and civic leaders wanted likenesses to pass on to posterity.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, Girl with a Pearl Earring: Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis, published by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in collaboration with the Mauritshuis, The Hague. The volume guides readers through the highlights of the museum’s magnificent collection and features 35 masterpieces of portraiture, landscape, genre painting, history painting, and still life, each accompanied by text illuminating its context and significance. Curatorial essays provide an overview of the extraordinary world of the 17th century Dutch Republic, explore the history and future of the Mauritshuis building and collection, offer an in-depth look at Girl with a Pearl Earring, and chronicle fascinating conservation treatments and technical research undertaken by the museum on behalf of its treasures.

 

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Which Indian oldest museum is located in Kolkata?

Founded in 1814 at the cradle of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (at the present building of the Asiatic Society, 1 Park Street, Kolkata), Indian Museum is the earliest and the largest multipurpose Museum not only in the Indian subcontinent but also in the Asia-Pacific region of the world. With the foundation of Indian Museum in 1814, the Museum movement started rolling in India and through the years from then, got a new fillip and great momentum. Since then, it has so magnificently developed and culminated into the fruitful existence of more than 400 museums in the country. The movement, which was started in 1814, in fact was the beginning of a significant epoch initiating the socio-cultural and scientific achievements of the country. It is otherwise considered as the beginning of the modernity and the end of mediaeval era.

The large collection of ancient and medieval Indian artefacts include remains of the Buddhist stupa from Bharhut, the Buddha’s ashes, a copy of the Lion Capital of Ashoka from an Ashoka pillar (original in the Sarnath Museum) whose four-lion symbol became the official emblem of the Republic of India, fossil skeletons of prehistoric animals, an art collection, rare antiques, and a collection of meteorites. The Indian Museum is also regarded as “the beginning of a significant epoch initiating the socio-cultural and scientific achievements of the country. It is otherwise considered as the beginning of the modernity and the end of medieval era” by UZER Places.

 

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