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No Smoking Day  is an annual health awareness day in the United Kingdom which is intended to help smokers who want to quit smoking. The first  No Smoking Day was on Ash Wednesday in 1984 and it now takes place on the second Wednesday in March.It is celebrated in communities across the world trying to educate more people every year. Each year there is a new short them that can be used in advertising and media to help get the word out.Each year, the campaign is promoted with a theme in the form of a short phrase. In India, people adore smoking, in particular the youth. Media and cinema often play the role in glamorizing the habit. Credit: Google However it is a fact the smoking makes one more vulnerable to host of disorders which could be life threatening. These include cancer, cardiovascular disorders or even paralysis. How does smoking damage your heart? When one begins to smoke, nicotine renders an effect on the brain with an immediate effect. Nicotine is the very chemical that makes...

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally known as the Commonwealth, and historically the British Commonwealth, is a unique political association of 53 member states, nearly all of them former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth was created in the early 1900s when nations that were formerly a part of the British Empire began to secede with its main goal being easing the process of British decolonization. The current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which modernised the community, and established the member states as ‘free and equal’. Leaders of member countries shape Commonwealth policies and priorities. Every two years, they meet to discuss issues affecting the Commonwealth and the wider world at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). All members have an equal say – regardless of size or economic stature. This ensures even the smallest member countries have a voice in shaping the Commonwealth. Members countr...

The  Grand Trunk Road is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads — founded around 3rd century BCE by the Mauryan Empire of ancient India.The Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE) was flourishing under Chandragupta in the 3rd century BC, extending from the modern day Bangladesh in the East to Afghanistan in the West. As trade gained momentum in this vast empire, Chandragupta built a road from Taxila in Pakistan to Khorasan in Afghanistan and Patiliputra (Patna). The road, called Uttarpath (northern road) during the Mauryan era, was used by traders and invaders alike. Records show that Chandragupta appointed men especially to maintain this grand road.As long and far-reaching as Uttarpath was, it wasn’t developed into a highway until the 16th century. Sher Shah Suri, the Pashtun emperor who took over the reigns of the Mughal Empire in 1538 AD started developing this highway. He extended it from Chittagong in the east to Kabul in the West. Sher Shah Suri was the original architect of the ...

Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy is a former Indian President.He was born on May 19, 1913 in Anantapur district,Andhra Pradesh.He was the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the Indian independence movement.he went on to hold several key offices in independent India—as the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, a two-time Speaker of the Lok Sabha and a Union Minister—before becoming the youngest-ever Indian president. He came from a respectable and well-to-do family.He had his early education at Adyar, Madras, and then at the Arts College at Anantapur. He gave up his studies to participate in the freedom struggle launched by Mahatma Gandhi. He first took part in the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1931. Within a few short years he came to national prominence as an influential peasant leader. He participated in various struggles against the British and was imprisoned several times. He took an active part ...

Omar Khayam or Abu'l Fath Omar ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam, the famous Persian mathematician Omar Khayyam was b orn in 18 May 1048, Neyshabur, Iran . He was best known for his work on the classification and solution of cubic equations. Apart from his maths skills, he was also a well-known astronomer and poet. Born in Nishapur in northeastern Iran, Khayyam spent most of his life near the court of the Karakhanid and Seljuq rulers in the period which witnessed the First Crusade. His work on the classification and solution of cubic equations is phenomenal of those times as he had provided geometric solutions by the intersection of cones. In simpler terms, he was the one who gave us a general idea of the ways a cubic equation could be solved. Khayyam was first to give a general method for solving cubic equations. Although he didn’t consider negative roots, his methods were sufficient to find geometrically all real (positive or negative) roots of cubic equations. He was the one who discovered...

Buddha Purnima festival is celebrated every year in the Hindi month of Vaishakha to commemorate the birth anniversary, Enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana (death anniversary) of the Gautama Buddha. Although, the real date of his birth and death is unknown however, it is estimated by many historians between 563-483 BC. He was born in the Lumbini, Nepal to the King Shuddhodana (King of Kapilvastu) and Queen Maya Devi and died at his 80 in the Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. Bodh Gaya, Lumbini, Kushinagar and Sarnath has become the most important pilgrimage sites for the Buddhists as these places are deeply attached to the life of Gautama Buddha. Bodh Gaya is the place where Gautama Buddha obtained the Enlightenment after many years of Tapa, Sarnath is the place where he first taught the Dharma, Lumbini is his birth place and Kushinagar is death place. The day of celebration of Buddha Purnima varies from year to year. According to the Gregorian calendar, Buddha Purnima falls every year from the ...

The International Day of Families is observed on the 15th of May every year. The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993.The International Day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families. A wide range of events are organized at local, national and international levels. These include: workshops, seminars and policy meeting for public officials; exhibitions and organized discussions to raise awareness of the annual theme; educational sessions for children and young people; and the launch of campaigns for public policies to strengthen and support family units. In some countries, tool kits are created to help people organize celebrations aimed at a particular section of the population, such as school children or young adults.

Mother's Day is celebrated in honor of the mothers. It is celebrated every year on 2nd Sunday of May. Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day suggested the idea of celebrating Mother's Day in honor of mothers and motherhood in 1907. She succeeded in making this nationally recognized in 1914. On this day people used to honor their mothers who have a great contribution in their lives and for whom they exist in this world. Everyone has their own way to celebrate Mother's day. Some people give cards, gifts or flowers to their mothers, some prefer to dine out and some prefer to spend the whole day with their mothers. Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants in the USA and according to Hallmark, each Mother's Day around 162 million greeting cards are sent, making it the third largest card-sending holiday in the world. Whatever the way, the soul aim of this day is to thanks the mothers for everything they have done and make them feel very special. M...

We are all astronomers — after all, the sky is right above us, and it’s free to observe. But while the sky is ideally accessible to all, encroaching light pollution has made it more difficult to truly enjoy the Moon, planets, and stars, let alone deeper sky objects. Astronomy Day is a world-wide event observed each spring and fall. Local astronomical societies, planetariums, museums, and observatories will be sponsoring public viewing sessions, presentations, workshops, and other activities to increase public awareness about astronomy and our wonderful universe. This is an annual event intended to provide a means of interaction between the general public and various astronomy enthusiasts, groups and professionals. This event was started in 1973 by Doug Berger, the president of the Astronomical Association of Northern California. His intent was to set up various telescopes in busy urban locations so that passersby could enjoys views of the heavens. Since then the event has expanded and ...

Rabindranath Tagore was born as Robindronath Thakur and also known by his sobriquets  Gurudev , Kabiguru , and  Biswakabi , was a Bengali polymath, poet, musician, and artist from the Indian subcontinent. He was born as Robindronath Thakur on May 7, 1861. A poet, musician and artist, the Bengali polymath gave the world "Gitanjali", a beautiful collection of sensitive Bengali poems which won him a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. He also composed our national anthem - "Jana Gana Mana". Rabindranath Tagore is famous by many names - Gurudev, Kabiguru, Biswakabi and often referred as "the Bard of Bengal". While the talented Tagore wrote novels, essays, short stories, travelogues, dramas and songs, he is best known for his poetry. Some of Rabindranath Tagore's best known works, apart from Gitanjali, include Gora (Fair-Faced) and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World), Chokher Bali, Kabuliwallah, The Postmaster and Shesher Kabita, among others. He is India...

Wоrld Red Croѕs Dау іѕ obsеrved оn 8th оf Mау evеry yеаr tо commеmоrate the bіrth annіverѕary оf the founder of thе Rеd Crosѕ, Mr Jеаn Hеnry Dunant.who had generated the Red Cross Committee of the International (ICRI) in 1863 in Switzerland, Geneva. He was born in May 8, 1828 and was also the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.World Red Cross Day, also known as World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day .This date is a gentle nod to all the volunteers who have made unparalleled contribution to people in duress or need.The day is celebrated annually to reduce the suffering of people and enabling them to lead a dignified life. It is celebrated by Red Cross Organisations across the world by helping people with independence, humanity, impartiality, universality, unity and neutrality - the fundamental principles of the organisation. In India World Red Crоss Daу iѕ сelеbrated bу organizіng variety оf evеnts and progrаmmеs аt many рlacеs to helр pеoрle free of cоst. 50 vоlunteеrs arе enrоlled by th...

The International Day for Monuments and Sites also known as World Heritage Day is an international observance held on 18 April each year around the world with different types of activities, including visits to monuments and heritage sites, conferences, round tables and newspaper articles. Some heritage site in India Nalanda Mahavihara, Bihar Nalanda is the 5th century university of the Indian subcontinent. It was the centre for transmitting knowledge for over an uninterrupted period of 800 years. "The historical development of the site testifies to the development of Buddhism into a religion and the flourishing of monastic and educational traditions," Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam Sprawled over an area of 42,996 hectares in the flood plains of the Brahmaputra River's south bank, Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a national park in 1974. The sanctuary is home to the largest population of the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros. It was then declared a World Her...

World Heritage Day every year is observed on April 18 to celebrate and promote the cultural heritage across the world, thanks to the efforts of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). The ICOMOS, in 1982, suggested that April 18 be celebrated as the International Day for Monuments and Sites and UNESCO approved the proposal the next year during its 22nd General Conference. Hence, it is crucial to protect and preserve these sites which will only be achieved through efforts of combined efforts of the international community.I COMOS says the "essential aspect is to mark this day so that it becomes not only a day to celebrate your National Heritage but also a day of International Solidarity in favor of strengthening and safeguarding Heritage world-wide." Heritage and Tourism in India The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has recognised 35 World Heritage Sites in India. UNESCO had inscribed Nalanda Mahavihara or old Nalanda...

Smriti Irani born as Smriti Malhotra in 23 March 1976 in a cross-cultural middle class family in Delhi to a Punjabi father and a Bengali mother.Smriti was the eldest among three sisters. To help her family financially she started working after class 10 and earned Rs 200 a day by the promotion of a beauty product. But destiny had something else in store for her. The world of glamour attracted her and she decided to break free from the middle-class norms. She decided to participate in the Miss India contest in 1998 but could not reach the finals. Finally she decided to go to Mumbai and try her luck. To support herself financially, she worked at McDonald's. In the meantime, she started giving auditions in the entertainment industry.In 2001, Smriti married a Parsi entrepreneur named Zubin Irani. The couple has two children - a son Zohr who was born in October 2001. Two years later, the couple was blessed with a daughter who was named as Zoish. Political Career In the year 2003, Smriti...

Vsco da Gama was born around 1460. Da Gama sailed from Lisbon on July 8, 1497, with a crew of 170 men. He arrived at Calicut (now Kozhikode) on May 20, 1498. Da Gama set sail on the first European voyage to India, more than 500 years ago on July 8.On his journey, he made stops at Mozambique, Mombasa and Malindi. His voyage opened the first all-water trade route between Europe and Asia. Some facts about Portuguese navigator and his journey: His father was the Governor of Sines, Portugal Teixeira de Aragao, a Portuguese historian, suggested that he studied at the inland town of Evora, where he learned mathematics and navigation It has also been claimed that he studied under the astrologer and astronomer, Abraham Zacuto On July 8, 1497, Vasco da Gama led a fleet of four ships with a crew of 170 men from Lisbon The four ships sailed a distance of more than 10,000 kilometres for over three months Vasco da Gama spent March 2 to March 29, in the year 1498, in the district of...

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 192 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), the roots of which were planted at the 1873 Vienna International Meteorological Congress. Established by the ratification of the WMO Convention on 23 March 1950, WMO became the specialised agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences a year later. The Secretariat, headquartered in Geneva, is headed by the Secretary-General. Its  supreme body is the World Meteorological Congress. How many members of wmo WMO has 186 Member States and 6 Member Territories. Members are divided into six regions: Region I: Africa Region II: Asia Region III: South America Region IV: North America, Central America and the Caribbean Region V: South-West Pacific Region VI: Europe Vision, Mission, Strategic Priori...

The  World Meteorological Organization  ( WMO ) is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 192 Member States and Territories.Its headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.World Meteorological Day is held annually on 23 March. It followed on from the International Meteorological Organization, founded in 1873,  a non-governmental organization. Reforms of status and structure were proposed from the 1930s, culminating in the World Meteorological Convention signed on 11 October 1947 which came into force on 23 March 1950. It formally became the World Meteorological Organization on 17 March 1951, and was designated as a specialized agency of the United Nations. Class system of  WMO: The World Meteorological Congress, the supreme body of the Organization, determines policy. Each member state and territory is represented by a Permanent Representative with WMO when Congress meets every four years. Congress elects the President and Vice-Presidents of the Organization and members of ...

Before the cyclone Remain calm and ignore rumours Keep your mobile phones charged Use SMS Stay tuned to the news for weather updates Store documents and other valuables in waterproof containers Prepare an emergency kit Carry out repairs at home Don't leave sharp objects loose Untie cattle or other animals During/after the cyclone (if indoors) Switch off electrical mains, gas supply Keep doors and windows shut If your house is unsafe, leave early before the onset of the cyclone Listen to a radio/transistor Drink boiled/chlorinated water Rely only on official warnings During/after the cyclone (if outdoors) Don't enter damaged buildings Watch out for broken electric poles, wires, other sharp objects Seek a safe shelter ASAP For fishermen Keep a radio set with extra batteries handy Keep boats/rafts tied in a safe place Don't venture out to sea.

cyclone Fani (pronounced as Foni) is gaining strength over southeast Bay of Bengal and will soon develop into an "extremely severe cyclonic" storm. The name for this cyclone was suggested by Bangladesh. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has devised a mechanism where countries submit a list of names from time to time. Names of cyclones are chosen from this pool. For tropical cyclones developing in the North Indian Ocean, countries like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan and Thailand send their names to the regional tropical cyclone committee. At present, all eight countries have submitted eight names each for naming future cyclones. The name Fani was chosen from this list containing 64 names. Rare sighting of two Tropical Cyclones aligned along the same longitude, Fani (north) and Lorna (south) on Meteosat-8 Tropical Airmass RGB. The word Fani (pronounced as Foni) means snake. Last year Cyclone Titli hit Andhra Pradesh and parts of Odisha...

Cyclones were usually not named. The tradition started with hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, where tropical storms that reach sustained wind speeds of 39 miles per hour were given names. (Incidentally, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones are all the same, just different names for tropical storms in different parts of the world; Hurricane in the Atlantic, Typhoon in the Pacific and Cyclone in the Indian Ocean). If the storm's wind speed reaches or crosses 74 mph, it is then classified into a hurricane/cyclone/typhoon. Tropical storms are given names and they retain the name if they develop into a cyclone/hurricane/typhoon. When did we start naming Cyclones? Names have been given to Atlantic storms for the past few hundreds of years. Initially, people living in the Caribbean Islands would name the storms after the saint of the day from the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar for the day on which the hurricane/cyclone occurred. The tradition continued till World War II, when forecasters an...

When a cyclone is formed over the sea, it generates strong winds along it. These winds have the potential to generate storm surges. A storm surge is an abnormal rise in the sea level due to a storm (cyclone, hurricane etc). A storm surge becomes dangerous because it has the potential to flood low-lying areas along the coast. It can drown humans and animals, destroy infrastructure and damage environment by eroding beaches, flooding vegetation, among others. The second dame-causing aspect of cyclones is the strong winds that are generated by the storm. These strong winds that accompany cyclones can uproot trees, electricity poles, shatter houses etc. This is a common phenomenon in the United States of America which regularly weathers strong hurricanes. The third aspect with cyclones is their ability to cause sudden, heavy and prolonged rain in the affected areas. This causes floods in rivers, pollutes drinking water and if combined with storm surge, it becomes a double whammy. Unfortunat...

Data on cyclones that hit India over the past 126 years also back this theory. On analysing IMD data we find that between 1891 and 2017, India weathered 305 cyclones that were classified as severe and above.Of these, 75 per cent were generated in the Bay of Bengal basin. Another peculiarity with the Bay of Bengal is that it is known for its potential in generating dangerous high storm tides. When these tides and cyclonic storms coincide, it becomes a major killer. According to the India Meteorological Department, "Out of 10 recorded cases of very heavy loss of life (ranging from about 40,000 to well over 2,00,000) in the world due to tropical cyclones, nine cases were in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea." Five of these were in Bangladesh, three in India and one in Myanmar.In fact, IMD says that the world's highest recorded storm tide measuring 45 feet occurred in this region. It was way back in 1876 during the Bakherganj cyclone near Meghna Estuary, Bangladesh. REGIO...

The Indian subcontinent experiences cyclones from two basins: the Bay of Bengal basin and the Arabian Sea basin. Of the two, more cyclones are generated in the Bay of Bengal and cyclones here have also been more severe than the one generated over the Arabian Sea. One of the reasons why tropical cyclones are more prone to the Bay of Bengal is that its surface temperature is more than that of the Arabian Sea. Tropical cyclones generally need a temperature of around 28 degrees Celsius. The Bay of Bengal is more conducive to this than the Arabian Sea. Cyclonic storms originating in the Bay of Bengal have been more dangerous than those hitting the western coast of India from the Arabian Sea.According to the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) of the central government, India's east coast is one of the six most cyclone prone areas in the world. A total of 84 coastal districts in 13 states and Union Territories are cyclone-affected. East vs West cyclone Cyclones hit Indian co...

Cyclone Fani, which has been classified as an extremely severe cyclone (ESC).Generally, extremely severe cyclones hit India's east coast in the post-monsoon season (October-December). IMD data on cyclones that hit India between 1965 and 2017 show that the country has weathered 39 extremely severe cyclones in these 52 years. Of these, nearly 60 per cent (23) were between October and December. The cyclones are classified as severe (MSW of 48-63 knots), very severe (MSW of 64-89 knots), extremely severe (MSW of 90-119 knots) and super cyclonic storm (MSW of 120 knots or more). One knot is equal to 1.8 kmph. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) classifies cyclones on the basis of the maximum sustained surface wind speed (MSW) they generate.cyclone Fani, which has been classified as an extremely severe cyclone (ESC), is the 10th such cyclone to hit India in May in past 52 years. Data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) show that the last time an extremely severe cyclone ...

A cyclone  is a large scale air massthat rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure.  Cyclones are characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate about a zone of low pressure. The cyclones are classified on the basis of the maximum sustained surface wind speed (MSW) they generate as severe (MSW of 48-63 knots), very severe (MSW of 64-89 knots), extremely severe (MSW of 90-119 knots) and super cyclonic storm (MSW of 120 knots or more). One knot is equal to 1.8 kmph. Structure of cyclone There are a number of structural characteristics common to all cyclones. A cyclone is a low-pressure area. A cyclone's center is the area of lowest atmospheric pressure in the region.The pressure in the center of the cyclone compared to the pressure outside the cyclone ( pressure gradient force ) and the force from the Coriolis effect must be in an approximate balance, or the cyclone would collapse on itself as a result of the difference in pressure. Formation of cyclone The init...