Wee folk refers to fairies and their kind. Medieval theologians suggest that wee folk may be a special group of demoted angels, spirits of the dead or fallen angels. Ancient texts say the entities are of a middle nature, i.e., between humans and angels, and that they can inter-marry with humans and bear half-human children. The consistent factor in all …

Hermann Kallenbach (1871–1945) was a South African architect who is best known for being a very close friend of Mahatma Gandhi, starting from the latter’s early days in South Africa. Kallenbach was born in 1871 in East Prussia to a German-Jewish family. He went to study architecture in Stuttgart and Munich. In 1896, he went to South Africa, where he …

Binayak Sen MBBS, MD – is an Indian pediatrician, public health specialist and activist found guilty of sedition. He is the national Vice-President of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). Binayak Sen originally started working as a doctor extending health care to poor people in the rural-tribal areas of the Chhattisgarh state, doubling up as a human rights activist. …

I bow to the Arahants, the perfected human beings, Godmen. I bow to the Siddhas, liberated bodiless souls, God. I bow to the Acharyas, the masters and heads of congregations. I bow to the Upadhyayas, the spiritual teachers. I bow to the spiritual practitioners in the universe, Sadhus. This fivefold obeisance mantra, Destroys all sins and obstacles, And of all …

The lovely pink flamingoes Are a very pretty sight, But many, many years ago They all were sparkling white. The flamingoes, though so pretty Were not proud, but very shy, And hid themselves away From any humans who passed by. But one small boy determined That he’d catch them unawares And crouched down in the bushes By the lake he …

Greek mythology is filled with tales about relationships between gods and humans, usually with gods pulling pranks all the time. Christian mythology tells the story of God creating the Earth and everything after. Mythology can also mean the study of myths in an academic situation, like studying mythology at a university. How familiar are you with the wonderful world of Greek …

A river will die when pollution reaches such a level that all the available oxygen is absorbed. This can happen if the oxygen is used up by presence in the water of an excessive number of waste organisms. Large amounts of nitrogen or phosphorus make a river’s oxygen-producing plants grow so rapidly that they become over-crowded and die of exhaustion. …

If the earthworm detects an unfamiliar object next to its skin, the muscles will contract immediately and the body will turn to avoid the object. The worm will also turn in response to heat and, in a lesser degree, to light and sound. Even the heat given out by an ordinary match some inches away, will cause a worm to …

A cow starts to give milk between the ages of two and two-an-a-half years, after the birth of its first calf. For the first few days the milk is unfit for human consumption and is fed to the calf which is afterwards reared separately. During the milking or lactation period that follows the cow’s yield usually reaches a maximum after …

It’s a breed of chicken developed in Bangalore that can be used to produce both meat and eggs. Typically, poultry is reared specifically for one of these purposes. Animal-welfare experts believe that using this breed will be more humane, since the birds won�t develop health problems because of intensive breeding. Also, male laying birds needn’t be slaughtered since this breed …