How a Blazer SHOULD Properly Fit

Twin babies at the fridge - Dad can't close the door

Amazing Goat On Vertical Face Of Arjuna's Penance

Hairstyles For Balding Men

Express but ordinary

Injustice Bus Fare

There are about 12 bus routes from Ponnamaravathi to Madurai. The running time for almost all the buses is about 2 hours.  This includes one express bus from the government of Tamilnadu which charges Rs.40/-. Other buses charge Rs.32/-. One government run bus charges Rs.30/-. It is not justified that a slow running bus, declaring itself as an express. Where is Rs.30/- and where is Rs.40/- for the same running time. Moreover, the private buses that charge Rs.32/- provide luxury with audio visual entertainments for the passengers. Private buses are clean and run smooth whereas government buses vibrate. 

The Romantic Age

The Romantic Age

1798 – 1832

I.                   “Romance” and “Romanticism”

II.                Historical and political background

a.       American Revolution

b.      French Revolution

                                                              i.      Reign of Terror

                                                            ii.      Napoleon

c.       Industrial Revolution

                                                              i.      “Two Nations:

                                                            ii.       “Laissez – faire”

III.             The five major poets

a.       Wordsworth

b.      Coleridge

c.       Byron

d.      Shelley

e.       Keats

IV.             Poetic theory and poetic practice

a.       Spontaneity

b.      Nature poetry

c.       The commonplace

d.      The supernatural

e.       Individualism, infinite striving, and nonconformity

V.                The familiar essay, drama, and the novel

Restoration

decorum

level of diction

conservative

respect for order
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Romanticism

enthusiasm

revolution x3

language of the common man

democrative sympathies

Epic

Tragedy

Comedy

Satire

Pastoral

Lyric

The Romantic Period

1798 – 1832

Introduction

Following the common usage of historians of English literature, we shall denote by the Romantic Period the span between the year 1798, in which William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge published their Lyrical Ballads, and in 1832, when Sir Walter Scott died, and when the passage of the first Reform bill set in motion the Victorian era of cautious readjustment of political power to the economic and social realities of a new industrial age.

            Before we look at the main features of this period, we need to thing about the words Romantic and Romanticism. The names we apply to broad periods of literary and cultural history can often be misleading, and this is especially true of the “Romantic” Age and “Romanticism.” The word romance (French roman) was a broad term in origin and was applied indiscriminately to any long narrative in French verse – for example, the Roman du Rou, a chronicle of Normandy; the Roman de la Rose, an allegory of aristocratic courtship; the Roman d’Alexandre, the history of Alexander the Great. By the end of the Middle Ages, however, the word roman, or romance, had become restricted to something like its modern meaning: a tale of knightly prowess, usually set in remote times or places and involving elements of the fantastic or supernatural.

Therefore, the word romance originally referred to the highly imaginative medieval tales of knightly adventure written in the French derivative of the original Roman (or romance) language, Latin. (That these tales often involved amorous encounters between a knight and his lady is partly responsible for the modern meanings of romance and romantic.) When we speak of the Romantic Period, we are using the word romantic in this older sense. We are referring indirectly to an interest in the charming, magical world of medieval “romance,” and more generally to the rich imaginative activity displayed in that world, which is deeply characteristic of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century writers. To avoid confusion, we should remember that “romance” as “freely imaginative perfection-seeking fiction,” not “romance” as “love between men and women,” is the true basis for the terms “Romantic Age” and “Romanticism.”

                      II. Historical and Political Background

The eighteenth century was a time of great prosperity and confidence for the upper and middle class in England, but toward the end of the century two major political revolutions disturbed the established sense of security and well-being in the country. Although both revolutions occurred outside England, they nevertheless affected the late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century thinking.

First, there was the revolt of the English colonies in America against the uncaring and unjust economic policies of the mother country under the blundering leadership of George III. The victory of the American movement for independence was certainly a blow to English confidence, but practically and philosophically it was less threatening than the second revolution, which took place in France in 1789.

Unlike the American Revolution, which was merely a rejection of authority and control by a distant and unorganized group of colonies, the French Revolution was a complete overthrow of the government of a great European power from within. This seeming change in the balance of power sparked the feeling in English liberal and radicals that, in the spirit of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the storming of the Bastille to liberate political prisoners, England was now primed for a triumph of popular democracy. (Historical accounts suggest that the Bastille liberation was more symbolic than actual.)

Later, however, English sympathizers dropped off as the revolution followed its increasingly grim and violent course. When revolutionary extremists gained control of the government in 1792, they executed hundreds of imprisoned nobility in what became known as the September Massacres. The year 1793 saw the execution of King Louis XVI and the establishment under Robespierre of the Reign of Terror, during which thousands of those associated with the old regime were guillotined. Most disturbing of all to the English mind was, perhaps, the invasion of the Rhineland and the Netherlands by the army of the French Republic, and the French offer of armed resistance to all countries desiring to overthrow their present governments.  This threat of internal rebellion spurred the existing conservative parliament into war against France, which after savage reprisals against those who had held power during the Reign of Terror, produced Napoleon as dictator and eventually as emperor of France. Once a champion of the Revolution, Napoleon became a tyrannical despot who strove to conquer Europe and establish a hew dynasty.

The reaction of the supporters of the Revolution was on of disillusionment and hopelessness in France as well as England. In England, the government and ruling classes, in reaction to the fear that the early democratic principles of the revolution might spread to their own country, introduced severe measures. Public meetings were prohibited, habeas corpus was suspended for the first time in over a hundred years, and advocated of even modest political change were charged with high treason. The disillusionment of the liberal and democratic thinkers seemed to reach its deepest when Napoleon, still regarded by some as a song of the Revolution, was defeated by British forces as Waterloo in 1815. This defeat by on despotic power over another, rather than showing democratic progress and reform, seemed to have consolidated the power of the wealthy and reactionary ruling classes.

Though less sudden and obvious in its consequences that the political revolutions in America and France, the Industrial Revolution was ultimately more important in transforming European society, and its own way more violent in its impact of human life.

This was a turbulent period, during which England experienced the ordeal of change from a primarily agricultural society, where wealth and power had been concentrated in the landholding aristocracy, to a modernized industrial nation, in which the balance of economic power shifted to large scale employers, who found themselves ranged against an immensely enlarging and increasingly resistive working class. The result of this industrialization of Britain’s cities was to depopulate the countryside by forcing workers to seek employment in the various city mills. Working and living conditions in these cities were terrible; women and children as well as men labored for long hours under intolerable conditions. More than ever before the population was becoming increasingly polarized into what Prime Minister Disraeli called the “Two nations”- the two classes of capitol and labor, the large owner or trader, and the possessionless wageworker, the rich and the poor.

No attempt was made to regulate the shift from the old economic world to the new because of the pervasive social philosophy of laissez- faire. This theory of “let alone” allowed corrupt, or at least insensitive, employers to abuse their employee’s rights without government interference. Subsequent reports done on the conditions of the mining industry where five to ten years old children were forced to pull carts on their hands and knees read like passengers from Dante’s Inferno.

In summary, the Romantic Age was a time of vast and largely unguided political and economic change. Most of the writers of this period were deeply affected by the promise of subsequent disappointment of the French revolution, and by the contorting effects of the Industrial revolution. In many ways, both direct and indirect, we can see the historical issues we have just been surveying reflected in the main literary concerns of romantic writers.

Much as the French Revolution signaled an attempt to break with the old order and to establish a new and revitalized social system, romanticism sought to free itself from the rules and standards of eighteenth-century literature and to open up new areas of vision and expression. The democratic and insistence on the rights of the individual, which characterized the early states of the French revolution, have their parallel in the Romantic writer’s interest in the language and experience of the common people, and in the belief that writers and artists must be free to explore their own imaginative worlds. The main consequences of the industrial revolution – the urbanization of English life and landscape, and the exploitation of the working class – underline the Romantic writer’s love of the unspoiled natural world or remote settings devoid of urban complexity, and his passionate concern for the downtrodden and oppressed.

                   III.      The Five Major Poets of the Romantic Age

William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)

            Although Wordsworth is the least colorful of the major Romantic poets, he is recognized by many as the greatest. Wordsworth’s reputation is based on his collaborative efforts in Lyrical Ballads and his autobiographical masterpiece the Prelude, the greatest and most original long poem since Milton’s Paradise Lost. Wordsworth is remembered as the poet of the remembrance of things past, or as he himself put it, “of emotion recollected in tranquility.” Where an object or event in the present triggers a sudden renewal of feelings he has experienced in youth; the result is poetry that exhibits a discrepancy between who he is aat the present and who he once was.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834)

            Coleridge, Wordsworth’s co-collaborator on Lyrical Ballads, is most famous for his mysterious and demonic poetry, including The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan, and Christabel. Coleridge was regarded by his friends as one of the greatest intellectual minds of the day; albeit, a mind that should have produced more, and one that suffered the dehabilitating effects of opium addiction.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)

            Byron cuts one of the most fascinating personalities of the Romantic Age. He Achieved great fame during his lifetime and was rated as one of the greatest poets through the nineteenth century, but is now viewed as the least consequential of the major Romantic poets. Interestingly, none of the major poets, bar Shelley, thought highly of Byron or his work; while Byron spoke slightingly of all the major poets except Shelley. Byron felt that all his contemporaries were focused on the wrong subject matter he chose the favorite of the neoclassicists, satire against modern civilization, in his masterpiece Don Juan.  Byron’s chief claim to be considered an arch-Romantic is with the personage of the “Byronic hero.” This persistent character is that of a moody, passionate, remorse-torn, but unrepentant wanderer; in essence, a reflection of himself. The literary descendants of this Byronic hero are Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Rochester in Jane Eyre, and Captain Ahab in Moby Dick. Byron died at the age of thirty-six in Greece, where he is regarded today as a national hero for his efforts in training Greek soldiers during the Greek/Turkish wars.

            Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)

                        Shelley’s writing is the most passionate and intense of all the romantics. Eccentric in manners and in religious and political beliefs, “mad Shelley” was expelled from Oxford for the publication of an article called The Necessity of Atheism. Like Byron, Shelley felt himself to be an alien and outcast from his own country and society; subsequently, Shelley lived out the latter years of his life in Italy. Shelley’s greatness as a poet is seen in hi philosophical masterpiece Prometheus Unbound, and for his great “Ode to the West Wind,” among others. Shelley, like Byron and Keats, died at a young age. Only twenty-nine, Shelley was killed in a boating accident in 1822. Shelley’s body was thereby cremated by a group of friends, including Byron, and his ashes buried in the Protestant cemetery in Rome.

            Mary Shelley (wife) – Frankenstein; daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft- A Vindication of the Rights of Women

            John Keats (1795-1821)

                        The brevity and intensity of Keats’ career are unmatched in English poetry. At the age of twenty-three, Keats had achieved the culmination of his brief career. Within five years of first trying his hand at poetry, Keats had written The Eve of St. Agnes, La Belle Dame sans Merci, Lamia, all of the “great odes,” as a sufficient number of the sonnets to make him, like Wordsworth, a major Romantic craftsman in that form.

            To put Keats’s potential in comparison, it should be remembered that Wordsworth did not start writing in earnest until he was twenty-seven, and on his death at the age of twenty-five, Keats’ achievements greatly exceeded that of Chaucer, Shakespeare, or Milton.

                   IV.      Poetic Theory and Poetic Practice

Although no writer during William Wordsworth’s time considered himself a “Romantic,” a word not applied until half a century later by English historians, many of then did feel there was a pervasive intellectual and imaginative climate, which some of them called “the spirit of the age.” The Revolution left the feeling that this was a great age of new beginnings when, by discarding inherited procedures and outworn customs, everything was possible, not only in the political and social realm but in intellectual and literary enterprises as well. Remember, the major writers of the day including Robert Burns, William Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge were all fervent supporters of the early Revolution. Even after its collapse, writers such as Shelley and Byron felt when purged of its errors, the Revolution’s example still comprised humanity’s best hope.

      As was mentioned, the Romantic Age in England began with perhaps the greatest act of collaboration in all of English Literature; the publishing of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads. In excited daily communions these two men set out to revolutionize the theory and practice of poetry. Wordsworth undertook to justify the new poetry in the Preface to Lyrical Ballads. In it he set himself in opposition to the literary ancien regime, those writers of the preceding century – Dryden, Pope, and Johnson- who, in this view, had imposed on poetry artificial conventions that distorted its free and natural development. Although Coleridge did not agree wholeheartedly with all of Wordsworth’s assumptions, he did see the necessity of overturning the reigning tradition. This preface, therefore, deserves its reputation as a turning point in English literature, for Wordsworth gathered up isolated ideas, organized them into a coherent theory based on explicit critical principles, and made them the rationale for his own massive achievements as a poet.

a.                   Spontaneity

Wordsworth described all good poetry as, at the moment of composition, “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Although there existed varied theories of what Romantic poetry was, all concurred on the crucial point that it was the mind, emotions and the imagination of the poet that were the defining attributes of a poem. The emphasis in this period on the free activity of the imagination is related to an insistence on the essential role of instinct, intuition and the feelings of “the heart” to supplement the judgments of the purely logical faculty, “the head,” whether in the province of artistic beauty, philosophical or religious truth, or moral goodness.

b.      Nature Poetry

Because of the prominence of landscape in this period, ‘Romantic poetry” has to the popular mind almost become synonymous with “nature poetry.” Romantic “nature poems” are in fact meditative poems, in which the presented scene usually serves to raise an emotional problem or personal crisis whose development and resolution constitutes the organizing principle of the poem. Restate: Nature causes the poet to meditate over a problem and resolve it.

c.       The Commonplace

Another characteristic of Romantic poetry was the glorification of the common man and rustic life; or according to Wordsworth, “to choose incidents and situations from common life” and to use a “selection of language really spoken by men,” for which the model is “humble and rustic life.” Byron maintained allegiance to both aristocratic proprieties and traditional poetic decorum: “Peddlers,” and “Boats,” and “Wagers’! Oh! ye shades Of Pope and Dryden, are we come to this?

d.      The Supernatural

Also characteristic of this poetry was an interest in the realm of mystery and magic, in which materials from ancient folklore, superstition, and demonology are employed in the distant past or far away locations. Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, and Keats’ La Belle Dan sans Merci fit this character.

e.       Individualism, Infinite Striving, and Nonconformity

Through the greater part of the eighteenth century, men and women had for the most part been viewed as limited beings in a strictly ordered and unchanging world. The opposite was true in the Romantic period, where a higher estimate was put in human powers. Now a radical individualism surfaced that argued that the human being should refuse to submit to limitations and pursue infinite and inaccessible goals. For example, Goethe’s Faust, unlike Marlowe’s Faustus, wins salvation through his persistent striving for more. Also apparent in Romantic poetry is the isolation of the individual, (contrast views of the Restoration).  Many of the poets of the day employed a protagonist with an individual vision that was achieved outside of an ordered society. Finally, the theme of exile, of the disinherited mind that cannot find a spiritual home in its native land or society is introduced. This solitary Romantic nonconformist was sometimes also a great sinner, therefore the fascination with Cain, Satan, and Faust—or in Coleridge’s case, his outcast Mariner.

                                  V.       The Familiar Essay, Drama, and the Novel

                  The “familiar essay” – a commentary on a non-technical subject written in a relaxed and impersonal manner – flourished in a fashion that paralleled the Romantic poetry. Essayists such as Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, and Thomas De Quincey wrote autobiographical, personal essays that sympathized with the lower classes and employed a style that broke free from their neoclassical predecessors.

                  Because of rigid moral and political censorship the drama was virtually non-existent during the Romantic period.

                  Two new types of fiction were prominent in the late eighteenth century; the Gothic novel and the novel of purpose. The term “Gothic” derives from the frequent setting of these tales in a gloomy castle in the Middle ages, but has been extended to include a lager group of novels that include stories of decaying mansions with dark dungeons, secret passages, and stealthy ghosts; chilling supernatural phenomena; and, often, persecution of a beautiful maiden by an obsessed and haggard villain.

                  The second fictional mode popular at the turn of the century was the novel of purpose that was written to give light to new social and political theories current in the period of the French Revolution.

                  The Romantic period produced two major novelists, Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott. Austen is one of England’s greatest novelists. She wrote Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey, two novels that poked fun at popular Gothic tales. She also wrote Pride and Prejudice and Emma – novels that dealt with various heroines and their capacity to demonstrate grace under social and financial pressure.

Sir Walter Scott, a contemporary of Austen who admired her work greatly, wrote in fiction that was an extreme from hers. He wrote his fiction in the rich and lively realm of history with characters that represented the middle and lower classes. Scott’s most famous works include Rob Roy, The Heart of Midlothian, and, Ivanhoe.

With the death of Sir Walter Scott in 1832, and the passage of the First Reform Bill in that same year followed by Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne in 1837, England entered a new phase in its cultural and literary history. The Romantic concern with the dignity, freedom, and creative potential of the human mind in a world that was becoming increasingly complicated, an alien, continued to be a major concern of Victorian writers – the next era of British literature.

Konnaiyur Temple

Arulmigu Shree Muthumariamman Temple

Long long ago, Konnaiyur was dense with golden shower cassia trees. These trees are called kondrai trees in Tamil. The botanical name is Cassia Fistula. People were suffering from a strange disease. They could not cultivate anything. Rain failed. There was a scarcity of water.

People worshipped the Goddess Shree Muthumariamman. She is the Mother, the Goddess of the world. She became kind to give the people prosperity and happiness. She concealed Herself under the ground. A milkman from konar community passed through the place, where the Goddess was hiding. He was stuck by the roots of a Kondrai tree. His milk pot fell down and the milk spilled. This happened repeatedly everyday on the same spot. People tried to cut and remove the obstructing root. Blood and milk started coming out from the place. People were shocked to see it. More people gathered and dug further. A beautiful idol of Arulmigu Shree Muthumariamman appeared. The people brought the idol up. Soon there was a heavy rain. All the lake, pond, pool, well etc. filled. Strange disease disappeared. Farmers started cultivating. There was happiness and prosperity everywhere. People started worshipping the Goddess Mariamman very much by offering eye embossed sheets, dolls, salt, pepper and paddy.They performed abishekam with milk, offered sweet pudding called Sarkarai Pongal.  They lighted Maa Vilakku, a lamp made of a paste of rice flour and ghee. Since then this practice is continuing.

A festival called Panguni Utsav or panguni urchavan, is being celebrated grand in this temple. Devotees from in and around Konnaiyur show much involvement and celebrate this festival. The old name Kondraiyur became Konnaiyur now. Other name is Koppanapatti.

Address:

Arulmigu Muthumariamman Temple,

Konnaiyur,

Puthukottai District,

Pincode: 622401.

Phone - 04333-262214

Konnaiyur is about 40 km from Pudukkottai, between Pudukkottai and Ponnamaravathi. It is 3 km from ponnamaravathi.

POOJAI	TIME
Ukshakala Pooja	7.00am
Kala santhi Pooja	9.00am
Sayaratchai Pooja	5.30pm
Irandam Kala Pooja	7.00pm

Temple Opening Time

Morning 7.00 am To 10.00 am

Evening 4.30 pm TO 7.30 pm

Pooja	Fees in rupees
Archanai	4
Abishegam	4
Maavilakku	2
Mudi Kanikkai	10
Mathalai Patham	3
Karumbu Thotti	10
Sagashara Namam	10
Angi Sathuthal	10
Santhana Kapu	10
Agni Balkavadi	5
Thanner Kudam	1
Pillai Koduthu Vanguthal	10

Festivals	Month
Aadi Amavasya	July - August
Panguni utsav	March - April
Tamil New year	April

Theft of Energy and Misuse of Electricity

Inspector General of Police/ Vigilance has announced in TANGEDCO website the following:

1. Any person indulging in Theft of energy/Misuse of Electricity (using electricity for purposes other than the authorized purpose) is liable to be penalised / imprisoned and the Service Connection will be disconnected.

2. If a consumer/enjoyer indulges in damaging the meter/metering equipment, tamper the seals, use Bogus seals, By-passing the meter etc., the service connection will be disconnected and such acts will lead to penalty and or imprisonment.

3. Service connections extended for domestic purposes are to be used in the authorized domestic premises only. The service connection should not be extended to nearby houses/Commercial purposes, Industrial purposes, Construction purposes, Sale of water etc., If found used for these purposes, penalty/ imprisonment are liable to be imposed.

4. Agricultural service connections should be used for Agricultural purposes only. Usage of Agricultural service connection for Commercial purpose, construction purpose, sale of water, Brick manufacturing, domestic purpose etc., will lead to penalty and or imprisonment.

5. Electricity extended for purposes other than the authorized one will be treated as theft of energy for which penalty and imprisonment will be imposed.

6. For construction purposes, separate service connection under commercial /temporary supply tariff should be obtained.

7. Free Electricity extended for huts should be extended for 1 No. lamp 40 watts and one number free Television set 70 watts only within the hut. Usage of additional loads will lead to disconnection, penalty/imprisonment.

8. Consumer, should not reconnect their service connections which was disconnected due to non-payment of Current consumption charges etc., if found reconnected, the consumers are liable to be penalized and or imprisoned.

9. The informants those who give information regarding theft of energy will be rewarded suitably and the identity of the informant will be maintained secretly.

10. The consumers are requested to extend their co-operation to the officials of TANGEDCO to discharge their duties and to follow the guidelines regarding energy conservation issued by the TANGEDCO then and there. For further details, please visit www.tangedco.gov.in

Body Facts

Bones: The largest bones is the femur, or thigh bone which is 20 inches in a six-foot tall man. The smallest bone is the stirrup in the ear, which is one-tenth of an inch. Each had has 27 bones: eight in the wrist, five in the palm, and 14 in the fingers. A newborn baby has 300 bones, some of which fuse to form in the adult.

Blood: In a child, there are 60,000 miles of blood vessels. An adult has 100,000 miles of blood vessels. The blood circulates through the body 1,000 times a day.

Brain: A newborn baby has a brain that weights three ounces. The average brain of an adult weighs three pounds. The brains is the "mission control center" of the body, sending our messages at a rate of 240 miles per hour. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body.

Cells: The cells are the body's building blocks. There are about 26 billion cells in an adult.

Eyes: Each eye weighs 1 ¼ ounces. The eyes are constantly in motion, even during sleep. Tears keep the eyes warm and are continually secreted through 12 ducts in the eye. Tears are normally secreted through two canals near the inner corner of the eyes.

Fluid: The body is two-thirds water. Blood is 83% water, muscles are 75% water, the brain 74% water, and the bones contain 22% water. In a single day, three pints of saliva are produced in the mouth.

Hair: Kids have about 75,000 hairs on their heads, which grow about 1/100 of an inch daily. Hairs of different colors grow at different rates. Dark hair grows faster than light-colored hair. No one known why. Each hair on the scalp grows about five inches a year. Eyelashes keep dust out of the eyes. An eyelash lives about 150 days before it falls out and is replaced.       

Muscles: There are over 650 muscles in the body, form the tiny ones that move the legs. The strongest muscle is the master muscle of the jaw. It takes at least 14 muscles to smile. The smallest in the body is located in the middle ear. Fingers have no muscles.

Nails: Nails are made up of hardened skin called keratin. Nails protect the ends of the fingers and toes. The half-moon at the root of the nail is called the lunula. Nails grow faster in summer than in winter. Fingernails grow four times faster than toenails. Right - handed people's nails grow faster in their right hands. Left-handed people's nails grow faster on their left hand.

Nose: More than 2,500 gallons of air flow through the average adult's nose in a day. The nose can recognize up to 1,000 different smells. The nose is the air conditioning unit of the body. It cools or warms incoming air. It also filters the dirt and dust in the air.

Skin: The human body has six pounds of skin which is, on average, 1/20 of an inch thick. The two layers of skin are the epidermis and under it, the dermis. The skin is waterproof, it protects the body and helps to regulate body temperature. A substance called melanin colors the skin the more melanin, the darker the skin. A freckle is a dense concentration of melanin. A new layer of skin replaces the old layer approximately every 27 days, totaling about 1,000 new outer layers of skin a lifetime.

Teeth: Humans have 20 primary Baby teeth and 32 permanent teeth. By age 13 most people have 28 teeth. By age 18 the four "wisdom" teeth have grown in for a total of 32 permanent teeth.

Surnames in Geography

Bengal's Sorrow-Damodar River

Blue Mountains- Nilgiri Hills

Britain of the South-New Zealand

China's Sorrow- Hwang-Ho

City of Dreaming Spires-Oxford

City of Golden Gate-San Francisco

City of Magnificent Distances-Washington D.C.

City of Palaces-Calcutta

City of Skyscrapers-New York

City of the Seven Hills-Rome

Cockpit of Europe-Belgium

Dark Continent-Africa

Emerald Isle-Ireland

Empire City-New York

Eternal City-Rome

Forbidden City-Lhasa

Garden of England-Kent (England)

Garden of India-Bangalore

Gate of Tears Strait of Babel-Mandeb

Gateway of India-Bombay

Gift of the Nile-Egypt

Granite City-Aberdeen

Great White Way-Broadway (New York City)

Hermit Kingdom-Korea

Herring Pond-Atlantic Ocean

Holy Land-Palestine

Island of Cloves-Zanzibar

Island of Pearls-Bahrein (Persian Gulf)

Islands of Paradise-the Andamans

Key of the Mediterranean-Gibraltar

Land of Cakes-Scotland

Land of Five Rivers-Punjab

Land of Golden Fleece-Australia

Land of Maple-Canada

Land of Midnight Sun-Norway

Land of Morning Calm-Korea

Land of the Rising Sun-Japan

Land of Thousand Lakes-Finland

Manchester of the Orient-Osaka (Japan)

Never Never land-Vast Prairies of North America

Pearl of the Antilles-Cuba

Playground of Europe-Switzerland

Queen of the Adriatic-Venice

Roof of the World-Pamirs

Rose-pink City-Jaipur

Sugar Bowl of the World-Cuba

The Down Under-Australia

Venice of the North-Stockholm

White man's Grave-Guinea coast of Africa

Windy City-Chicago

World's Loneliest Island-Tristan da Cunha (Mid Atlantic) 

Scientific Instruments

Altimeter: an apparatus used in aircraft for measuring altitudes.
Ammeter: is used for to measure intensity of sound.
Anemometer: is an instrument for measuring the force and velocity of wind.
Audiometer: an instrument to measure intensity of sound.
Audiophone: is an instrument required for improving imperfect sense of hearing.
Barograph: for continuous recording of atmospheric pressure.
Barometer: is an apparatus used for measuring the atmospheric pressure.
Binoculars: is an instrument used for seeing distant objects, the rays of light are twice reflected by means of right-angled prisms.
Callipers: a compass with legs for measuring the inside or outside diameter of bodies.
Calorimeter: an instrument used for measuring quantities of heat.
Carburettor: is an apparatus for charging air with petrol vapours in an internal combustion engine.
Cardiogram: a medical instrument used for tracing the movements of the heart.
Cardiograph: is a medical instrument for tracing heart movements.
Chronometer: is an instrument kept on board the ships for measuring accurate time.
Cinematograph: It consists of a series of lenses arranged to throw on a screen an enlarged image of photographs. The lens system which forms the image on the screen is termed the focusing lens.
Commutator: split ring which forms the main part of a D.C. Dynamo.
Compass needle: for knowing approximately the North-South direction at a place.
Crescograph: is an instrument for use in recording growth of plants; invented by J.C. Bose.
Dip Circle: It is an instrument used to determine the angle between the direction of the resultant intensity of earth’s field and the horizontal component at a place. This particular angle is known as the dip of that place.
Drinker’s apparatus: to help breathing in infantile paralysis.
Dynamo: The origin of electricity in a Dynamo is the transformation of mechanical energy into electrical energy. It depends on the principle of electro-magnetic induction whereby a current is produced on traversing a magnetic field.
Electroencephalograph (EEG): It is the technique of recording and interpreting the electrical activity of the brain. Records of the electrical activity of the brain, commonly known as “brain waves”, are called electroencephalograms or electroencephalographs. EEG is the common abbreviation for both the technique and the records.
Epidiascope: for projecting films as well as images of opaque articles on a screen.
Eudiometer: It is a glass tube for measuring volume changes in chemical reactions between gases.
Fathometer: is an instrument used for measuring depth of the ocean.
Galvanometer: an instrument for measuring currents of small magnitude.
G.M. Counter (Geiger Muller Counter): This special device is used for detecting the presence of radiation and counting certain atomic particles.
Gramophone: an instrument with which we can reproduce the sound recorded by a suitable recording apparatus. It is fitted with a special type of apparatus known as sound box invented by Berliner.
Gravimeter: is an instrument for recording measurement under water and to determine the presence of oil deposits under water.
Gyroscope: is an instrument used to illustrate dynamics of rotating bodies. It is a type of spinning wheel fixed to the axle.
Hydrometer: is an instrument used for measuring the specific gravity of liquids.
Hydrophone: is an instrument used for recording sound under water.
Hygrometer: is an instrument used for measuring humidity in air.
Kymograph: is an instrument used to record graphically various physiological movements i.e., blood pressure, heart beating, study of lungs etc. in living beings.
Lactometer: is an apparatus used for measuring the purity of milk.
Manometer: for determining the pressure of a gas.
Mariner’s Compass: is an apparatus which is used to guide the sailors. The needle always points north-south.
Micrometer: is an instrument used for converting sound i.e., fraction of the lowest division of a given scale.
Microphone: is an instrument used for converting sound waves into electrical vibrations.
Microscope: is an instrument which is used for magnifying minute objects by a lens system.
Microtome: is used for cutting an object into thin parts for microscopic inspection.
Odometer: is an instrument by virtue of which the distance covered by wheeled vehicles is recorded.
Periscope: It is usually used by the crew of a submarine to survey the ships etc., on the surface of the sea while the submarine is under water. It also enables the sailors to observe objects on the other side of an obstacle without exposing themselves.
Phonograph: is an instrument used for reproducing sound.
Photometer: is an apparatus used to compare the illuminating power of two sources of light.
Pipette: It is a glass tube with the aid of which a definite volume of liquid may be transferred.
Potentiometer: is used for comparing the e.m.f.s, of cells, measurements of the thermal e.m.f.s, large potential differences and currents. It is also used for measuring low resistances.
Psychrometer: is an instrument for measurement of the humidity of the atmosphere.
Pyrometer: is an instrument for recording high temperatures from a great distance (i.e., for recording temperature of the sun etc.) by making use of the laws of radiation.
Radar: Radio Detection and Range is used to detect the direction and range of an approaching aeroplane by means of radio microwaves.
Rain Gauge: is an apparatus for recording of rainfall at a particular place.
Radiometer: is an instrument for measuring the emission of radiant energy.
Refractometer: is an instrument to measure refractive indices.
Saccharimeter: is an instrument for determining the amount of sugar in a solution. It is used in breweries.
Seismometer or Seismograph: is an instrument used for recording earthquake shocks.
Sextant: is an instrument invented by John Hadley used for measuring the altitude of the sun and of other inaccessible heavenly bodies.
Spectrometer: (1) It is a type of spectroscope suitable for the precise measurements of refractive indices. (2) An instrument for measuring the energy distribution of a particular type of radiation.
Speedometer: is an instrument which indicates speed at which a vehicle is moving.
Spherometer: is an instrument for measuring curvature of surfaces.
Sphygmomanometer: an instrument used for measuring arterial blood-pressure.
Sphygmophone: an instrument, with the help of which a pulse beat makes a sound.
Sphygmoscope: an instrument, by virtue of which, arterial pulsations become visible.

Stereoscope: It is a special type of binocular, through which a double photograph snapped from two different angles by a two-lensed camera is viewed in solid relief.
Stethoscope: is an instrument to hear and analyse movements of heart and lungs.
Stop watch: for recording small intervals of time in the laboratory, in races and other events.
Stroboscope: is an instrument for viewing objects moving rapidly with a periodic motion and to see them as if they were at rest.
Tachometer: is an instrument for determining speeds of aeroplanes and motor boats.
Telephone: a device by virtue of which two persons at two different places can communicate. It consists of two main parts (i) a microphone and (ii) a receiver.
Teleprinter: an instrument which prints automatically messages sent from one place to another, on telegraph lines.
Telescope: is an apparatus used for observing distant objects.
Theodolite: is an instrument for measuring horizontal and vertical angles.
Thermocouple: an instrument based on thermo-electricity used for measuring temperatures.
Thermometer: is an apparatus used for measuring temperature.
Thermostat: It is an instrument used to regulate the temperature to a particular degree.
Viscometer: is an instrument to measure viscosity.

Indian Geography

India is the largest country in the Indian Subcontinent, deriving its name from the river Indus which flows in the northwest. Indian mainland extends in the tropical zone from latitude 8 degree 4 minute North to 37 degree 6 minute North and from longitude 68 degree 7 minute East 97 degree 25 minute East. The country lies wholly in the northern and eastern hemispheres. Even though it falls under Monsoon climatical category, the climate varies from one place to another. India stretches 3,214 km from north to south and 2,933 km from east to west. The total length of the mainland coastline is nearly 6,100 km and the land frontier is about 15,200 km. With an area of about 3,287,782 sq. km, India is the seventh largest country in the world and accounts 2.4% of total world area. The north of the country is bordered by the mighty Himalayas, the highest mountains on earth. This ranges separate India from China, Tibet and Bhutan in the east. Kanchenjunga (8598 metres) is the highest mountain peak in India. On the western side, India is separated by Arabian Sea and on Eastern side by Bay of Bengal. The Indian ocean on the south separate India from rest of the world. In the north, the mighty river Ganga, which has the source in Himalaya, with its tributaries, drains a large part of the north and created a fertile Gangetic Plain. South of the northern plains, the land rises up into the high plateau known as the Deccan and stretch itself till Indian peninsulas. With Vidhyas and Satapura on the north, it is bordered by Sahyadris (Western Ghat) on west and by Eastern Ghat on the East. This two Ghats run parallel to the coast and meet in the extreme south in Nilgiris hills.

General knowledge - India

General knowledge - India

Question	Answer
The first multipurpose project in India is	Damodar Valley
The place in North East India which receives the highest annual rainfall is	Chirrapunji
The largest Indian river flowing into the Arabian Sea is	Narmada
Indian broadcasting was nationalised in	1930
The Indian forests are divided into how many regions	Eight
The place where Indian Standard time coinsides with local time is	Allahabad
The industry for which Vishakapatnam is famous for is	Ship Building
The state which is the largest producer of iron ore in India is	Karnataka
The longest railway platform in India measuring 836.63 m is located at	Kharagpur
The Indian state which is largest exporter of cashewnut is	Kerala
The main occupation of Indians is	Agriculture
Nagarjuna Sagar dam is built across the River	Krishna
Madras state was renamed as Tamilnadu in the year	1969
The main industry of Assam is	Tea Industry
The Indian state which has maximum number of districts is	Uttar Pradesh
The length of Indian coastline is	7500 km
The longest day in India is	21st June
The biggest museum in India is	Indian Museum, Calcutta
The source of river Indus is	Mount Kailash, Tibet
Kodaikanal, a famous holiday resort is located in	Tamilnadu
Bangalore city is also called the	Garden city
The only place in India where rock salt is found is in	Mandi, Himachal Pradesh
The Gandhi Sagar dam is constructed across the river	Chambal
The river that passes through the Thar desert is	Sindhu
Nagoor, a place in Tamilnadu, is famous for	Famous muslim shrine
The Hindustan Ship Yard is located at	Vishakapatnam
The Indian state that tops in the production of cocoa is	Kerala
The first major steel plant established in India was	Tata Iron & Steel Co, Jamshedpur
Crude oil is found in south Gujarat at	Ankleshwar
The first oil well drilled in India was at	Naharpong in Assam
Calcutta is situated on the banks of river	Hoogli
The largest opium growing state in India is	Uttar Pradesh
Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd, India's largest manufacturer of penicillin is located at	Pimpri
The former name of Arunachal Pradesh was	NEFA
Khajuraho temples are located at	Chattarput, M.P.
The Indian freedom fighter who turned into a famous spiritualist was	Aurobindo Ghosh
The king who installed a `Chain of Justice' outside his place was	Jehangir
The name of the mines in Rajasthan from where we get zinc is	Zawar
Singereni in Andhra Pradesh is famous for	Coal Mines
Amaravathi is located on the bank of river	Krishna
Agra was founded in the year	1506
Ajmer was founded by	Raja Ajay Dev Chauhan
The only Indian state where we find nickel ore is	Orissa
The Udaygiri caves were built by	Karavelu
The strength of Lok Sabha is	545 members
The National Museum of Natural History is located at	New Delhi
The Indian Prime Minister who nationalised the banks was	Mrs. Indira Gandhi
The birth date of Jawaharlal Nehru is	14th November 1889
The Environment protection Act came into effect in	1986
The capital city founded on the bank of river Gomathi is	Lucknow
The president of the Indian National congress at its first session held in 1885 was	Womesh Chandra Banerji
Bhaskara-II was a famous	Mathematician
The Bhopal Gas leak incident occurred in	Dec-84
The city that is called the city of golden Temple is	Amritsar
Traveller Hawkins visited India in the year	1608 AD
Mahadevi Varma won the Jnanpith for her book titled	Yama
The headquarters of Oil and Natural Gas Commission is located at	Dehradun
Satyartha Prakash was written by	Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Emperor Akbar's Revenue Minister was	Todarmal
The elder brother of famous sitarist Ravishankar is	Uday Shankar,dancer
The first batsman to score a century in each of his first three tests is	Mohammed Azharuddin
The 10th Vice-President of India is	Krishan Kant
The first Chief of Indian Navy was	R. D. Katari
The longest road in India is the	Grand Trunk Road
The first modern college in India is the	Fort William college, Calcutta
The first purely Indian bank is the	Punjab National Bank
Lalit Kala Academy of India is situated at	New Delhi
The first Indian to win Oscar Award is	Bhanu Athaiya
Goa was liberated in the year	1961
Sharda Act was enacted to prevent	Child Marriage
National Science day is celebrated on	28th February
Jamnalal Bajaj Awards are given for	Constructive work
Rabindranath Tagore give up his knighthood because of the tragic incident of	Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Chief minister of a state who was awarded the Bharat Ratna was	M. G. Ramachandran
Baba Amte's real name is	Muralidhar Devidas Amte
Mihirsen, India's famous long distance swimmer, was by profession	An Advocate
Dr.Pramod Karan Sethi is famous for the	Jaipur foot
Rabindranath Tagore was born at	Jorasanko, Calcutta
The name of the school started by Rabindranath Tagore was	Shanti Niketan
Neyveli Thermal Power Station is located in	Tamil Nadu
The earlier name of Assam was	Kamrup
Sir C.V.Raman was born at	Thirunavannikaval
The Indian Academy of Science was founded by	C. V. Raman
The Indian Academy of Science is located at	Bangalore
All India Institute of Medical Science is located at	New Delhi
Atomic Energy Commission is located at	Mumbai
Cement Research Institute of India is located at	Balabhgarh
Space Applications Centre is located at	Ahmedabad
Jog falls is located at	Jog, Karnataka
Jawaharlal Nehru died in the year	1964
Aurangzeb died in the year	1707
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan died in the year	Frontier Gandhi
Rabindranath Tagore died in the year	1941
Mahatma Gandhi died in the year	1948
Zakir Hussein died in the year	1969
Raja Ram Mohan Roy died in the year	1833
India's second Prime Minister was	Gulzarilal Nanda
The first Law Minister of Independent India was	Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Jawaharlal Nehru's biography "With No Regrets"was written by	Krishan Hathisingh
India's first test tube baby was born in	Jun-86
The leader whose death was announced in the Lok Sabha before his actual death was	Jayaprakash Narayan
The Gold mines located in Andhra Pradesh are	Ramagiri Gold Fields,Ananthapur district
The Homeguards were organised in India in the year	1962
Ankleshwar oil field is located in	Gujarat
The Indian Prime Minister who wrote the book `Nature Cure'was	Morarji Desai
Burma seperated from India in the year	1937
`Sea Bird' project is located at	Karwar
The name of the artificial harbour along the west coast India is	Kandla
The first medical college was established in India at	Calcutta
Jawaharlal Nehru's mother's name was	Swaroop Rani
The pin code was introduced in India in the year	1972
In his last years, Ambedkar converted to	Buddhism
Gandhiji's mother's name was	Putli Bai
Gandhiji was born on	2nd October 1869
Khushwant Singh is a famous	Journalist
The film actor who became the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh was	N. T. Rama Rao
Satyajit Ray was awarded the Bharat Ratna in the year	1992
Central Research Institute is located at	Kasauli
The movie Raja Harish chandra was released in the year	1913
The first Indian Prime Minister to resign from office was	Morarji Desai
The largest railway bridge in India is	Sone Bridge,Bihar
The largest dome in India is the	Gol Gumbaz,Bijapur
Air Force Day is celebrated on	8-Oct
Indian Military Academy is located at	Dehradun
The postal department was set up in India in the year	1854
Army day is celebrated on	21st Century
Navy day is celebrated on	4th December
The national flower of India is	Lotus
NABARD was established in the year	1982
Koradi Thermal power Station is located at	Maharashtra
PTI stands for	Press Trust of India
Rail Coach Factory is located at	Kapurthala
The construction of India was adopted on	26-11-1949
The construction of India became effective on	26-1-1950
`Mrinalini'was written by	Bankim chandra Chatterjee
Bhagat Singh was hanged in the year	1931
Sheik Abdulla was popularly known as	Sher-e-Kashmir
Goa attained statehood on	30-May-87
Gujarat attained statehood on	1-May-60
Haryana attained statehood on	1-Nov-66
The capital of Haryana is	Chandigarh
Panipat is popularly known as	Weaver City
Dal lake is located in	Jammu and Kashmir
Madhya Pradesh attained statehood on	Nov-56
The capital of Madhya Pradesh is	Bhopal
Manipur attained statehood on	21st January 1972
The capital of Manipur is	Imphal
Meghalaya attained statehood on	21st January 1972
The capital of Meghalaya is	Shillong
Meghalaya state was carved out of	Assam
Mizoram attained statehood on	20th February 1987
The capital of Mizoram is	Aizawl
Before attaining statehood, Mizoram was one of the districts of	Assam
Nagaland attained statehood on	1-Dec-63
The capital of Nagaland is	Kohima
Orissa was earlier known as	Kalinga
The capital of Orissa is	Bhubaneshwar
The main airport of Orissa is located at	Bhubaneshwar
Rajasthan attained statehood in the year	1958
The capital of Rajasthan is	Jaipur
The capital of Sikkim is	Gangtok
India's highest peak is the	Kanchenjunga
Mount Abu, a famous hill station is located at	Rajasthan
The main attraction of Mount Abu are the	Dilwara Jain Temples
Hussain Sagar Lake is located at	Hyderabad
The Samadhi of Gandhiji is known as	Rajghat
The Samadhi of Gandhiji is located on the bank of river	Yamuna
The largest state in India is	Madhya Pradesh
The highest TV tower in India is located at	New Delhi
The most literate state in India is	Kerala
Golconda Fort is located near	Hyderabad
Gateway of India is located at	Mumbai
Buland Darwaza is located at	Fatehpur Sikri
Badrinath is located at	Uttar Pradesh
Elephanta Caves are located on an island near	Mumbai
Ajanta caves are located near	Aurangabad
Humayu's tomb is located at	New Delhi
Jantar Mantar is located in	New Delhi
Jantar Mantar is an	Observatory
Jantar Mantar was constructed by	Maharaja Jai Singh II
Mughal Gardens is located at	New Delhi
Qutb-Minar is located at	New Delhi
Rashtrapati Bhawan was built by	Edwin Lutyens
The Samadhi of Indira Gandhi is known as	Shakti Sthal
The Tower of Victory is located at	Chittoor
Victoria Memorial is located at	Calcutta
The highest airfield of India is the	Chushul airfield, Ladakh
The largest lake of India is the	Wular lake, Kashmir
The largest Zoo of India is the	Zoological Garden, Calcutta
The most populated state of India is	Uttar Pradesh
Central Bureau of Investigation was formed in	1963
BSF stands for	Border Security Force
ITBP stands for	Indo-Tibetan Border Police
The actual name of Mother Teresa was	Agnes Gonxha  Bejaxhiu
A programme launched by Chandrababu Naidu, Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, to clean the city of Hyderabad was named	Janmabhoomi
Vajpayee Government was sworn in for the second time on	19 march, 1998
Miss World 1997 contest was held at	Seychelles
The Miss World 1997 title was won by	Diana Hayden
The Miss World 1996 Contest was held at	Bangalore
Mother Teresa died on	5-Sep-97
Bill Gates visited India in	Mar-97
The Carnatic vocalist who won the Bharat Ratna Award was	M. S. Subbulakshmi
The first musician to get the Bharat Ratna	M. S. Subbulakshmi
Kerala attained statehood on	1st November 1956
Sahar airport is located at	Mumbai
Dum Dum airport is located at	Calcutta
The first ever railway train travelled from	Bombay-Thane
The only Indian metro railway system is at	Calcutta
Air India was formed in	1946
Indian Airlines was formed in	1953
Indira Gandhi airport is located at	Delhi
Meenambakkam airport is located at	Chennai
The Export-Import Bank of India is also known as	EXIM Bank
The Navy Academy is located at	Cochin
In 1983,Bharat Ratna was posthumously awarded to	Acharya Vinoba Bhave
Mrs. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on	31-10-1984
Mr. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on	21-5-1991
The strength of Rajya Sabha is	250
The supreme commander of Army, Navy and Airforce is the	President
The Chairman of the Lok Sabha is the	Speaker
Pong dam is located in	Punjab
The fastest train in India is the	Shatabdi Express
The oldest refinery in India is the	Digboi refinery
The largest refinery of India is the	IOC Refinery at Koyah, Gujarat
The Bhakra dam is built across the River	Sutlej
The first General Elections were held in India in the year	1952
The first engineering college established in India is the	Thompson college, Roorkee
The first library established in India is the	William Carey library, Serampore
The oldest English daily newspaper of India is	The Times of India
The largest post office in India is the	GPO, Mumbai
The largest prison in India is the	Tihar Central Jail, Delhi
The first Indian state formed on linguistic basis after Independence was	Andhra Pradesh
The largest cave temple in India is	Ellora
The only diamond producing area in India is	Panna Diamond Belt, M.P.
The biggest public sector bank in India is the	State Bank of India
Reserve Bank of India was established in	1935
The oldest tree in India is the	Monus Serrata at Joshimutt
The first Education Minister of free India was	Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Who is known as the Father of Indian industry	Jamshedji Tata
Gandhiji was assassinated by	Nathuram Godse
VDIS was launched on	1-Jul-97