Indian Designer’s Fashion Shoot In Israel
An Indian designer Sahil Kochhar was in Israel recently to showcase a special collection for both men and women inspired by Israel’s beautiful landscapes. It was in collaboration of the Israel embassy in India to celebrate 30 years of Israel-India diplomatic relations. This project was part of a campaign titled ‘Yachad’—a Hebrew word meaning “together”. Israel’s Ambassador to India Naor Gilon says, “This is a first-of-its-kind project showcasing Indian designs inspired by our country’s lovely landscapes, which we hope will open doors for future possibilities and collaborations between the people of Israel and India in the diverse fields of culture, fashion and lifestyle.” Designer Sahil Kochhar told The Sunday Guardian that “This collection and campaign is inspired by the diverse landscapes of Israel, incorporating the same as artwork on the clothes.”
‘Pretty Girls Don’t Ignore Frogs’
Everyone must have heard the fairy tale about how a Princess had kissed a “talking frog” on its urgent request and it had turned into a handsome charming Prince, who told her that he was “captured” by an evil force. As a nature lover, you may be sad to know that frogs’ species may be silently slipping away to extinction. Who knows some of them may be “Prince” under the control of modern evil forces. Even in the monsoon, one is no longer able to see frogs and hear their ‘tar-tar’ in urban jungles. Only on the river banks, in the lakes and ponds one may see them and hear their croaking.
Appeal for the Amphibians
The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) recently celebrated “Amphibian Week”. The global nature conservation community used this week to raise awareness on the diversity of amphibians and their plight in this fast changing world. Amphibians are the health indicator species of many environments, playing key roles in the functions of ecosystems. It is a terrifying thought that if conservation measures are not put in place and with business as usual, we could lose half of them in just a few decades. The situation is probably much worse. This is because 16.4% of species are not known well enough even to make an assessment, and classified as “data deficient”. Many of these enigmatic species may be silently slipping away to extinction. “If we act now,” the WTI told The Sunday Guardian, “there is hope to halt and reverse this alarming decline.” The WTI has initiated the “Amphibian Recovery Project” with an aim to conserve and bring back, at least, five threatened amphibian species in the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot. They are Anaimalai Flying Frog, Resplendent Shrub Frog, Meowing Night Frog, Deccan Night Frog, and Kadalar Swamp Frog. “Currently,” the WTI said, “we are identifying and mitigating threats in frog habitats, establishing frog-friendly estates and organising campaigns to involve communities. To achieve long-term and sustainable conservation action, we plan to set up a ‘Conservation Hub’ in Munnar, a hill station in Kerala, to train wildlife science graduates in amphibian ecology, amphibian monitoring and execution of the conservation plans. If nature lovers would like to support our work, kindly donate, that will give them tax benefits too. Otherwise, you will stop hearing frogs’ croaking, even in the rainy season.”
‘Money Frog’ & Wealth
In many Chinese restaurants, and some homes also, you might have seen a big decorative frog, made of metal or a semi-precious stonelike jade, with a coin in its mouth just inside the entrance, placed on a table facing people coming in. These are called “Fortune Frogs” which play a prominent role in the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui (a parallel of Indian art of Vastu Kala). A”Money Frog”—with a coin in its mouth—symbolizes wealth and prosperity and, when used in your home or business, it is believed to bring money and good fortune your way. Putting a fortune frog in the wrong place could be disastrous as per the belief.
Football to mark 75 Years of Independence
The Modi government has decided to organize a big inter-ministry football tournament in October as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Applications have been invited from ministries to enlist their teams. Personnel from the defence services, paramilitary forces and police will not be allowed to participate as they have professional players. Surprisingly, PSUs and similar autonomous bodies have also been kept out of the tournament field.
Social Media course for Tribal Schools’ Faculty
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs on Thursday gave a crash course on social media to Principals and faculty members of 378 Eklavya schools across the country. The schools have one lakh students from tribal communities. In a virtual workshop, teachers of these schools were taught how to use Twitter, among others social media platforms “to connect with the world” on topics and issues that are important to them. They were encouraged to use social media platforms such as Facebook, to have better social outreach as well as global content.