∼ Benita Sen

Drilling the bark of trees with a chisel-like bill, the woodpecker exposes the tunnels of wood-boring insect larvae. It flicks in its tongue (up to 6 inches long in the Green Woodpecker) and stabs the grubs with the barbed tip to withdraw them.

The first opinion of our universe were put forward by ancient astronomers in about 2200 BC – AD 1200. The astronomers who recorded observations were from Babylon, China, India, Italy, Greece and Egypt. They didn’t used sophisticated instruments to make observations.

बंगाल के एक सुदूर गाँव में एक निर्धन ब्राह्मण अपनी पत्नी के साथ बहुत तंगहाली में रह रहा था। दोनों घर – घर जाकर भिक्षा मांगते, तब कहीं उन्हें दो जून रोटी नसीब होती थी। दिन वर्षों में तबदील होते गए और एक दिन गाँव में नया ज़मींदार बना। ब्राह्मण ने सोचा, क्यों न जमींदार के यहाँ जाकर वह भी हाजिरी …

Celebrating New Year’s Day is one of the oldest and most-exciting customs around the world. Ringing church bells, tooting horns and ear-piercing shrieks echo throughout the world on this festive day. Whether visiting relatives or watching New Year’s Day parades at home on the TV, welcoming the New Year is always a time of entertainment, celebration and resolution. Since this …

With Parvati by his side, Shiva became a family man. Inspired by her beauty, Shiva became the fountainhead of the arts, dance and drama. But he did not abandon his ways as a hermit and continued to meditate. His carefree attitude and his refusal to shoulder household responsibilities sometimes angered Parvati. But then she would come to terms with his …

An Amur tiger (Panthera tigeris altaica) lives in the Siberian plateau covered with snow, while the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigeris) lives in marshes and grasslands of the Indian subcontinent. The Amur tiger is fatter than the Bengal tiger. It also has more fur than its Bengal cousin. Owing to its weight, the Amur tiger can’t run faster than the Bengal …

Gelding is a castrated male horse while a stallion is a male horse that isn’t castrated. Geldings are calmer and better behaved, making them potentially more suitable as an everyday working animal.

Cocktail is a style of mixed drinks, and usually contains one or more types of liquor and mixers, such as bitters, fruit juice or herbs. Mocktail is a non-alcoholic cocktail. Mocktail is also know as ‘virgin cocktail’. A non-alcoholic beverage is a beverage that contains no alcohol. Non-alcoholic mixed drinks (including punches, “virgin cocktails”, or “mocktails”) are often consumed by …