Follow this To identify your strength and weakness.

• listen to feedback.

• Consider your passions.

• Pay attention to when you are most productive.

• Seek out new experiences.

Listen to Feedback

You can develop a more accurate self-perception by listening to what others have to say about you and your work. One of the most reliable sources for what you do best is the opinions of people who work with you regularly. Pay attention when coworkers mention your positive traits and give you feedback about your work performance. Think about what aspects of your work receive the most compliments and determine which personality traits or skills allow you to complete those tasks.

Seek out new experience

Fostering self-awareness is based heavily on your life experiences, so trying new skills, hobbies and activities is essential for identifying your strengths. Regularly seek out professional development opportunities and take risks by asking to collaborate on projects outside of your usual skill set. You can seek out new experiences by taking classes, asking coworkers if you can shadow them, learning new technical skills and taking on leadership roles in new areas. You may be surprised at what strengths you discover by taking the risk of trying something new in the workplace.

Consider your passion.

When you enjoy doing something, it is often easier to hone your skills in that area and develop them into some of your key strengths. Think about what you most enjoy doing and spend time practicing those activities, paying extra attention to the broad skills that you use during each activity. While some people are naturally talented in certain areas, anyone can grow their strengths with time. Understanding your natural talents and passions can help you determine where you are most willing to put in the work to become an expert.

Pay attention

While you may be able to get a good idea of your strengths by paying close attention to feedback, asking your friends or colleagues about your strengths can give you additional insights that you may not have noticed otherwise. Seek out opinions from a variety of different sources, such as a manager, a coworker or even someone you supervise. People who work with you in different capacities will be able to point out your strengths and give concrete examples with valuable context.Consider asking others to write a list of your key strengths in the workplace, then looking for commonalities on those lists to identify your most prominent workplace strengthself-perception by listening to what others have to say about you.

Throughout your day-to-day activities, make note of how long different tasks take and how productive you are during that time. If it feels like time is passing quickly and you accomplish a lot in a short period of time, you are likely using some of your biggest strengths. Make a list of when you feel the most focused, and consider what characteristics motivate you during those times. Conversely, if you notice that time drags on during certain tasks, think about what makes you feel less motivated so that you can either avoid those situations or actively try to grow those skills.

water, a substance composed of the chemical elements hydrogen and oxygen and existing in gaseous, liquid, and solid states. It is one of the most plentiful and essential of compounds. A tasteless and odourless liquid at room temperature, it has the important ability to dissolve many other substances. Indeed, the versatility of water as a solvent is essential to living organisms. Life is believed to have originated in the aqueous solutions of the world’s oceans, and living organisms depend on aqueous solutions, such as blood and digestive juices, for biological processes. Water also exists on other planets and moons both within and beyond the solar system. In small quantities water appears colourless, but water actually has an intrinsic blue colour caused by slight absorption of light at red wavelengths.

Although the molecules of water are simple in structure (H2O), the physical and chemical properties of the compound are extraordinarily complicated, and they are not typical of most substances found on Earth. For example, although the sight of ice cubes floating in a glass of ice water is commonplace, such behaviour is unusual for chemical entities. For almost every other compound, the solid state is denser than the liquid state; thus, the solid would sink to the bottom of the liquid. The fact that ice floats on water is exceedingly important in the natural world, because the ice that forms on ponds and lakes in cold areas of the world acts as an insulating barrier that protects the aquatic life below. If ice were denser than liquid water, ice forming on a pond would sink, thereby exposing more water to the cold temperature. Thus, the pond would eventually freeze throughout, killing all the life-forms present.

Water occurs as a liquid on the surface of Earth under normal conditions, which makes it invaluable for transportation, for recreation, and as a habitat for a myriad of plants and animals. The fact that water is readily changed to a vapour (gas) allows it to be transported through the atmosphere from the oceans to inland areas where it condenses and, as rain, nourishes plant and animal life. (See hydrosphere: The hydrologic cycle for a description of the cycle by which water is transferred over Earth.)

The water on the surface of Earth is found mainly in its oceans (97.25 percent) and polar ice caps and glaciers (2.05 percent), with the balance in freshwater lakes, rivers, and groundwater. As Earth’s population grows and the demand for fresh water increases, water purification and recycling become increasingly important. Interestingly, the purity requirements of water for industrial use often exceed those for human consumption. For example, the water used in high-pressure boilers must be at least 99.999998 percent pure. Because seawater contains large quantities of dissolved salts, it must be desalinated for most uses, including human consumption.

This article describes the molecular structure of water as well as its physical and chemical properties. For other major treatments of water, see climate; environmental works; hydrosphere; ice; and pollution.

STRUCTURE OF THE WATER

The water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms, each linked by a single chemical bond to an oxygen atom. Most hydrogen atoms have a nucleus consisting solely of a proton. Two isotopic forms, deuterium and tritium, in which the atomic nuclei also contain one and two neutrons, respectively, are found to a small degree in water. Deuterium oxide (D2O), called heavy water, is important in chemical research and is also used as a neutron moderator in some nuclear reactors.

Although its formula (H2O) seems simple, water exhibits very complex chemical and physical properties. For example, its melting point, 0 °C (32 °F), and boiling point, 100 °C (212 °F), are much higher than would be expected by comparison with analogous compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. In its solid form, ice, water is less dense than when it is liquid, another unusual property. The root of these anomalies lies in the electronic structure of the water molecule.

The water molecule is not linear but bent in a special way. The two hydrogen atoms are bound to the oxygen atom at an angle of 104.5°.
structure of the water molecule showing the two hydrogen atoms bound to the oxygen atom at an angle of 104.5 degrees.

The O―H distance (bond length) is 95.7 picometres (9.57 × 10−11 metres, or 3.77 × 10−9 inches). Because an oxygen atom has a greater electronegativity than a hydrogen atom, the O―H bonds in the water molecule are polar, with the oxygen bearing a partial negative charge (δ−) and the hydrogens having a partial positive charge (δ+).

The electron arrangement in the water molecule can be represented as follows.
structure of the water molecule showing the electron arrangement

Each pair of dots represents a pair of unshared electrons (i.e., the electrons reside on only the oxygen atom). This situation can also be depicted by placing the water molecule in a cube.

Each ↑↓ symbol represents a pair of unshared electrons. This electronic structure leads to hydrogen bonding.

SINGNIFICANCE OF THE STRUCTURE OF LIQUID WATER

The liquid state of water has a very complex structure, which undoubtedly involves considerable association of the molecules. The extensive hydrogen bonding among the molecules in liquid water produces much larger values for properties such as viscosity, surface tension, and boiling point than are expected for a typical liquid containing small molecules. For example, based on the size of its molecules, water would be expected to have a boiling point nearly 200 °C (360 °F) lower than its observed boiling point. In contrast to the condensed states (solid and liquid) of water, which exhibit extensive association among the water molecules, its gaseous (vapour) phase contains relatively independent water molecules at large distances from each other.

The polarity of the water molecule plays a major part in the dissolution of ionic compounds during the formation of aqueous solutions. Earth’s oceans contain vast amounts of dissolved salts, which provide a great natural resource. In addition, the hundreds of chemical reactions that occur every instant to keep organisms alive all take place in aqueous fluids. Also, the ability of foods to be flavoured as they are cooked is made possible by the solubility in water of such substances as sugar and salt. Although the solubility of substances in water is an extremely complex process, the interaction between the polar water molecules and the solute (i.e., the substance being dissolved) plays a major role. When an ionic solid dissolves in water, the positive ends of the water molecules are attracted to the anions, while their negative ends are attracted to the cations. This process is called hydration. The hydration of its ions tends to cause a salt to break apart (dissolve) in the water. In the dissolving process the strong forces present between the positive and negative ions of the solid are replaced by strong water-ion interactions.

When ionic substances dissolve in water, they break apart into individual cations and anions. For instance, when sodium chloride (NaCl) dissolves in water, the resulting solution contains separated Na+ and Cl− ions.

Generally speaking, the greater the charge density (the ratio of charge to surface area) of an ion, the larger the hydration number will be. As a rule, negative ions have smaller hydration numbers than positive ions because of the greater crowding that occurs when the hydrogen atoms of the water molecules are oriented toward the anion.

Many nonionic compounds are also soluble in water. For example, ethanol (C2H5OH), the alcoholic component of wine, beer, and distilled spirits, is highly soluble in water. These beverages contain varying percentages of ethanol in aqueous solution with other substances. Ethanol is so soluble in water because of the structure of the alcohol molecule. The molecule contains a polar O―H bond like those in water, which allows it to interact effectively with water.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Water has several important physical properties. Although these properties are familiar because of the omnipresence of water, most of the physical properties of water are quite atypical. Given the low molar mass of its constituent molecules, water has unusually large values of viscosity, surface tension, heat of vaporization, and entropy of vaporization, all of which can be ascribed to the extensive hydrogen bonding interactions present in liquid water. The open structure of ice that allows for maximum hydrogen bonding explains why solid water is less dense than liquid water—a highly unusual situation among common substances.

by Yogiraj Sadaphal.

“Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late”.

– Thomas Sowell.

Definition of Generation Gaps.

The word “generation gap” refers to the age difference between two groups of people: young people and their seniors, particularly children and their parents. Everything changes with the flow of time, including age, culture, mannerism, and morality. This transformation has an impact on everyone. The generational divide is a never-ending social phenomena. Every generation lives at a specific period and in specific circumstances. As a result, each generation has its unique set of values and perspectives. Every generation aspires to uphold the values that they truly believe. This is an issue that has existed for a long time.

Past Generation Gaps:

The sociological hypothesis of a generation gap first surfaced in the 1960s, when the younger generation appeared to contradict everything their parents had previously thought in terms of music, values, governmental and political beliefs, and cultural interests.

The “generation gap” is now referred to as “institutional age segregation” by sociologists. Individual members of any of these age groups are usually physically isolated from persons of other generations when they are engaged in their primary activity, with little interaction across generational lines save at the nuclear family level.

What are the Cause of it?

No one is to blame for the generation gap. It’s a natural part of social change. Change is the ongoing disruption and resetting of the terms of everyone’s existence throughout their lives.

When parents identify with the old, similar, familiar, conventional, and known, their teenager (at a later period) becomes attracted and influenced by the new, different, unfamiliar, experimental, and unknown, cultural contrasts between generations are emphasized.

Obviously, there is little generation gap in socially uncomplicated, stable, low-change cultures where the children identify with parental positions they expect to copy and fill when they grow up. Consider growing up in a complex, fast changing culture where the parent’s old world and the adolescent’s world are vastly different.

What Impact does the Generation Gap have on Parent-Child Relationships?

To the extent that parents can bridge the generational gap by exhibiting an interest in the new, the gap’s potentially alienating influence can be reduced.

For example, if they approach their adolescent as a “expert” and themselves as “unknowing,” or if they treat their adolescent as a teacher and themselves as pupils, they might create a very strong and esteem-endowing power reversal in their connection.

What should a Teen do if they believe their Parents don’t get them?

Around the ages of 9 to 13, children begin to separate from childhood and begin redefining themselves on the path to young adulthood. The one detaches from childhood and family for greater action and independence, while the other distinguishes from childhood and parents for greater personal expression and individuality.

Young people might take the initiative when they believe their parents do not understand and would like them to. They can be brave and tell their parents, “There’s something about my upbringing that I believe you don’t understand, and I’d like you to appreciate.” Could you please just listen while I try to explain, and then we can talk about it?”

Is There a Way to Reduce the Impact of the Generation Gap?

1. Communicate:

Making time to connect with your parents on a daily basis is crucial. The simple act of asking each other about their day at the end of the day can help you get to know each other better and make it easier to speak freely around each other.

2. Compromise:

No matter how close two people are, they can differ on certain issues. Parents and children are no exception; but, rather than forcing them to accept your point of view or to do what you want them to do when they don’t want to, learn to compromise whenever feasible.

3. Love:

When love is acted upon, it has a way of crossing barriers and bringing people together. As a result, show your children how much you care about them. This unconditional love and support they receive from you is incredibly motivating, and it encourages youngsters to reciprocate with the same love and compassion.

4. Understand:

Listening leads to comprehension, which requires you to learn to put yourself in your child’s position and try to comprehend how they feel and what they want based on what they say. You will be able to close the generation gap to some extent if you can understand where your child is coming from.

India is a democratic country and in this system, power confers with the people. The power is exercised through its designated representatives who have the command to manage them for particular period. The civil services by quality of its knowledge, experience and understanding of public affairs support the chosen representatives to device effectual policy and have great responsibility to implement these policies for the welfare of society and enhancement of nation. Parliamentary democracies are generally pigeonholed by a permanent civil service which helps the political policymakers and political executives. India is a constitutional fairness and its operations are usually depends upon four supports that include Legislature, Executive, Judiciary, and Free Press. Each one of these has been assigned its role in democratic establishment. First pillar is associated with the governance of the State. Effective and efficient institutions form the strength of an efficacious development and governance process.

Democracy is an egalitarian principle in which the governed elect the people who govern over them. There are three pillars of modern democracy:

Legislature

Executive

Judiciary

The civil services form a part of the executive. While the ministers, who are part of the executive, are temporary and are reelected or replaced by the people by their will (through elections), the civil servants are the permanent part of the executive.

–The civil servants are accountable to the political executive, the ministers. The civil services are thus, a subdivision under the government.

— The officers in the civil services form the permanent staff of the various governmental departments.

— are basically expert administrators.

They are sometimes referred to as the bureaucracy or also the public service

Importance of the Civil Services

1. The civil service is present all over India and it thus has a strong binding character.

2. It plays a vital role in effective policy-making and regulation.

3. It offers non-partisan advice to the political leadership of the country, even in the midst of political instability.

4. The service gives effective coordination between the various institutions of governance, and also between different departments, bodies, etc.

5. It offers service delivery and leadership at different levels of administration.

Functions of Civil Services

Basis of Government: There can be no government without administrative machinery.

Implementing Laws & Policies: Civil services are responsible for implementing laws and executing policies framed by the government .

Policy Formulation: The civil service is chiefly responsible for policy formulation as well. The civil service officers advise ministers in this regard and also provides them with facts and ideas.

Stabilising Force: Amidst political instability, the civil service offers stability and permanence. While governments and ministers can come and go, the civil services is a permanent fixture giving the administrative set up a sense of stability and continuity.

Instruments of Social Change & Economic Development: Successful policy implementation will lead to positive changes in the lives of ordinary people. It is only when the promised goods and services reach the intended beneficiaries, a government can call any scheme successful. The task of actualising schemes and policies fall with the officers of the civil services.

Welfare Services: The services offer a variety of welfare schemes such as providing social security, the welfare of weaker and vulnerable sections of society, old-age pensions, poverty alleviation, etc.

Developmental Functions: The services perform a variety of developmental functions like promoting modern techniques in agriculture, promoting the industry, trade, banking functions, bridging the digital divide etc.

Administrative Adjudication: The civil services also perform quasi-judicial services by settling disputes between the State and the citizens, in the form of tribunals, etc.

Problems Affecting Civil Services Today

— Lack of professionalism and poor capacity building.

— An ineffective incentive system that does not reward the meritorious and upright civil servants .

— Rigid and outmoded rules and procedures that do not allow civil servants to exercise individual judgement and perform efficiently.

— Lack of accountability and transparency procedure, with no adequate protection for whistle-blowers.

— Political interference causing arbitrary transfers, and insecurity in tenures.

— An erosion in ethics and values, which has caused rampant corruption and nepotism.

— Patrimonialism (a form of governance in which all power flows directly from the leader).

— Resistance to change from the civil servants themselves.

Key Facts about Democracy in India:

— Democracy in India federal republic.

— Democracy in India is headed by the President as the head of the state and Prime Minister as the head of the government.

— There is a parliamentary form of government at the central level.

— There is a universal adult franchise.

What is Photography?

Answering the question, “What is photography?” is kind of like trying to answer the question, “What’s the meaning of life?”

That’s because photography is incredibly complex. It has many facets and types. There are technical aspects to photography as well as creative ones. The manner in which photography is used is even different, often from one person to the next.

Moreover, there is an unlimited variety in the quality of photos. In that regard, trying to explain the difference between an ordinary snapshot and a work of art is a very difficult job. You can tell by looking at two photographs which one is which, but conveying how to get from being an amateur to a pro is not an easy task.

But, you have to start somewhere, so in this guide, I offer a few foundational ideas that will help you answer the question, “What is photography?”

Photography Defined

When trying to quantify what is photography, it’s important to first start with a photography definition.

In layman’s terms, photography is quite simply the process of capturing light with a camera to create an image.

This was done for the first time in 1826, when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took a photo out of his window. The image, shown above, was entitled View from the Window at Le Gras.

In terms of subject matter, the photo isn’t all that impressive. However, as the oldest surviving photograph, it is nonetheless an important part of photography.

As simple as this image is, it demonstrates the technical process of photography perfectly.

To process the image captured by his camera, Niépce used a process of his invention called heliography.

A Brief Timeline of Photography

After Joseph Nicéphore Niépce successfully created the first permanent photograph, there were many other turning points in photography that got us to where we are today.

The Basics of Photography

For all you beginner photographers out there, photography is built on light, and as such, you have to learn how to control it.

There are three camera settings that comprise the very basics of photography, and that each independently control light in a different way. Yet, these three settings are used together to create an exposure.

Sure, you can shoot in full auto mode and let the camera determine the exposure. In many cases, it works okay. But we’re here to learn, right? So, here’s a quick overview of the exposure triangle – aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

Types of Photography

Just like there are all sorts of things to learn when you’re studying photography, there are all sorts of types of photography you can explore.

You can learn about the most popular types of photography in our detailed guide, but for our purposes in this article, here’s a quick run-down of some of the possibilities you can try:

* Landscape photography
* Portrait photography
* Wildlife photography
* Travel photography
* Street photography
* Newborn photography
* Macro photography

Again, this isn’t a complete list of the types of photography, but it’ll get you started. And as you explore and learn more about photography, you’ll likely find that the answer to our original question – What is photography? – is much deeper and broader than we’ve covered here.

More than the technical and artistic elements that comprise it, photography is about feelings, emotions, and making connections with people and places.

So, what is photography? It’s an incredibly personal experience, that’s what!

What photography is to me is probably very similar to what it is for you, but at the end of the day, our own experiences, opinions, biases, beliefs, and so forth influence what photography means. That’s part of what makes photography so great; it can bring us together thanks to the power of the lens, yet at the same time, we can enjoy it as a highly personal experience.

With the advent of Ola Electric scooter which has garnered over 1 lakh registrations in just one day ,makes us ponder upon of the most important questions – Has the change from fossil fuels to electric vehicles begun in India or is it just a fluke?

EV or electric vehicles are gaining popularity and market share everyday. Companies such as Tesla are now one of the largest automobile companies in the world. The west has started to shift to EV at a faster pace with some European countries having highest per capita EVs. But has the time come for India too? Granted EVs have their own set of problems which can be anything from range to charge time but with petrol prices touching Rs 110/L one can easily forgo the charge time.

EV industry is looking towards a brighter future in India as many Indian companies such as Tata Motors have launched their own vehicles and have received amazing sales. The global giant Tesla will soon be arriving in India as well with its most popular Model 3. But are only cars enough? India needs to do more. What India can triumph at is the electric two-wheeler industry as two-wheelers are still one the most popular means of travel in India and one of the major contributors to air pollution in our country.

India being one the most polluted countries need to change its outlook and start taking matters of vehicle pollution seriously. With 2/3rd of air pollution being done by two-wheelers , a shift in EVs can bring this down dramatically. This is when companies like Ather Energy ,Ola Electric ,Bajaj and TVS are coming into play with each company producing its own two-wheeler EV with Ola receiving more than 1 lakh registrations for its EV.

EV infrastructure- Infrastructure is one the most important aspects when we talk about growth of EVs as charging stations are not a common thing in India but are crucial to EVs. Without them one can say goodbye to long distance travels as EVs need to be charged before their battery runs out and you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. We are making progress in this arena with govt. giving various incentives for charging stations and we are seeing emergence of various networks such as Ola Hypercharging stations for its two-wheeler market.

Last but not the least EVs are still very expensive even after being in the market for so many years. Just for instance the cheapest Tesla car , the Model 3 is expected to be priced around Rs 60 lakhs in India making it still unaffordable for most people. Same thing can be said about the two-wheelers with EVs being about twice as expensive as their gas counterparts.

But there is always a silver-lining that despite huge prices EVs are picking up in India , slowly but constantly and with more and more competition we can surely say that EVs have a bright future and we are on the right path.

by Yogiraj Sadaphal

“The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend”

– Cali Rae Turner.

Raksha Bandhan is not just a festival to tie a Rakhi on a brother’s hand, it is bond to show love between a Brother and a Sister & a Promise to be with her at any circumstances in life.

History:

The history of Raksha Bandhan dates back to Hindu mythology. The origins of Raksha Bandhan can be traced back to the day Lord Krishna wounded his finger with the Sudarshan Chakra. Draupadi, the Pandavas’ wife, was in terrible pain when she saw him in distress, so she tore a piece of her vastra and tied it to Lord Krishna’s bleeding finger to relieve his pain and stop the blood from flowing. Lord Krishna was extremely touched by her gesture and promised to protect her from all the world’s evils in exchange. He called it the Raksha Sutra and, as we all know, when the Kauravas attempted to disrobe her in court, Lord Krishna blessed his sister and ensured that the sari she was wearing grew limitless in length. As he had promised, her brother saved her from the evils in this manner.

Importance:

The festival’s significance can be understood from the fact that it deepens the bond between a brother and sister, which is a defining characteristic of Indian civilization. It is reported that queens used to gift Rakhi to their neighbors as a symbol of brotherhood in ancient times.

The significance of this event is so high that the postal service provides low-cost special envelopes in which Rakhis can be sent even farther brothers. Special trains are run by Indian Railways to commemorate the significance of this celebration.

Even though tying a Rakhi only takes a few minutes, the preparations are done weeks in advance. Sisters select unique Rakhis for their brothers well in advance of the event. In any case, a brother gets to reach his sister in time for the moment when his sister will tie the “holy thread” with an empty stomach.

Every member of the family gets up early to participate in the morning routines. For the pooja ritual, a special thali is prepared, which is elegantly decorated with ‘roli,’ rice grains, ‘diya,’ sweets, and rakhis. This festival also emphasizes the value of siblings growing up together.

Celebration in India:

A girl or a woman applies a tilak on her brother’s forehead and ties a rakhi around his wrist in a ritual that reaffirms her brother’s bond and support. She receives a present from her brother and entrusts them with the task of looking after her.

The roles can be reversed in a modern interpretation of this rite. For a day, the focus turns away from the religious side and toward a more playful sharing of presents as well as a mutual understanding of love!

If a child does not have an older brother, rakhis are occasionally attached to friends and distant relatives, especially in the case of single children. The essence of the rakhi remains the same, regardless of how it is carried out: it is related to someone who has been kind and nurturing towards you, constantly looking out for you; gender and relationships are secondary.

In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.

In ancient Assyria, the goddess Atargatis transformed herself into a mermaid out of shame for accidentally killing her human lover. Mermaids are sometimes associated with perilous events such as floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drownings. In other folk traditions (or sometimes within the same traditions), they can be benevolent or beneficent, bestowing boons or falling in love with humans.

The male equivalent of the mermaid is the merman, also a familiar figure in folklore and heraldry. Although traditions about and sightings of mermen are less common than those of mermaids, they are generally assumed to co-exist with their female counterparts. The male and the female collectively are sometimes referred to as merfolk or merpeople.The conception of mermaids in the West may have been influenced by the Sirens of Greek mythology, which were originally half-birdlike, but came to be pictured as half-fishlike in the Christian era. Historical accounts of mermaids, such as those reported by Christopher Columbus during his exploration of the Caribbean, may have been sightings of manatees or similar aquatic mammals. While there is no evidence that mermaids exist outside folklore, reports of mermaid sightings continue to the present day.Mermaids have been a popular subject of art and literature in recent centuries, such as in Hans Christian Andersen’s literary fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” (1836). They have subsequently been depicted in operas, paintings, books, comics, animation, and live action films.

How are mermaids born..?

Mermaids would most likely have babies not by laying eggs, but by life-bearing them in the ocean similar to dolphins. This means mermaids would carry their babies in their wombs for 9-12 months and then give birth to them from the bottom side of their tails.

what is the legend of mermaids..?

Mermaids are mythological creatures, appearing in folklore across the globe for thousands of years. One of the oldest and most well-known myths comes from Ancient Greece. A popular legend claimed that Alexander the Great’s sister, Thessalonike, turned into a mermaid upon her death and lived in the

Who was the first person to see a mermaid..?

On this day in 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, sailing near the Dominican Republic, sees three “mermaids”–in reality manatees–and describes them as “not half as beautiful as they are painted.” Six months earlier, Columbus (1451-1506) set off from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean with the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, hoping to find a western trade route to Asia. Instead, his voyage, the first of four he would make, led him to the Americas, or “New World.” Mermaids, mythical half-female, half-fish creatures, have existed in seafaring cultures at least since the time of the ancient Greeks. Typically depicted as having a woman’s head and torso, a fishtail instead of legs and holding a mirror and comb, mermaids live in the ocean and, according to some legends, can take on a human shape and marry mortal men. Mermaids are closely linked to sirens, another folkloric figure, part-woman, part-bird, who live on islands and sing seductive songs to lure sailors to their deaths. Mermaid sightings by sailors, when they weren’t made up, were most likely manatees, dugongs or Steller’s sea cows (which became extinct by the 1760s due to over-hunting). Manatees are slow-moving aquatic mammals with human-like eyes, bulbous faces and paddle-like tails. It is likely that manatees evolved from an ancestor they share with the elephant. The three species of manatee (West Indian, West African and Amazonian) and one species of dugong belong to the Sirenia order. As adults, they’re typically 10 to 12 feet long and weigh 800 to 1,200 pounds. They’re plant-eaters, have a slow metabolism and can only survive in warm water. Manatees live an average of 50 to 60 years in the wild and have no natural predators. However, they are an endangered species.

The Call of the Wild, novel by Jack London, published serially by The Saturday Evening Post in 1903 and then as a single-volume book by Macmillan & Co. the same year. It is often considered to be his masterpiece and is the most widely read of all his publications.

Summary

The story follows Buck—a mix of St. Bernard and Scotch collie—throughout his journey as a sled dog. Buck’s story begins at the house of Judge Miller in Santa Clara, California. Here, Buck is a beloved domesticated pet, living comfortably. However, after gold is discovered in the Yukon territory of Canada, Buck is stolen by one of Miller’s gardeners as the demand for sled dogs increases. The gardener sells Buck to dog traders and makes a profit, and Buck is soon shipped north, abused and beaten as he goes. Along with a sweet, unassuming dog named Curly, Buck is sold to two government couriers, François and Perrault, who put him to work as a sled dog. Buck is soon overwhelmed by his surroundings, particularly when he sees a group of huskies attack and kill Curly.

As Buck is forced to adapt to the wild, his primitive instincts begin to surface. It is during this time that he makes an enemy of the lead sled dog, Spitz. The two fight a number of times, and Buck consistently undermines him in the hopes of diminishing his authority. After a final, decisive battle, Buck kills Spitz and appoints himself as the new lead dog—something he convinces his owners to go along with through his sheer stubbornness. With Buck as lead dog, the team begins making trips in record time. The team, along with Buck, is eventually sold to a mail carrier who forces the dogs to carry arduously heavy loads. This work results in the death of one of the dogs.

The team is sold again, this time to American gold hunters named Hal, Charles, and Mercedes. The three are wildly inexperienced: they overload the sled, and they beat the dogs unnecessarily. Halfway through a long journey, they begin to run out of food, causing more than half of the dogs to die of starvation. Along their journey, and still with a long way to go, they happen upon the camp of a man named John Thornton.

Thornton warns them that the ice they are about to cross is thinning and that it is not safe to cross. The Americans disregard him and attempt to leave. The other dogs obey, but Buck refuses to move onto the ice. Hal beats him viciously until Thornton steps in and cuts Buck free. The Americans continue without Buck, only to fall through the thinning ice and perish alongside the remainder of their dogs.

Buck becomes devoted to Thornton, and he even saves Thornton from drowning. One day, Thornton brags that Buck can pull a thousand-pound load and bets more than a thousand dollars on him. After some struggle, Buck is able to do so, and his master uses the money to search for a hidden mine deep in the Canadian wilderness. Buck’s love for Thornton becomes challenged by his growing desire for the wild. He begins to disappear into the forest for longer intervals of time, but he always returns to Thornton. During these excursions, Buck hunts bears and moose and even befriends a wolf. One day Buck returns to find Thornton and his crew killed by Native Americans the novel calls Yeehats. Angry beyond comprehension, Buck attacks and kills several Yeehats and scatters the rest. Buck then ventures into the forest and becomes the leader of a wolf pack. He becomes known by the Yeehats as Ghost Dog; because of his swiftness, his shadow is all they can glimpse. Despite being fully wild now, Buck still returns to the place of Thornton’s death each year to mourn the loss of his best friend.

SOURCES

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Call-of-the-Wild

Ok ,I know what you’ll say – a country of 1.38 billion people and less than 4 percent of the population have brokerage accounts a significant portion of that don’t actively invest but can it be that it is a starting of growth of investor population in India? Well recent data suggests says so.

India’s top stock brokers such as Zerodha and Upstox have seen a tremendous growth in demat account openings with total account numbers rising from 1.6 Million pre-lockdown to more than 6 Million and the numbers are on the rise as we speak.

Both discount brokers (private brokers) as well as full-fledged brokers have seen a rise in demat account openings with data showing that millennials are ahead of all with the highest share of accounts. This is an extremely reassuring news that more youngsters have given financial learning a priority and many are eager to secure financial freedom.

India’s technological boom ,rise in number of internet users and motivated mindset have all the credit for this. When we look at data for all the states the state with most brokerage accounts in Maharashtra – which is topping the chart for many years now with more than 1.49 crore accounts with Gujarat coming in second which has more than 85 lakh accounts and Uttar Pradesh coming in third with more than 52 lakh accounts followed by Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh with more than 42 lakh and 25 lakh accounts respectively. Again when we look at the bottom of the list we have Lakshadweep with a meagre 480 accounts followed by Mizoram with 5900 accounts and Andaman & Nicobar Islands with 9700 accounts.

The covid-19 pandemic was the tipping point for this with major rise in account opening seen after the lockdown and the trend has not settled since.

But there are shades of grey in this as well as a greater share of these accounts are dormant and don’t trade or invest. Many in the wish for gaining profits quickly end up losing money and get disheartened and don’t try again. This has also led to the rise of dormant accounts. This indicates that financial literacy has not kept up with the pace of incoming individuals in this field and has resulted in fear ,uncertainty ,doubt.

Which prompts us to ask another question – Will this lead to a downfall in the number of people who invest in stock market? Well ,the answer is NO. Financial literacy has started to pick up amongst youngsters. Daily we can see a large number of Instagram accounts ,YouTube channels and websites spreading knowledge about stock market – granted not all of them are legit but those who really are have a good follower base and are constantly expanding day-by-day.

This will lead to a rise in informed and learned trader/investor who has practical knowledge about the market and is not afraid to take decision but is also cautious while doing it.

All in all one can say that road ahead for stock market investors in India looks bullish.