Chhau Dance

• With origins shrouded in mystery, the Chhau dancer communicates inner emotions and themes through cadences of body flexions, movements and kinetic suggestions. 
• The word Chhau is interpreted differently by scholars. ‘Shadow’, 
• ‘Disguise’ and ‘Image’ are the most common interpretations due to the extensive use of masks in this dance form. 
• The martial movements of Chhau have led to another interpretation of the word as meaning ‘to attack stealthily’ or ‘to hunt’.
• Three styles of Chhau exist born from the three different regions of Seraikella (Bihar), Purulia (West Bengal), and Mayurbhanj (Orissa). 
• Martial movements, strong rhythmic statements and dynamic use of space are characteristic of Chhau. 
• Seraikella Chhau flourished under royal patronage. Its vigorous martial character made it suitable only for male dancers.
• The princes were not only patrons but also dancers, teachers and mask-making experts.
• The Seraikella masks are similar to those used in the Noh dance of Japan and the Wayang Wong of Java.
• Purulia Chhau uses masks which is a highly developed craft in the region. The barren land with its tribal inhabitants and multi-layered influences of Vedic literature, Hinduism and martial folk-lore have all combined to shape the Purulia Chhau dances which have only one message - the triumph of good over evil. 
• Mayurbhanj Chhau has highly developed movements, no masks and a more chiselled vocabulary than the other two Chhau styles. Like Seraikella Chhau, it had also thrived under royal patronage and is considered a link between the earthy Indian dance movements and the flying, springing elevations of Western dance. 
• Unlike other Indian Classical dance forms, vocal music in Chhau hardly exists! Instrumental music and a variety of drums like the Dhol, Dhumba, Nagara, Dhansa and Chadchadi provide the accompaniment. Combining folk, tribal and martial traditions and yet covering the three aspects of Nritta, Nritya and Natya as well as the Tandava and Lasya aspects of classical dance, the Chhau dances are complex combinations of Folk and Classical motifs.

The Chhau dance is indigenous to the eastern part of India. It originated as a martial art and contains vigourous movements and leaps. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many of the princely rulers of the Orissa region took a keen interest in the development of this art. They maintained troupes that performed on special occasions and festivals.

• Some Chhau dances use large stylized masks. The depiction of birds and animals is a distinctive feature. There are also heroic dances with sword, bow or shield, with which dancers demonstrate their dexterity. In keeping with the martial origins of Chhau, some of the themes include the depiction of mythological heroes, such as Parashurama, Mahadev, Indrajit and others, from the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics. Over the course of time, female characters and more diverse themes were added.
  There are three recognized schools or styles of Chhau. These are the Seraikella, Purulia and Mayurbhanj varieties. Mayurbhanj Chhau dancers do not wear masks. In recent times, Mayurbhanj Chhau has become popular as a medium of choreography, with its wide range of postures and movements that adapt well to modern as well as traditional treatment.

Keystone species are important in determining the ability of a large number of other species to persist in the community. 

Allopatric species: species occupying mutually exclusive geographical areas. 

Sympatric species: different species that live in the same area but are prevented from successfully reproducing by a reproductive isolating mechanism. 

Threatened species: May become endangered species in the near future, if proper protection measures were not taken up.

Chakiarkoothu

Chakiarkoothu
 

• This dance form is believed to have been introduced to Kerala by the early Aryan immigrants & is performed only by the members of the Chakiar caste. 

• A highly orthodox type of entertainment, it can be staged inside temples only & witnessed by the Hindus of the higher castes. 

• The theatre is known as Koothambalam. 
• The story is recited in a quasi-dramatic style with emphasis on eloquent declarations with appropriately suggestive facial expressions & hand gestures. 
• The only accompaniments are the cymbals & the drum known as the mizhavu, made of copper with a narrow mouth on which is stretched a piece of parchment. 

source: http://www.indian-heritage.org/dance/dncefrms.htm

Indira Gandhi Canal

Indira Gandhi Canal

The Indira Gandhi Canal is the longest canal in India and the largest irrigation project in the world.

Indira Gandhi Canal is 649 km long and consists of Rajasthan feeder canal and Rajasthan main canal and runs through 167 km in Punjab and Haryana and remaining 492 km in Rajasthan.

 The canal is one of the project of Green revolution in India and also runs through The Great Thar Desert.

Khatbandi system

Up to the middle of the 18th century, the weavers appear to have enjoyed independence and freedom to sell their products to the English, the French or the Dutch or to the Indian merchants.

From 1750s, the gomastas (agents of British dependent on commission paid by the English as a percentage on the value of cloth collected by these agents) began to compel weavers to sell their products to the English.

The elimination of the French and the Dutch from competition by military means helped the process.

The weavers were bullied and harassed by the Factors, through the agency of Gomastas, to accept advance and to produce cloth.

In the 1780s this practice became systematised as the Khatbandi system: the artisans were indentured to sell exclusively to the Company under Regulations passed by the Bengal government.

Particulate matter

Particulate matter is the sum of all solid and liquid particles suspended in air many of which are hazardous. 

• This complex mixture includes both organic and inorganic particles, such as dust, pollen,soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. 
• These particles vary greatly in size, composition, and origin.

Particle size matter:-

The aerodynamic properties of particles determine how they are transported in air and how they can be removed from it. 

These properties also govern how far they get into the air passages of the respiratory system. Additionally, they provide information on the chemical composition and the sources of particles.

Particles have irregular shapes and their aerodynamic behaviour is expressed in terms of the diameter of an idealised sphere. 

The sampling and description of particles is based on this aerodynamic diameter, which is usually simply referred to as ‘particle size’. 

Particles having the same aerodynamic diameter may have different dimensions and shapes. Some airborne particles are over 10,000 times bigger than others in terms of aerodynamic diameter.

Based on size, particulate matter is often divided into two main groups:

• The coarse fraction contains the larger particles with a size ranging from 2.5 to 10 µm (PM₁₀ - PM_2.5).
• The fine fraction contains the smaller ones with a size up to 2.5 µm (PM_2.5). The particles in the fine fraction which are smaller than 0.1 µm are called ultrafine particles.

How are particles formed?

Coarse particles are produced by the mechanical break-up of larger solid particles. The coarse fraction can include dust from roads, agricultural processes, uncovered soil or mining operations, as well as non-combustible materials released when burning fossil fuels. Pollen grains, mould spores, and plant and insect parts can also contribute to the coarse fraction. Finally, evaporation of sea spray can produce large particles near coasts.

Fine particles are largely formed from gases. Ultrafine particles (up to 0.1 µm) are formed by nucleation, which is the initial stage in which gas becomes a particle. These particles can grow up to a size of 1 µm either through condensation, when additional gas condensates on the particles, or through coagulation, when two or more particles combine to form a larger particle. Particles produced by the intermediate reactions of gases in the atmosphere are called secondary particles.

• Combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and petrol can produce
• coarse particles from the release of non-combustible materials such as fly ash,
• fine particles from the condensation of materials vaporized during combustion, and
• secondary particles through the atmospheric reactions of sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides initially released as gases.