Look how the New Normal is changing life for our betterment

May 22, 2020, 7:25 AM

Our human lifestyle has been drastically altered by COVID-19 pandemic. The way, we moved around the city, hugged and greeted dear ones and did catch up with our friends at a cafe, worked at offices and socialised in the evenings; seems to have changed in an unexpected manner. Life, as we knew, has taken a U-turn and seriously we do not like it.

But as every black cloud has a silver lining, this pandemic also has improved a few things in the human lifestyle. Here are 3 ways the New Normal can change life for the better:

Increase of Healthy Lifestyle: People are fruitfully using their time in the lockdown by working out, doing Yoga, cooking organic food and bonding with family like never before. The forgotten hobbies are taken up again, people have a time-out from the rat race of going to the office; and so have enough time to contemplate their options and wisely plan for their futures. We learnt from the cooking videos of ace chefs and from film actors giving us free ‘How to get fit’ lessons. These are the times when we learn the true value of life and family.

Innovations and inventions: Musicians are composing music and playing it from their balconies and rooftops for the whole world to enjoy. Teachers are making extra efforts for conducting online classes in an innovative and interesting manner; and lots of free online courses are invented to sharpen your skills. Many are trying and putting up videos of new cuisines, handmade crafts, methods of meditation, etc making our lockdown time worthwhile. All in all, we humans are up with a fighting spirit devising better and faster methods for doing things; and these improvements for taking the human race forward will stay with us post Covid-19.

Less Polluted Environment: The sky has got back its blue colour, we can hear the birds chirping, deer and ducks hopping out from the forest and taking a stroll on the vehicle-less roads. And the mighty Himalayan peaks are visible from 200 kms away! It seems the earth is healing itself from the human led destruction. It seems to be undergoing the cleansing itself from the harmful toxics produced by fossil fuels giving way to a greener and healthier environment. In the coming time also, we would have relatively cleaner air, thanks to the only 33% employee attendance allowed on a given day leading to less use of transportation. We, as dwellers of planet earth, should promise ourselves to keep our environment clean and healthy. As the saying goes- ‘We do not own the earth and its resources but have borrowed it for our children’.

We have seen doctors, nurses NGOs, welfare groups and police officers working day and night for treating the patients, providing food, shelter and making our surroundings safe. This pandemic has shown us the true spirit of humanity, selflessness, duty and kindness. When these tough times are over, let us take the valuable lessons we learnt from it and leave behind the negative aspects. As this way we can build a much brighter future.

International Tea Day: History and importance of this day

EBNW Story

May 21, 2020, 12:52 PM

It’s official! Tea, one of the world’s oldest beverages, officially celebrated its day across the world on May 21!

The world, it seems, to have joined hands to celebrate the first celebration of tea, in the form of International Tea Day on Thursday as called by the United Nations.

The day was chosen as May 21 because the season of tea production starts in May in most of the tea producing countries.

The United Nations came on Twitter extending greetings on the day to mark the celebrations.

Showering praises for tea, it said, “Tea has many health benefits due to its anti-inflammatory & antioxidant properties.

On Thursday’s first #InternationalTeaDay, find out more about one of the world’s oldest beverages. https://un.org/en/observances/tea-day.”

The United Nation, earlier in 2019, did recognise the importance of one of the world’s oldest beverages.

UN, besides recognising the medicinal property of tea, has also considered tea as an important ingredient of its Sustainable Development Goal programme.

The organisation hopes that tea shall play a strong role in combating poverty and hunger across the world

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) made a start to celebrate the international Tea Day on May 21.
Earlier, on December 15, International Tea Day was celebrated but only in tea producing nations which included Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Tanzania among others.

This small village earns big laurels on global map!

EBNW Story

May 21, 2020, 11:45 AM

Bagru, a small village situated in the interiors of Rajasthan, has made a big mark on fashion industry with its patent printing process which is called as Bagru print.

The speciality of Bagru print lies in natural colours which are used diligently to allow the designs bespeak a story while being spread on a piece of cloth .

The other surprising part is the engagement of women in each household in making these designs. Sitting in clusters, they can be seen carving beautiful timeless artistry on cloth to leave a mark of their skills on it.

In fact, it is this handmade artistry of the village which has made this village earn name and fame across the globe and the travellers hence keep thronging here to take the timeless handmade art back home to gift it to their loved ones while keeping the best with them.

‘Bagru’ print is centuries old traditional art of hand block printing which has been kept alive by the artisans here.

While there is no confirm date as to when the Bagru print was originated here, but the locals say that it is a three-centuries old tradition of printing which took off with the splendid efforts of artisans.

The art is unique and is known for its indigenous printing style using natural colours with wooden blocks. Over the years, it has garnered laurels and acclaims as ’Bagru printing’.

The art proves how india pioneered in the art of dyeing and printing with natural colours and hence earned laurels in global world. Villagers say that this art is a mystery for foreigners who are unable to crack how the natural colours can be used so proficiently to make beautiful designs.

Will this mystery ever be decoded is still a question amongst the visitors here.
What do you say? Can this mystery be solved? May be, one you visit this village, you can answer it better too!

This MP stands with her people in times of need and hence remains their favourite leader

EBNW Story

May 21, 2020, 6:02 AM

She is the princess of Jaipur, but has set her roots deep and strong in the rich legacy of Rajasthan. She is also a Member of Parliament whose priority is to become voice of people from her constituency.

This MP stands with her people in times of need and hence remains their favourite leader.

Any idea whom we are talking of?

Yes, we are talking of Princess Diya Kumari who is an MP from Rajsamand.

This MP stands with her people in times of need and hence remains their favourite leader

Besides, being a doting mother, this princess has been helping thousands of underprivileged women in the state to stand firm on their feet via her NGO Princess Diya Kumari Foundation. The organisation has been scripting a success story by helping thousands of underprivileged women of Rajasthan to become self-reliant.

The main focus areas of this NGO are skill building, sustainability, promoting heritage crafts and girl education, women’s empowerment, and facilitating health programmes.

According to the Princess, “Rajasthan women are known across the globe for their entrepreneur spirit. They have taken the handcrafted legacy from the state to the global world. So this NGO helps them learn new skills,” she says.

One amongst the women who has become empowered Mother with PDKF is Kushboo who is from Aidana, a small village in Rajasthan.

She was married to an alcoholic and was subjected to regular taunts from her in-laws. Her husband would never stand up to his parent to defend her.

Coming to PDKF changed her life and empowered her. Now with her monthly financial contributions, she has earned the much needed respect of her in-laws.

I now aim to educate my children to give them a better life, she says.

Another woman, Meena is from a small village Aidana, Rajasthan. She is a determined ‘Super Mom’.

She does all the household chores and takes care of her 4 children. Aiming to provide more for her children, she is an active contributor to their household income by stitching products at PDKF.

I have been dreaming that my children will ‘make it big’ and am encouraging them to study hard for a better life, she says

Indian kitchens busy making herbal kadhaa to fight COVID-19 battle

EBNW Story

May 21, 2020, 5:55 AM

Indian kitchens busy making herbal kadhaa to fight COVID-19 battle

As the COVID-19 crisis strikes the world, the Indian kitchens these days are busy making kadha, a herbal syrup, which according to Ayurveda, boosts immunity against diseases, like swine flu, chikungunya and other seasonal ailments. It may also prove effective in strengthening the immune system against coronavirus too, says AYUSH experts.

This Ayurvedic home remedy protects you, making you stronger from within and is also effective in fighting seasonal infections, they say.

The formula being used in Indian households to make this kadha is quite simple. Mix Pipal, dry ginger and black pepper and boil it along with tulsi in one litre of water. Continue boiling it before it is reduced to half.

Once ready, it needs to be consumed when it is hot.

There is a strong trust amongst people in India about kadha that it develops immunity in human body to fight infections.

In fact, in many states of the country, kadha is also being distributed to thousands of people by Ayush department during COVID-19 crisis to boost the immunity of people.

Indra Kumar Jain, Deputy Director of the Ayurveda Department in Jaipur, says, “The kadha is made of different herbs, including ginger, jaggery, munakka and black pepper.”

“If the immune system of our body is strong, it can fight any infection. Further, as this ‘kadha’ is made of pure Ayurvedic medicines and herbs, there is no side effect, and it can be used by anyone,” he said.

The officer said, “As Coronavirus is quite new and the world remains busy finding ways to develop a medicine, we are providing ‘kadha’ that can boost immunity in fight against viruses.”

As this Ayurvedic drink can be made with herbs and spices which need to be boiled in water to extract their benefits, this kadha is being made by thousands of families in Indian Kitchens.

Being the most inexpensive home remedy, it strengthens your immunity and fight infections which is the need of the present hour.

JAS-20 coming to Jaipur from October 2-5 with all its glittery sheen

EBNW Story

May 21, 2020, 5:52 AM

JAS-20! Doesn’t this name excite you? We know it does excite all the jewellery lovers as it brings the most exquisite and pristine designs from the jewellery world right in front of you

So this year, JAS-20 is all ready to bedazzle yours eyes with its most aesthetic jewellery range as it is being organised from October 2-5 at the JETC campus at Sitapura this year.

In the wake of worldwide pandemic Covid 19, many events scheduled from March to July including the Gems and Jewellery shows have either been postponed or have been rescheduled. In the same series, Jewellers Association has rescheduled JAS-20 from October 2-5 in the ongoing year which was earlier scheduled to be held in April 2020.

Traders from Bangkok and other foreign countries besides Gems and jewellery traders from Mumbai, Gujarat, Kolkata, Delhi, Chandigarh and various parts of the state will showcase their most aesthetic jewellery designs in JAS 20 this year. JAS-19 has been a huge hit amongst the customers as well as traders for the bedazzling sheen of jewellery it brought in.

Meanwhile, the importance of JAS-20 increases many times because it will be the first jewellery show of this year to be organised in the country, said Jewellers Association Chairman Sanjay Kala and Secretary DP Khandelwal.

JAS convenor Ramsharam Gupta said that out of 350 booths, 130 booths shall display rough, as well as semiprecious and precious stones. The other 170 stalls shall showcase exquisite designs of Kundan and Meena, diamond and colour stone jewellery. The other remaining stalls shall display tools, machinery and publication related to jewellery making.

Energy healing meditation can fight smart with COVID Virus

EBNW Story

May 21, 2020, 5:51 AM

At a time when the world struggles to get out of the clutches of the COVID-19 virus, there is one question raging in the mind of each person, ‘What can be the best tool to fight the COVID-19 batte’

As this question rages in each and every person’s mind, a few patients who recently turned negative from COVID-19 positive have quoted the energy healing mediation technique as one of the significant tools in a fight against the unseen virus.

While the first patient was M.M. Ali, whose condition improved following the meditation technique in Jaipur, the other patient was from Jodhpur named M. Uttamchandani (61) who after testing positive 5 times positive turned negative soon after he followed the meditation techniques.

Ali, the first corona patient credited meditation for his quick recovery as he recovered within a week, the other patient Uttamchandani (61) came out negative on April 28 after he started practising this technique from April 22.

One Naman, an alumnus from the New York Film Academy, recently made a 95-minute film on this meditation technique which features interviews of doctors and patients.

Naman is confident that a patient’s immunity definitely improves as one starts following the meditation discipline.

At a time when coronavirus broke out, Naman sent a few clips of his film to Wuhan (China), Italy, South Korea, and to New York City.

He is in talks with the health department of USA to work out a research on this energy meditation technique.

Even in India, as the government has put out an advertisement through its science and technology department (under SATYAM) inviting research work on yoga and meditation techniques which can build immunity and fight covid-19, he has submitted his paper work for this research hoping to get the research approved.

He says, “Monitoring the recovery time from Covid-19 can be done by reviewing the amount of antibodies and healthy plasma levels in these patients, which can then give researchers a vital proof on this meditation technique’s effect on humans.

Maharani Gayatri Devi: She started a ‘pardah school’ to kill pardah system for women!

EBNW Story

May 21, 2020, 5:48 AM

Do you know there is an educational institution in Jaipur which came up as a pardah school to eradicate the pardah system from society?

This school was none other than the Maharani Gayatri Devi School which was started by the erstwhile queen of Jaipur, as a silent revolution to fight against the evil of pardah system dominating the desert region in those days.

She started this all-girls school in 1943 after feeling sad to see the plight of women covered under pardah in different parts of the region. The queen was from Cooch Behar and was quite well-educated queen, had a global outlook and a good exposure to the world. After coming to Rajasthan, she was pained to see girls spending their lives in purdah.

One fine day, Sawai Man Singh sought an advice from her queen to find a solution on girls’ education.

The queen immediately suggested a school for girls. The idea was that once girls go to a school, there will be no purdah in a few years.

Her ultimate aim was to liberate girls from the clutches of purdah system and hence she approached a few families to send their daughters to school.

The queen herself made door to door visits asking the elites to send their daughters to school since in those times, education for girls in the desert state was a novel idea.

With her hard efforts, 24 girls enrolled on the school register.

Initially, these parents were quite apprehensive of sending their daughters to schools. Hence, the queen rolled in a ‘purdah’ bus for these girl students. The bus, highly curtained, had one teacher escorting each girl into it. The curtains were quickly fastened to the bus’ windows as soon as they boarded it.

Also, the bus was divided into two parts by a curtain between the driver’s cabin and the rest of the bus. The other part of the bus was occupied by girls, teacher and the maid.

Now, the school has completed 75 years of its operations, liberating girls from the clutches of the purdah system. The girls built their own recognition and identity in diverse streams be it politics, Army, sports, art and culture and civil services, says Colonel S.S. Sangwan (Retd.), Administrative Officer of the Maharani Gayatri Devi School.

From Meira Kumar to Savitri Candy to Apurvi Chandela, this school continues churning out new talents which are making a mark on the global map.

Taragarh Fort in Ajmer bespeaks sagas of fierce battles

EBNW Story

May 14, 2020, 12:53 AM

Overlooking the city of Ajmer is the spectacular fort of Taragarh, whose ruins tell sagas of fierce battles fought amidst its high walls and the ravery of its valour knights. It is an outstanding example of Rajasthani style of architecture. The great Chauhan clan king Ajaypal constructed this massive structure on a steep hill in 1354 A.D. as his stronghold. Being on a strategic location, this high-walled fort was used for military purposes by Chauhan rulers, Mughal emperors and even by the British as their sanatorium. An intelligent feature of this fort was its secret tunnels that crisscrossed the entire b hill side. These secret passages allowed the king and his ministers to evacuate the fort and flee towards the hilly forest to avoid imminent danger from their enemies. But unfortunately maps of
these fascinating tunnels are lost.
Sprawling on a hillock, Taragarh gives a fantastic panoramic view of the city of Ajmer. No wonder it’s an adventurous tourist attraction and a favorite spot for photography! Let’s us now tell you about the 5 unique features of this hill fort.

Taragarh Fort in Ajmer bespeaks sagas of fierce battles — Taragarh Fort stands strong bespeaking many interesting tales

1. Huge Gateways: You will find 3 major mammoth entrance gates of the fort but unfortunately major part of them lies in ruins today. They were named as Laxman Pol, Phuta Darwaja and Gagudi Phatak. These impressive gates were of good height with thick walls that could fail all the efforts of the enemy to conquer the fort. A beautiful embellished stone sculpture of elephants will greet you at the front entrance.
2. Stone Water Reservoir: Large water reservoirs were meticulously carved out of base rocks of the fort. They could store gallons and gallons of water which was used for drinking and public welfare works during the draught times. An interesting fact is that if all the water was released at the same time the houses at the foot hills would wash away.
3. Bhim Burj Battlement: A massive battlement tower is situated in the fort complex which houses the super large canon called ‘Garbh Gunjan’. Being the proud second largest canon in India it attracts a lot of tourists. This canon made noise like a heavy thunder and could be heard till miles away. Even the soldier igniting it had to run away to save his eardrums.
4. Miran Saheb ki Dargha: This shrine is dedicated to the brave governor of the fort who died while defending Taragarh against a strong enemy invasion. Miran Sahib was an ace military general full of love for his motherland. People come here and pay their respect to this great
warrior.
5. Rani Mahal: This palace was built to house the queens and concubines of the rulers. The ladies of the royal household lived a life of luxury within its murals painted walls and stained glass windows. But presently it has lost its shine and charm but you can still get glimpses of its glorious past by its charismatic ruins.
We would say in the end that do get you camera lenses ready when you set out to explore the
magnificent ruins of this towering fort.

1...779780781 782 Page 780 of 782