The tree of life Ahmedabad’s famous SidiSaiyyed mosque was built in 1571 by Ahmed Shah’s Abyssinian slave, SidiSaiyyed. The intricate stone tracery of the windows is typical of the Indo-Saracenic style. In one of the windows, the latticework depicts the tree of life, which is...
Moonrise and sunset on the same horizon The only place in India where the sun can be seen setting as the moon rises on the same horizon is at Kanyakumari on a full moon night. Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India, is not just well...
Rajasthan forts were declared as world heritage sites Six forts – Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Jaisalmer, Ranthambhore (Sawai Madhopur), Gagaron (Jhalawar) and Amber (Jaipur) – were recognised as World Heritage Sites in June 2013. ‘Enclosed within defensive walls are major urban centres, palaces, trading centres that often...
A game of virtues and vice The Sanskrit term for the board game, known today as SaanpSeedi or Snakes and Ladders, is Mokshapat. Originating in India centuries ago, it was played with cowries and dice. Created by the 13th-century poet-saint, Gyandev, to teach children the...
Indian private craft on the moon in 2016 Team Indus, a Delhi-based aerospace research team, was awarded $1 million in the Google Lunar XPrize, for having successfully completed a test of their landing system. It was among five out of 29 teams to be awarded...
Why do kettles whistle? It is presumed that kettles produce a ‘whistle’ because of the vibrations that are produced by built-up steam. Indian aeroacoustics scientist and a lecturer at the University of Cambridge Engineering Department, Anurag Agarwal, and his student Ross Henrywood have identified the...
Purifying water with waste Ramakrishna Mallampati, a Ph.D. student at the University of Singapore, has developed the first water purification technique that removes pollutants using apple and tomato peels. Mallampati discovered that apple and tomato peel not only removes contaminants but also dissolves chemicals, dyes,...
Tvilight zone Dutch Indian designer Chintan Shah has invented a technology for ‘smart street lamps, ‘Tvilights’, which glow brightly only when they sense the presence of people, bicycles, or cars, slashing energy costs by almost 80 percent. They dim on their own otherwise. The technology...
One minute mobile phone charger Most teenagers worldwide perhaps have complaints about constantly charging their phones. In 2013, EeshaKhare of Saratoga, USA, did something about it and ended up winning the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award along with $50,000. Indian-origin Khare was awarded for inventing...
Tetra pack marvel On May 7, 2013, the International Telecommunication Union awarded 13-year-old AarushiNairofSardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi, for her design of a recyclable tetra pack that will present a cure for diarrhea. It can hold 350ml of safe drinking water and has a separate...
