Magna Carta,

Charter of liberties (22June 2007 young world.)

K.S.S. SESHAN

The Magna Carta contained 63 articles and these could be divided into several sectors, each dealing with aspects like church, feudal obligations, law, justice and so on.

King John: Signing the Magna Carta.

The English Constitution, unlike ours, is an unwritten one. However, there are few written elements in such an unwritten constitution in England. The first and foremost of such written documents in the history of England is the Magna Carta, given by King John in 1215 A.D.

England in the 13th century was feudal and the lords were powerful. They provided the king with military help. In turn, they enjoyed all lands given by the king. When King John ascended the throne in 1204, he could not get along with the nobles. He knew only the art of making enemies both within and outside. He was at loggerheads with the king of France and also with the religious head, the Pope. He wanted to invade France and so asked the nobles to provide an army. But the nobles refused, declaring that by the “Oath of Homage” they were obliged to help the king with their armies only when he was fighting within the country. In the meantime, King John set out with a small army but was defeated by the French king.

Individual rights

When he returned, all the feudal nobles in England joined together and demanded he sign a charter of demands ensuring certain liberties. The townsmen also joined the nobles. King John signed the Charter of Demands, the Magna Carta at Runnymede grounds, about 30 miles outside London on June 15, 1215.

The Magna Carta contained 63 Articles and these could be divided into several sectors, each dealing with different aspects like church, feudal obligations, law, justice, constitutional clauses etc. Though the Magna Carta was seen as a feudal document it was in reality a reactionary Charter which paved the way for the individual rights.

The Charter makes frequent use of the word ‘Liberty’ though unlike today, the word in the 13th century had a limited connotation. The Magna Carta is said to be the first constitutional document in history and is rightly regarded as the cornerstone of the English constitution. The Magna Carta remained fresh in the minds of the people throughout the 13th century.

But in the 14th and 15th centuries, Parliament held the same place in the minds of men as the Magna Carta had earlier. During the Tudor period, people cared very little about the Magna Carta, because the kings of this period, through their popular despotism, took care to ensure the liberties of the people.

Shakespeare in his play “King John” did not even refer to the Magna Carta.

When the Stuart kings came to the English throne after Elizabeth in 1603, and tried to place themselves above the law, the Magna Carta came back quickly to the minds of the people.

The entire 17th century witnessed the constitutional struggle between the king and the Parliament over the question of sovereignty and the struggle was carried by the Parliament in the name of the Magna Carta. In the 18th century leaders like Edmund Burke thought the document deserved to be worshipped. The Magna Carta served as an example for the American colonists while drafting the Declaration of Independence. Back......

In search Of Indies.

June 22,2007 Young world.

In search of the Indies
RADHA H.S.
Columbus sailed west from Europe in his search for the Indies. When he landed on an island in the Bahamas, he assumed it was the Indies.
As early as 1000 B.C. India was a centre for trade in spices. Indians, Arabs and Chinese had already been trading.
I am an Indian. Wait! Let me clarify: I am from India and therefore an Indian.
Thanks to Christopher Columbus’s goof up, we have two types of Indians: One, like me from India and the other American Indians native to North and South America.
In 1492, Columbus sailing west from Europe, under a Spanish flag set out in search of the Indies. Coming upon an island in the Bahamas, he called the people “Indians” assuming he had reached an island in the Indies. Within a few years they knew for sure that this was not the Indies. But the island went down in history as the West Indies and the local inhabitants of the continents of North and South America are now referred to as American Indians.
Trade ties
Indies in those days comprised India, China, East Indies and Japan. Columbus was searching for the Indies because he wanted spices like pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cummin and so on.

As early as 1000 B.C. India was a centre for trade in spices. Indians, Arabs and Chinese had already been trading. Europe was a part of the Old World. Europeans in the 15th century had heard about pepper, cinnamon and many other spices for a long time and they knew it came from the Indies. The European market and hunger for these spices was enormous. Most of the spices were transported to Europe over land using camel caravans, Arab boats and mules and the traders were mostly Arabs. Wealthy Italian merchants sponsored the caravans. Even if five cargoes out of six were lost, the merchant ran a profit by selling the sixth. Spices could be used to buy mortgage or a coat of arms. Having spices was like having hard cash.
The Europeans especially the Portuguese thought it made great economic sense to trade directly with the Indies for these spices. The Ottoman Empire came between the Europeans and the Indies. An alternative to land travel was finding a sea passage.
Columbus thought if he sailed west he would find the Philippines, but then he ran into the landmass of the West Indies. To travel west from Europe and reach the Philippines, one had to cross the Americas. To go east of Europe meant sailing down the coast of West Africa through the Atlantic Ocean, going around the southern tip of Africa, up the coast of East Africa and crossing the Indian Ocean to reach a port on the west coast of India. In those years the Europeans had not even crossed the equator to sail south.
Navigation news
Portuguese maritime experts had collected extensive information about the waters they travelled. Charts and maps were made. Land where food and water was available was marked. Sailors pooled in all they knew. Navigation was improved. The best navigators and other experts in Europe had been tapped for information.In 1482, Columbus approached Portuguese King John II to fund his trip westwards to find the Indies. Portuguese experts thought it was a worthless idea and he was refused.

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Sleep tight, live longer!

Sleep tight, live longer!Tuesday June 19 2007 15:36 IST
“His insomnia was so bad, he couldn’t sleep during office hours.” –Arthur Baer.‘‘The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.’’ Sleep needs change over a person’s lifetime. Children and adolescents need more sleep than adults. However, older adults need about the same amount of sleep as younger adults -- seven to nine hours of sleep per night. But many often they get less sleep than they need. One reason is that they often have more trouble falling asleep.A study of adults over 65 found that 13 percent of men and 36 percent of women take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep. Many older adults tend to get sleepier earlier in the evening and awaken earlier in the morning. There are many reasons for such phenomenon.
Older adults may produce and secrete less melatonin, the hormone that promotes sleep. They may also be more sensitive to, and may awaken because of changes in their environment, or may have medical and psychiatric problems that can affect their nighttime sleep.
Restless slumber
Not sleeping well can lead to a number of problems. Older adults who have poor nighttime sleep are more likely to have a depressed mood, attention and memory problems, excessive daytime sleepiness, more nighttime falls, and use more overthe- counter or prescription sleep aids.Sleep patterns change as one ages, but disturbed sleep and waking up tired every day are not part of normal aging.Living with a sleep disorder can make you feel like you are fighting a losing battle as it disrupts and disturbs the very quality of life. It can affect a child, teen, single adult, parent or senior citizen. Sleep disorders can make it hard to fall asleep during the night, and can make you drowsy during the day. The following are the most common sleep disorders among older adults.
Insomnia
Insomnia, the most common sleep complaint at any age, affects almost half of adults and older people. The common symptoms include taking a long time to fall asleep, waking up many times each night, and that too feeling tired. Short-term insomnia, lasting less than one month, may result from a medical or psychiatric condition. If insomnia lasts longer than a month, it is considered chronic.The most common reason older adults wake up at night is to go to the bathroom. Prostate enlargement in men and continence problems in women are often the causes. Disorders such as heartburn, arthritis, menopause and cancer may make it more difficult to sleep through the night. Neurologic conditions such as parkinson’s disease and dementia, and psychiatric conditions such as depression also result in sleep problems.
Sleep-disordered breathing
Sleep apnea and snoring are examples of sleep-disordered breathing -- conditions that make it more difficult to breathe during sleep. When severe, these disorders may cause people to wake up often at night and be drowsy during the day.Snoring affects nearly 40 percent of adults, and is more common among older people and those who are overweight. When severe, snoring not only causes frequent awakenings at night and daytime sleepiness, but also disrupt a bed partner’s sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is more common among older adults and people who are significantly overweight. It can increase a person’s risk for high blood pressure, strokes, heart diease, and cognitive problems.
Movement disorders
Two movement disorders that can make it harder to sleep include restless legs syndrome, or RLS, and periodic limb movement disorder, or PLMD. Both the conditions cause people to move their limbs when they sleep, leading to poor sleep and daytime drowsiness. RLS is a common condition in older adults, and affects more than 20 percent of people 80 years and older. People with RLS experience uncomfortable feelings in their legs such as tingling, crawling, or pins and needles. It has been linked to a variety of conditions such as iron deficiency, kidney failure and dialysis, pregnancy, and nerve abnormalities.Periodic limb movement disorder, or PLMD, is a condition that causes people to jerk and kick their legs every 20 to 40 seconds during sleep.As with RLS, PLMD often disrupts sleep not only for the patient but the bed partner as well.
Getting help
If you are often tired during the day and don’t feel that you sleep well, you should consult a doctor. Diagnose sleep disorders and offering suggestions and treatments can improve one’s sleep.Before you visit the doctor, keep a sleep diary for a week or more. A sleep diary will give you and your doctor a picture of your sleep habits and schedules and help determine whether they may be affecting your sleep.During your appointment with the doctor let your bed partner come with you since he or she may be able to report symptoms unknown to you such as loud snoring, breathing pauses, or movements during sleep. Inform your doctor about any health condition or medication you are taking.Also, mention over-the-counter medications, coffee or caffeine use, and alcohol since these also may have an impact on your sleep.
Treatment
Once the source of a problem is found, sleep disorders can be treated effectively. Besides, there are a number of therapies available to help one fall asleep. Try to limit excessive noise or light in your sleep environment.Limit the time spent in bed while not sleeping, and use bright lights to help with circadian rhythm problems, which is one’s 24-hour internal body clock that is affected by sunlight.Medications also can be useful early in your treatment.People who are diagnosed with sleep apnea should try to lose weight.Adjusting the body position during the night may benefit those if they experience sleep apnea more often when they lie on their back. Many sleep problems will improve with changes that one makes on one’s own.You can often sleep better by simply following the practices of good sleep hygiene, which consists of basic habits and tips that help you develop a pattern of healthy sleep.
Source: Internet Back....To Maharana Pratap....click here..

All about slumber

All about slumber
Tuesday June 19 2007 15:38 IST (The New Indian Express)Peaceful sleep has become a much evasive commodity that people would go into any extent to get a little bit of it every 24 hours. Sleep deprivation or poor quality of sleep impacts both short-term and long-term health, with depression, obesity, loss of mental clarity and fatigue as some of the frigtening consequences.Ayurveda does not dictate eight hours of sleep every night for everyone. But quality and quantity of sleep required by an individual to completely recharge in mind and body are considered crucial for health, bliss and longevity.Some secretsHere are some suggestions for falling asleep easily and naturally, and for obtaining a more rejuvenating quality of sleep.Rise with the sun or shortly before, and get into bed early - no later than 9.45 pm Getting up before 6 am is ideal, and between 6 pm and 10 pm sleep will come most easily. Follow this routine at the weekend as well.Arise and go to bed at about the same time each day. This helps your body and mind relax as the appointed bedtime approaches, and over time it conditions your physiology to fall asleep at that time.Doing exercises in the morning will help one fall asleep easier at night. Working out late in the day is not recommended as this will raise energy levels and set you up for activity rather than sleep. Exercise moderately, according to the needs of your constitution, every day.Do not eat a heavy dinner, and avoid spicy foods at night.Do not drink too much water or other beverages after 6.30 pm. Drink a cup of warm milk at bedtime.Do not drink alcohol or caffeinated beverages; they impact the quality and quantity of sleep you get. Avoid nicotine as well.Calming activities such as listening to soft relaxing music and practicing deep breathing can help your mind and body wind down gradually.Avoid napping during the day. Practice regularly a meditation technique. This will help strengthen your ability to deal with day-to-day stresses and worries.— Ayurveda and Health TourismE mail: www.ayurvedamagazine@gmail.com

MY COUNTRY MY PEOPLE

MY COUNTRY MY PEOPLE
(Modern Indian Epic)

By Gunturu Seshendra Sarma.
Moments are not the retinue of time. There is one which
decides the turning point of mankind. I can’t hand over to sighs
that time which stands and beckons me. To hell with the shades
to recline and chew the gum of past.
Remember, the storms do not count for a life which strides
With hills and shifts oceans; the fiercest storms blow off while
Struggles of life flit around like flies.
Look! Drunk on pearls of sweat, the sun grows large
and formidable with millions sickles and hammers of light.
In history where savage winds blow in cantos, I cannot be
Like the braches of trees that remain trembling in the hands
Of unrelenting winds.
Do not query why so restless, ask the ocean why it is restless.
Do not say why so furious; ask the hurricane for the answer. Better
Know that time after all is my paper, upon which I write the
Charter of my dreams for the world, sculpture a colossus of force
Out of man; my will, will shout and break the spine of time, tear off
the horizon and throw a new era on the earth-
It shall confer unrest on man and
Flow like red-hot blood through all the roads of
Our villages and make him into a sea and into a tempestuous storm.
I shall gift that consciousness to my country with my four dimensional poems….
Now, centuries will speak the language, which I learnt in the wombs of forests;
My word will be the legacy to future generations;
my poems, only countries and nations deserve-
To go to Discovery of India...click here...

Ages Around the Sun

Ages Around the Sun By Guntur Seshendra Sarma.
In the mirror of time I do not see the foot prints of years

I have seen trees shedding their leaves about 60 times

I have also seen hunger dribbling its drops of sweat

from the first bicycle entering my village to

Man setting his feet on the moon
I have seen the entire span of

Man’s journey in this century

I dreamt that this century would see

A new sky showering drizzles of stars

on a new country

But alas! what did I see?

I have seen down pour

of bombs from Paris to Pearl Harbor

I have seen gushing floods of human blood




Inundating those very two rivers Which gave birth to the Sumerian civilization.

I have also seen great monuments of humanity being reduced to shambles.

My words of anguish streamed into newspapers to become Headlines

I am now not left with many years nor tears

I now see the foot prints of time

Is this the fruit of mother earth revolving around the sun for so many ages?

I now see history facing this question.

A WILD WILLING VICTIM OF BEAUTY

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A WILD WILLING VICTIM OF BEAUTY
He calls poetry an adventure and believes multiplicity of languages in India is the root of all social evils.

In fact, for immensely –respected Telugu poet, critic and scholar gunturu Seshendra Sharma, love for poetry and nature, and concern for the problems in society have been the driving forces in his five-decade-long literary career.

“ I am a victim of beauty-it chases me like a hunter chases a wild animal. But I walk into its trap willingly as I experience a strange pleasure in it incomparable to any other.’ The sahitya Akademi award-winning poet says about his inspiration for writing poetry.

Widely-traveled poet Sharma is credited with the revival of modern Telugu poetry, and his Munday Suryudu (Burning Sun), Rakta Rekha (Arc of Blood) and the Magnum opus Naa desham Naa Prajalu (My country-My people) are treated as bench-marks of modern Indian Poetry.

“The unknown beckons the searcher with its beauty, but it is doubtful whether he is successful in capturing it fully though it exists every where.” Mr. Sharma
a former Civil Servant, says about his source of inspiration.

“If you do not seek anything and do not sharpen your eye, you will be left gorging only the familiarities,” he told a audience at a Sahitya Akademi programme recently.
Relating how he draws his inspiration from the mundane, Mr. Sharma says, “Once while going to the airport in Madras I saw a woman dressed in rags with a naked child in her arms, begging on the roads. And I wrote: the child in the womb/better it remains in the womb in our country/otherwise, if it cries of hunger/ people will show it the way to the footpaths and not to the fields.”

His love for nature and corresponding concern for the deteriorating environment is reflected in another of his poems, written once again, during his journey through a forest by road.
It says, “Chased away by the human Bazaar, silence fled to the hills.. I measure the forest with a song of a bird or with a melody of a meandering brook.”
Called a rare combination of a poet and critic, Mr. Sharma was born on October 20th, 1927 at Nagaraajupadu in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh.

He translated Mathew Arnold’s version of the Persian epic Shahnama into Sohrab
His first collection of prose poems “Shesha Jyotsna” came out in 1972 in telugu6 and English bilingual edition.
Then in 1974, came Munday Suryudu and Rakta Rekha, which created a stir in the Telugu literary world for their erudite and pro-profound expressions. Both are now considered classics of modern Indian poetry.
Next year he came out with Naa desham Naa prajalu which has been hailed as landmark by poet-critics like ali Sardar Jafri, Virendra Kumar Jain And Dr.Vishwambharnath Upadhyay.

He won the Sahitya Akademi award in 1994 for Kaala Rekha (Arc of time), which, incidentally, is not a poetry collection but comprises 25 critical papers presented in seminars on topics like ancient drama, comparitive literature, classical poetry and modern writing.
Upadhyaya once described Mr. Sharma thus, “ He is not a mere medium of the age, but the architect of the spirit of the age.”
While another litterateur-critic C.N. Sastry said, “ His emergence is to be hailed as a significant landmark in the history of modern Telugu poetry.”
Sharma who has visited many countries including Greece Germany, Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya, France and Italy, believes, “ Poets want to cross the barrier of languages, I cannot tolerate to be referred to as a Telugu poet- a poet is a poet in a any language

Incidentally, Sharma is a proponent of one common language in India, which once spoken by, he believes will solve most of the socio-political problems of the country.

Why so many languages, select one language for the country.” He says in his poetic innocence, and refers to the e biblical story of the Tower of Babel. “ Unfortunately, in our country people are too much in love with their respective languages.”

“ Man is superior to language, but he now is being dominated by the latter,” he says adding “ but do not misunderstand me.”

-Uttapal Bhorpujari
The Pioneer
Daily News paper
New Delhi: 14th December 1996

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