Jungle Babbler - Seven sisters - nice visitors!

I find each day a flock of winged visitors in my garden at morning or evening. They give a noisy call making me to peep out to have a look at them. Often I see one of them pecking on its image in the rear view mirror of my two wheelers! These visitors are the birds called as the Jungle Babblers , and as Seven sisters in India (Turdoides striata). They have grayish brown feathers, and move the tails often either up or to one of their sides fanning out the tail feathers in the act.

These Jungle Babblers live in the tropical suburban areas only. They are seen only in flocks of seven or more, flying down to the ground or to the tree perch, one after the other following in a line. They fly lowly and do not fly away on seeing human beings; but get alerted and fly away on seeing our advancing movement towards them! As they hop around on the ground they eat insects and worms. Occasionally, they make noisy quarreling sounds with offending Mynas and chase away them!
These wonder babblers frequenting our garden are amusing and nice birds! You can share with me your experience about these birds.

Snow and Ice greet You!

At this time of winter we are reminded also about Santa Claus, Christmas tree and ……… the Snow! Snow is the solid form of water (ice!) found naturally on places having colder and the coldest weather conditions. But I have seen this snow here in our hot Subtropical region also! Yes, but ….. inside the artificial snow showering room of Entertainment Fun centers!

Some exciting factors that I came across, and wondered about this snow are here:

Snow crystals are ice crystals formed directly from water vapors by cold air, and not from the freezing raindrops! They are produced inside the clouds at -10’C. They become hexagonal prisms of ice crystals as they grow by further deposits of ice crystals on their facets. They grow branches on their six corners in the process. As they become heavy (!) enough, they move out of the clouds and float down to earth as Snowflakes! Shapes of these snowflakes vary depending upon temperature and water vapor content. Snowflakes fall down to the earth to become the Snow!

We, people in India, see only the Sand sculptures (Sand art) and wonder! But in the colder countries one can see and wonder about the Snow castles, Ice sculptures, Snowman …etc. etc. at this time of Christmas – like us too, via satellite television!

Soapnut Tree - Ritha - Cleansing hair as Shampoo!

In the past century, women here in Tamilnadu of India used to tie and wear extra entwined hair tufts on their heads. This is to show off about 'their' possession of lengthy hairs and to make up for their actual shorter hairs! I have seen such hair tufts being washed and dried before wearing on. For this a washing solution was prepared by dissolving in water the powder of dried fruits obtained from a tree. We, as children used to play with this solution to blow out bubbles of air through a tube dipped in it! The fruit mentioned here is that of the Soap-nut tree or Ritha (Sapindus trifoliatus, ‘Poonthi kuoattai maram’ in Tamil). It is a berry with a nut inside. Its fleshy part contains Saponin which has surfactant action like that of soaps and detergents! Nowadays this saponin is an ingredient in shampoos.

Another species of the soap-nut tree is found in Himalayan regions grown by Nature by itself (Sapindus mukorossi). It bears larger fruits. Seeds of soap-nut trees are said to germinate easily. But now propagation of this tree by man is drastically low; the tree needs to be grown in all farms as its canopy gives cool shadow, and its fruits have also contraceptive and antimigraine chemicals in addition to its cleansing saponin content.

This Soap-nut tree that gives us many such natural products is really a wonder tree among all the other trees, as it was in the past!

Rabies, the Fatal Disease and the Vaccines that prevent it

The disease Rabies is infective. Usually a dog having this disease spreads it to man or other animals by its bites. Rarely domestic animals such as cattle, pigs, and cats and monkeys too can also spread it. When man goes for trekking or hunting in forests he may be bitten by wild animals such as fox, wolf, mongoose and bats, that may have been already infected, and get this disease.

The virus causing this disease attacks nerves and brain after entering the body through the bite wounds. As the disease cannot be cured and leads to death quickly, one has to prevent himself from acquiring it by getting himself and also his pet animals vaccinated against it before sustaining any such bite wound. Even after any unexpected bite, the Rabies can be prevented by getting vaccinated! (- but only after immediate washing the bite wounds with soap and water, and applying Povidone-Iodine ointment - for this removes and kills the virus instantly). By taking all these precautionary measures the Rabies can be avoided by all. The wonder vaccines used get all the credits as an incurable and fatal disease is prevented by them!

Flying Termites of the Monsoon Season

In villages, here in Tamilnadu of India, people, especially children are sportive in collecting Flying Termites (Alates or Swarmers and ‘Eiesal’ in Tamil). They sing a song to threaten them, and blow air into the opening to their nest present underground! The song contains the following message: “There is snake inside the nest of these flying termites! Won’t they rush out vacating the nest?” As the flying termites come out by themselves (!), one by one, from their underground colony, they are collected in a tiny basket! One can hear these songs of the children in villages after each North East monsoon shower: at these times these creatures swarm around the places. In a few hours they shed their brown membranous wings, and then they are seen in the vicinity running one after the other in pairs. These flying termites are the reproductive forms of the Termites. They, the kings and queens from the termite colony come out of their nest, fly in air, mate with each other and settle down somewhere else inside the ground to establish their own termite colony!

Ok. What the children do with the collected flying termites? In the early part of 19^th century they simply put them on the top of the ‘Hurricane lantern,’ roasted and then relished. Elders used to roast them with fried Bengal gram (Chick pea), onion and puffed rice to make a snack for the rainy season! Now the flying termites are consumed as a side dish by the pregnant women for their high mineral contents. Their content has a good taste like that of yellowish butter and is a nutritious delicacy to all. These flying delicacies are wonderful and delicate insects indeed!

HAM and Mobile Phone Communications

In 1980s I used to tune into both foreign and native radio stations in Short Wave Bands with enthusiasm. I was able to hear the latest news broadcasts before they appear late in the daily news papers. One day while I was combing through the radio bands (SWL), I heard a radio station that was a different one from others. It had a man speaking to another man, and not to the listeners! The words repeated in the end of a conversation were: ‘roger, roger’! In response to this the other man spoke to him next. I was surprised, and understood later that they were the hobbyists, ‘HAMs’ (Amateur Radio Operators) conversing in 40 Meter band! The person’s station name (Call Sign) is VU2TX. Yes, HAMs use and speak in a lot of coded words as they also send such coded messages in Morse code (CW) – like we send now Abbreviated Text Messages in SMS! Their conversations are easy to understand if you listen to them carefully and repeatedly. You can also go through the text books prescribed for appearing for Amateur Station Operator License Examination, for referring to their coded words. (Getting through this exam entitles the candidate to get the license and speak to other HAMs all over the world!).

There are millions of HAMs throughout the world rendering services such as developing communication devices, experimenting on gadgets, helping in emergencies and disaster management through this hobby! Actually the present day’s Mobile communication devices (Phone and Signal towers) are simply the modified form of Hand held transceivers and Repeaters used by the HAMs since 1990s! HAMs’ communication networks are also the forerunners of the present day Word, Voice and Video chats of the internet, as also of the Social Community Networks such as Orkut, Myspace etc.!
We should not forget our wonder HAMs and their hobby, as they are still around us without seeking any publicity, and doing their good services. And we must be always in gratitude to them as they have provided the basis of our present day communication boom and boon worldwide!

Veins - Playing on by Emptying!

Veins are the tubes that conduct the used blood to the heart. They are superficial unlike the arteries and they can be seen prominently bulging out from below the skin in lean persons. The greenish tubes seen on the skin of the fair colored persons are actually these veins and are not the 'nerves' as many mistake them to be. They carry the blood from the distal parts of the limbs up towards the heart. They have valves in them that permit the flow of blood towards heart only but not backwards! To see this action of veins do the following:

You can place a finger tip on a distal portion in a stretch of a vein and press it down gently to block the flow of blood in it.

Then with another finger tip pressing down on it next to the previously fixed pressing finger, move over the length of the vein pushing up the blood in it (emptying) proximally.

Next take out this second pressing down finger tip. Now you shall see the previously prominent vein as an empty, dry, flat and green streak! The emptied blood does not flow back as a valve in the vein prevents it! Now if you release the pressure by the first applied finger tip, blood from the distal part of the vein will flow forwards and fill it up making it prominent once again!
It is a wonder action of the vein valves that helps to circulate the blood inside our body properly!

Shooting Stars - Meteors in Leonid Showers!

In our younger years of age, we used to gaze at the night sky and count the stars that appear, move and disappear – ‘Shooting Stars.’ While doing so, friends advised that one should immediately look at a green tree if he sees a shooting star; otherwise it might cause his death!

In 1998 November, there was news in dailies about ‘Leonid Showers.’ So, we all went to look upon the skies after midnight at about 01.30 am. The date was 18^th. You can read my jotting on my diary on that date:

“At night (1.30 am to 3.30 am) we all saw the meteors on the clear sky about one or two at a time in a gap of about 10 minutes from 2.15 am to 3.30 am”

As we waited with patience, there were these continued appearances of these shooting stars (or the Meteors) in showers. It appeared as if fireworks were lit and displayed in the sky at the Deepavali Day, here in India! An amazingly spectacular heavenly sight!

‘Meteoroids’ are the smaller separated parts from the Asteroids belt of stones that revolve around the Sun. When they come near our Earth, they are attracted and sucked into its atmosphere; but they catch fire and become visible as ‘Meteors.’ As they do so they get vaporized or fall down to the ground as ‘Meteorites.’ (It is believed that one large such of meteorites hit the Earth in Mexico and caused the extinction of Dinosaurs). But the Meteor showers of Leonid occur when our Earth passes through the dust particles left out by the comet Tempel-Tuttle.
Did these meteor showers come only in 1998? No, no! They appear each and every year around mid- November! So, you can witness this celestial event this year also in the Constellation of Leo. I wish you all have this wonderful experience! You can contact me for sharing your own rendezvous with these meteors or meteorites.

Venus - Our Sister Planet!

First, I wish you all and the kids a Happy Halloween Day! And wish the kids have nice ‘Treats by Tricking’ in this day!

Planets in the Solar system including our Earth rotate themselves in the direction from the East to the West. But with one exception – one of our planets rotates in the reverse direction! It is the planet Venus! On the land of Venus, our Sun rises in the West and sets in the East!

As this planet is close to the Sun as Mercury, it is seen near the Sun always – as ‘Morning Star’ just before sunrise or as ‘Evening Star’ just after sunset!

As it is closely similar in size and composition to that of our Earth, it is called Earth’s sister planet.

It has been named after the Roman Goddess of Love. It is known as ‘Sukra’ in Indian Astrology. It is stated in astrology that Sukra provides one with wealth!

Puzzling scientists still, the Venus is a wonder planet indeed!

Red Velvet Mite - to Please You!

As the North East Monsoon brings rain showers, here in South India, we see now a beautiful crawling creature. It is seen after each shower, moving on with its legs softly on the fine sand brought out by the storm water. It has velvety shining skin with dimples on its back. It is so soft that you are tempted to touch on its back. This is the Red Velvet Mite of Trombidium species! (It is called as 'Paappaathee Poochee' or 'Pattu Poochee' in Tamil language). It usually comes out of soil just after the rains, in sunshine, as do also the mushrooms at this time. As children we used to collect these mites in match boxes, with tiny bits of grass added as its diet! But I have seen these mites as predators too, preying on Flying Termites ( 'Eiesel' in Tamil) that also come out of the earth at this time of monsoon.

These Red Velvet Mites live in the layer of fallen leaves in wood lands or farm wastes. They eat small insects, and eggs of other mites and insects. The females get fertilized as they sit on the ‘Love Garden’ made by the male with its semen! The larvae of them live as parasites on other insects like Grasshoppers. The mites live for more than a year.

It is a wonder mite that wondered children and is wondering all the children every year at this time of monsoon here! If you have anything to say about this mite you can share it here by clicking on the Comments.

Jumping Spider - the Intimate Inmate!

With human life, some animals attach and adapt themselves. Examples for this are dogs, cats, sparrows etc. Spiders also adapt like these, to human environment – inside the house! I refer here to the Jumping Spider particularly. This spider jumps or hops on to you when you are near it, and it even looks up at your face by moving up its head and eyes! It usually preys upon insects such as mosquitoes and house-flies. In Tamil language it is called as ‘E Pulee,’ that means as ‘The Tiger that preys upon House-fly.’ It is found often on the floor or the walls, jumping here and there doing no harm to anybody. But I find it to be very the most sensitive to water. A mild splash of water on it can kill it! It won’t revive at all even if it is well dried out of is moisture. In breeding, it makes white sacs in which its young ones hatch out from eggs and grow.It is a wonder spider in our house that has come to stay with us voluntarily!

Mud Wasps and Wonder Nests!

Mud wasps (mud daubers) are seen coming inside the house through the windows and then getting out after a while. They fetch mud pellets to build nests on wall corners, ledges or the ceiling.

They also prefer 'artificial man made nests' - like the screw holes seen on the speakers, or the power plug points! They simply lay eggs in them and seal with mud.

I have seen colorful whorls of paper like nesting material inserted one over the other like plastic cups, inside power plug points. The nesting material used here are the petals from the flowers of Bougainvillaea! Inside the central tube-like part of this 'flower' the wasp lays eggs and seal.When I break open these wasp nests, I often find semiconscious spiders or caterpillars moving their parts now and then.

Cuckoo wasp is different and it behaves like cuckoo in placing its eggs in other mud wasps' nests to get its larvae fed and brought up by the host wasp!
Again and again I could post more and more about these wonder wasps that drive you away from their nests, and but do not sting you at all! You can share with me your own experiences with wasps here.

Aspirin - the Tablet that avoids Deaths and Disabilities!

Tablet Aspirin was sold and used widely under many brand names in 1960s for relieving headache. Slowly it was pushed aside as newer pain relievers were discovered. Moreover its continuous use produced (and produces) various other illnesses that include Gastric ulcer and Gastric bleeding. These almost precluded its use and it almost disappeared in the prescriptions of doctors.
In this present stressful world of today, as lifestyle has become totally changed from that of 1960s, many other Non-Communicable Diseases have become high handed. These diseases are Hypertension, Diabetes, and other complicating illnesses arising out of them such as Heart attack, Brain stroke, etc. Now our tablet Aspirin has been rediscovered again to have preventive nature against the complications of these illnesses, and thus the deaths and disabilities also, which may result out of them! Here Aspirin has to be taken only in low dose that is innocuous and avoids Aspirin’s own side effects such as Gastric ulcer.
Thus this wonder tablet Aspirin is in limelight again as it safeguards human race from dwindling down!

Panoramic Views of Pothigai Hills at Courtallam - Waterfalls - 4

The famous waterfalls of Courtallam are Main Falls, Five Falls, Old Falls, Tiger Falls, Little Falls (Chitraruvi in Tamil language) and Fruit Falls (Pazhla Thotta Aruvi). Two more big waterfalls are also there but in higher altitudes: Shenbaga Devi Falls and Honey Falls.
These two falls could be approached only by trekking on tracks over the hills. Guides have to accompany you to reach the Honey Falls. I have gone to the Honey Falls climbing and hopping over rocks, and seen the water falling down from the top of a lofty hill cutting through a rock. There are unusually huge Honey bee hives attached to the cleavage walls of the hill through which the water falls down. Hence the falls is called as Honey Falls. You cannot go near the falls as there is a deep ditch down the falls site. So, you cannot take bath in it. But you can ‘taste’ the pure crystal clear and cool water flowing down as a stream towards you. From there I was able to view the beautiful scenes of the plains down and away the hills!

In the past, about once in four years people from the nearby districts there used to visit Courtallam. Nowadays with all the transport facilities available, people from all over South India visit the place regularly at least once in a year!

There are resorts in and around Courtallam for the visiting people to stay and enjoy. Cuisines of both Veg. and Non-Veg. types are served in the hotels and eateries.

For entertaining the kids playing parks, Aquarium and Mini zoo are there.

The Courtallam, ‘The Spa of South India’ at the foot hills of Pothigai Hills is a wonderful place to all those who seek Nature, Science and Medicine!

Panoramic Views of Pothigai Hills at Courtallam - Animals - 3

At Courtallam we can enjoy the antics of monkeys which come in troops – sometimes they seize the eatables from you, when you are unaware! You shall have to carry with you a stick to ward off them. You can also see often baby monkeys cuddling to the chests of their mothers!

Pothigai Hills have forests that show a wide and rich biodiversity: you can see Millipedes and Slugs of various sizes moving on in damp places.

One can hear the Beetles that make noise having a characteristic note and see the Fireflies as moving lights at night. Lizards crawl on the forest floor, and the Fruit Bats fly away every evening from their roosting places on the trees. The moist rocks are covered with Lichen and Moss . Ferns greet you with their fronds on the wayside.

If you have seen a similar wonder place with such all animals, insects and plants you can share here your experience.

Panoramic Views of Pothigai Hills at Courtallam - Flowers - 2

At Courtallam , everywhere we can see fragrant flowers in full bloom, larger in size than those in the plains. I should mention here specially about a flower, Champak or Shenbagapoo (Magnolia champaca), that is available here. It is yellowish and has heavenly fragrance! It is offered to the God, Thirukutrallanathar of the reputed Siva temple here. People used to buy these flowers preserved in transparent bottles and carry to the plains to place in the showcase of their house.


The children from the plains see this Touch-Me-Not or the Sensitive Plant ('Thottal Sinnungi' in Tamil) with wonder, and have the experience of touching its leaves that fold and retract themselves in response!

Various fruits are available here at Courtallam: Mangosteen, Carambola, Pample mousse, Rambuttan, Jack fruit,Java Plum (Naavel Pazhlam), Durian and the Mango ! You can share here your thoughts by posting comments.

Panoramic Views of Pothigai Hills at Courtallam - 1

Each year in July and August, South India receives seasonal rains by South West monsoon. Western Ghats have continuous rainfall at this time. Pothigai Hills are also on the Western Ghats.

The clouds always embrace the Pothigai Hills predicting good rains on their slopes. As a result, there is a copious flow of fresh and cool medicinal water down the hills to make the famous waterfalls at the place called Courtallam. Courtallam is at the foot hills of Pothigai Hills. Here at Courtallam there is always breeze whistling through trees, with fine drizzling called 'Saaral' in local language (Tamil).

The drizzles and the rains over the hills are absorbed on a sponge-like cover of medicinal herbs. As this water soaks the medicinal herbs it gets medicinal properties from them. Then it seeps and percolates down in small streams which join to form the great waterfalls down at the foot hills, Courtallam.

All those visiting Courtallam never miss to have a bath at the waterfalls, and thereby to have a fresh mind, wonderful and sensational experiences, and all those benefits resulting out of it!

Health Enhancing Wonder - Cordyceps!

When I found ants float on the cow’s milk or when dead caterpillars were found in the dishes made with cereals or beans, my grandmother encouraged relishing the drink or the dish, explaining about the enhanced nutrients they provide: they are good for the eyes and kids’ growth! The Chinese had tasted such dishes that we rejected with fear and distaste, and found medicinal properties in them! Yes, I refer from here the Vegetable Caterpillar Fungus (Cordyceps sinensis). It is a vegetable on a non-vegetable! The fungus infects the caterpillar and converts it as its dwelling, preserving the caterpillar form (parasitism).

It is said that Cordyceps fungus is used in Chinese traditional medicines. More than that: its consumption is attributed to have made the Chinese athletes break many world records in their National Games in 1993, by improving their performances! Its derivatives are also used to aid in human organ transplantations. It is more powerful than the ‘Ginseng’ root in healing.

Such a wonderful fungus having many health benefits is abundant in the high altitudes of Himalayan plateau.

Another source of Biodiesel - Pongam Tree!

There is another source of biodiesel apart from the Jatropha plant. It is the Pongam Tree (Pongamia pinnata). Its seeds contain up to 30% of oil. This oil is called Pungam Oil or Honge Oil, and it is used in electric generators for lighting and water pumping, and also as medicine in a host of diseases.

The tree is drought resistant and is raised for its canopy in avenues that gives shadow in the sun shine. Strikingly, its leaves bear brownish galls of pea-size. These galls are formed after the affection of its leaves with insect pests, giving these peculiar nodular surfaces to the leaves!

The Pongam tree is a wonder tree with multiple uses for the mankind. That is why the Indian farmers are being encouraged to grow them a lot.

The Enchanting 3 D

As a boy, in 1970s I have come across 3 D pictures, for the first time. These three dimensional pictures have depth information also for our viewing! My elder brother allowed me then to view in 3 D the photos that were on a disc reel, through his ‘View-Master .’ Still I remember Saachaa Nehru (former Prime Minister of India then) in his long white coat with a rose adorned on it! As the disc reel was rotated each photo came into my eyes for giving 3 D perception.

Then 3 D photos on photo paper were in circulation. Another version of 3 D effect is felt when you stare close at a bizarre image – a 3 D image lifts itself up and stands out from the paper! It is called Autostereogram or Magic Eye Images .

Next films came with 3 D effects that are to be experienced by wearing special glasses. Now even these glasses themselves have been disposed off: you can view directly 3 D films on special TV screens in near future!

Recently Laser 3 D TV has also been researched to get this 3 D effect for us. I wonder that soon we may have to search and distinguish our own real eye view of our world from those images in the 3 D world!

A Mark Guaranteeing a Standard Product!

We all see this mark, CE on most of the electronic and other products in every place of the world. What is this and what is the use of this mark?

It is an abbreviated form for the French words “Conformite’ Europeene.” It means “European Conformity.”

If a product bears this CE mark, it is guaranteed that you have a quality product as it complies with European standards of health, safety and environmental protection. Such a marked product of any country can be purchased in the open market anywhere in the world! No restrictions are imposed on the movement of these products within selected countries. Even the Government departments can place them directly in the market for sale, away from its production countries.

This mark is a wonder everywhere!

Touring the World on Verve Earth! - 2

I am continuing here my account of touring the world on Verve Earth satellite!

I find many blogs are not updated frequently. One such blogger says in his post that he has moved to Wordpress but will keep on visiting the Blogger blog then and there!

In a blog from Russia I found a post that mentioned about disposable mobile phone! A Chinese blog from Shanghai exhibited beautiful photos and photos only – a bamboo tree, swans and others!

An Australian blog post showed a photo of a VIP vomiting on the road from his car. A Malaysian fun blog quotes Einstein’s third law to catch a lion: first present yourself to the lion ……..! Then the lion will come to you – to be caught!

It was really a wonderful tour to view all these wonder blogs of the world!

Touring the World on Verve Earth! - 1

Touring the world as if sitting on a satellite and having a look at the blogs of Bloggers present all over the world will be both awful and interesting, isn’t it? I was in a similar situation when I combed through all the world’s continents for the blogs of Bloggers in Verve Earth website! I share here that wonderful experience with you!

In my tour there were regions like that of South America where I cannot read the blogs at all, as they were in local language script. But I could see a blog there that has cartoons and cartoons only!

One blogger near India in Maldives offers help to women of her country to redress their worries through law!

In North America bloggers have their blogs on wide variety of topics. Many of the bloggers I found on the tour are Software Engineers or Technologists working in other nations far away from their native nation. Some of them have even formed their National Community Blogs!

I shall not stop with this and you shall have to wait only just a few days: I shall continue this in my next post until then you can have your own experience on the satellite, Verve Earth!

Hanging Upside Down of Bats

I had earlier displayed these following on the Poll of this blog: Why do bats hang upside down in the ceiling?

1. For hibernating easily

2. For easy take off to flight

3. Predators cannot access them from below

4. Bones are weak for upright posture

5. For all the above reasons

6. Easier to locate the predator ultrasonically

7. Reason not yet found or proved

What could be your choice from these? You can click on comments placed below this post and check the answer. I have revealed it there!

An Insect's Swimming Style

There is an insect that swims near the surface of water with its upside down! It is called Backswimmer (Notonecta glauca). Though this aquatic insect resembles Water boatman, it is different: unlike water boatman it is a predator of tadpoles and small fish – a non-vegetarian. And it has specially adapted fringed hind legs for swimming. It can also fly. And it may bite us and give pain, if disturbed.

It is a wonder insect to watch in its action – back swimming!

A 'Hot Ice' that Warms You!

You have seen solid ice flakes melt into liquid water; but have you ever seen a liquid turn into solid within seconds? (You shall have to keep water in refrigerator for about three hours to get the solid ice cubes!) Moreover have you seen the so formed solid to become hot, hotter and the hottest in the process? Yes, the matter I refer to here is the Hot ice !

This ‘ice’ is actually the chemical, Sodium acetate in its trihydrate form. This chemical is used in the heating pads (pain reliever) or hand warmers. A heating pad contains the Sodium acetate dissolved in water.

When we need heat we shall have to just click the metal disc placed inside the pad. It switches on the process: the entire transparent liquid turns into white solid within seconds moving like a mist – emitting heat also for us!

This Sodium acetate has also other uses such as flavoring chips and preserving food. This is the wonder chemical having the wonder phenomenon that I have presented here for this week.