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Sex makes malaria parasite go ‘bananas’ - Indian Express

2012-02-15T14:26:00.001+05:30

Sex makes malaria parasite go ‘bananas’ - Indian ExpressThe malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) changes into a banana shape before sexual reproduction, an Australian research team has found.

The finding could provide targets for vaccine or drug development and may explain how the parasite evades the human immune system.

The team was led by Dr Matthew Dixon and PhD student Megan Dearnley from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Institute at the University of Melbourne.

Dr Dixon said the new study solves a 130-year old mystery, revealing how the most deadly of human malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum performs its shape-shifting.

“In 1880 the banana or crescent shape of the malaria parasite was first seen in the blood of a patient. Using a 3D microscope technique, we reveal that malaria uses a scaffold of special proteins to form a banana shape before sexual reproduction,” said Dr Dixon.

“As the malaria parasite can only reproduce in its ‘banana form’, if we can target these scaffold proteins in a vaccine or drug, we may be able to stop it reproducing and prevent malaria transmission entirely,” he added.

When in its banana shape, the malaria parasite is passed from a human host to a mosquito where it reproduces in the mosquito gut. The study found that specific proteins form scaffolds, called microtubules, which lie underneath the parasite surface and elongate it into the sexual stage banana shape.

The work suggests that when the parasites are ready for sexual reproduction, they adopt the banana shape so that they can fit through the tiny sinusoidal slits in the spleen. This enables them to avoid the host’s mechanical filtering and immune surveillance mechanisms and to survive in the circulation long enough to be picked up by a mosquito and transmitted to the next victim.

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Human shock absorber 'discovered' - Indian Express

2012-02-15T14:24:00.001+05:30

Human shock absorber 'discovered' - Indian Express In a pioneering research, scientists claim to have discovered human "shock absorber" which they say performs the same function in people as shock absorbers do in a car.

An international team, led by the University of Sydney, has, in fact, found the molecular structure in the body which functions as human "shock absorber", the 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' reported.

The scientists say the discovery of the the molecule can be used on designing improved versions of a human blood vessel and on repairing skin damage, including burns, and can also be applied to treating cardiovascular disease and emphysema, a

lung disease which primarily causes shortness of breath.

"This exciting discovery answers the mystery of how our bodies accommodate our living tissue without it being torn to shreds by its interaction with so many moving parts," said Professor Tony Weiss, who led the team.

In fact, the team dissected a key part of the molecule in elastin, the protein that keeps tissues such as skin, lungs and blood vessels elastic during normal processes such as body movement, breathing and blood circulation. Using a high-powered combination of synchronised X-ray beams and elastin synthesis tools, the team discovered that human elastin contains a molecular bridge or "shock absorber".

"This tiny shock absorber neatly connects specialised molecular parts -- one part is dedicated to elasticity and another part dedicated to binding living tissue.

"It performs the same function for humans at a molecular level as shock absorbers do in a car; we can enjoy a smooth ride as they keep the body of the car from being violently rattled by the movement of the wheels," Weiss said.

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Want to taste real hot shot? Try Naga Chilli Vodka - Indian Express

2012-02-15T14:18:00.001+05:30

Want to taste real hot shot? Try Naga Chilli Vodka - Indian Express Want to enjoy a real hot shot? Try Vodka made from the "Naga Jolokia" -- one of the world's hottest chillis found in northeast India.

The Naga Chilli Vodka rates 1000,000 on the Scoville scale - the international method of measuring the heat in a chilli - making it the most potent chilli vodka ever to be sold, the Mail Online reported.

The chilli used in the Vodka is the Naga Jolokia, which is hotter than most law-enforcement grade pepper sprays. The drink is made by fermenting litres of Vodka with 18kg of the fiery peppers. The resulting concoction is left for several weeks to infuse.

Once the Vodka has turned a dark caramel colour, the infusion is complete and the Vodka can be bottled.

The resulting spirit measures 100,000 on the Scoville scale - twice as hot as Tabasco, and almost on a par with the level of heat from a Habanero or Scotch bonnet chilli.

Expert mixologists recommend the new Vodka be used in a classic Bloody Mary for a drink with extra kick.

Dawn Davies, an expert said: "This product is truly one of a kind and we anticipate the type of customer to buy this will be a chilli connoisseur who understands the rarity and incredible strength of such a product."

The Scoville scale is named after Wilbur Scoville who developed the test in 1912.

Child abuse leaves a long-lasting mark on brain: study - Indian Express

2012-02-15T14:07:00.001+05:30

Child abuse leaves a long-lasting mark on brain: study - Indian Express Abuse and maltreatment during childhood can shrink important parts of the brain that could lead to psychiatric disorders like depression, drug addiction and other mental health problems later in life, according to

Harvard scientists.

The link between childhood abuse and reduced brain volume in parts of the hippocampus could help find new, better ways to treat survivors of childhood abuse, the scientists said.

"These results may provide one explanation for why childhood abuse has been identified with an increased risk for drug abuse or psychosis," study researcher Martin Teicher of Harvard University told LiveScience.

"Now that one can look at these sub-regions in the brain, we can get a better idea of what treatments are helping."

For their study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, Teicher and his team used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of 193 individuals between 18 and 25 years old, who had already undergone several rounds of testing to be qualified.

They then analysed the size of areas in the hippocampus and compared the results with the patient's history.

It was found that those who had been abused, neglected or maltreated based on well-established questionnaires as children had reduced volume in certain areas of hippocampus by about six per cent, compared with kids who hadn't experienced child abuse.

They also had size reductions in a related brain area, called the subiculum, which relays the signals from the hippocampus to other areas of the brain, including the

dopamine system, also known as the brain's "reward centre".

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High school kids perform best with 7 hours sleep - Indian Express

2012-02-15T14:04:00.001+05:30

High school kids perform best with 7 hours sleep - Indian Express 16-18 year olds perform better academically when they shave about two hours off from 9 hours of sleep recommended for them by federal guidelines, a new study has claimed.

The new study by Eric Eide and Mark Showalter from Brigham Young University is the first in a series of studies where they examine sleep and its impact on our health and education.

“We’re not talking about sleep deprivation,” Eide, the study author said.

“The data simply says that seven hours is optimal at that age,” he added.

Surprisingly, the current federal guidelines are based on studies where teens were simply told to keep sleeping until they felt satisfied.

“If you used that same approach for a guideline on how much people should eat, you would put them in a well-stocked pantry and just watch how much they ate until they felt satisfied,” Mark Showalter said.

“Somehow that doesn’t seem right,” he said.

In the new study, the BYU researchers tried to connect sleep to a measure of performance or productivity. Analysing data from a representative sample of 1,724 primary and secondary school students across the country, they found a strong relationship between the amount of sleep youths got and how they fared on standardized tests.

“We don’t look at it just from a ‘your kid might be sleeping too much’ perspective,” Eide said.

“From the other end, if a kid is only getting 5.5 hours of sleep a night because he’s overscheduled, he would perform better if he got 90 minutes more each night,” he said.

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Kareena Kapoor to do two item numbers in 'Heroine' - Indian Express

2012-02-15T13:59:00.001+05:30

Kareena Kapoor to do two item numbers in 'Heroine' - Indian Express After doing a mujra, 'Dil Mera Muft Ka' in her beau Saif Ali Khan's home production 'Agent Vinod', Kareena Kapoor is all set to take the nation by storm by gyrating to not one but two item numbers in her forthcoming film Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Heroine'.

One of the item numbers is called 'Halkat Jawani' and according to sources Kareena Kapoor will set the screen on fire with her moves in this song.

'Heroine' revolves around the life of a once successful film actress played by Kareena, whose career is on the decline.

'Heroine', a UTV and Bhandarkar Entertainment joint production, also stars Randeep Hooda, Rakesh Bapat, Divya Dutta and Shahana Goswami in pivotal roles.

Stars wish fans on Valentine's Day - Indian Express

2012-02-15T13:54:00.001+05:30

Stars wish fans on Valentine's Day - Indian Express

As the world celebrates the day of love, Bollywood stars took to Twitter to wish their fans and followers a Happy Valentine's Day.

Shah Rukh Khan, who shot to fame starring in romantic movies, said, "To all of u... a very happy Valentines day. hope u all find love that makes u laugh.. sing and dance. Big hug to u all.. keep loving always (sic)."

Heartthrob Hrithik Roshan retweeted a post by his wife Sussanne: "Everyone needs the miracle of LOVE... cherish it, appreciate it and give enough space for it to bloom to its fullest... happy love day?"

"Happy Slavery Day to all devoted men! If we can't appreciate the Woman we love on Valentine's Day then we don't deserve them. So be a Man & PAMPER your lady just like ME," tweeted Akshay Kumar, posting a photo of him with wife Twinkle.

Preity Zinta, who split from Ness Wadia last year, wrote, "Happy Valentines Tweeple! Hope every one of u has had the privilege 2 love & be loved at least once in dis lifetime! Love U all :-) Ting! (sic)"

"Happy valentines day u all... Spread the love," tweeted Shahid Kapoor.

R Madhavan, who is busy promoting his upcoming film 'Jodi Breakers' with Bipasha Basu, posted, "Happy Valentines day folks. May all your Jodis stand the test of time Have a great day and enjoyyyy. Love Maddy."

Shekhar Kapur tweeted, "If love is as intoxicating as it should be, everyday is a Valentines day."

Abhishek Bachchan said, "Celebrate your love everyday! Not just once a year."

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Genelia better actor than me: Riteish Deshmukh - Indian Express

2012-02-15T13:52:00.001+05:30

Genelia better actor than me: Riteish Deshmukh - Indian Express Riteish Deshmukh is known for his quirky comic timings but when it comes to acting he feels that wife Genelia D'Souza is better at it than him.

The couple, who started their career together eight years ago with 'Tujhe Mere Kasam', a remake of Malyalam blockbuster 'Niram', will be next seen in their upcoming film 'Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya'.

“We started our career in 2003 and have grown together with the films. She has evolved as an actress with films. There is a scene where we have to act like drunkards and she did that brilliantly with such ease that made me feel she is a better actress than me,” Riteish said during the promotion of the film at IIPM here.

The film will be the couple's first onscreen appearance after marriage, but Riteish, 33, said they didn't plan to tie the knot after the completion of the film.

“Love is a slow evolutionary process. We started off as a friend and after some time we started dating each other. I used to like her from the beginning and the best part in her is she values every relationship.

“We never interfered into each other's decision. Whether we decided to marry each other on the sets of the film, we really don't remember,” he said.

In the romantic comedy, Riteish plays a lowly employee under Genelia's father played by actor Tinu Anand.

“The film is directed brilliantly by Mandeep (director). There is a suspense till the end about whether they are in love with each other or not,” he said.

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Today's Photo Gallery, Picture News Gallery:Indian Express

2012-02-15T13:49:00.000+05:30

Today's Photo Gallery, Picture News Gallery:Indian Express

Today's Pics

Priests perform rituals as they conduct evening prayers on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi. (AP)

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China defence budget to double over 5 years: IHS - Indian Express

2012-02-15T11:09:00.001+05:30

China defence budget to double over 5 years: IHS - Indian ExpressChina's defence budget will double between 2011 and 2015 and outstrip the combined spending of all other key defence markets in the Asia-Pacific region, global research group IHS said today.

China's defence budget stood at USD 119.8 billion last year and will rise to USD 238.2 billion in 2015, marking a combined annual growth rate of 18.75 per cent during the period, the US-based IHS said in a forecast.

The 2015 figure exceeds the combined total of the next 12 biggest defence budgets in the region, forecast to hit USD 232.5 billion, and will be almost four times second-placer Japan's defence spending that year, it added.

"Beijing has been able to devote an increasingly large portion of its overall budget towards defence and has been steadily building up its military capabilities for more than two decades," said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific chief economist for IHS Global Insight.

"This will continue unless there is an economic catastrophe." The growth in China's defence budget which averaged 12 percent annually from 2000-2009 will benefit from the projected surge in the gross domestic product of Asia's largest economy in the next three years.

China will use the additional cash to modernise its equipment while reducing its manpower, resulting in a higher amount of funding per member of its armed forces, IHS said in its report.

Aside from China and Japan, the report also tracks the military spending of India, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and New Zealand.

The US government's "renewed Asia-Pacific focus" is helping fuel China's expansion of its defence budget, according IHS Global Insight's Asia-Pacific head Sarah McDowall.

New China landing vessels point to Pacific rivalry - Indian Express

2012-02-15T11:03:00.001+05:30

New China landing vessels point to Pacific rivalry - Indian Express As looming budget cuts force the Pentagon to plan for a smaller US navy, China is accelerating the launch of new, increasingly capable warships as part of a sustained drive to become a major maritime power.

Shanghai's Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding Company late last month launched the fourth of China's new 071 amphibious landing ships according to reports carried by Chinese military web sites and the state-controlled media.

While most attention has been drawn to the ongoing sea trials of China's first aircraft carrier, military analysts say the expanding fleet of 20,000 tonne landing ships, the biggest domestically designed and built vessels in the Chinese navy, delivers a far more immediate boost to Beijing's global influence.

Having a significant fleet of large amphibious assault vessels clearly suggests a desire for power projection, says Christian Le Miere, a maritime security researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

If you want the surgical insertion of forces, for a range of reasons, then you need amphibious response ships.

MILITARY RIVALRY

China's naval buildup comes amid mounting maritime tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, which is likely to be one of the main geopolitical stress points in the coming decade.

Military planners previously had focused mainly on a potential conflict in the Taiwan strait. More recently, however, Japan and China have locked horns over islands each claims in the East China Sea; Vietnam, the Philippines and other nations are disputing territorial claims with China over parts of the South China Sea thought to be rich in oil and gas.

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Iran to unveil nuclear 'achievements' today - Indian Express

2012-02-15T10:59:00.001+05:30

Iran to unveil nuclear 'achievements' today - Indian Express Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to unveil several unspecified nuclear "achievements" today, his government's website said.

"Several completed nuclear projects will be unveiled on Wednesday in the presence of the president," the official website said.

"Experts believe these achievements will show the world the extraordinary capability and knowledge of Iranians."

It added that the progress will underline Iran's scientific adherence to "nuclear power for all and nuclear weapons for none," the website said.

The announcement confirmed a vow made by Ahmadinejad on Saturday to inaugurate "important nuclear projects" within "days," in a speech marking the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

Iran's progress in its nuclear programme has deeply unsettled the West and Israel, which see it masking a drive for atomic weapons. A report by the UN nuclear watchdog in November also expressed strong suspicions in that sense.

Tehran, though, has repeatedly said its nuclear activities are exclusively peaceful in nature.

The international showdown over Iran's nuclear programme has deepened in recent months, with the United States and the European Union slapping unprecedentedly tough economic sanctions on the Islamic republic to pressure it to halt its activities.

Israel has threatened to possibly unleash air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, while the US has intimated it, too, could take military action if it thought it necessary.

Iran has reacted defiantly, beginning uranium enrichment in a fortified bunker under a mountain in Fordo, near the holy city of Qom, and promising soon to insert its first domestically made nuclear fuel plates into its Tehran research reactor.

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Week before ouster, faced pressure to sign defence deal with China: Nasheed - Indian Express

2012-02-15T10:51:00.001+05:30

Week before ouster, faced pressure to sign defence deal with China: Nasheed - Indian Express A week before he was ousted, former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed was under pressure from his armed forces to sign a defence agreement with China, a pact that he had been refusing to clear for the past three months.

Nasheed told The Indian Express that senior defence officers gave him an ultimatum saying that “you have to sign the agreement”. Nasheed, whose government signed a defence agreement in 2009 that practically brought the island nation into India’s security grid, stood firm against any pact with Beijing.

“I had the paper on my desk two weeks back to approve the agreement. The MNDF (Maldivian National Defence Force) had sent it three months ago also but I refused to sign it. They sent it again saying that I have to sign it,” Nasheed said.

However, he said, he stood his ground, insisting that he was not in favour of the pact with Beijing. The MNDF played an important part in the “coup” last week in which Nasheed, the nation’s first democratically elected president, was deposed in favour of Mohamed Waheed, who is trying to cobble together a coalition government.

“There was no point in signing any agreement with China,” Nasheed said. While he did not elaborate on what kind of agreement was in the works, Beijing has shown interest in establishing a presence in the island nation that sits astride one of the busiest shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean.

Today's Photo Gallery, Picture News Gallery:Indian Express

2012-02-15T10:49:00.000+05:30

Today's Photo Gallery, Picture News Gallery:Indian Express/479

Today's Pics

Priyanka Gandhi shares a lighter moment with her mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi at an election rally in Rae Bareli. (PTI)

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The Kissing Experiment: Video

2012-02-14T22:07:00.000+05:30

The Kissing Experiment: Video

The Kissing Experiment: Video

Do public displays of affection make you feel uncomfortable? The Sun set out to conduct a kissing experiment to find out what the public thinks of the situation.

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

Do public displays of affection make you feel uncomfortable? The Sun set out to conduct a kissing experiment to find out what the public thinks of the situation.

Asian women share tips on how to catch a man and keep him happy. | Weekly World News

2012-02-14T20:17:00.001+05:30

| Weekly World News
Asian women share tips on how to catch a man and keep him happy.
For generations Asian women learned how to treat a man by following rules laid down by Thai philosopher Sunthron Phu in his book Maxims for Teaching Women. Now they’ve taken his words of wisdom that have been passsed down fro more than 2,000 years and updated them to deal with men in 2012.
Here are the winning recommendations for Western women who want to trade be successful in love and marriage:
1) YOUR MAN IS KING - Remember that your man/husband comes first – before you, your parents, your outside interests or even your children.

2) RISE EARLY. Get up in the morning before your man does. Make sure you prepare a healthy breakfast so he gets a good stare on the day. Even if you have to leave before him, make sure he has a nice breakfast waiting for him when he comes into the kitchen in the morning.
3) NEVER NAG. Never, ever. If he wants to stop off after work and have a few drinks with his buddies, that’s his business. If he forgot to take out the garbage – do it yourself.
4) BE AT HOME. Make sure you’re always at home when he gets in from a hard day at the office. Even if you are working, make sure you get home to your man/husband as soon as possible.
5) SMILE. Always greet your man with a smile on your face and, if you can, a cold drink in your hand.

6) DINNER READY. If you are home, or get home first, always have a delcious dinner ready to be served. And if he comes home feeling tense, give him a massage to ease his aches and pains.
7) LET HIM HANG WITH FRIENDS. If your man wants to have his buddies over for a night of poker, or football, or video games, don’t get mad. Encourage it and make sure you’ve got lots of sandwiches and cold beer on hand to serve them.
8) ASK FIRST. Always ask him first before you go spending his hard-earned money, or even your hard-earned money, to buy something for yourself.

9) REMOTE CONTROL. Let him choose the programs you watch onteleveision. The television is man’s domain… he should be in charge. And only Netflix/rent HIS favorite movies.
10) OBEY. Don’t do things your husband doesn’t approve of. And don’t complain about it. If he doesn’t want you wasting tyour time watching soap operas or having coffee with a neighbor, obey him. You’ll both be happier for it.
11) WILD IN BED. Be a temptress in bed. I fhe likes you in sexy lingerie, wear it. Be shy and demure when you’re out in public, but once the lights are out, let him know he’s the only man in the world who can please you.

12) KNOW SPORTS. Bone up on sports so you’ll have something to talk about. But always let him start the conversation.
13) KEEP FIT. Keep yourself in shape and always dress nicely so you’ll be a wife any husband would be proud to have.
14) CLEANING. Keep your home spic and span at all times. It should look like you’re expecting company. And the laundry should always be done. Your man should never have to look for clean socks or underwear and his shirts should all be ironed – by you.
Follow ALL these steps and you will be happy for the rest of your life!

Unseen Miracles Of The World: Step Into The Future - MGID

2012-02-14T20:12:00.000+05:30

Unseen Miracles Of The World: Step Into The Future - MGID Unseen Miracles Of The World: Step Into The FutureReal EstateSimply astounding architecture

ALIENS ATTACK RUSSIA! | Weekly World News

2012-02-14T20:07:00.001+05:30

ALIENS ATTACK RUSSIA! | Weekly World News

ALIENS ATTACK RUSSIA!

Posted on Thursday, February 9th, 2012
By Frank Lake

8 Votes

ST. PETERSBURG – Gootan spaceships fired at commuters in St. Petersburg yesterday!!

There was an extraordinary explosion seen by thousands of commuters in St Petersburg, Russia yesterday.

It seemed like the end of the world when motorists driving along this busy motorway saw a huge flash light up the night sky on the horizon.

The flash was first thought to be the result of an explosion at an electrical power plant in St Petersburg, in what was described as a ‘technical malfunction’ by officials.

But, WWN has learned that explosion was actual a Gootan missile fired from an alien spaceship that had been seen hovering over St. Petersburg for the last few days.

“It definitely came from that alien spaceship. It was getting lower and lower in the sky and we thought it was going to swoop down on us, but then it went back up and shot a missile at the electrical plant. We saw it with our own eyes,” said Vasilev Kornosky, who was on his way home from work.

One driver was listening to John Lennon as he was stuck in a traffic jam and caught the event on video.

Authorities in Russia told WWN that it is a signal that the Gootans (who landed on Earth in November, 2011) have begun their attack. “They no longer will be ‘observing’ humans, they are beginning to attack and, of course, they realize that if they take Russia, the rest of the world will be a piece of cake,” said a military official close to Vladmir Putin.

Putin himself has vowed to kill “every last Gootan I see,” with his bare hands.

Others say that Putin has made contact with the Gootans and is working with them. ”Putin wants to see Russia destroyed. He has his hands all over this,” said Sasha Mernov from Moscow.

Russians go to the polls to choose a new President on March 4 following widespread complaints of ballot rigging by the party of favorite Putin in the December parliamentary elections.

The electrical power plant has been disabled by The Gootans. ”It was smart move, they have taken out a significant power source in Russia,” a NASA scientist told WWN. ”America is taking steps to protect our power grid.”

Where will The Gootans strike next? WWN is the lead media outlet on this story and will keep you updated by the day.

RAM AND DEER TO MARRY ON VALENTINE’S DAY | Weekly World News

2012-02-14T20:03:00.001+05:30

RAM AND DEER TO MARRY ON VALENTINE’S DAY | Weekly World News

RAM AND DEER TO MARRY ON VALENTINE’S DAY

Posted on Monday, February 13th, 2012
By Hideaki Tailor

4 Votes

A ram and a deer are set to be “married” at a zoo in south-western China on Valentine’s Day
Changmao the ram and Chunzi the doe’s “unconventional relationship” have made them popular with the public.
The Yunnan Provincial Wildlife Park in Kunming city will be issuing tickets to the event, the China News Service reports.
The pair were forcibly separated last year but were eventually reunited.

At least 500 tickets at 66 yuan ($10) will be issued for their “wedding day”, China Daily reports. The animals will be clad in “wedding clothes”.

Changmao the ram has not exactly been faithful to Chunzi

But Changmao has not been exactly faithful to Chunzi. He fathered a baby lamb with the zoo’s only female sheep.
That was why zoo officials decided to separate the ram and the doe in November last year.
However, when zookeepers put Changmao with his lamb and its mother, he became violent. Chunzi, for her part, squeezed through the fence to be near him.

The ram and doe had been raised together in one group at the park.
“We put them together because they were all herbivores,” Liu Gencheng, a park official, was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
Zookeepers had noticed that the pair were affectionate towards each other, with Chunzi often licking Changmao’s hair, and Changmao attacking male deer that dared approach the doe.
The pair became famous after a local TV station aired a report about them.
In Chinese, Changmao means long hair and Chunzi means pure.
Scientists are advising the public not to put too much human meaning into the pair’s behaviour, saying that “leaving them alone is the best choice”.
BBC News China

THE PONYTAIL EQUATION | Weekly World News

2012-02-14T20:01:00.001+05:30

THE PONYTAIL EQUATION | Weekly World News

THE PONYTAIL EQUATION

Posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
By Hideaki Tailor

1 Votes

The mathematical mystery behind the ponytail has been solved!

The equation reduces a complex structure to a simple mathematical form

Physicists have come up with an equation that explains and predicts the shape of a ponytail.

The report in Physical Review Letters journa could help scientists better understand natural materials, such as wool and fur.

The new equation takes into account the stiffness of hairs, the effects of gravity and the presence of random curliness or waviness.

The work was carried out by a British team of researchers.

“It’s a remarkably simple equation,” explained Professor Raymond Goldstein, who is the Schlumberger Professor of Complex Physical Systems at Cambridge University.

He added that the findings showed how physics could be used to “solve a problem that has puzzled scientists and artists ever since Leonardo da Vinci remarked on the fluid-like streamlines of hair in his notebooks 500 years ago”.

Professor Goldstein worked on the equation with Professor Robin Ball from the University of Warwick and Patrick Warren, from Unilever’s Research and Development Centre.

The Ponytail Shape Equation represents the first scientific understanding of the distribution of hairs in a ponytail, say the researchers.

It provides new understanding of how a bundle is swelled by the outward pressure which arises from collisions between the component hairs.

Together with a new mathematical quantity known as the Rapunzel Number, the equation can – they say – be used to predict the shape of any ponytail.

It opens the way to a better understanding of materials made up of random fibres, say the researchers.

This will resonate with some in the computer graphics and animation industry, where a realistic representation of hair and fur has proven a tough challenge.

Prof Goldstein is presenting the research at the American Physical Society meeting in Boston on 28 February.

BBC News

A Trip to Xiling Snow Mountain

2012-02-14T19:45:00.001+05:30

A Trip to Xiling Snow Mountain

2012-02-13 13:14:41 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Duan Xuelian

The mountain range is home to a great number of endangered animal species and plants.

Xiling Snow Mountain scenic area is located 105 kilometers west of Chengdu, capital of China's Sichuan province. The main peak is 5,364 meters above sea level and is snowcapped. The mountain range is home to a great number of endangered animal species and plants. [Photo:China.org.cn]

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Tangwanghe National Park : A River Runs through It

2012-02-14T19:42:00.001+05:30

Tangwanghe National Park : A River Runs through It

2012-02-08 09:42:47 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Duan Xuelian

The diversity and rarity of the park's eco system speaks for itself.

The Tangwanghe River runs through the forests of the Tangwanghe National Park like a silver stream. [Photo:trends.com.cn]

Tangwanghe River is the mother river of Yichun city in Heilongjiang. Follow this river against its current and when you come to the river's source you will be situated firmly within the Tangwanghe National Park.

Tangwanghe National Park, established in 2008, was China's first national park. Under the guidance of the country's Ministry of Environmental Protection and National Tourism Administration, the main function of the park is to act as a nature reserve. Only a small section of the park has been developed for tourism.

The diversity and rarity of the park's eco system speaks for itself. It is home to a Korean pine tree forest encompassing over 2000 square kilometers. The number of this pine tree species has declined severely around the world due to massive logging as the trees serve as a high quality building material. Roaming about the Korean pine tree forest are wild animals, such as elk and sable, rarely seen in other areas of the country.

In addition to the extravagance of natural wild life, the park also boasts unique landscapes. The most spectacular sight is the granite stone forest, a geographic relic composed of clusters of bizarrely shaped rocks. Other natural attractions include wetlands, waterfalls and last but not least, the Tangwanghe River. 468 meters in length, the river is the life line of the national park.

In order to maintain the park's natural appearance, sightseeing trams are nowhere to be seen and the scenic section of the park does not have tour guides. Tourists are advised to follow a set route marked out by a number of direction signs. And even with so few service facilities, the park remains popular with tourists. It is the venue for an annual camping festival.

The park is accessible by railway and it takes less than an hour's drive from Yichun city to arrive in the area. The city is connected with major Chinese cities by air. The entrance ticket to the park is priced at 70 yuan per person.

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The Healing Power of Dezhong Hot Spring in Tibet

2012-02-14T19:40:00.001+05:30

The Healing Power of Dezhong Hot Spring in Tibet

2012-02-10 09:59:46 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Duan Xuelian

The benefit of travelling to Tibet goes far beyond the spiritual plane, it can actually be medicinal.

Dezhong hot spring is located about 120 kilometers from Lhasa and is frequently sought after by tourists and locals alike. [Photo: trends.com.cn]

It is often said that the pristine scenery and magnificent landscapes of China's Tibet Autonomous Region are therapeutic for the mind. Yet the benefit of travelling to Tibet goes far beyond the spiritual plane, it can actually be medicinal. It has been proven that the hot springs on the plateau can be effective for curing bodily ailments.

According to Tibetan medical belief, the season of peach blossoms, or spring, is the time when symptoms of potential illnesses are most easily seen. And a dip in the hot springs is the best way to induce such symptoms.

Rich in underground terrestrial heat, the Tibetan plateau has a good number of hot springs of various sizes with differing mineral content. Although highly regarded for their water quality, the hot springs are mostly located in far-flung areas of the autonomous region.

Among those that are accessible, Dezhong hot spring is frequently sought after by tourists. It is connected with Lhasa by a bus route which opens every two days. Passengers on this bus are mostly local farmers and herdsman often seen carrying with them farm produce or small domestic poultry.

About 120 kilometers away from Lhasa, Dezhong hot spring is situated at the bottom of a valley 4500 meters above sea level with a row of sharp rising mountains looming in the distance.

The hot spring is divided into two ponds by a wooden bridge with the main section being about five meters wide. The other part of the pond is said to be particularly effective for healing arthritis. Loosely sheltered by wood planks, water in the two ponds is waist deep and has a temperature which remains at approximately 40 degrees Celsius all year round.

Overlooking Dezhong hot spring are rows of Tibetan houses on the banks of the valley which make up the village of Dezhong.

Tibetan families from other villages are often seen camping here with a week's supply of food and other materials. In addition to their daily dip in the bubbling hot water, the Tibetans also visit an ancient Buddha temple nearby the village as a finishing touch to their "purifying" pilgrimage.

For tourists, a Tibetan hot spring experience is not complete without local refreshments such as Chang-barley wine and the local delicacy tsamba, made from roasted barley. But local tourism in Dezhong is not as developed as it is in Lhasa; few hotels or restaurants can be found in Dezhong village. Tourists are advised to bring their own food and over-night supplies if they plan to stay more than a day. The bus ride from Lhasa to Dezhong hot spring takes five to six hours, so the recommended method of transportation is to rent a car in Lhasa.

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Theme Restaurants in Beijing

2012-02-14T19:33:00.001+05:30

Theme Restaurants in Beijing

2012-02-14 16:16:19 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Duan Xuelian

Time Out introduces Beijing's craziest, most out-there themed restaurants.

Number 8 School Hotpot (八号学苑)

Theme
A 1980s school classroom.

The story
Valid IDs (or passports for non-Chinese residents) are mandatory for entry into this hutong resto. The reason? It only allows those born in the 1980s to dine here. The interior resembles an ’80s-style Chinese primary school classroom (portraits of Marx and Lenin observe every bite); it’s basically a love letter to the first generation that grew up under the yoke of China’s one-child policy. We say try the mashed potatoes (10RMB) and chuan chuan (20-38RMB) – a Sichuanese hotpot that involves boiling your chuan’er (0.3-3RMB per skewer) in a spicy broth. But be sure to book your table at least a day in advance; this place is pretty popular.

Mei Mansion (梅府家宴)

Theme
Peking Opera star Mei Lanfang.

The story
One of the greatest Peking opera singers in modern history, Mei Lanfang elevated the art to the world stage. He was also noted for his epicurean tastes, and held a deep respect for simple flavours, seasonality and quality ingredients. An ode to the performer’s culinary persona is found today in an elegant 200-year-old Houhai courtyard, as converted by Mei’s son. Stage costumes and old photos are scattered throughout. Inside, a spectacular array of dishes is carefully prepared by a fourth-generation successor of Mei’s personal chef. The recipes are all the singer’s favourites, from red-braised pork to lightly sautéed crystal shrimp. There is no menu; the chef decides what to serve based on what’s fresh and in-season at market that day. Our advice is to call ahead to book a private Peking opera performance in the courtyard with your dinner – and make sure to ask for a guided tour through the courtyard’s rooms and artifacts.

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Where the Prime Minister of Canada Had His Noodles

2012-02-14T19:26:00.001+05:30

Where the Prime Minister of Canada Had His Noodles

2012-02-14 15:49:39 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Duan Xuelian

Yiwanju, or "one bowl", a restaurant specializing in Beijing snacks received guests led by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on February 9.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper peruses the menu at Yiwanju, a restaurant specializing in traditional Beijing snacks. [Photo: China Daily]

Yiwanju, or "one bowl", a restaurant specializing in Beijing snacks has managed to grab the limelight over the past few days after having received a team of distinguished guests led by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on February 9.

Accompanied by his wife, the Prime Minister ordered a number of Beijing specialty dishes including Peking noodles with meat sauce, Wan Dou Huang (pea flour cake) and Ai Wo Wo (Sticky Rice with Sweet Filling), with the help of his guide Mark Rowswell, better known among Chinese people by his stage name, Dashan. Rowswell was recently appointed Canada's Goodwill Ambassador to China for his contribution towards bridging the cultural gap between China and his home country.

Dashan is a frequent patron of Yiwanju restaurant and as such introduced a variety of Beijing snacks to the Prime Minister and his wife. With a history of over 16 years, the Yiwanju restaurant located in Fengtai district attracts customers not only for its food but also for its unique decorations. The 100-square-meter restaurant is furnished with traditional Chinese cultural articles, including old photos of Beijing during the Ming and Qing dynasties, vintage bird cages and Jingdezhen porcelain. The restaurant also gives a small-scale opera performance every week.

According to staff working at the restaurant, the Prime Ministerial couple did not choose to sit in the private box despite the public dining area being full during the lunch hour. The Prime Minister and his wife observed how the dishes were made through a glass window next to the open kitchen.

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Kiss to the Valentine's Day in Taipei

2012-02-14T19:24:00.001+05:30

Kiss to the Valentine's Day in Taipei

2012-02-13 16:36:49 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Duan Xuelian

To mark Valentine's Day coming this Tuesday, about one hundred couples engaged themselves in an endurance competition of kisses in Taipei.

To mark Valentine's Day coming this Tuesday, about one hundred couples engaged themselves in an endurance competition of kisses in Hsimenting, the pop culture center of Taipei, Taiwan on Sunday. The couple that kissed the longest was awarded with a double air tickets to Hong Kong. Several other participants were also given prizes such as free hot spas or dinner for two at top restaurants. [Photo:Xinhua]

Love is in the Air at the Beijing Botanical Garden

2012-02-14T19:18:00.000+05:30

Love is in the Air at the Beijing Botanical Garden

2012-02-14 09:47:12 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Duan Xuelian

Flowers and plants here have been specially arranged for Valentine's Day this Tuesday.

A bouquet of different species of roses welcomes visitors at the entrance of the green house at Beijing Botanical Garden. Flowers and plants here have been specially arranged for Valentine's Day this Tuesday. [Photo: CRIENTLISH.com]

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Preserving an ancient art | Russia Beyond The Headlines

2012-02-14T18:51:00.001+05:30

Preserving an ancient art | Russia Beyond The Headlines

Preserving an ancient art

February 10, 2012
William Brumfield

A cathedral in the northwestern city of Pskov has preserved a remarkable set of frescoes through centuries of war and occupation.

Source: All photos by William Brumfield

Among the many glories of medieval Russian religious art, none impresses more than the 12th-century frescoes at the main church of the Mirozhsky Monastery in the city of Pskov. It is difficult to say which is the greater miracle: their original creation or the fact of their survival for almost nine centuries through wars, revolutions and foreign occupation.

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Pskov existed in the shadow of its northeastern neighbor, Novgorod, and the history of the city and its monastery was in a way dependent on the more powerful city. In 1136, the citizens of Novgorod stripped their prince, Vsevolod, of his authority and banished him from town. He retreated to Pskov, which welcomed him. Shortly thereafter Nifont, the bishop of the diocese of Novgorod, quarreled with the new Novgorod prince and joined Vsevolod in Pskov. Together Nifont and Vsevolod supported church construction, including a monastery in Pskov dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Savior and named after the small Mirozha River. The Mirozhsky Monastery was established on the left bank of the Velikaia River opposite Pskov’s imposing citadel.

Vsevolod died in 1137 or 1138, yet there is evidence that he provided support to Nifont in building the monastery's main church, the Cathedral of the Transfiguration. Although Nifont returned to Novgorod in around 1144, work continued at the monastery. The cathedral and its frescoes were completed by the time of Nifont's death in 1156.

Nifont was a strong supporter of the authority of Byzantium in religious matters, and the original design of the Mirozhsky Transfiguration Cathedral had the form of a raised Greek cross capped by a single dome. This design, with elevated central arms of the cross, proved impractical in a cold northern climate, and the corner walls of the west facade were soon raised to the height of the main structure. Something of the original design is still visible in the east, facing the river. The east side also has a large cylindrical apse, which contains the main altar. The walls themselves are of thin brick and rough stone, with a strong mortar of lime and crushed brick.

In the interior, the cathedral was completely painted with frescoes, which fortunately have survived to a degree that is unique among monuments of early Russian culture. The quality of the frescoes demonstrates the vital tradition of Byzantine wall painting at a time when Greek master painters were still active in medieval Rus. At the same time, the choice and interpretation of the pictorial themes suggests the participation of local masters. Indeed, monasteries such as this one were in the forefront of missionary activity, propagating Orthodoxy over a territory that was often only nominally Christian. Therefore, frescoes were seen as an important affirmation of the faith. The paintings were presented in a way that would not only inspire, but also instruct.

Fortress city in the Russian Northwest

Images of Christ are especially important, as would be expected in a church dedicated to the proclamation of Christ as the Son of God. The main dome depicts the ascension of Christ surrounded by a host of angels. The upper shell of the apse has an image of Christ enthroned, with Mary and John the Baptist flanking the arch in front of the apse. And lower on the apse wall, Christ is shown in the Eucharist giving the sacraments to the 12 apostles. In this church-museum, no icon screen obscures the frescoes in the apse.

The ceiling vaults and the upper surfaces of the main walls contain scenes from the life and passion of Christ, including the Garden of Gethsemane, the crucifixion and the lamentation over the body of Christ. Also prominent are scenes involving Mary, such as the annunciation. Other subjects include John the Baptist and many Byzantine saints. The lower wall segments include scenes from the Old Testament, such as the expulsion from the Garden of Eden and Jacob wrestling with the angel.

The style of painting shows extraordinary vigor, not only in the range of color, but also in composition and emotional depth. The depictions of faces and bodies have the strong linear emphasis and rhythm characteristic of the best wall paintings of the Middle Byzantine period. It is important to note that these frescoes were painted a few decades before the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by Western and Venetian Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade.

Not all of the frescoes in Transfiguration Cathedral have survived, and some on the lower walls show significant damage. Because of its location, the monastery has been subjected to floods, most recently in April 2011. Some other structures at Mirozhsky Monastery – notably the 17th-century Church of Saint Apostle Stephen – have been made available for use by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Because of its exceptional cultural value and fragility, the Transfiguration Cathedral remains under national protection supervised by the excellent Pskov State Architectural and Art Museum. The recent prolonged restoration of the cathedral frescoes is a major step in what hopefully will be the preservation of this superb art for centuries to come.

Russia and Europe to meet on Mars? | Russia Beyond The Headlines

2012-02-14T18:40:00.001+05:30

Russia and Europe to meet on Mars? | Russia Beyond The Headlines

Russia and Europe to meet on Mars?

February 13, 2012
Russia Beyond the Headlines

The Russian space agency Roskosmos and its European counterpart are expected to take another step towards a joint exploration of Mars.

Russian space specialists simulating a landing on Mars with space crew seen on the screen acting. Source: AP

The European Space Agency (ESA) is planning to increase Russia’s participation in its ExoMars project. According to Russian daily Kommersant, the ESA is looking to Russia to fill the void in the joint Mars operation left by NASA’s decision to decrease its involvement.

No future for Mars exploration?

Mission to Mars comes to an end

To Mars and back in 520 days

NASA is anticipating budget cuts that may force it to withdraw completely from the ambitious project. The U.S. is expected to decrease expenditures on space programs by 20 percent – from $ 1.5 billion in 2012 to $1.2 billion next year. The ExoMars project, which has a projected cost of $1.3 billion, will then have to shift part of its financial burden to a new partner.

Roskosmos and the ESA are expected to discuss Russia’s expanded participation in the project during negotiations on Feb. 15. During the last ExoMars summit in Paris in December, program coordinator Rolf de Groot told the Wall Street Journal that the ESA was aware of Roskosmos’s interest in expanding its participation and also that NASA could potentially withdraw.

The European Space Commission and NASA signed a joint agreement to explore Mars in July 2009. The two agencies aimed to launch a Mars rover by 2018 through the ExoMars project. At the same time, ExoMars signed an agreement with Roskosmos on the purchase of energy facilities, but didn’t include Russia in the project as an equal partner.

Nevertheless, Roskosmos and the ESA have a record of successful joint projects. European astronauts participated in the Mars-500 experiment, which was hosted in Russia and intended to prepare cosmonauts for the long flight to the red planet.

Launched on June 3, 2010, the Mars-500 mission involved an international crew of six astronauts – three Russians, one Chinese man, and two representatives from the European Space Agency, an Italian and a Frenchman. They were put in small modules simulating a spaceship headed for Mars. The mission lasted 520 days.

The major goal of the experiment was to study human responses to extreme stress when there’s nowhere to escape or obtain help.

The Ice Queen would be jealous | Russia Beyond The Headlines

2012-02-14T18:38:00.001+05:30

The Ice Queen would be jealous | Russia Beyond The Headlines

The Ice Queen would be jealous

February 9, 2012
Anisia Boroznova

Moscow’s Sokolniki Park features the world’s only year-round Ice Sculpture Museum, where the temperature is kept at -10 C (14 F) degrees.

The visitors of the Ice Sculpture Museum in Moscow's Sokolniki Park. Source: Anisia Boroznova

There is a common stereotype among foreigners that Russia is a very cold country, where everything is covered in ice and snow, and in winter you have to wear special felt boots known as valenki to avoid frostbitten feet. In Moscow, however, your feet are more likely to sink in slush than in snow, and catching a glimpse of a true winter fairytale is a challenge even for locals, to say nothing of tourists.

The gallery: The Ice Sculpture Museum

But just over a year ago, a new place opened in Moscow that gives its guests a good idea of what frosty weather really is, regardless of the season. It is the Ice Sculpture Museum in Sokolniki Park where the temperature indoors is kept at -10 C (14 F) degrees throughout the year. Enthusiasts of frost and ice art flock there, especially on weekends and holidays. It’s not uncommon on those days to stand in line for an hour to buy a $10 ticket.

After buying a ticket, the next stop for visitors is the cloak room – but even here the process is unusual. Instead of leaving their coats on hangers, people take long quilted coats known as vatniks and put them on over their clothes, and it is also possible here to exchange city boots for the rustic valenki. In winter, the indoor temperature may be higher than outdoors, but in summer you won’t last long in the museum without special attire.

The idea to create such a museum came from the creative group Art Bliz, specifically Pavel Melnikov and Bagdad Stepanyan. Melnikov is a five-time winner of the world sand sculpture championship, and Stepanyan is a three-time world champion in ice and snow sculpting. For many years, their team has taken part in sand sculpting charity events in Venice devoting sculptures to the Beslan tragedy, Pope John Paul II, Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa.

Melnikov and Stepanyan’s ice museum project also has an international element. Sculptures have been created by artists from Hungary, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Czech Republic. Russia is represented in the museum by ice sculptors from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Archangelsk. In addition to supplying a number of sculptors, Archangelsk has also provided a substantial portion of the ice. The curators need just one glance at an ice block to see which has been imported from the north, and which has been cut from a river outside of Moscow, where the fast current makes an imprint on the structure of the ice. Some 800 tons of ice and 200 tons of snow were used to create the sculptures covering the 500 square meters of exhibition space.

The organizers christened the exhibit “Ice Universe” and did not restrict the creativity of the participants in any way. The result is an exhibition of ice ranging from a Pegasus and space cartoon characters to a Chukchi tent and Christmas manger, a dinosaur skeleton and a living room with a fireplace to real frozen flowers and giant ice insects.

The museum also offers master classes for those interested in creating, not just observing. It takes just half an hour, an electric saw and a chisel to cut out an ice fish. Of course budding ice artists can’t take their work home, but they are left with some wonderful memories.

Krasnoyarsk: Taking a break from the Trans-Siberian | Russia Beyond The Headlines

2012-02-14T18:34:00.001+05:30

Krasnoyarsk: Taking a break from the Trans-Siberian | Russia Beyond The Headlines

Krasnoyarsk: Taking a break from the Trans-Siberian

February 14, 2012
Emma Burrows

On the route of the Trans-Siberian railway, the city of Krasnoyarsk is a good stop between the major destinations of Yekaterinburg and Irkutsk. Among Russian tourists, the city is known as a destination for extreme sports.

Krasnoyarsk's downtown. Source: ITAR-TASS

Krasnoyarsk, a major stop for travelers on the Trans-Siberian railway, is almost 1,500 miles from Yekaterinburg, the first big destination on the journey from Moscow to the east. It took 37 hours to make the trip between Krasnoyarsk and Yekaterinburg by train. With beautiful Siberian scenery outside the window, the journey passed in a haze of questioning.

My friend Juliet and I were taking the Trans-Siberian across the country – by ourselves – and therefore at every point in our travels, the second question we were asked was: “What do your husbands think of you doing this trip alone?” (The first question was, naturally, “Where are you going?”).

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In regards to the marriage question, it is a truth universally acknowledged that Russian women tend to marry before their Western counterparts. Getting married is big in Russia. Near the ubiquitous sushi restaurant on almost every corner in every big Russian city, there is also a bridal salon, so it was not surprising that we were asked whether or not we were married. What was surprising was the voracity of the questioning.

Our replies that, as young women in our early 20s, we hadn’t really considered taking a trip down the aisle, were invariably greeted with an expression of horror and the suggestion that maybe we should think about it because, clearly, our time was ticking away.

One big happy family on the Trans-Siberian

Trying to get a break from the Russians who kept asking us this question, I was wandering through our train carriage looking for a bottle opener when I ran into four Spaniards who were having trouble breaking down the linguistic barrier with the provodnitsa (carriage attendant). In addition to English and Russian, I speak some Spanish, but I had not quite planned for a situation in which I would need to translate between some very agitated Spanish tourists and a very frustrated Russian Railways employee.

What the Spaniards wanted was sheets and pillows for their bed. To avoid this pitfall yourself, make sure you ask for a ticket with bedding: с бельем – s byelem. Five minutes of complicated, many-gestured negotiations later, everybody had what they wanted, and Juliet and I were rewarded with a delicious chorizo sausage and interesting conversation with no mention of marriage for the rest of the journey.

We said goodbye to our new friends when the train arrived in Krasnoyarsk. We had made reservations in the Kiwi Hostel; a short bus ride from the old part of the city. It’s a great hotel – if slightly difficult to find – but unfortunately check-in opens only at 2 p.m. We called a member of the hotel staff to let us in and then decided to go grab something to eat at a nearby coffee shop. Half an hour later we were joined by Alex, who had left a wedding to let us in to the building. Oops.

Krasnoyarsk is a nice city and, as in Yekaterinburg, some of the buildings are better preserved than those in the big cities in western Russia. We hadn’t chosen Krasnoyarsk for the sights, though. The decision to get off the train here was purely based on our lack of desire to spend 60 hours on a train from Yekaterinburg to Ulan-Ude. But Krasnoyarsk is a good place to break the journey. It can be a peaceful place to pass a day or two, or, you can take part in extreme sports.

One of the principal draws of this Siberian city is the Krasnoyarsk Stolby Nature Preserve and Bobrovy Log ski resort. The preserve is only a short trip out of the city on a marshrutka – a small and battered minibus that follows a fixed route – that deposits visitors at the bottom of the brand-spanking-new ski slope. The ski complex appears imported whole from Germany. In winter, temperatures can drop far below -25, causing even the hardiest skiers to retreat to the lodge, but in the summer, visitors can go zorbing, swimming or take the chairlift up the mountain to the stolby. In Russian, stolby means pillars and the rocks stand tall in all shapes and sizes and are perfect for scrambling over.

It would be quite easy to pass a whole day in Krasnoyarsk just climbing the stolby. If you are travelling with a big group, you can rent a picnic area at the top of the mountain. Here you can have lunch in splendor, looking out across the tops of thousands of Siberian pine trees below. But even those without a large group or a large budget can appreciate the view from one of the many flat stolby that line the top of the mountain like platforms. They are the perfect place on which to sit and think, leaving the chaos below behind.

Ekaterinburg: Where quirky meets history

Descending from one of the stolby we were transported out of the Alps straight back into Russian life. A wedding party – bride and all – were taking a stroll on the top of the mountain. I suppose the stunning scenery is an amazing backdrop for any wedding photograph. I could not help think, however, of the bride having to bundle herself into a chairlift carrying a glass of Sovietskoe Shampanskoe (Soviet Champagne) and wearing a white dress three feet wide.

The city of Krasnoyarsk itself is also actually quite a pleasant place to simply wander. There are several coffee shops in the main part of town that serve decent snacks, which makes up for the lack of Internet connectivity. There is also a range of restaurants serving a variety of international food – the obligatory sushi place is augmented in Krasnoyarsk by Chinese and Indian cafes. We decided it might be nice to have some Indian food, but alas, the Indian restaurant was booked for a wedding. After sitting down in the Chinese place, we passed several hours deep in conversation about weddings, trying to determine if we were, in fact, on the shelf. None the wiser several cocktails later, we made our way outside, no more prepared to confront the inevitable questions that would accompany the next leg of our journey on the Trans-Siberian.

Krasnoyarsk from diferent angles. Source: ITAR-TASS, PhotoXpress, Lor / Fotobank, Reuters

From despair to mercy | Russia Beyond The Headlines

2012-02-14T18:29:00.001+05:30

From despair to mercy | Russia Beyond The Headlines

From despair to mercy

February 13, 2012
Elena Bobrova, Nora FitzGerald

"Siberia Monamour," a film by emerging director Slava Ross, portrays life on the taiga in all its brutality and compassion.

The footage from the "Siberia Monamour" movie. Source: Kinopoisk.ru

Russian director Slava Ross returned to his native Siberia for his second feature film and the result is a crafted, atmospheric meditation on the darkness of the average soul and the strange possibilities for redemption. The blunt brutality of the film is coupled with an endearing compassion that has garnered the attention of audiences and critics.

Acclaimed French director Luc Besson has acted as a midwife to the arthouse film, titled “Siberia Monamour.” Besson performed final edits and purchased the distribution rights for 20 years. As producer, he is also promoting the film abroad in time for film festival markets.

Besson has worked on 50 films as writer, director or producer in the last 25 years, and his role gave the film just that much more legitimacy within the international film community. “Siberia Monamour” has been screened in New York and is now making the festival circuit.

The work was a decade-long odyssey that culminated in filming from makeshift villages on the taiga with feral dogs and a cold—and at times disgruntled—crew. Ross was finally rewarded with rare praise from American and European critics for his strong direction and arthouse potential.

"Miles away from the absurdist theatrics of his debut feature, "Fat Stupid Rabbit," Ross convincingly depicts various country folk fighting to survive both in and around the ironically named hamlet of Monamour," The Hollywood Reporter wrote, adding that "Performances are strong across the board, and the young Protsko [Lyochka] is particularly touching without ever seeming cute."

“I was born in Siberia and lived there 33 years, and I know about it from my personal perspective,” Ross said after a Moscow screening at the Film Library. “I wrote all this, but of course the scenario resembles real life, from what I’ve seen and known.”

At the center of Ross’s story is a young orphan, Lyochka, and his grandfather, who is played by Pyotry Zaichenko, who heralds from Pavel Lungin’s signature 90s film, “Taxi Blues.” The two live in the otherwise abandoned old village, in the kind of disrepair that is one step from destitution. In their case, they are one forest away from help, and the denizens of the nearby town cluck and gossip about the grandfather’s refusal to move closer to modern amenities. Their only protection is an ancient icon they pray to each night by candlelight. A troubled Army officer and his grunt soldier abuse but then ultimately find a surprising solidarity with a teen prostitute and their path eventually leads them to Lyochka.
The neglected village was constructed for the film. “With the art director we found a glade with a remarkable and amazing backdrop,” Ross said. “Our art director created the village, but we didn’t build it from new materials. All houses were purchased, disassembled, transported and recreated to make a new place.”

But the real village Monamour exists as well. Cossacks experienced Paris after the War of 1812, and then returned to the Ural Mountains and to Siberia. French names were given to many places that still exist. The village Monamour exists as well, but it is a forgotten place.

Russian Film Week held in New York

“When I was a VGIK [film] student in 2000, I wrote a short story 'Forgotten in Siberia.' The plot included only two heroes, only the boy and the grandfather, but this story didn't leave me. I didn’t choose to make this film, the film chose me,” Ross often says (both at the New York Russian Film Festival and in Moscow). “I never doubted whether I could make this film or not.”

The French director's involvement was a plus, but it did not come till the bitter end of production. “Luc Besson became interested, in a film after our French partners showed it to him. I got a call from his team and was invited to come and after I did post-production at his studio, Digital Factory, in France.” Ross said. “The film was made with Russian money. Besson helped a lot technically.”

There were many difficult times along the journey of making this film, which features breathtaking cinematography and ominous forces of nature. The out-of-control feral dogs can be hard for audiences to take; for Ross, they represent the cruelty in society, he said. "When we were selecting the landscape (for filming), a wild dog (not involved in the making of the movie) bit our executive producer," Ross said.

“In 2008 we started filming, then the crisis came, we were lucky to finish the film. In 2008, when the money dried up, people started drinking, and there were 40 crew members left. I continued filming with the 20 who stayed. Thanks to this team, because it is only due to them that I managed to find money for next session of filming in 2009.” Because of the quality of the work done during the crisis, Ross received more funding to finish shooting the film.

“Siberia Monamour” was first developed with the Cannes Residency program. Film trade Variety wrote that “Siberia Monamour” has enough plots for a half-dozen films. “Slavering packs of dogs, a devout old hermit, a youngster trapped in a well, a war-crazed army captain and two marauding thieves [are] just some of the characters set against the striking landscapes of an implacable Siberia, yet Ross infuses these melodramatic Russian clichés with such exuberance he almost redeems them.”

The film indeed covers a great deal of territory from faith and despair to violence, sexual abuse, intolerance and, alcoholism, among other themes. Audiences have found a deep connection with the film, and its frank portrayal of the lost desolation of the village. One viewer at the Film Library said that one does not have to leave the Moscow region to find these lost villages.

Some Russian reviews expressed anger at Ross for perpetuating stereotypes of the hardscrabble, hard-drinking and at times criminal poverty of country life. They expressed frustration that he featured such naked depictions of this “chernukha,” or gruesome brutality. “This is a concrete and specific story and it is not meant for generalization,” Ross said. Ross said at the Moscow screening that his narrative is both “of this time” and “timeless”.

“Siberia Monamour” has been shown in Russian and European arthouses but the venues are limited. The recent free showing at Moscow’s public Film Library was packed with young and old, and Ross engaged the audience in a discussion after the film.

Ross told RBTH that his next feature film is an English-languagefilm set in the United States. As for the dark pulses of Siberia, Ross said “Siberia Monamour” is full of hope. “I don't see that the lives I have portrayed are hopeless. For me, film is not about the black parts of our life, but about belief and mercy.”

The Hindu : Arts / History & Culture : Delhi: Images frozen in time

2012-02-14T18:18:00.001+05:30

The Hindu : Arts / History & Culture : Delhi: Images frozen in time

Delhi: Images frozen in time

RANA SIDDIQUI ZAMAN

Return of the native: The first mosque of India - Quwwat ul-Islam in the Qutab Minar. Photo: Dhruva N Chaudhuri

A pictorial journey portraying the history of the Capital city opens today

Delhi has had a long and illustrious history. Its pictorial landscape over the years has significantly transformed. Several sharp changes took place when it reemerged as the national Capital.

The Ministry of Culture in a unique initiative has been able to collate and capture through still frames the remarkable moments that define Delhi's unforgettable history. To commemorate the re-emergence of Delhi as the Capital, National Gallery of Modern Art, along with Alkazi Foundation for the Arts will unveil a photographic exhibition today. The exhibition titled ‘Dawn upon Delhi – Rise of a Capital' will showcase 150 rare photographs at NGMA. The photographs not only provide a peek at how our architectural heritage – buildings in Delhi – stood out in a not so busy city environment, some of them also record moments that could have slipped into oblivion. Yet others tell the tale of a simple, yet wholesome lifestyle of a people who were not yet touched by urbanization and materialism. For instance, pictures depicting ‘ayahs' in 1910 and a villager in his traditional attire, have a humane quality about them. A photograph extracted from the Central Public Works Department archives reveals a still and peaceful Connaught Place, which bustles with activity today. The photographs on display have been collected over time from organizations, individuals, books and important journals. Most have been inaccessible to the public as they were extracted from rare collections of the Archeological Survey of India, CPWD and famous photographers like Habib Rehman. The photographs of Delhi taken in the 1860s are by John Edward Sache – one of the more prominent 19th century European photographers in India who operated studios in Lucknow, Nainital, Meerut and Mussoorie.

The still of ‘Chandnee Chauk, Dheli' was taken by Bombay-based Vernon & Co. studios known for documenting British India at the turn of the century. The other nostalgic prints include ‘Delhi Durbar – 1903', ‘Delhi Durbar, Kashmir', ‘Interior View of the Tomb of Iltutmish, Qutub Complex, Mehrauli', ‘Alauddin's Unfinished Minar, Qutub complex', and ‘Lahori Gate Delhi Fort'.

The Hindu : Arts / History & Culture : Footloose in temple town

2012-02-14T18:06:00.001+05:30

The Hindu : Arts / History & Culture : Footloose in temple town

Footloose in temple town

ZIYA US SALAM

The HinduScharada Dubey. Photo: Special Arrangement

ZIYA US SALAM talks to Scharada Dubey about piecing together “Portraits from Ayodha”

“I am a big writer. I weigh 80 kgs,” Scharada Dubey is almost self-deprecatory with her humour. Then, almost as an afterthought she adds, “I try to do different things. I am working for man-animal conflict resolution. I am trying to get monkey sanctuaries made and have prepared a questionnaire whether birth control methods should be applied on monkeys too, considering they are quite a part of daily existence here.”

“Here” refers to Ayodhya. “This is my 13th book.” And “this” refers to “Portraits from Ayodhya”, her latest book brought out by Tranquebar. The book is making waves. Quite in contrast to the place itself, which almost two decades after December 6, 1992, is but a ripple on the political map of the country. Karsevakpuram is not even mentioned in the election despatches these days. And almost all the leading players in the saga ceded Page one space long ago.

Dubey could not care for such fine details though. And points to the reason for taking up a subject that has ceased to occupy the mind of the nation. “I lived in Faizabad for three years and was often in Ayodhya. I go there even now. I was there around the time of the Allahabad High Court judgement in 2010. Then in Ayodhya, life got paralysed for several weeks. People were worried about curfew. They wanted normalcy.” The conflict that again occupied prominent news space was in contrast to the photograph of the late 1990s that Dubey refers to in the book. “It captures the spirit of Ayodhya very well. It shows a group of people standing by the steps of the Faizabad district courtrooms. In the centre is Paramhans Ramchandra Das. Beside him is his friend and legal opponent Hashim Ansari. Also, there is Zafaryab Jilani who represented the Sunni Wakf Board and a smiling Mahant Bhaskar Das of the Nirmohi Akhara. They are sharing a smile over some a small matter. It is a priceless picture that captures the township's real spirit. And as a writer I have always had a deeper engagement with the surroundings and tried to project people's perspective to a controversy that raged for so long.”

Just back from the election campaign where she had canvassed support for Gulshan Bindu, a transgender candidate, Dubey happily points out the bonhomie that existed between Paramhans Ramchandra Das and Hashim Ansari. “They were legal opponents over what is essentially a property dispute. And for a small town Ayodhya has plenty of age-old property issues. But they were friends too and often travelled by the same car to the court where they took on each other.”

Talking of Paramhans, she calls him “an enlightened” being, and Ansari “a genuinely warm human being respected by both Hindus and Muslims. You can stop on the road and talk to him. He is that accessible.”

But wasn't Ansari used by other elements, just as the mahants lost their independence? “I do believe so. Ansari is a very loveable chap with quirky ways of old-timers. At the time the matter hit the national headlines, the Muslim community needed a representative to go to court. Other men have big businesses to attend to. Ansari gratefully attends all court hearings. He has done yeoman's service. As for the mahant, well, Paramhans was an evolved soul, like an old-time fakir. He was not communal at all. And he retained his essential goodness and warmth till the end. His followers are still friends with Ansari. There is no rancour between them.”

Dubey claims it is this contradiction: social harmony and religio-political confrontation — that she has tried to highlight. And also sought to reveal how the lives of 25 people associated with the dispute changed over the years. “The local people are not communal at all. Otherwise, it may not have been possible for Yugal Kishor Sharan Shastri to survive here.” For the uninitiated, Shastri was party “to an unforgivable crime”. Today, he organises sadbhavana camps and is regarded as the voice behind the Ayodhya ki Awaz.

However, “Portraits from Ayodhya” is more than a collection of profiles. It reveals little known gems of history too. For instance, Dubey points to the Korean connection of the place. “This was an initiative of Korean people. They have a dynastic connection with Ayodhya as a princess was married to one of their kings. When the locals heard of the project, they were enthused as it brought with it prospects of development.

Dubey also has a thing or two to say about Ayodhya's Raja. Calling Bimalendra Pratap Mishra, “a raja in Rama's kingdom”, Dubey says, “he does not behave as a raja at all. He has no connect with the locals. He was glum and tried to put me off. He probably regarded me to be an upstart. Maybe he did not grasp the implications of the book.” As was the case with Sharad Sharma. “His chapter makes chilling reading and tells us how there was a complete game plan, a step by step chart.”

In fact, such experiences “strengthened” Dubey, who argues that contradictions at the ground level need to be highlighted. “The media has little time for these stories. And the place suffers because it does not get projected the right way”.

She adds, “It took me quite a few months to put it all together. I met many people several times over. I used to get very affected by what many of them said. The fear of some of them getting back at me is still there in my mind. But I am trying to put it behind me as I have two more books to wrap up.”

Coming up next is “Anna and Us: The Lokpal Story” followed by “Bolo Bum: Approaches to Shiva”. “These are also pretty big books. Didn't I say I am a big writer,” she again takes recourse to humour to round off the conversation.

The Hindu : Arts / History & Culture : The scent in the wind!

2012-02-14T17:58:00.001+05:30

The Hindu : Arts / History & Culture : The scent in the wind!

The scent in the wind!

R.V. SMITH

The HinduA Moghul water-colour painting depicting the use of perfumes. Photo: Special Arrangement

The use of perfumes and fragrances added a nice whiff to life during the Moghul times, writes R.V. SMITH, citing many examples

The second Itr and Sungandhi Festival in Delhi unfolded the whole magic of perfumes. Much has been written about this unique festival but the historical aspect has not been properly explored. One misconception is that rooh gulab itr was discovered by Nur Jahan. Actually it was the discovery of her mother Asmat Begum. According to Dr. R. Nath, Jahangir noted in his diary as follows: “I have regret for the Jahangiri itr (named after him) that my father (Akbar's) nostrils were not gratified with such essences. This is a discovery which was made during my reign through the efforts of the mother of Nur Jahan Begum. When she was making rose-water, a scum formed on the dishes into which the hot rose-water was poured from the jugs…. She collected the scum little by little. It is of such strength in perfume that if one drop is rubbed on the palm of the hand, it scents a whole assembly and it appears as if many such rose-buds had bloomed at once. There is no other scent of equal excellence to it. It restores hearts that have gone (broken), and brings back withered souls. In reward for that invention, I presented a string of pearls to the inventress.”

DEPARTMENT OF PERFUMERY!

There you have it straight from the horse's mouth as it were. The historian goes on to say that Akbar the Great had a whole department of perfumery so that he and his successors could keep their bodies (and minds) well scented in a country where the hot climate (and its ill-effects) that lasted nearly eight months in a year could be countered effectively.

One has to keep in mind that sweating irked the Great Moghuls, who inherited their ancestors' love for the cold regions, where men and women did not perspire so much. The big harems of these emperors meant that they had to engage with many women and to make their bodies fresh again constant use of scents became necessary. The same held good for the ladies, who also had to take several baths during the months of May and June, unless the emperor and his entourage were in places like Kashmir. Perfumes were brought not only from Kannauj and other parts of India but also from West Asia.

To go back to Dr. Nath's interesting findings, scents were not only used on the body but also burnt in the mahals to embalm the air. “Incense was daily burnt in the harem in gold and silver censors of various beautiful shapes and designs. Besides these, sweet-smelling flowers were used in large quantities. Araqs, itrs and oils were extracted from the flowers.” When Shah Jahan was being initiated into the mysteries of sex, it is said that his body was massaged by female attendants with exotic oils. Before Mumtaz Mahal's marriage to him, Arjumand Bano Begum, as she was known then, was anointed with scents similarly. If gossip be true, there was a Mir Attar in Bahadur Shah Zafar's time, to spread fragrance in the harem. It is a fact that beauty alone does not attract a person if the object of his desire perspires with a bad odour.

The Moghuls who excelled in nearly everything that they did made perfumery into a fine art. Chameli, mogra, champa, molshri, juhi, nargis, harsinghar, gul-e-zafran, gulab, kamal, kamalini (lily), tasbih-e-gulal, hina and malti were some of the fragrant flowers that were cultivated in Moghul gardens and their scents extracted. Ambar-e-Ashab, says Dr. Nath, cost one to three gold mohurs per tola in Akbar's reign. Zabad (civet scent) up to one gold mohur per tola. Mush-e-Muskh up to Rs.4.5 per tola (at a time when the rupee was 500 times its present value). Then there were araq-e-gulab, araq-e-muskh, arq-e-bahar, arq-e-chameli and loban. The sugandhis (perfumes) of Chandni Chowk were greatly patronised by the latter Moghul emperors and made a fortune that way. Some of their shops still exist with fancy bottles of perfumes that waft you back to Moghul times.

The Hindu : Life & Style / Travel : A floating holiday

2012-02-14T17:54:00.001+05:30

The Hindu : Life & Style / Travel : A floating holiday

A floating holiday

PRIYADARSHINI PAITANDY

LUXURY ON THE HIGH SEAS The SuperStar Virgo and (below) a glimpse of the interior

LEISURE Shows to watch, games to play, restaurants serving international cuisines, a spa, a casino, a water slide… you are spoilt for choice on the SuperStar Virgo

A shimmering mermaid waves at me. Shirtless young men with sculpted bodies whisk me away for photographs. More creatures, resembling stuffed toys prance around me, engulfing me in bear hugs before I enter the Grand Piazza. Inside, a flurry of people fuss over me, and a waiter hands me a glass of champagne. I like being fussed over and on board the SuperStar Virgo I revel in it.

The Grand Piazza is the lobby of the ship — a meeting point for those who get lost in the many passages and decks that this big, beautiful lady holds within her. It spells opulence with its marble floor, elegant woodwork, gold-plated horse sculptures and expensive upholstery. You see holiday makers, casino addicts, and squealing children running amok. Besides, there are honeymooners stuck to each other like advertisements for instant glue. Find a room, people! They don't, and since the PDA continues I head to my cabin on deck 9 and plonk myself on the balcony overlooking the sea. There's a star-lit sky, a full moon, and the splashing sound of the inviting waters… enough inspiration for even a pragmatic soul like me to turn into a romantic poet and write ballads and sonnets describing the astounding looks of my (non-existent) significant other! But honestly, when you are aboard the Virgo, pondering in solitude could seem like a criminal waste of time. There are shows to watch, games to play, restaurants to binge at, a spa to get pampered, a library to satiate the bookworm in you, a crowded casino and an electric blue pool to chill out in. The only task is to decide where you want to head to, first.

I am with a group of 12 other journalists who have been meticulously taking down notes and clicking photographs all day long. But now, it's time to party. So in go the pens and notebooks and out come the peep toes and LBDs. We have two nights on this cruise on the high seas to discover Virgo's various attractions. Dinner tonight is at Palazzo, the Italian fine dining restaurant. After several helpings of ravioli, veal steak, pasta and wine, we proceed to the show that's on at The Lido. ‘The Hot Stripper Show' is open only to those aged above 18. We troop in and park ourselves in our assigned seats. I order a delicious hot chocolate but soon realise it isn't the right choice of beverage for a show like this. There are two words to describe it — risqué and entertaining.

The show ends way past midnight. Most of us are heavy-lidded by now. It's embarrassing to fall asleep so early when the others are still bouncing around like spring bunnies. Trying to keep pace with them, we step into Celebrity, the lounge bar. Akon and Taio Cruz are blaring out of the speakers. Young boys and girls groove energetically to the music. The younger lot don't give up, do they? We decide to show them what we can do and make our way to the centre of the room to shake a leg. Take that! Only to discover 10 minutes later that two men from our group have passed out on a couch. Signal for us to be back in our cabins and catch up on some sleep. My watch shows 2.30 a.m. as I snuggle into bed. Only now do I feel the mighty ship bob slightly. It gently rocks me to sleep.

The shrieking of the phone jolts me out of my slumber. One of the more energetic journalists from the group is on the line. “Get up, yaar. Let's attend the Zumba class,” she screeches. It's 7 a.m. and I am on my feet. An hour later, I find myself at Mediterranean Terrace in the queue for breakfast. It provides a fascinating view of the sea, apart from an interesting spread of international cuisines.

The itinerary for the day informs me that we are to set out on a tour of the vessel. Two hours later, we're still exploring new facets such as an observatory deck, a gym and a track for jogging. Of course, we need none of the work-out because a tour of the Virgo on foot is more than sufficient exercise. The hefty, but elegant liner, measures 268 metres long and 32 metres wide, with a gross tonnage of 76,800, and a capacity to take 1,870 passengers on board.

Up next is an appointment with the Captain at the bridge. We expect to meet a stern-faced bearded man, a la Captain Haddock, swearing and shouting instructions to his crew. The door opens and what we witness is a large space with high tech screens and a few men dressed in crisp white uniform. The captain, a tall clean-shaven man with a warm smile, shows us around and stylishly moves a joystick which he tells us has replaced the helm these days.

Post-lunch I head to the spa to indulge in some foot reflexology. The next few hours are spent alternating between the warm and frothy outdoor Jacuzzi and plunging into the cool waters of the swimming pool. Also, recommended is a ride down the fairly high water slide. For a fleeting moment, I feel I am going to fall straight into the deep dark sea as one portion of the blue slide is transparent and projects outside the ship, providing a view of the rippling water far below. After all the squealing and splashing, it's time to present our genteel side and convene at Bella Vista for a formal dinner.

There is still so much to do on board. We've been so busy that none of us has had the time to fill our shopping bags at the duty-free store. It appears that we are in for another late night event — The Nikita Show. What's it about? Well… let's just leave that to your imagination. It's 1 a.m. now. In less than 10 hours SuperStar Virgo will be docking at the Singapore harbour. Finally, it's time to do the inevitable — sit back and admire the sea and the endless sky. So we huddle together at the Taverna bar, on the top deck, and chat through the night, all the while enjoying the view.

Two fabulous days at sea and I have champagne cramps (from holding those crystal flutes) and dark circles after all the partying. My weighing scale mocks me. But I am not complaining. They are definitely signs of a good holiday!

(The writer was on the SuperStar Virgo at the invitation of Star Cruise)

The Hindu : Life & Style / Travel : Hidden 100 - Where the rocks invite you for a nap

2012-02-14T17:47:00.001+05:30

The Hindu : Life & Style / Travel : Hidden 100 - Where the rocks invite you for a nap

Hidden 100 - Where the rocks invite you for a nap

PRABALIKA M BORAH

Devouts praying under huge rocks

There isn't much to do around Secunderabad and Hyderabad and lazing at home is a lame thing to do when the weather is just about getting to be friendly. When there's an urge to step out, a picnic wouldn't hurt at all. Include the option of an easy hike to reach those flat rocks on which one can lie down and declare — ‘heaven on earth'.

Make sure the car is loaded with food, fresh juice, snacks and loads of happy, smiling faces. Carry a camera because the changing colour of the rockscape with every passing hour is a sight to behold.

Destination: Medak en route Edupayala.

Edupayala is the place which houses the famous Edupayala Vana Durga Bhavani temple and is located in Nagasanpalli, Papannapet Mandal in Medak. It is 140 km from Nizamabad and 112 km from Hyderabad and around 20 km from Medak by road.

Take the Jeedimetla route to hit the Narsapur Highway and avoid the Medchal route. Why? It is straight and smooth. Setting out in the wee hours is the ideal thing to do as the roads are empty. On the way, you will be greeted by hordes of monkeys. They aren't pesky and mostly mind their business, unless you decide to attract their attention with food packets. The road is flanked by forest and the pleasant sounds of birds drown the noise of the vehicles.

After crossing various awesome rock formations, just before reaching Medak town, the road turns left and narrows down to a dusty bumpy village road that leads you to the Edupayala temple.

This famous Durga temple is also called Garuda Ganga. The uniqueness of this 12th Century temple is in its name that incorporates the names of seven sages — Jamadagni, Atri, Kasyapa, Viswamitra, Vasistha, Bharadwaja and Gowtama. The temple setting is magnificent — at the confluence of the seven tributaries of the River Manjeera.

During the rainy season people cross the rocks in the river to reach big flat rock beds where they chat, relax and lie down watching the sky.

Those who enjoy trekking will enjoy climbing the rock cave that houses the temple. Go higher and higher as far as you can to get a view of the rocky expanse and the quiet-flowing river below.

From the rocky zone you can next head to the Medak church, which is Asia's largest. Built in pure white granite, this Gothic-style structurestands on a sprawling 1000 acres. The church was sanctified on December 25, 1924 and took 10 years to be constructed. Its large pointed stained glass windows visible only in natural light tell the story of the Bible. Made of Italian tiles, the bell tower of the church is 175 ft. high. Legend has it that the church was built during World War I when Medak was struck by a famine and hundreds of people approached Reverend C.W. Posnett, an English Missionary, for succour.

On the way to the church you can stop at the now-in-ruins Medak fort for a peek at the past.

The Hindu : Arts / Magazine : Chasing a revolution

2012-02-14T17:45:00.001+05:30

The Hindu : Arts / Magazine : Chasing a revolution

Chasing a revolution

NEETI MEHRA

Wadi Rum. Photo: Neeti Mehra

In Jordan's Wadi Rum, retrace the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia and enjoy Bedouin hospitality.Neeti Mehra

Standing on the edge of a precipice, looking ahead at a boundless, rust-coloured world, the words of TE Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, describing the Wadi Rum came rushing back to me — vast, echoing and god-like.

In this timeless wilderness, soft, red dunes of sand billowed into shape, collecting around stumps of brush whose spiky branches yearned towards the sky. Stupendous canyons soared upwards, sculpted by the hand of god. Jordan's Wadi Rum, a valley in stone and dust, is a stunning landscape — a maze of monolithic rockscapes carved by the relentless wind; empty spaces and fiery red sand.

From here the Arab Revolt surged through, leading to the capture of the port city of Aqaba, with the help of Lawrence, a British Officer. Many years later, the Oscar-winning biopic was filmed partly on this soil. Glittering like a russet mirage in the summer sun, it's no wonder that Wadi Rum scrabbled into UNESCO's World Heritage List for its natural beauty and cultural significance earlier this year.

A Bedouin's life

Driving down for a couple of hours from Jordan's capital Amman, I arrived at the perimeter of Wadi Rum. Helping me retrace the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia in the Valley of the Moon, as it is known as, was Atallah, a Bedouin from the Zawaideh Tribe, a Jordanian tribe that settled here centuries ago. During the war against the Ottoman Turks, his forefathers had fought alongside Lawrence. Atallah, a lanky young lad in braces and a fuzzy upper lip, barely 18, stood dwarfed by the Mitsubishi family jeep, barely inspiring confidence in my touristy heart. Clad in a traditional robe or Dish-dash, a bright orange baseball cap replacing the traditional kouffieh, he revved the jeep through Wadi Rum's unforgiving terrain. Churning up dust devils, we lurched through loose sand that enveloped us in a dun-coloured haze.

Covering a swathe of nearly 74,000 hectares of land right next to Saudi Arabia, one wondered why Prince Faisal Bin Hussein and T.E. Lawrence based their headquarters in this seemingly desolate region during the Arab Revolt. And why was this young, strapping British lad fighting a war in the belly of the desert? British interests needed to be protected, said Ibrahim, the guide. Namely, the preservation of their trade routes to India, while keeping the Ottoman Turks gainfully occupied in war in this region, and thus, away from the World War I, a ruse that worked successfully.

From Wadi Rum, Lawrence, with the Arabs, captured the Mameluke Fort in Aqaba, booting the Turks out of the port city. With its sleek boats bobbing on the Red Sea and its hotels, Aqaba, next on our stop, hardly seemed to have been caught in the whorl of the revolution. A proud flag, testament to this event, fluttered gamely in the breeze.

Atallah, meanwhile, steered the truck to a small tented desert camp belonging to his tribe. Carved on a rock face was an image of Lawrence staring back at us. Enjoying Bedouin hospitality, as he had, we sipped on cups of bitter coffee prepared on a mud stove, listening to tales of the film and the tribe's nomadic life in the desert, where no one called any definite place home.

Sunset on the horizon

Driving on, we passed rocky mountainous outcrops of sandstone and granite. Each was distinct, as if a giant chisel had carved them. For miles, the only signs of life were a handful of snoozing wild asses and grazing camels. Sometimes, a tourist vehicle would emerge and disappear in a trail of red dust. Approaching a steep rock shelf, Atallah slowed down the jeep. On the rock walls were Petroglyphs, rock engravings etched centuries ago. Wadi Rum has a staggering combination of 25,000 rock carvings and 20,000 inscriptions, a vocabulary of human evolution in its gorges. The curious drawings high up on the rock surface described a time when more camels roamed the region than men, Ibrahim joked.

As the sun began to set, we climbed onto a rocky plateau, joined by other tourists pouring out of jeeps, phantasms gliding over sand. We watched the sky melt into hues of crimson, with stars taking over the night canvas, as Lawrence had many moons ago in this ancient land.

Our last stop was Captain's Desert Camp, whose billowing tents made from warm goat's hair were home to a nocturnal feast. In the Al-Zarb, an oven one meter deep in the ground, brick coated, vegetables and lamb had been slow roasting for hours. We gorged on delicately spiced meat, scooping it up in lumpen pieces of shrak — freshly baked whole wheat bread, still warm from the hearth, a meal fit for royalty.

By the time we got ready to leave, the desert wind had spiralled into a crescendo. Stepping on a dirt track that would lead us outside Wadi Rum for Aqaba, a sudden gust mussed the tyre tracks and camels hoof prints. Many years ago Lawrence had tread on this very pathway — a trail that changed the course of history.

Keywords: Wadi Rum, Jordan tourism

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DEPARTMENT OF PERFUMERY!

The Hindu : Life & Style / Travel : A floating holiday

A floating holiday

The Hindu : Life & Style / Travel : Hidden 100 - Where the rocks invite you for a nap

Hidden 100 - Where the rocks invite you for a nap

The Hindu : Arts / Magazine : Chasing a revolution

Chasing a revolution