ISSUE 81
JUNE 22, 2020
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WHY DO
CRABS WALK
Why are the
SIDEWAYS?
cheetah's cheeks
Fun facts about
the Seal THE STORY
OF THE CHERA DYNASTY
stained?
FOLKTALE
Why the Cheetah's
Cheeks are Stained Once upon a time, there was a very wicked hunter. One day, he was sitting under a tree and lazing around. It was extremely hot and the hunter was too lazy to go out to the bushes and hunt for himself. The hunter saw a herd of fat springbok grazing on the field from a distance. Though he wished he could have one of them for lunch, he was too lazy to even get up from his place. He was staring at the springboks when suddenly he noticed a female cheetah slowly approaching the herd. The hunter kept a close eye on the cheetah. The cheetah moved closer and closer to the herd and then all of a sudden, she pounced on one of the isolated springboks and killed him in no time. The rest of the herd was terrified by the impact and raced away quickly. The cheetah gradually dragged her prey into the nearby bushes. The hunter was still staring at the cheetah and he noticed that three very young and beautiful cubs of the cheetah were waiting for her behind the bushes. The hunter immediately felt very jealous of the cubs. They got such delicious meat without even moving a muscle. The hunter wished he too had someone to hunt for him and provide him with a lovely meal every day. Suddenly, a wicked idea struck him. He decided to steal one of the cheetah cubs so that he could train it to hunt for him. The hunter was impressed with his own idea and waited for the cheetah to go to drink water so that he could begin his mission safely. As it got dark, the cheetah put her cubs to sleep in the bushes and proceeded towards the waterhole. The hunter waited patiently for the cheetah to be out of sight and quickly entered the bushes with
his spear. The little cubs were unperturbed by the new visitor. There were too young to identify or react to an enemy. The hunter observed the three cubs carefully but all of them were so perfect that he could not pick one. The hunter thought that it would certainly be more comfortable to have all the three cubs hunt for him. So, he stole all three of them and ran away. The mother returned about an hour later, only to find that all her three cubs were missing. She spent hours searching for them everywhere possible, but could not find them. The cheetah was heartbroken and started crying. She cried and cried for such a long time that the tears left a stain on her face. The cheetah cried the whole night. An old man who was passing by the cheetah’s house heard her crying. The cheetah told the old man about her cubs. The old man was very wise and understood at once that this was the job of the wicked hunter. The tribe had a tradition, that a hunter can only use his own strength to hunt for himself, but this hunter had broken the tradition by stealing the little cubs of the cheetah. The old man was very angry and told everyone in the village about the incident. The villagers got hold of the hunter who was trying to escape with the cubs. They snatched the cubs away from him and threw him out of the village. The little cubs of the cheetah were returned to her. The cheetah was overjoyed to see her cubs. However, the crying of the previous night had left a permanent mark on the cheetah’s face. Till date, the mark acts as a reminder to everyone of the fact that no one must use the strength of any other animal for hunting his own food.
Find the Fish with A Pair
Silly Rhymes
The
Smiling Shark
There was an old Shark with a smile So broad you could see it a mile. He said to his friends, As he sewed up the ends, “It was really too wide for the style.�
Science explorer What is Cloning?
Have you heard of the famous sheep Dolly? Dolly was made from a cloning procedure. She is identical to her mother. Well, now you must be wondering that we all look like our parents! But Dolly is a Xerox copy of her mother; in fact she is the identical sister of her own mother and Dolly doesn’t have a father! All this has been possible with the breakthrough in the cloning process. Cloning is the process by which an exact, identical copy of the original can be made. Clones are those organisms that have identical genes. That means the sequence of their DNA is the samean exact copy. Identical twins or triplets are also called clones. When you take out the leaf of a plant and plant it somewhere else, it can grow into the copy of the original plant. Our body is made up of very tiny organisms called cells. These cells do their usual work which the DNA tells them to do. The DNA stands for de-oxy-ribo-nucleic acid which is the genetic code in all human beings. A child gets this genetic code- half from the father and half from the mother. When a child is formed- it is formed from one single cell; the egg cell, which has the DNA from the father and the mother. This cell then divides itself into millions to form a child. This is known as differentiation. Each cell is a copy of the original cell and has the same genetic code. How does Cloning work? For the process of cloning, one only needs the egg cell. Scientists pull out the DNA from an animal cell and insert it into the egg cell. The egg cell is taken from another animal. The nucleus or the DNA from the egg cell is removed with the help of a very fine needle, before the implantation process.
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spot ten differences
Pondering Corner
Why Do Crabs
Walk Sideways? Crabs are crustaceans and have five legs on each side of its hard shell. The front pair of legs is used for grasping food, for example and defence. The other four pairs are used for walking or swimming. Each leg has seven joints that are arranged so that the crab can walk sideways. It is easy for us humans to move backwards, forward and sideways, this is because of how our legs are attached to our bodies. The bending of the knee towards the front also makes walking forward easier. A crab’s legs, however, are attached to the side of its body. Its joints unlike our knees bend outwards, thus enabling the crab to only move sideways. There are a few crab species that can walk forward. These crabs have shells that are longer and wider. Crabs that walk sideways have shells that are wider than they are long. Other animals move sideways too. The rattlesnake, for example, moves sideways as it makes its way in the desert.
Tickle your
funny
Q: What do you call a seal in the desert? A: Lost Q: Where do seals go to see movies? A: The
dive-in!
bone
Q: Why did the seal cross the road?
A: To
get to the other tide!
AMUSING NEWS
NASA's New Recruites
Elephant seals on the Kerguelen Island in the Antarctic are sporting new headgear. No, these aren't a new fashion statement! These seals are NASA's new recruites! The headgear will help NASA record data of the ocean water temperature as the seals dive in.
stories from history
The Chera Dynasty
The lands south of the Mauryan Empire which included the Malabar coast, Karur, Coimbatore and Salem districts in South India were all part of the Chera Dynasty. The Chera capital was Tiruvanchikulam. Utiyan Cheralatan was the first Chera king and is accredited with founding the dynasty. Utiyan’s son, Imayavaramban Nedun Cheralatan was responsible for making the Chera dynasty one of the most powerful kingdoms in the south. His rule lasted 58 years and during this time he won multiple battles and wars, the most famous of which was against his sworn enemies, the Kadambas of Banasvi.
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Imayavaramban not only extended his kingdom, he also supported the local arts, culture and literature during his reign. Yet, the greatest Chera king was to follow – King Kadalpirakottiya Vel Kelu Kuttuvan. The great Tamil epic, Silappadigaram (which means the jeweled anklet) which tells the story about a mythical hero is supposed to be about him. There were two other epic works during that time which were Manimegalai and Sivagami Sindamani. Kuttavan is also said to have achieved the famous victories at Mogur Mannan and Kongar. The Chera kings used marriage to strengthen their ties with other clans as they were constantly warring with their neighbors and needed to strengthen their positions. With strong overseas links with places like Rome, the kingdom prospered immensely. The trade consisted mainly of spices, ivory and sandalwood. They also exported pearls and gems to the Middle East.
This period of success was followed by the Kalabhras overthrowing the Cheras. The Chera dynasty however, overthrew the Kalabhras and the second Chera Empire was founded with Mahodyapuram as their capital. Mahodayapuram was founded by Kulasekhara Alvar, one of the twelve Alvars or Saints who sang hymns and composed songs in praise of their beloved Lord Vishnu. The Bhakti movement of south India established by the Alvars. Kulasekhara Alvar authored five dramas ‘Perumal Tirumozhi,’ ‘Mukundamala,’ ‘Tapatisavarna,’ ‘Subhadradhamala’ and ‘Vichchinnabhiseka.’ He was a renowned scholar and lover of art.
Kulasekhara was succeeded by Rajasekhara Varman Rul. He was followed by Sthanu Ravi Varman who was friendly with the Cholas. During his time, trade flourished with China and Kerala amongst other places. However, with Sthanu’s death, the relationship between the Cheras and Cholas turned sour. The last Chera King was Rama Varma Kulasekhara who shifted his capital to Quilon. After his death, the Chera dynasty disintegrated and the Cholas took over.
Fun with Words 1. The in the
blanks with the
correct
words
starting with S
2. I need some more
3. The
in the lemonade. = _________
rises in the east. = _________ Answers: 1. Sunflower, 2. Sugar , 3. Sun
Fill
is swaying in the breeze. = _________
Sammy the seal was stuck on an iceberg floating in the middle of the Antarctic. He had been swimming for days separated from his family, till he spotted the iceberg and climbed on. In the distance, he saw a deserted island slowly appear...
Complete
the Story...
fun facts
with Hamlet the Hamster To know or not to know, that is the question!
Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?
Facts about Seals Seals are believed to have evolved from land based, bear or otter-like ancestors. A seal's whiskers help it to detect prey in dark murky waters. They have four flippers, so are in a category of animals known as pinnipedia which means 'fin-footed'. Seals are found in most waters of the world, mainly in the Arctic and Antarctic but also in some areas of the tropics.
Help the Seal Find Fish
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The Team Editor
Assistant and Copy Editor
Aryaa Naik Dalmiya
Contributing Writers Kaniz Fatima Khan
Priyanka Garegat
Deepti Raavi
Ekta Bhatnagar
Raunaq Amarnani
Rituparna Chatterjee
Archana Rajagopal
Content
Lavanya Khare
Layout and Design Walmik Pawar
Artists
Kalpana Siromani
Amol Padwal Shailendra Havane Sujith VS Rohini Dusane
Distribution
Bhavini Damani Sitanshu Bhartiya Atul Wankhade
Digital Marketing
Archana Rajagopal Bharat Pillai Tushar Rokade
Dnyanesh Thombre Prashant Kini Shekhar Ramaiah
Creator Jesh Krishna Murthy
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