HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEW DELHI 04 hindustantimes FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2017 ht kaleidoscope thisdaythatera S W I M M I N G LEGEND CURIES ISOLATE YOUR SHOT RADIUM Might make a comeback if I get the itch, says Phelps Michael Phelps hasn’t gotten the urge to return to swimming. Not yet anyway. THE WINNINGEST ATHLETE IN The winningest athlete in Olympic history is OLYMPIC HISTORY IS CLEARLY clearly enjoying marriage, fatherhood and a ENJOYING MARRIAGE, FATHERHOOD newfound willingness to speak out on conten- tious issues such as doping. AND A NEWFOUND WILLINGNESS TO n Marie Curie But, in a tantalising concession that he hasn’t SPEAK OUT ON CONTENTIOUS totally closed the door on another comeback, n On April 20, 1902, Marie and Phelps said that it might be tough to stay away ISSUES SUCH AS DOPING. Pierre Curie isolated from the pool - especially if he attends the world BUT PHELPS SAID HE HASN’T radioactive radium from the championships in Budapest, Hungary, in July. mineral pitchblende in their “The true test will be, if I do end up going over TOTALLY CLOSED THE DOOR ON laboratory in Paris. In 1898, to the worlds this summer, do I have that itch the Curies discovered the ANOTHER COMEBACK again?” Phelps said Tuesday during a telephone existence of radium and interview. more. This is a really cool opportunity for me to polonium in pitchblende. They shared the 1903 Nobel He was already strongly considering his first do some things I was not able to do when I was Prize in physics with French comeback when he attended the 2013 champion- swimming.” scientist A Henri Becquerel ships in Barcelona, and there was no doubt he’d That includes lending his still-considerable for work on radioactivity. be back for his fifth Olympics when that meet clout to issues that he considers important to ended. swimming and the world. n Marie Curie was born Marie Sklodowska in Poland in “I was just like: ‘This is a joke. How can these In the lead-up to the Rio Games, Phelps 1867. She was the daughter guys be swimming this slow?’” recalledPhelps, talked for the first time about the scourge of of a physics teacher and a who was especially motivated by a disappoint- doping, saying he wasn’t sure if he had ever gifted student. She studied ing performance from the men’s relay team. competed in a totally clean race, even while at the Sorbonne in Paris. “We’ll see if I get that itch again.” winning a record 23 gold medals and 28 medals She received degrees in For now, he’s happy with his post-swimming in all. physical sciences and life, which includes a new sponsorship deal In February, he took it a step further by testi- mathematics. She met with Colgate in which he is pushing water con- fying at a congressional hearing on improving Pierre Curie, a physicist and n Jalaj Varshney, a Class 8 student of Ryan International School, Ghaziabad, has captured this picture of the Taj Mahal in Agra. If you servation. anti-doping measures. He said athletes don’t chemist, and they got have taken photographs of any city hotspots, monuments or fun moments and would like to have them featured in this space, send While Phelps still travels extensively, tend- believe in the testing programs that are already married in 1895. them to [email protected] ing to various sponsors and business interests, in place, and he urged lawmakers to help n Marie Curie began to study he gets a lot more quality time with wife Nicole “ensure the system is fair and reliable.” uranium . She coined the and their son, Boomer, who will celebrate his “Throughout my career, I never spoke out term radioactivity, which first birthday in a few weeks. about anything,” Phelps conceded. “I stayed in describes the phenomenon B O O K END “He has started standing by himself a little bit my lane and focused on what I was doing. To get of radiation caused by from time to time,” Phelps said. “He’s on the out front and speak out on things that are pas- atomic decay. She studied move all the time now and loving it. He’s killing sionate to me, to take different approaches to the mineral pitchblende it. It’s so fun to watch him. Every day, it’s some- things I want to talk about in different walks of and found radioactivity. thing different, something special. It’s a treat life, that’s pretty cool and pretty special for me. Pierre Curie joined her in her for me to see it face to face. It’s wild. It’s mind- The opportunities I have are amazing. work and they discovered A delightful Panchatantra polonium, named after blowing for Nicole and I. We still look at each “Hopefully,” he added, “I can change some Poland. She was the other sometimes and go: ‘Wow, we have a son. things and make a difference.” recipient of the 1911 Nobel ABOUT THE BOOK began when her daughters This is our son.’” He’s doing a media blitz this week for his new Prize in chemistry, making n Title: Panchatantra wanted to listen to bedtime sto- If Phelps returns to competitive swimming, deal with Colgate and the “Save Water” pro- her the first person to win a n Author: Vishnusharma ries. She began the translation the demands of training would surely cut heav- gram, coinciding with Earth Day on Saturday. second Nobel Prize. n Translator: Rohini Chow- but shelved it and then resumed ily into his family time. That’s why, if he tries to “It completely blows my mind to think about dhury it on the insistence of an editor. predict what the future might hold, it doesn’t how much you can waste when you brush your n Publisher: Puffin The translator says an inter- include a sixth Olympics at Tokyo in 2020. teeth twice a day,” Phelps said. “If you leave the DETECTIVE n Price: ~ 299 esting feature of the Panchatan- “I’m having so many amazing experience, so water running while you brush your teeth, it’s GENRE BORN tra is the story-within-a-story many cool experiences, with my family,” he wasting four to five gallons every time you do Rohini Chowdhury’s translation structure. Her translation incor- said. “I don’t see myself making a comeback. I that. Every time. If we can get people to stop n Edgar Allen Poe published of the Sanskrit Panchatantra is porates such a structure which have no desire right now to do it. I’m in the sec- doing that, think how many millions of people the first detective story, The refreshing as it retains the spirit most other children’s versions of ond chapter of my life. I have a lot of things I now could contribute in that small way.” Murders in the Rue Morgue, of the original, but is not literal the fables leave out. want to accomplish. I’m realizing that more and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS in Graham’s Lady’s and and the prose is simple and clear. Another feature of the origi- Gentleman’s Magazine on The original stories in San- nal Sanskrit text is that has this day in 1841. skrit were created many centu- mainly male characters and is at n The story describes the ries ago, but are relevant today times misogynistic. The author analytical powers used by as they teach us about human has left out a few tales in the Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin affairs. translation which were misogy- to solve a series of murders The book begins with the pro- nistic. As there were only a few of in Paris. The tale is narrated logue. A good king, Amara- them, leaving them out did not by the detective’s room- shakti, ruled over a kingdom disturb the structure of the book. mate. whose capital was Mahilaropya. To appreciate the book better, n Following the publication He had three sons who were lazy scholar and offered a hundred skrit after their dominant trait. we need to know a little about the of Poe’s story, detective and did not want to study. The villages for teaching the princes. Naming characters in this fash- translator, Rohini Chowdhury. novels emerged. English king employed many teachers The scholar politely turned ion is a device which even con- She is a children’s writer and lit- novelist Wilkie Collins but failed to teach them. Dis- down the material benefits but temporary novelists and play- erary translator. She has written published a detective novel in 1868. In Collins’ story, tressed at his inability to educate agreed to teach them. Vishnus- wrights use. more than 25 books and several Sergeant Cuff searches for them, he called a meeting of his harma created these stories to The book is handsomely pro- short stories. Her formal educa- the criminal who stole an council of ministers. educate the three princes. The duced, but one wishes there were tion was in economics and man- Indian moonstone. The A minister said that wisdom scholar realised that stories are illustrations. I guess the publish- agement at Jadavpur Univer- novel has several features does not come from learning the a powerful way of teaching ers excluded them to keep the sity, Kolkata and IIM, Ahmeda- of modern mysteries. rules of grammar or law or one of truths about life. They mould the price low. The book would be a bad. It would be nice if all n n The great detective, the many subjects. Knowledge character of the reader or lis- welcome addition to any home children read some fables such Michael Phelps and his wife watch a basketball match AP FILE PHOTO Sherlock Holmes, first must be acquired from life itself tener. In six months’ time the library. Both children and adults as the Panchatantra, the Bud- appeared in 1887 in a novel and stories are a means of teach- three princes became wise can enjoy the book. An added dhist Jataka tales and Aesop’s by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It ing important lessons . He sug- young men. attraction is an introduction by fables from ancient Greece. All was called A Study in gested the name of a Brahmin Most of the characters in the Nilanjana S. Roy which gives these fables are interesting and C H I L D PRODIGY Scarlet. The English mystery scholar Vishnusharma who Panchatantra are animals that perspective. relevant today and one can begin novel became popular with could teach the three princes. think and act like humans. The Chowdhury’s interest in with the Panchatantra. Agatha Christie’s works. The king summoned the characters are named in San- translating the Panchatantra PANKAJ KUMAR Four­year­old Jharkhand child has knowledgebyte a memory like an elephant SLOW LORIS F I L M HISTORY B Vijay Murty and Sanjoy Dey utes. For almost two years, the child’s inherent talent remained confined to his village. His n The slow loris is a nocturnal Remember six-year-old child prodigy Kautilya father, through his limited resources, would creature found in Southeast Pandit from Haryana, who could recollect the buy him new books to satiate his craving for Asia, Bangladesh and 104 years of Raja Harishchandra general details and statistics of 213 countries off more knowledge. However, much to his sur- Northeast India. the top of his head? Experts had named him prise, the child would memorise the books n The loris’s teeth are venom- It was a warm and sunny even- money was hard to get in the ‘Google Boy’. within minutes and ask for more new books. ous. These creatures forage ing on April 21, 1913, when market owing to the fears of About 1,350 kilometers from Haryana has A local scribe took the father-son duo to the and spend time alone, Mumbai's who's who trooped WW-I. The entire film crew, surfaced yet another ‘Google Boy’, Abhishikt state education department in Ranchi last although can sometimes be out in all their finery at the including actors, was nine, and Kumar Gupta, in Ranchi —much younger and month. They offered to help the child get admis- seen with other slow Olympia Cinematograph hall the lead double-roles played by equally talented. sion in the capital’s Delhi Public School (DPS). lorises. They move silently in the congested Sikka Nagar, Salunkhe was a cost-cutting Born in a peasants’ family—his father Kuldip On Tuesday, the family temporarily shifted to in order to prevent discov- Girgaum, in south Mumbai. measure," Pusalkar said. Prasad Gupta is a farmer holding a below pov- Ranchi and completed the admission formali- ery. The historic occasion, 105 It created cinema history erty line (BPL) card—this 4 years and 10 months ties. On Wednesday, the child stepped into the n Slow lorises have a round years ago, was the premiere of running several weeks to full old child prodigy belongs to Sarmandi village in school and impressed the teachers . head, a narrow snout, large India's first full-length feature houses all over India, mesmer- Jharkhand’s Tamad block, around 60km east of State management information system coor- eyes, and a variety of film, Raja Harishchandra, pro- ising audiences hitherto capital Ranchi. dinator of the education department Sachin distinctive coloration duced and directed by the exposed to local or travelling He can spell out general details of 210 coun- Kumar said, “He is an unusual child, seeing his patterns that are species- father of Indian cinema Dhun- theatres, the annual Ram Leela tries and identify their flags, explain the peri- age. We did not want to waste his talent.” dependent. Their arms and legs are nearly equal in diraj Govind Phalke, now performances and the occa- odic table taught in high school, name all the “In my 26 years of teaching, I have never length, and their trunk is revered as Dadasaheb Phalke. sional bioscope showing still controversial leaders around the world and come across a child like him,” said Jaya Prasad, long and flexible, allowing Many came in their single or images. learn anything new shown to him within min- in-charge of DPS primary section. them to twist and extend double horse-drawn victorias In Mumbai's Naaz Talkies, to nearby branches. The and buggies, some very aristo- Lanka Dahan mopped up a hands and feet of slow cratic ones in their quaint old staggering Rs 30,000 in the first lorises have adaptations vehicles, the womenfolk glit- n Raja Harishandra premiered on April 21, 1913 week; it was sold out for all that give them a grip and tering with dazzling jewels, shows daily from 7 am to 2 am enable them to grasp even as hundreds of curious Raja Harishchandra sig- versary. in Pune's Aryan Talkies and branches . onlookers wondered what was naled the dawn of the Indian "The new generation barely angry patrons vandalised the n Each of the slow loris going on. film industry -- now the world's knows anything about Dadasa- cinema hall as they failed to get species that had been "This year (2017) also marks biggest in terms of number of heb Phalke. They have no idea tickets; and in several towns, it identified prior to 2012 is the centenary of India's first films made and released annu- of the strong foundation laid by attracted rural audiences. listed as either “Vulnerable” blockbuster film, Lanka ally in different languages -- him for what is now the world's From Chennai, the hard or “Endangered”. Dahan, made by Dadasaheb while Lanka Dahan proved the single-biggest film industry," cash earnings -- all in coins Phalke in 1917 and the Indian immense potential of an Pusalkar said . since there were no currency film industry's first 'double- entirely new line of business. He said Lanka Dahan, notes in that era -- were hauled role' character played by the Marking these historic mile- earned so much profit that it to Phalke's home in Nashik in legendary (male) actor Anna stones, Pusalkar will inaugu- became a turning point in five bullock carts, with full Hari Salunkhe," said Chan- rate the first-ever official web- Dadasaheb's film career, police protection. . drashekhar Pusalkar, grand- site dedicated to his grandfa- which was floundering after he "It was an epochal event for son of Dadasaheb Phalke. ther and release a special left for England post-Raja Har- the Phalkes , a far cry from the Salunkhe, who created his- interview on YouTube seeking ishchandra", and returned in days of Raja Harishchandra tory in 1913 as Queen Tara- posthumous conferment of the 1914 when World War I when Dadasaheb was n Abhishikt Kumar with his parents in Ranchi DIWAKAR PRASAD/HT mati, the wife of King Harish- country's highest civilian began."The film was made on a immersed in film-making and chandra in Raja Harishchan- award, the 'Bharat Ratna', on shoe-string budget, mainly his dedicated wife Saraswati dra, went a step further in 1917 Dadasaheb Phalke and his wife borrowed from friends, was handling everything else," MAILBOX GUIDE by playing both Lord Ram and Saraswati, 10 days before his acquaintances and some said Pusalkar. Send in your comments and views on life around us in 300 to 400 words with your name, class and Sita in Lanka Dahan. (Dadasaheb's) 147th birth anni- princely states' rulers... But IANS, MUMBAI school’s name. E-mail your views to [email protected], or write to HT Next, First Floor, HT House, 18-20 KG Marg, New Delhi 110001

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