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