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What is the coronavirus? A new coronavirus has broken out in China, infecting more than 4,000 people and killing 106. As authorities fight to contain the virus, experts warn that the death toll will almost certainly rise. The disease, which causes pneumonia-like symptoms, has forced Beijing to quarantine 18 major cities, essentially locking down more than 56 million people. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from a cold to more severe diseases. Typically, symptoms include a fever, fatigue, sore throat and dry cough, and may later develop into breathing difficulties. These viruses are transmitted between animals and people. This novel coronavirus, currently named 2019-nCoV, is a new strain that had not been previously identified in humans. Where and when did the infection start? The source of the coronavirus is believed to be a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The city's health commission said the infection broke out between Dec...

Chandra Grahan 2020 Chandra Grahan 2020 on January 10: All FAQs Answered: India and several other countries will not only witness the very first Lunar Eclipse (2020) of the year but also the decade that has just started, on the 10 th  of January. It will also be the Wolf Moon – first Full Moon of the year. This will also be the 1 st  of the 4 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 2020. As the Moon will drift from the Earth’s shadow tomorrow (10 th  January, Friday), Indian and many other people around the globe will be able to see this celestial spectacle. What can I expect to see in Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 2020? On January 10 night, at maximum eclipse, 90 percent of the Moon will be partially shaded by the Earth. This will cause a slight shadow across the Moon's disc. When to watch Lunar Eclipse or Chandra Grahan India Time? You can enjoy the penumbral lunar eclipse from 10:37 pm on January 10 to 2:42 am on January 11. The eclipse will last 4 hours and 5 minutes i...

My phone started buzzing with a flurry of phone calls at the stroke of midnight on 19th August and I had one standard question from almost each caller, “So, what are your birthday plans?”. With great fervour I was explaining to my friends that I’d be starting my day with a photo walk at the Theosophical Society, Adyar. I spent almost the entire night explaining to my friends whatever I knew about The Theosophical Society, the concept of Theosophy and about various clean-up activities that have been taking place to revive the Huddleston Gardens.  I reached the spot half an hour late that morning. We weren’t the only ones and we met with Vignesh and Sekar and set off to start taking photos. The Theosophical Society is a captivating place, offering you a complete retreat from the urban world. This particular morning the air was filled with the fragrance of the woods, the flowers and the moist soil owing to the recent showers. I was thoroughly confused as I started looking aro...

Forts Trekking .Rappelling / Rock climbing. Celebration. This sums up our three day journey of the famous AMK & Sandhan Valley Treks in the Nashik range of the Sahyadris, Maharashtra. Let me dissect the above three words for you! Forts Trekking : It all started with a saying “New people, new place, new experience, then you are definitely in for a new adventure!” when I signed up for this trek. Formalities at the airport by meeting the new like-minded people. Curiosity in the mind when you are travelling to a new place, especially across the coast from east to west. As per the schedule arrived at the city of dreams, Mumbai at around 1930 Hrs on Feb 22. Reached the people packed Ghatkopar railway station with a small taste of pre-trek toast, followed by the so called “Power Nap” sessions in the local train to the last station Kasara. Boarded the jeeps to reach the base camp of the AMK trek. We were briefed on the next adventures about to come by our energetic organizers...

ISKCON has more than 500 centers all over the world. The Chennai chapter of ISKCON inaugurated the present gorgeous temple at Sholinganallur on April 26, 2012. It has a lot of unique features. Find the chakras that line the body of the temple-purusha on the steps, see the avatars of the Lord governing the eight directions in attractive glass paintings and more! ISKCON Chennai is located off the East Coast Road at the Hare Krishna land, Sholinganallur. The deities worshipped in the temple include those of Radha Krishna Lalita Vishaka, Jagannath Baladev Subhadra, and Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga. Spread over an area of over 1.5 acres, the temple is constructed on five levels. There is a 7,000 sq ft temple hall on the first floor, an auditorium for cultural and spiritual programmes on the ground floor and a prasadam hall in the basement. In the temple hall, there are three teak-wood altars which house the deities of Lord Krishna with His consort Radharani and their assisting ...

A gentleman was walking through an elephant camp, and he spotted that the elephants weren’t being kept in cages or held by the use of chains. A man was walking nearby to a group of elephants that was halted by a small rope tied to their front leg. He was amazed by the fact that the huge elephants are not even making an attempt to break the rope and set themselves free. He saw an elephant trainer standing beside them and he expressed his puzzled state of mind. The trainer said “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.” Moral: It is the false belief of the elephants that denied their freedom for life time. Likewise, many people are not trying to work towards success in their life just because they failed once before. So keep on trying and don’t ...

The feeling of pride and content never fades when even the smallest effort that you put results in something to be proud and satisfied of. Its that feeling, only multiplied a gazillion times is what you get when u smell the earthy compost every time you harvest a new batch  :) It has been close to a year now since me and my hubby started Segregation and Home Composting at our home. The mission was simple. “No recyclable waste from our home should be sent to the dumpyard”. Thanks to CTC- Ainthinai, we came to know about home composting option at home using Khambha pots and we immediately jumped into the bandwagon. We started off by segregating the waste in our home into recyclable (wet/dry) and non-recyclable waste (majorly house dust, thin plastics and e-waste like batteries). The dry waste including thick milk covers, plastic bottles/containers are separated accordingly while we started composting the wet waste using 3T khambha. The first time when we harvested a ...

Tiruparappu falls originate from the Kodayar River and cascades some 50-foot down (15 meters) on to a rocky 300-foot-long (90 meters) riverbed. It is about 13 km from Pechiparai Dam. For about seven months in a year is the fall fully rapturous. The Thiruparappu dam is built on a rocky bed spanning far across the distance covering one fourth of a kilometer in the direction against the water current. Further on, water from the dam is diverted to the paddy fields for irrigation. You can enjoy a bath under the gushing water, and later take a stroll in the area to get different perspectives on the falls. The District Administration has recently constructed a swimming pool for children over here which is very popular among the children.