Month: September 2019

Ganesh Chathurthi

Ganesh Chathurthi is a lively seven- to ten-day long festival to worship the elephant-headed Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom and success. The festival is especially colorful in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, and is the best-known event in Mumbai. Everyone pays homage to huge clay images of Ganesh, and he is also propitiated with street performances, competitions, processions, and yoga demonstrations. In Mumbai, at the end of the week of celebration, an image is taken to the sea and immersed to ensure prosperity for both land and water. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Jewels of the Sea

Among the most important and prolific sea creatures, diatoms are unicellular algae that exist singly but can join to form colonies. Characterized by a silica shell of often intricate and beautiful sculpturing, they are found in fresh and salt water, in moist soil, and on moist plant surfaces. As the principal constituent of plankton, diatoms are an important food source for many aquatic animals. The shells of dead aquatic diatoms form what sedimentary material used in the making of dynamite? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Belle Époque

French for “beautiful era,” the belle époque was a period of relative political stability and artistic and cultural refinement between the late 19th century and the start of WWI, especially in France. The era was viewed as a golden age among European powers, a period characterized by new technologies and luxuries, including changes in transportation, fashion, and the arts. Champagne was perfected during this period, and haute couture was invented. What modernist authors emerged during this era? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary