My Science School

Baanaadi is a 2014 Indian Kannada language children's film written and directed by debutant Nagaraj Kote, based on the novel Usiru he wrote.  It stars Praful Vishwakarma, H. G. Dattatreya and Rajesh Nataranga in the lead roles. The supporting cast features Dhruthi, Abhinaya, Sringeri Ramanna, Jayashree Raj, Venkatachala, T. S. Nagabharana, Mimicry Gopi and Yashwanth Kote. Music for five of the six soundtracks in the film were composed by Karthik Sharma, who, with the film became the youngest composer in the history of Kannada cinema.

 Usiru, a novel written by Nagaraj Kote in the 1990s, deals with the upbringing of children in the current era. Deciding to direct a film based on the novel, Kote launched the film in April 2014, having signed Praful Vishwakarma, Rajesh Nataranga and H. G. Dattatreya to play characters of three generations; a young boy, his father and grandfather. The role of Praful's mother was played by Anubhava, who was pregnant during the filming stages. Filming completed in July 2014.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Aamir Khan's debut directorial venture Taare Zameen Par, a sensitive story of an eight-year-old dyslexia child, has been selected as India's entry to the foreign language category for Oscars at the 81st annual Academy awards.

Taare Zameen Par written by Amole Gupte was released in 2007 and has received critical and Box Office acclaim. Aamir had said that the film did business of Rs 131 crore at the box-office world-wide.

The film made its theatrical debut in India on 21 December 2007, and UTV Home Entertainment released a DVD for Indian audiences in 2008. Disney's later release of the international edition DVD marked the first purchase of distribution rights for an Indian film by a global company.

Taare Zameen Par has received numerous awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Film for 2008 and the 2008 National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare. It was India's official entry for the 2009 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film, but did not progress to the short-list.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Sahaj Paather Gappo is a Bengali film directed by Manas Mukul Pal and produced by Avijit Saha. The film depicts the story of two brothers, Chhotu and Gopal from a poor family of a Bengal village.

10-year-old Gopal’s carefree childhood is disrupted when his father meets with an accident. It becomes difficult for his mother to feed him and his little brother Chottu. Gopal starts devising ways to earn money. With a little assistance from Chottu he takes up odd jobs from cleaning wells to selling laboriously plucked fruits in the local village market. Emboldened by his initial success, Gopal fancies himself as the breadwinner of the family. Meanwhile, a grand Janmashtami feast is being planned in the Brahmin household where the pulao will be served. Hearing this both the brothers hatch plans of their own. Gopal would like to make a quick buck by selling palmyras for the feast, while Chottu starts dreaming of this fancy dish that he has never seen or tasted. After all he has heard that the whole village will be invited. But as a disheartening reality Gopal and Chhotu were not chosen to be invited. It shattered Chhotu's dream world.

This film made its entry to Mumbai Film Festival 2016 in two categories and is selected for Indian Panorama section of International Film Festival of India 2016. It is also one of the two movies from India that competed in the international section of International Film Festival of India. Noor Islam and Samiul Alam jointly won the National Film Awards, India (2016) in the best child actor category.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Village Rockstars is a 2017 Indian Assamese language coming-of-age film written, edited, co-produced, and directed by Rima Das, who is a self-taught filmmaker.

 The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Rockstars was Das's second film after Antardrishti (2016). Her 2018 film, Bulbul Can Sing, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2019, she directed her first documentary fiction ‘Sunshine Dreamers’. This is a result of her collaboration with BRICS co-production Kids & Glory for which she worked with Producer Lu Chuan and fellow BRICS Directors Tiago Arakilian, Nastia Tarasova, Shen Zhao Qing, Shane Vermooten and Lu Chuan.

‘Village Rockstars’ which tells the story of a 10 year old girl and her dream of owning a guitar and forming a band, the Rockstars, with a group of local boys, has also won awards in three other categories.

Village Rockstars also won awards in three other categories: Best Child Artist, Best Location Sound Recordist and Best Editing. The film was selected as India's official entry to the 91st Academy Awards, but it was not nominated for top nine films from 87.

 

Picture Credit : Google

 

Smile Pinki (2008) is a 39-minute documentary directed by Megan Mylan. The film shows the story of a poor girl in rural India whose life is transformed when she receives free surgery to correct her cleft lip. 

"Nomination of Smile Pinki for an Oscar is bound to bring awareness about this congenital anomaly among the general public and health agencies and therefore it is a good news for all cleft patients whose life can change," said an elated Singh.



Produced in Hindi (with English subtitles), Smile Pinki was also a 2008 nominee for best documentary short by the International Documentary Association.



Others in race with Smile Pinki are The Conscience of Nhem En, The Final Inch, and The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Ever since the trailer of Nagesh Kukunoor's 'Dhanak' was released, it managed to tug at the deepest corners of the heart. Starring Hetal Gadda and Krrish Chhabria as the two children, the film revolves around the lives of eight-year-old visually impaired boy Chotu and his 10-year-old sister Pari.

 

Pari, who had promised her younger brother that he'll be able to see before he turns 9, sets out on a magical journey with Chotu to meet their reel-life hero Shah Rukh Khan who is apparently promoting an eyes donation campaign.

The film was premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Crystal Bear Grand Prix for Best Children's Film, and Special Mention for the Best Feature Film by The Children's Jury for Generation Kplus.

The film has also garnered the Best Film Award in the main category-Children's Feature Film Competition-Cinema in Sneakers (film festival), and the Best Film Award - at the Montreal International Children's Film Festival (FIFEM). Dhanak was also screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, and the Toronto International Film Festival. The film has garnered Best Children's Film at the 64th National Film Awards.

 

Picture Credit : Google

The Blue Umbrella is a 2005 Indian drama film based on the novel The Blue Umbrella (1980) by Ruskin Bond. It was directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and starred Shreya Sharma and Pankaj Kapur in lead roles. The music was by Bhardwaj and lyrics were penned by Gulzar. The story is about a conflict between a young girl and a mean old man in a small hill town in Himachal Pradesh.

In a small village of Himachal Pradesh, a little girl Binya trades her lucky leopard’s claw pendant for a pretty, frilly blue umbrella.

There were many who envied Binya her treasured possession, and the most envious of them all was old Ram Bharosa, the shopkeeper, who decided that he must own the blue umbrella, by means fair or foul.

The Blue Umbrella received positive reviews, including Hindustan Times writer Khalid Mohamed who describes it as a child's confection 'with passages of charm, visual aplomb and lively performances.' The acting of Pankaj Kapur is noted in particular.

 

Picture Credit : Google

From award winning director Santosh Sivan, TAHAAN is a stunningly shot, fable-like story set in scenic but strife-ridden Kashmir. The conflict is used as backdrop for the story of an eight-year-old boy, Tahaan, who tries to gain back his beloved pet donkey that has been sold to pay the family debt.

After major commercial releases such as The Terrorist (1999), Asoka (2001), Anandabhadram (2005) and Before the Rains (2007), award-winning director Santosh Sivan got the idea for this film after reading a newspaper report. He formed a fable-like story from the report.

Since Kashmir is a strife-torn area, films are rarely picturised there. However, in the case of this film, Sivan thought that audiences can relate it to the film well. It was only after 18 years that a film was filmed in Kashmir.

While filming in Pahalgam, Sivan realised to his surprise that children were comfortable with guns. It seemed to him that it was a part of everyday life for them. The film makes eloquent use of Quranic verses or azaan, for which the director took help from research scholars in Kashmir.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Somewhere deep inside the Peruvian jungles of the mighty Amazon, Ed Stafford found a purpose to his life. Facing gun-toting tribes and predators, he became the first man to walk the 6,400 km length of the river.

A strong desire to discover his true self pushed Stafford towards the extreme adventure. Leaving behind a potentially lucrative career as a stockbroker in England, he delved deep into the darkness of the Amazon and emerged as one of the bravest explorers of the 21st century.

Here’s a brief account of his life and his hair-rising adventures:

Off the beaten track

When a young Stafford attended career counseling sessions at his school, he was told that a career as a logistics manager suited him best. And so, Stafford spent the rest of his life proving them wrong.

He liked the outdoors and joined the British Army. After retirement, he planned to become a stockbroker, like most of his colleagues.

On a whim, he joined an organization conducting expeditions and volunteering programmes for young people.

Thrilled with the experience, Stafford decided never to go back to work in London and instead, set out looking for more adventures.

He was eager to go on a kayaking expedition but everything seemed to have already been done. No one, however, had ever attempted to walk the length of the Amazon.

The Amazon rainforest

Along with his friend, Luke Collyer, Stafford began his expedition on April 2, 2008. The journey took 860 days, much of it hacking through the jungle with a machete and surviving on geckos, insects and fish. Stafford blogged and filmed his deadly journey.

Halfway through, his partner abandoned him and Stafford ran out of money (his sponsors pulled out due to recession). He appealed to his viewers to fund the rest of his expedition and help poured in.

Left on his own, Stafford stoically trod through the jungle without any maps or even a Global Positioning System (GPS) – he had carried a GPS device but it stopped working. Close encounters with jungle predators, flesh-eating maggots and poisonous snakes tested his survival skills. Once, he was arrested for alleged murder by the Shipebo tribe. They had mistaken him for someone else, and refused to consider his passport as an identity proof. They insisted that it was fake as it was not ‘personally signed by the Queen.’

The two-year-long journey, which finally came to an end in August 2010, helped Stafford find his passion.

A way of life

But Stafford’s thirst for adventure was not yet quenched. His subsequent adventures included surviving on an uninhabited Fijian island. For 60 days, he lived without food, water or survival equipment of any sort. The resulting series aired on Discovery Channel in 2013. Two follow-up series saw him marooned in a different location each episode – from the Gobi desert to the jungles of Borneo. In 2015, he explored the Danakali Desert in Ethiopia, the hottest place on Earth.

In 2019, Stafford went on another epic adventure, this time with his fellow adventurer and wife, Laura Bingham, and their two-year-old toddler in a remote island in Indonesia.

Recognition

His intrepid adventures earned Stafford the European Adventurer of the Year award in 2011 and the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in recognition of outstanding contributions to geographical knowledge through exploration. Following this, the Guinness World Records formally recognized Stafford’s achievement in walking the length of the Amazon. He appears in the 2012 Guinness Book of Records.

Wanting to encourage other explorers, Stafford is now a trustee of the Transglobe Expedition Trust, a body that gives grants to expedition leaders. He is also an ambassador for the Scouts and a patron of the British Exploring Society.

Oh Really?

• Stafford has written a book, Expeditions Unpacked, that reveals what great explorers such as Captain Scott and Roald Amundsen took with them on their journeys into the unknown.


• He meditates frequently. Even in a life-threatening situation. Stafford finds that closing his eyes for a few seconds and clearing his mind, helps him in responding to the emergency.

 

Picture Credit : Google

In early March 2020, Egypt reopened the Pyramid of Djoser to the public after extensive restoration costing close to USD 6.6 million. A part of the larger UNESCO World Heritage Site of Memphis and its Necropolis, the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur, the Pyramid of Djoser is the oldest pyramid in the world.

Situated in Saqqara, Egypt, the pyramid was built over 4,700 years ago. It takes its name after Pharaoh Djoser and serves as his burial place.

Djoser and his grand wish

Djoser, also known as Zoser, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the third dynasty of the Old Kingdom who ruled for 19 years between 2630 and 2611 BC.

During his rule, Djoser tasked his vizier Imhotep with the construction of his burial chamber. A man of many talents, Imhotep is widely considered to have been the architect of the pyramid.

He initially designed the structure as a traditional, flat-roofed tomb with sloping sides called a mastaba. However, Djoser wanted something grander. And this grand wish culminated in the construction of a six-step pyramid, which was the largest of its time and inspired those that were built later.

The majestic pyramid

The Pyramid of Djoser was assembled during the 19 years of Djoser’s rule. The mighty six-step pyramid contains close to 11.6 million cubic feet of stone and clay. Part of a larger 40-acre complex, the pyramid stands at a height of 197 feet.

The burial chamber of Djoser and his 11 daughters is located deep within the pyramid. It is part of the pyramid’s maze-like series of tunnels which are roughly 5.5 km in length. Researchers believe the tunnels were designed to prevent theft. However, it is felt that these tunnels might have been a reason for the pyramid’s deterioration.

Deterioration and conservation

By the beginning of the 21st Century, experts believed that the pyramid was on the verge of collapse. It had suffered severe damage due to winds and natural disasters, including a massive earthquake in 1992.

Without conservation, the tunnels could collapse, bringing down the pyramid with it.

In 2006, restoration of the pyramid began. However, work had to be halted for two years from 2011 to 2013 due to the uprising that saw the expulsion of the then Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Conservation work within the structure proved to be difficult. To prevent the stone walls from crumbling inwards, engineers inflated airbags to prop up the roofs of the pyramid’s six-stacked terraces.

Conservation was also plagued by controversy, with experts claiming that it was only worsening the condition of the pyramid.

All’s well that ends well

Though not completely restored to its former glory, the pyramid was opened to the public in March 2020.

The structure is now fitted with a new lighting system and an accessible entry for people with disabilities.

 

Picture Credit : Google

In Balinese mythology, Barong is a prominent character taken the form of a lion, regarded as the King of the Spirits who represents Virtue. Barong is seen as ‘a guardian angel’. Opposing Good is represented by another mythical creature called Rangda (‘widow’ in Javanese), the Queen of Demons. Rangda leads an army of evil witches against the leader of the forces of Good. As a mirror of life, the Barong Dance portrays the two characters involved in a never-ending battle.

Balinese people believe each region has its own protective spirit for its forests and lands. For each region, Barong is modeled after a different animal. Barong Ket (Lion Barong) is the most common type found in almost every part of the Island. While Barong Buntut is a type of Barong which only features its front, usually performed by a single dancer. Other types of Barong include Barong Landung (Giant Barong), Barong Celeng (Boar Barong), Barong Macan (Tiger Barong), Barong Naga (Dragon/Serpent Barong).

Regular Barong dance performances can be found in many places in Bali, however, the most popular are performed by the Batu Bulan villagers in the district of Gianyar, or at Kesiman, Denpasar.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Kabuki, traditional Japanese popular drama with singing and dancing performed in a highly stylized manner. A rich blend of music, dance, mime, and spectacular staging and costuming, it has been a major theatrical form in Japan for four centuries. The term kabuki originally suggested the unorthodox and shocking character of this art form. In modern Japanese, the word is written with three characters: ka, signifying “song”; bu, “dance”; and ki, “skill.”

Traditionally, a constant interplay between the actors and the spectators took place in the Kabuki theatre. The actors frequently interrupted the play to address the crowd, and the latter responded with appropriate praise or clapped their hands according to a prescribed formula. They also could call out the names of their favourite actors in the course of the performance. The plays often present conflicts involving such religious ideas as the transitory nature of the world (from Buddhism), and the importance of duty (from Confucianism), as well as more general moral sentiments. Tragedy occurs when morality conflicts with human passions. 

 

Picture Credit : Google

Odissi is indigenous to Orissa in eastern India. It is predominantly a dance for women, with postures that replicate those found in temple sculptures. Based on archaeological findings, odissi is belived to be the oldest of the surviving Indian classical dances. Odissi is a very complex and expressive dance, with over fifty mudras (symbolic hand gestures) commonly used.

Initially called 'Odra-Nritya,' Odissi is a dance form that's not just popular in India but also appreciated all over the world. It is a perfect example of great body movements, expressions, and gestures. Its performance collection includes an invocation, nrita, nritya, natya, and moksha.

The themes of this dance come from Vaishnavism and others associated with Hindu gods and goddesses like Shiva, Surya and Shakti.

On top of all this, jewellery that is mostly silver unlike other dance attires that use gold, adds to the charm of the whole dance form. The waistband is another must-add.

This particular dance form is now globally recognised and it entered into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2012 after 560 Indian Odissi dancers gave a performance together to create a new record.

 

Picture Credit : Google

It's generally agreed that ballet began as a formalized court dance that originated in 15th-century western Europe, first in Italy, then, as Italian nobles and French nobles married, spread to the French courts. Catherine de Medici was an early supporter of the dance and funded early ballet companies in the court of her husband, King Henry II of France. 

In the 19th century, ballet migrated to Russia, giving us classics like "The Nutcracker," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake." The Russians also contributed importantly to the evolution of ballet technique and with that the dominance of highly skilled female ballet dancers or ballerinas.

Defining ballet, on the other hand, is difficult unless one creates a definition that emphasizes its history rather than a specific choreographic vocabulary. What we know as ballet today, which is the neoclassical ballet pioneered by Balanchine, involves dance techniques that bear only the remotest resemblance to the dances that evolved as "ballet" in the Italian and French courts. 

In the 21st-century, important ballet choreographers now incorporate techniques from various "non-balletic" sources. But, although defining it may be difficult, somehow we have a reliable understanding of what is ballet and what is not when we actually see it being danced. 

 

Picture Credit : Google

Flamenco, form of song, dance, and instrumental (mostly guitar) music commonly associated with the Andalusian Roma (Gypsies) of southern Spain. (There, the Roma people are called Gitanos.) The roots of flamenco, though somewhat mysterious, seem to lie in the Roma migration from Rajasthan (in northwest India) to Spain between the 9th and 14th centuries. 

Flamenco dancers, known as bailaores and bailaoras, are serious and passionate. Typical of flamenco dance, a dancer will often stand motionless and free of expression for the first few moments of a song.

As the dancer begins to feel the music, the dancer might begin a steady beat of loud hand clapping. Then, as emotion builds, the dancer will begin a passionate dance. The dancing often involves fierce stomping, sometimes made louder with percussion attachments on the shoes, and graceful arm movements. Castanets are sometimes held in the hands for clicking, and folding fans are occasionally used for visual impact.

 

Picture Credit : Google