Brahma's Boon - A story from the Indian epics

Category : Story

There once lived a wicked asura (demon). He had two sons called Sunda and Upasunda. They loved each other very much. Now, the asura brothers had one great dream - to conquer all three worlds. So, they decided to please the great Brahma (the Creator) to achieve their aim.Sunda and Upasunda climbed the mighty Vindhyas and began their tapas. They practised severe austerities, much to the alarm of the devas in Heaven. Indra, King of Heaven, sent many of his men to distract them, but failed.

Finally Brahma appeared before Sunda and Upasunda.

"Lord", said the brothers, "Grant us immortality."

"Only those who are worthy of it can get that boon,'' replied Brahma, "You two are not yet fit for it".

''Well," said Sunda, "Then grant us this boon. Let us die by each other's hands only.''

Without a second thought, Brahma granted their boon and vanished.

Proud and arrogant now that they had conquered death, (well, almost, since they were very sure that they would not kill one another), Sunda and Upasunda began to create horror in all three worlds. They plundered the earth and killed holy men. They captured maidens and made the devas their slaves. Men went rushing to the devas for help, but Indra ( Chief of Devas ) could only helplessly murmur, ''I am powerless!''

''I was hasty with my boon,'' thought Brahma, who watched all this.

He summoned Viswakarma (Divine Architect). "Make the most beautiful woman ever seen''.

So the architect used a bit of all the materials he had, and created Thilothama, a beautiful maiden. He brought her to Brahma. Brahma was pleased.

"Fair maiden," commanded the Lord, ''Go down to earth and create rivalry between Sunda and Upasunda''. Thilothama bowed low and did as she was bid.

When the brothers saw Thilothama, both of them wanted to marry her.

"Whoever came first," she replied, "will wed me."

"I came first", cried Sunda.

"No! It was me!", shouted Upasunda.

And they began to quarrel. The quarrel soon turned into a duel. They began pounding each other with their fists. Then, they took up their maces. The fighting went on and on, until, the brothers finally wounded and killed each other.

Construct a Motor boat

Category : Science Project

Here is a beautiful science project for primary school kids. I would strongly suggest elders to be with kids in carrying out this project.

You need 2 battery cells, a small D.C. motor of 1.5V, 2 litre plastic water bottle, cork, icecream stick, gum tape, scissors, wire and gum.

Join 2 battery cells of 1.5V each with the help of elastic and gum tape. Attach copper wires to its positive and negative terminals. Connect the end of any of these two wires to a toy motor.

Take two meter long insulated copper wire. Remove the insulation at both its ends. Connect one end to the motor.

Take another long insulated wire and connect one of its ends to the battery. See that the circuit is complete. If all your connections are proper, the motor should rotate.

Take a two litre water bottle and cut a rectangular flap on one of its sides as shown in the figure. If the sides are very sharp, stick tape.

Fix the battery inside the water bottle.

Fix the motor to the mouth of the water bottle. Its central axis should be facing outwards. Stick tapes around the motor and the mouth of the bottle to prevent water from entering in.

Fix a 1 cm thick cork to the axis of the motor. It should rotate freely on its axis. Take an icecreams stick, apply paste to its centre and fix it to the cork. Let it dry up well. This will act as the propeller of the boat. The length of the stick can be cut down later if it overturns the boat while moving.

Introduce a simple switch into the circuit. You can even fix a bulb inside the boat and light it.

Instead of icecream stick you can use the propeller of some old toy.

Fill a tub with water. Allow your boat to sail on water. You will enjoy this science project. Find out as to how the boat sails on water.

Geography : QUIZ

Category : Geography

What do you call the following

1) A narrow stretch of land connecting two land masses.
2) A cluster of islands.
3) An imaginary line joining north and south poles.
4) A narrow pointed part of land extending into the sea.
5) Coral reef resembling a horse shoe enclosing a lagoon.
6) A place where two or more rivers meet together and become one.
7) A low pressure system area in which the wind blows spirally inwards.
8) A piece of land surrounded by water on all sides.
9) A fertile area in the midst of a desert.
10) An elevated plain.
11) A deep river valley with steep sides.
12) A tapering part of land surrounded by sea on three sides.
13) A narrow passage between two hills or mountains.
14) A heavenly body which revolves round a planet.
15) A vent in the earth's crust through which vapours, lava and gases come out.
16) A stream or river which joins another river.
17) The channels of a river through which it drains into the sea or lake.
18) An imaginary line dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres.
19) A large mass of ice floating in the sea.
20) A small hill. Answers
1. Isthumus
2. Archipelago
3. Axis
4. Cape
5. Atoll
6. Confluence
7. Cyclone
8. Island
9. Oasis
10. Plateau
11. Gorge
12. Peninsula
13. Pass
14. Satellite
15. Volcano
16. Tributary
17. Distributaries
18. Equator
19. Iceberg
20. Hillock

Crossword Puzzles for kids

Category : Crosswords

Puzzle 'Smart'
The number of letters in the answer is shown in brackets.


Across

1 People who belong to clubs are called........... (7)
4 A piece of wood (3)
5 24 hours make one of these (3)
7 The opposite of all (7)

Down

1 1,000,000 (7)
2 Single or double decker transport (3)
3 The opposite of going (7)
6 What is left after a fire.
Also the name of a tree. (3)

Puzzle 'Brainy'
The answers to all these clues are three-letter words.

Across

1 An English tree
3 The opposite of old.
5 A short way of saying DADDY.
6 Heavy weight
7 Speak
9 Opposite of stand
11 A donkey
12 Path

Down

1 The opposite of beginning.
2 Re-arrange and get a new word : dam
3 Pea ............, Wal ..........
4 The opposite of lose.
7 What we call a small ocean.
8 You say this if you agree.
9 A tool for cutting logs.
10 Something to play with.

Answers

Puzzle 'Smart'
Across

1. Members
4. Log
5. Day
7. Nothing

Down

1. Million
2. Bus
3. Staying
6. Ash

Puzzle 'Brainy'
Across

1. Elm
3. New
5. Dad
6. Ton
7. Say
9. Sit
11. Ass
12. Way

Down

1. End
2. Mad
3. Nut
4. Win
7. Sea
8. Yes
9. Saw
10. Toy

Making Beautiful Rod Puppets

Rod puppets are the simplest of all puppets. They are very easy to handle. You can make rod puppets of any size.

You require : Rods or sticks, old newspapers, brown paper bags, glue, glaze paper, wool, printed cloth, string, scissors.

Method :

Take a rod or stick.

Take 8-9 half sheets of newspapers and crumple them well.

Now take one curmpled sheet of newspaper and place it on one end of the rod. Press is tightly.


Similarly, take the other sheets also and place them one above the other. Tie these with a string.

Now cover these with a brown paper bag. Tie it tightly so that it takes
the shape of a head.

Make eyes with black glaze paper, and nose and mouth with red glaze paper. Paste them at appropriate places. Or else, you can draw them and colour.

Paste wool to make hair.

Prepare dress for the puppet with glaze paper or cloth, and dress the puppet.

You can also make arms of the puppets with the help of another cross stick.

Puzzles to Befuddle You

Category : Puzzles

Solve the following three puzzles :

1. A man ate 100 grapes in 5 days. Everyday he ate 6 more than on the previous day. How many grapes did he eat on the first day?

2. Make 4 triangles, all of the same size as shown in the figure with only 6 match-sticks.



3. A professor had ten volumes of an encyclopaedia. One day he discovered that a bookworm had eaten its way in a straight line from the front cover of volume 1 to the back cover of volume 10. Each book was two inches thick.

How far did the bookworm travel ?




Answers :

1) 8 grapes.

2) See figure for solution

3) The worm travelled 16 inches. As you can see when looking at the books the cover of volume 1 is on the right, the back of volume 10 on the left.

Pass your Body through a Playing Card

Category : Activites

1. How to pass your body through a playing card?

Throw a challenge to your friends by asking them to climb through a playing card. When they express their inability, you take the lead and give a demonstration. Take any playing card or cut some other card to the size of the playing card. Fold it in half lengthwise. Cut a slit along the crease leaving the edges. Now cut slits at right angles to the main crease from the fold to the edge, and also from the edge to the fold. Full the ends apart and you will get a huge thin ring. If you find it difficult ask your parents to help you. Come on, climb through the ring and give a surprise to everyone.

2. How to break a thread in a sealed bottle?

Take an empty milk bottle. Take a thin thread and tie a weight to one end. Drop the weight and the thread into the bottle and fix the other end of the thread with a cork, The weight shold be in a suspended state inside the bottle. Now tell your friends to sever the thread without breaking the seal or shaking the bottle.

Though the answer is very simple, not many people will be able to guess. Take the bottle out into the sunlight and place it on a stool. Now gather sun's rays with the help of a magnifying glass and focous it on the thread. Hold it in position until the thread snaps.

Fear Factor - Interesting Phobias

Category : General Knowledge

All of us fear one thing or the other. Some of us shiver at the sight of a cockroach. Most of us are afraid of thunder and lightning. This is termed as phobia. Phobia means ‘‘excessive fear’’ or ‘‘strong hatred’’. Find here below a selective list of phobias.

animals : zoophobia
automobiles : ochophobia
bees : apophobia
birds : ornithophobia
blood : hematophobia
books : bibliophobia
cancer : carcinophobia
cat : ailurophobia
corpses : necrophobia
crowds : ochlophobia
darkness : nyctophobia
death : thanatophobia
diseases : pathophobia
dogs : cynophobia
drugs : pharmacophobia
English : anglophobia
fire : pyrophobia
foreigners : xenophobia
germs : bacillophobia
ghosts : phasmophobia
heart attact : anginophobia
hell : hadephobia
hospitals : nosocomephobia
marriage : gamophobia
men : androphobia
poisoning : toxicophobia
skin disease : dermatophobia
sleep : hypnophobia
snakes : ophidiophobia
solitude : isolophobia
spiders : arachnophobia
talking : glossophobia
water : aquaphobia
women : feminophobia

APOCOPE - The Shorter version of Bigger Words

In order to economise or simplify an expression, the end part of a word is removed. For example the simple short form of a word advertisement is Ad. The word chips is an abbreviated version of chipped potatoes. More examples are given below.

AD : ADvertisement
AMP : AMPere
BRA : BRAssiere
CAPS : CAPital letters
Cinema : Cinematograph
CHIMP : CHIMPanzee
CHIPS : CHIPped potatoes
CURIO : CURIOsity
DEMOB : DEMOBilise
DISCO : DISCOtheque
EXAM : EXAMination
FAN : FANatic
GENT : GENTleman
GYM : GYMnasium
HIPPO : HIPPOpotamus
INFO : INFOrmation
LAB : LABoratory
MATH : MATHematics
MATRIC : MATRICulation
PANTS : PANTaloons
PERKS : PERquisites
PHOTO : PHOTOgraph
POLIO : POLIOmyelitis
POP : POPular music
PREP : PREParation
PROPS : PROPerties
PUB : PUBlic house
QUAD : QUADrangle
SUB : SUBmarine
VET : VETerinary surgeon

General Knowledge - Quiz

Category : Quiz

Tickle your brain with these questions that test your General Awareness

1. What does a doctor use to hear the heart beat of person?
2. Who invented the polio vaccine?
3. What do you call the green pigment in plants?
4. Which Indian king gave up war and embraced Buddhism?
5. Which country is described as the ‘Playground of Europe’?
6. What is the strait that links the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean?
7. Where will the 2008 Olympics be held?
8. Which is the fastest land animal?
9. Who said, ‘‘A thing of beauty is a joy for ever’’.
10. Which metal is a liquid under normal conditions?
11. What is the currency of Japan?
12. What is the capital of Greece?
13. Who was the first president of U.S.A.?
14. Which one is correct : 3 and 3 are 9 or 3 and 3 is 9?
15. Where do you find the Eiffel tower?
16. What do you call the long loose robe with wide sleeves worn by the Japanese women?
17. What poisonous gas is present in the exhaust fumes of vehicles?
18. What is the national symbol of Canada?
19. Which is heavier - a ton of iron or cotton?
20. Why is hydrogen not used to fill gas balloons?

Answers

1. Stethoscope
2. Jonas Salk
   
3. Chlorophyll
4. Emperor Ashoka
5. Switzerland
6. Gibraltar Strait
7. Beizing, China
8. Cheetah
9. John Keats
10. Mercury
11. Yen
12. Athens
13. George Washington
14. Both are wrong.
15. Paris,France
16. Kimono
17. Carbon monoxide (CO)
18. Maple Leaf
19. Both weigh the same - a ton each.
20. It is inflammable.

Mathemagic - Magic Squares

Category : Maths
Magic squares are a great wonder ! Look at the Magic square No. 1.

Add the numbers in a line whichever way you like, the sum total will be 15.
For example, 8 + 1 + 6 = 15
3 + 5 + 7 = 15
1 + 5 + 9 = 15
8 + 5 + 2 = 15
Come on, check all the possibilities yourself. Don't you find it quite interesting!


Now look at the Magic Square No. 2

Add the numbers in any given line. The sum total is 65. Try all possibilities. Add horizontally, vertically and diagonally.
What did you find out? Yes, this turns to be a wonderful Magic Square!


How to construct a Magic Square? Do you like to know how you can develop such a Magic Square? Here is a simple method.
Take the instance of Magic Square No. 2.
Construct a square with 5 x 5 = 25 squares on a sheet of paper. Cut the figure on all its edges.
Write number '1' in the top mid square. Now roll the paper in such a way that the top edge meeta the bottom edge as in the picture. Move diagonally and write numbers 2 and 3.
You cannot move diagonally any further. Open the sheet and roll it again so that now the two side edges meet as shown in the second picture. Now you can continue writing numbers 4 and 5 on the other side.
When you cannot move further come down by one square and write 6. With this you can move diagonally once again and write 7 and 8. When you cannot proceed further, roll the paper so that the top and bottom edges meet again.. Continue with the same procedure. Go till number 25.

Haven't you learned how to draw a magic square! Now explain it to your friends.

Propeller driven Aeroplane

Category : Science
(Adult Supervision Required)

1. Take a metre long bamboo stick.
2. Fix a mini motor at one of its ends with a freely rotating propeller fixed to it. The propeller may be cut out of thick drawing sheet or aluminium or tin foil.
3. A battery cell of 1.5V be fixed at the other end of the stick with cellotape.
4. The battery terminals should be connected to the terminals of the motor.
5. Cut the wire somewhere at the centre to keep the cell disconnected when not in use.
6. Suspend the stick with a long thread at the centre by balancing it.
7. Now complete the circuit by joining the disconnected ends. The propeller begins to rotate. With the result there is an air-drift and the gadget begins to rotate freely, parallel to the ground.