Dinosaur eggs found in TN, say geologists

The discovery of hundreds of fossilised dinosaur eggs in Tamil Nadu at a nesting site by a Periyar University team triggered excitement on Thursday among Indian geologists who called it an “exciting find”.

The find — probably the first in South India — underneath a stream in the Cauvery river basin region in a tiny village in Ariyalur district near Tiruchirapalli has taken geologists by surprise since the vicinity of Jabalpur in MP is generally considered the richest dinosaur field in the country.

The samples of the fossilised eggs which may be 65 million years old and found from what is believed to be the country’s largest dinosaur nesting site have been sent to Germany for further research and further verification.

“We went to Ariyalur district based on the information we had. Upon investigation we found these dinosaur eggs in holes. Soon we found them in clusters and realised that these might have been nests,” Ramkumar, head of the Geology Department, Periyar University, told reporters.

Research scholars, archaeologists and geologists of the Salem-based University were involved in the hunt for India’s largest Jurassic nest.

Each egg was about 13 to 20 cm in diameter and they were lying in sandy nests which were of the size of 1.25 metres, Ramkumar said, adding, the spherical eggs in clusters of seven to eight were strewn all over a 2 sq km area.

“It is an exciting find and opens up several exciting possibilities,” said Prof A D Ahluwalia of Punjab University, Chandigarh. He did not doubt the genuiness of the find since it was traced by geologists from the area. He however said it is for the scientists to confirm they were dinosaur eggs.

The researchers have requested the Ariyalur district administration to cordon off the site since a similar discovery in Jabalpur led to a plunder of the fossilized treasure.

“We found clusters and clusters of spherical eggs of dinosaurs. And each cluster contained eight eggs,” Ramkumar said.

The eggs were believed to be from both, an aggressive, predatory dinosaur Carnosaur, and Sauropods, long-necked herbivores that became extremely large. Fossils of these reptiles were found on earlier expeditions but this is the first time so many nests and so many clusters of eggs were found, he added.

On September 12 this year, Ramkumar and his research students went to Ariyalur to scour the rocks and sediments as part of a study funded by Indian and German scientific institutions. As they paused by a stream on a grazing land at Sendurai, they found spherical-shaped fossils peeping out of the sand beds. “We got really excited. As I have seen a dinosaur egg, I was sure these were dinosaur eggs,” said Ramkumar.

This is probably the first nesting site in South India that has been traced near Ariyalur, he said, adding the dinosaurs used to come here to lay eggs every year.

Ramkumar said the photographs of these eggs were sent to a research centre at Pudiyarturiyal and to Dr Kelmer of the International Dinosaur Research Centre. Details received from all the research centres confirmed these as dinosaur eggs, he said.

Some eggs were found in linear pattern, as the dinosaurs could have laid them while walking. Six km away, bones have also been unearthed. The team found many clusters of fossilised eggs, casts of eggs, dung and bones of dinosaurs.

Geologists deduce that occurrences of flash floods immediately after the nesting season might have buried the eggs.

Durga Puja Celebrations

Durga Puja is Celebrated on 27 th September all over India… ( Eighth Day of Navarathri in south india is called as DURGASTAMI…) DURGA is also Known as “KOTRAVAI” in Tamil. Let the Blessing of Durga Ma shower on us!!!!

People gathering in beautifully decorated pandal for puja to Praise Godess DURGA.

The celebration of Durga Puja goes very far back in history and there are abundant references to it in India literature from 12th century onwards. However, today Durga Puja is generally a community festival. The Puja celebration over the years has changed color often. Earlier, it was the most expensive of all festivals and could only be performed by the rich and the powerful like feudal lords, rajas and big businessmen. However, it always evoked great enthusiasm and popular support.

But in today’s ethos, The evolution of many clubs, associations and societies has made the Puja cosmopolitan in character. The social and ritualistic significance of the Puja has also been modified to a great degree. Today, this festival has become an occasion for pageantry and extravaganza. Age-old conch shells and drums have given way to loud film songs and sometimes the goddess is modeled on popular film actresses. On the flip side, animal sacrifices, a must earlier, have been dispensed with at many places and shrines.

While earlier Durga was worshiped alone, now it is, more often than not, the goddess with her family. Durga is portrayed as the supreme head; and the presence of Ganesha, Kartikeya, Shiva etc marks a wholesome picture of divinity. In southern India celebrations constitute a display of images of God and toys at home for nine days. But despite the various ways in which this festival is celebrated the feature that is common is that of the worship of the mother goddess.

A tribute to YSR , Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

The sudden demise of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy shattered the hopes of Congress Party and the people of the state. Reddy was always known for his commitment and innovative schemes for poor and farmers.

THE HOPE of the Congress party and that of the people of Andhra Pradesh was shattered with the sudden demise of YS Rajasekhara Reddy. A man of commitment and compassion, Reddy was a masses man and was always coming up with schemes for poor and farmers. His strong desire to provide free electricity to the farming community when there was a severe shortage of power in the country as well as in the state, shows his kindheartedness toward his people. He fearlessly announced it and successfully implemented after he came in to power and with that he became a guide for his fellow chief ministers, irrespective of political affiliations. He also played a big role in waving the crop loans to the tune of seventy thousand crore of rupees for the farmers.

He suggested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to waive off more loans but that could not be materialised for various reasons. Otherwise more than one lakh crore of rupees would have been waived. As he was not satisfied with the waiving of loans for only defaulters, he himself took a decision to please the honest payers, giving confidence to them and announced an incentive of five thousand rupees. This had cost the exchequer for fifteen thousand corer of rupees.

Jalayagnam, a pet programme of Reddy made some progress in the state agriculture sector. Already 20 lakh acres of land was brought under irrigation through some new irrigation projects and many such projects are still in progress. His dream of Polavaram project has got clearance and will be materialised by the end of 2014. To irrigate Telangana area, he took up number of lift irrigation projects on Krishna River. Pranahita-Chevella will be the major project, which he wanted to complete during this term.

Besides agriculture, he also gave importance to the education sector. Thinking that poverty restrict brilliant students only to degree courses like BA and BCom, he announced the reimbursement of fee, which amounted to nearly twenty five thousand crore of rupees. This helped thousands of poor students to study engineering and management courses. Regarding education, one can remember his innovative idea of starting IIIT institutes in three regions of the state. Every institute is a deemed university and accommodates 2000 rural students every year. Apart from these, he also fought with the Central government for an IIT and it was achieved.

As a politician, he was left out by his seniors and high command of the party, he never discouraged and proceeded further to strengthen the party. Padayatra was one among his programmes, which gave boost to the party in state of Andhra Pradesh. He was a leader who never faced defeat in his life. He was elected to legislative assembly for six times and four times to Parliament.

Kargil Vijay Diwas

Kargil Vijay Diwas at Central Command Central Command celebrated Kargil Vijay Diwas with due solemnity and dignity. The day marked the first anniversary of successful conclusion of operation Vijay launched in the wake of Pakistan aggression in Kargil. The theme of the day at the Central Command was inculcation of national and security awareness. A number of programmes were organised in UP, MP, Bihar and Orissa to recall the sacrifices of brave soldiers, Sailors and Airmen as also to reiterate the exemplary unity and sense of purpose displayed by the entire nation during the Kargil conflict. Wreath-laying and candle lighting ceremonies were held at Smritika, the War Memorial at Lucknow Cantonment on the occasion, Besides the Governor of Uttar Pradesh Dr Suraj Bhan and Central Army Commander, Lt Gen Surjit Singh, many senior serving and retired officers of the Army and Air Force paid their homage to the martyrs of operation Vijay. Among the invitees to the solemn ceremony were next of kin of martyrs including the parents of martyr Capt Manoj Pandey, a recipient of Param Vir Chakra. The awardees were given a special place of honour during the ceremony. The Airmen paid tribute to the valour of service martyrs by carrying out a fly-past with three MIG-21 aircraft flying in ‘Missing Boy’ formation. A pictorial exhibition on the operation Vijay was also organised. Wreath-laying, candle lighting ceremonies, defence exhibitions and pictorial exhibition was organised at major military stations in the states of UP, MP, Bihar and Orissa. Out of 523 soldiers who sacrificed their lives during operation Vijay, 172 hailed from UP, 9 from MP, 20 from Bihar and 7 from Orissa. Speaking on the occasion, the Army Commander, expressed his gratitude to all the government and non-government organisations that had instituted schemes for rehabilitation and relief for families of the martyrs. The occasion reminded everyone of the patriotism and deep sense of solidarity that the entire nation displayed during the Kargil conflict. Mediapersons were given an opportunity to get a first hand account of the operations and also interact with the award-winning soldiers present at the station. Rfn Sanjay Kumar, who has been decorated with the highest award for bravery Param Vir Chakra, was also present on the occasion. Observing Kargil Vijay Diwas was a befitting tribute to the martyrs and acknowledging the solidarity displayed by the citizens of India during operation Vijay.

INDIA Job Cut

When India lost 6 lakh jobs in 4 months!

More than 600,000 Indians, many employed in the gems and jewellery sector, lost jobs in just four months from October 2008 as the impact of the global economic crisis hit the country’s shores.

About 500,000 people lost their jobs in the October- December 2008 period, while over 100,000 were shed in January this year, the Economic Survey said.

In September, the crisis turned severe following the bankruptcy of American financial services major Lehman Brothers. Since then, millions of jobs have been shed worldwide, as companies resorted to massive layoffs as part of their cost cutting measures.

Image: A jobless man shows his empty wallet.
Photograph: Jagadeesh NV/Reuters

VOTER’S INK

Elections are on the cards. The voting procedures are not complete until you get a mark on your finger with a permanent ink. Looking at your ink-stained finger have you ever wondered from where this ink comes from and its significance?

The ink called as the Indelible ink is used as a security feature to prevent double voting.It is manufactured at Mysore Paints & Varnish Limited (MVPL), situated at Mysore, Karnataka.

The company is the only manufacturing unit in the
country to produce and supply indelible ink to the Election
Commission.

The ink-marking rule was changed in 2006 from a ‘dot’ to a ‘line’ from top of nail upto the first joint of the finger. The rule changed and so the quantity, which is doubled to 10ml in each phial
Each polling booth is given two bottles of 10ml each for making the line on about 700 voters.

Thanks to the huge election ink order, the profitable Karnataka-owned public sector undertaking, will post a sales turnover of Rs.160 million(Rs.16 crore) for this fiscal(2008-09)

as against 90million(Rs.9 crore) last fiscal (2007-08).

The MVPL also supplies voter ink o countries like Canada, Cambodia, the Maldives, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa and Turkey.

Meenakshi Temple – Towering presence over a city

One might have read about the topless towers of Ilium only in literature. The majestic towers of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple will give an idea of what the towers of Ilium would have been, if they were real. When one thinks of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple what comes to the mind is an image of the four majestic Rajagopurams, facing four directions. They could be seen from almost any place in the city, the more fortunate of the residents being those around the temple.

All the four Rajagopurams have nine tiers but vary in height. The tallest of them is the imposing south tower, which is easily identified even from a distance. This is said to be the only tower in south India to have a parabolic curve on all sides from top to bottom. This tower, with a height of 51.99 metres (170.6 feet) from the level of South Adi Street, has 1,511 ‘sudai’ works depicting scenes from Tiruvilayadalpuranam, Periapuranam, Kandapuranam and Dasavataram. The height of the ‘sudai’ ranges from 1.5 metres (five feet) to 4.6 metres (14 feet). Some of the interesting figures in the gopuram include the viswarupa darshan of Subramaniaswamy; Mahasadasivam with 25 heads and 50 arms; Sabari; Yakapadamoorthy; Voorthuvathandavam; and the image of Kali.

A rare ‘Panchamuka Lingam’ is also found on the eastern side of the tower, according to a temple publication. An image of Veeda Dakshinamoorthy, facing the Chithirai Street, was added to the tower in 1963. According to a Madurai Kamaraj University publication, Madurai Temple Complex, authored by A. V. Jeyachandrun, Siramalai Sevanthimoorthy Chetty constructed this tower in A. D. 1533-64.

The east gopuram, constructed by Sundara Pandyan in A. D. 1218, is 49.16 metres (161.3 feet) high and has 1,001 ‘sudai’ works of scenes from Tiruvilayadalpuranam and Periapuranam. This is the earliest among the four outer towers of the temple. Residents of the city do not use this gopuram to leave the temple as a habit, it is said.

The west gopuram was constructed by Parakrama Pandyan in A. D. 1323 as per an inscription on its wall. It is 49.77 metres (163.3 feet) in height and contains 1,145 ‘sudai’ works. Those that attract the eye are different postures of Bikshadanar and dwarapalakas. Many relics on its stone base are believed to have been buried below the surface as the road level has come up over the years. Found inside the entrance of this gopuram are Pandya’s fish crest and a verse in praise of Parakrama Pandya.

The north gopuram is the latest of the four and is popularly referred to as ‘mottai gopuram’ due to the absence of a crest for a long time. By the end of the 19th century, a ‘sikara’ was provided by Nattukottai Chettiars. The tower, which is 48.95 metres (160.6 feet) in height, was constructed by Krishna Veerappa Nayak (1572-95). This tower contains possible models of gopurams and vimanas in great architectural detail (404 ‘sudai’ works).

BrahMos to be tested again within a month

NEW DELHI: A day after the land-attack version of BrahMos failed to perform properly during a test at the Pokhran firing range, defence
scientists on Wednesday declared they would test-fire the supersonic cruise missile within a month after rectifying the errors. ( Watch )

“The missile in itself is proven. The test’s main objective was to evaluate the new homing scheme for the Army’s Block-II missiles to hit a specific small target, with a low radar cross-section, in a multi-target environment,” BrahMos Aerospace chief A Sivathanu Pillai told TOI.

“The complicated mission called for an advanced algorithm and intelligence embedded in the missile. The problem was in the software, not hardware. We are now revalidating the new software through extensive simulations. We will test the missile again within a month,” he added.

As reported earlier by TOI, the Army wants to induct the 290-km-range BrahMos missile, which flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach, as “a precision strike weapon”.

It has already placed orders for two BrahMos regiments in the first phase at a cost of Rs 8,352 crore, with 134 missiles, 10 road-mobile autonomous launchers on 12×12 Tatra vehicles, four mobile command posts and the like.

Pakistan, on its part, is inducting its nuclear-capable Babur land-attack cruise missile (LACM), developed with China’s help to have a strike range of over 500 km, in large numbers into its arsenal.

Even as India and Russia begin preliminary work on a “hypersonic” BrahMos-2 missile capable of flying at a speed between 5-7 Mach, two Indian Sukhoi-30MKI fighters have also been sent to Russia for integration with BrahMos’ air-launched version.

The Navy has already inducted the BrahMos missile’s naval version on a couple of its warships and has placed orders worth Rs 711 crore for 49 firing units. The armed forces’ eventual plan is to have nuclear-tipped LACMs, with strike ranges in excess of 1,500-km.

Obama World

Only the really smart can survive a game hopping back and forth between the past and present. That’s what happens in Albert Lomorisse’s Risk -
the strategic board game in which players protect their Napoleonic-era borders with modern armies. The game is still being played on the ground in South Asia, where the past has not completely vanished and the future has not yet arrived. Today, our part of the world is a picture of chaos: armed militia in the mountains and jungles; nuclear-armed regimes; grinding poverty; spiralling food prices; and people swinging towards violent ideologies. We might be living in exciting times, but we are still playing a life-size version of Risk, the game, with pawns from our past.

But, the world is about to change. A new mantra – Yes We Can! – is becoming a universal slogan and Barack Obama’s doctrine of involving “you” in decision-making is about to change global politics. Can South Asian nations — still settling old scores with their zero-sum games — see the change coming? If yes, what kind of change would they like to see in Obama’s world?

Sitting in his modest office in Kathmandu’s central district, Singh Durbar, Dinanath Sharma, spokesman for the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist), seems quite certain that nothing is going to change. “We are against American imperialism and Indian expansionism. America has not abandoned imperialism and India has not abandoned expansionism,” says Sharma, quoting from a recent Maoist document that opposes foreign interference in its internal affairs and urges the party “to be serious about nationalism”. Sharma, a soft-spoken Maoist ideologue, is merely summarizing the dominant view in the Nepali capital, which is also the headquarters of the beleaguered Saarc.

‘Foreign interference’ and ‘nationalism’ are touchy issues in South Asia. The conflicts here revolve around these issues and blinker our worldview. So bogged down is Sri Lanka in a bloody battle with its separatist Tamil rebels that it cares little about what’s happening in places like Darfur. Bangladesh, always a struggling democracy, has neither time nor energy to think about the bombings in Gaza as it deals with its generals and fundamentalists. Bhutan is far too happy with its unique happiness index to worry about the global financial crisis, and the Maldives has to prevent itself from drowning before it can pay attention to anything else.

That leaves India and Pakistan (at each other’s throat since 26/11) and Afghanistan – caught in the crosshairs of a war – to articulate South Asia’s worldview under President Obama. Both New Delhi and Islamabad would want him to be on their side. “The US strategic engagement with India will continue. Obama will have to treat India and Pakistan separately, but with caution. We can’t forget that Pakistan is very important for America’s geo-political interests in the region,” says Uma Singh, professor of South Asian studies at JNU.

Clearly, our worldview doesn’t go beyond our noses. But now there are huge expectations from the next president. “The US must engage with South Asia in an enlightened way. The Americans should not come here just to protect their interests, but also make sure there is development and stability in the region,” says Prof Ataur Rahman of Dhaka University.

Pakistani author Ahmed Rashid holds a similar view. Obama and other Western leaders will have to adopt a “comprehensive approach that sees the region as a unit with interlocking development issues to be resolved, such as poverty, illiteracy and weak governance”, he wrote in a recent article titled ‘Obama’s South Asian Headache’.

The other part of this headache is China – the world’s biggest nation with the largest army and now the third biggest economy – that towers over the region. While Obama has largely remained silent on China and nobody knows for sure how he plans to engage it, Nepal and Pakistan would be quite happy to see Beijing grow as a counter force to Washington.

The Nepali Maoists believe that the US is trying to encircle China through India. “It is clear from the nuclear deal that American imperialism is moving ahead in South Asia through Indian expansionism,” says Sharma, indicating the kind of world order the Maoists expect to see under the new US administration. The view from Dhaka is hardly different. “A new world order can’t emerge from the old world order. I don’t think that under Obama, there will be a clear departure from the existing system. Even if a new order emerges, it will be slow and gradual,” says Prof Rahman.

But, India should be more practical on these issues, says Prof Singh. “On Iran, India should not play second fiddle to the US and protect its own interests in the Gulf. Despite the border dispute, India-China relations have grown and will continue to do so. India should develop its ties with China irrespective of the US.”

Despite the economic gloom, there is hope that Obama’s can-do spirit will give the world a chance to become a better place. But, in South Asia, the mantra still is: “No, We Can’t’. Here, we can make gains only at the expense of others. India’s attempt to dehyphenate itself from Pakistan has failed. We are back to playing our zero-sum games, with smaller players such as Bhutan and Bangladesh getting sucked in as well. We are still settling past scores with present methods. That’s our worldview. It involves huge risk, but this is the only game we know.

‘No war cloud on Indo-Pak border’

There is no sign of war in the border regions, a top Indian army [Images]officer said on Monday.

“I see no war cloud in the Indo-Pak border regions,” General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Army’s Central Command Lt Gen J K Mohanty said in Bhubaneshwar.

Ever since terrorists of Pakistani origin launched an attack at the heart of Mumbai [Images], there has been fears of India going to war with Pakistan.

India has always wanted a friendly relation with its neighbours, but, it was 200 per cent ready to deal with any situation if they cross the limit, he said.

When asked about the reported troop mobilisation by Pakistan after the November 26 strikes, Mohanty said India was hardly bothered about such an exercise.

“India will pay back in the same coin, or even in a more meaningful way if Pakistan dares attack us,” he said.

Stating that Pakistan had been isolated across the globe following the terror attack, he said Islamabad [Images] would never dare to launch attack. “We are sure Pakistan will never repeat the same mistake it did earlier.”

Lieutenant General Mohanty’s statement came a day after Air Chief Marshal F H Major said the forces were ready to meet any eventuality.

To a question on Maoist problem in Orissa and some other states, Lt Gen Mohanty said it was the state government’s responsibility. “If they (states) require army help, we are ready for it. But the army should be approached as a last resort,” he pointed out.

Appreciating the steps taken by the Orissa government to tackle the increasing left wing extremist activities, he said it had already recruited 400 ex-service personnel to fight the Maoists.

Besides, the state government had decided to recruit 1594 more former defence personnel, Mohanty said, adding the “the army may consider setting up its unit in Maoist affected districts of Orissa, if the state government asks for it.”

He said the army had already trained Orissa police personnel to deal with improvised explosive devices. If required, the army would not hesitate to train more police personnel.

Disapproving the idea of establishment of army regiments on the basis of states, Mohanty said the practice was introduced by the British who wanted to keep India divided “even among the defence personnel”.

Earlier, the state government had demanded establishment of Kalinga regiment in the army.

Mohanty, however, said it was unfortunate that youths of Orissa did not get proper representation in the army. “Instead of demanding a separate regiment, we should ensure that youths from the state get adequate placement in the army,” he said.