Megaliths site in Jharkhand State of India.

Jharkhand state is very rich in ancient and historical sites.
by
Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

The above photographs are from Chatra district. Photos were send by Mr. Ujjal Ghosh.

Different Megaliths site has been identified by different workers in Jharkhand State of India. The sites are mainly concentrated in Hazaribagh, Lohardagga, Singhbhum, Chatra districts etc. Jharkhand state is very rich in ancient and historical sites which need urgent care and importance. Most of the sites in state are still unexplored and needs more research to disclose its mysteries.

Megaliths are the most unfortunate relics of our country's prehistory. Although they are found in almost the entire expanse of the country, still they are not regarded as a source of our prehistory perhaps owing to their tribal origin. But as they are found in almost the entire sacred land of India, these ancient monuments are therefore our truest archaeological heritage.

Megaliths are large stone structures or groups of standing stones which are located at sites in various parts of the would and believed to have religious significance. The term "megalith" means "great stone" which is derived from the Greek words "megas" ('great') and "lithos" ('stone'). However, the general meaning of megaliths includes any structure composed of large stones which includes tombs and circular standing structures. Such structures have been found in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North and South America.

Their origins and purposes have tantalized experts and ordinary people for centuries. There is a general consensus that many were built in the Neolithic and early Bronze Ages.

Those found in India date from the first centuries of the Christian era. The megaliths on Easter Island, in the South Pacific, probably are contemporary with the Medieval period of Europe.

The general speculation as to their purposes is that megaliths were used for religious activities, burial sites, and astronomical observatories for the sun and other celestial bodies. Some megaliths are said to possess supernatural or electromagnetic forces.

Megalithic burials are found in Northeast and Southeast Asia. They are found mainly in the Korean Peninsula. They are also found in the Liaoning, Shandong, and Zhejiang in China, Kyūshū in Japan,Dong Nai province in Vietnam and parts of India. Some living megalithic traditions is found on the island of Sumba and Nias in Indonesia. The greatest concentration of megalithic burials is in Korea. Archaeologists estimate that there are 15,000 to 100,000 southern megaliths in the Korean Peninsula.

Megaliths were used for a variety of purposes. The purpose of megaliths ranged from serving as boundary markers of territory, to a reminder of past events, to being part of the society's religion.

Amongst the indigenous peoples of India, Malaysia, Polynesia, North Africa, North America, and South America, the worship of these stones, or the use of these stones to symbolize a spirit or deity, is a possibility.

Diesel Generators releases black carbon which affects plant life.

It is also hazardous to the lungs and general health.

by

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Fig.1. Thick layer of black carbon deposited on the fungus. Source is nearby diesel generator.
Fig.2 Black carbon being deposited on the fungus.
Fig.3 Black carbon deposited on the fungus.
Fig.4. Black carbon deposited on leafs.
Fig.5. Dead leafs due to the impact of exhaust fumes from the diesel generator.

Above photographs shows how the black carbons released by the diesel generators affect the plants. Black carbon or soot is seen deposited on fungus. These fungus are very nearer to the exhaust pipe of the generator. Even the leaves exposed to the fumes are seen dead in the picture.

Commonly known as soot, black carbon enters the air when fossil fuels and biofuels, such as coal, wood, and diesel are burned. Black carbon is found worldwide, but its presence and impact are particularly strong in Asia.

These black particulate can affect vegetation in three ways. These are:

• Direct deposition on leaf surfaces or other surfaces exposed to atmosphere.
• Blocking leaf stomata and /or uptake into leaf tissues.
• Deposition onto substrates (e.g. soil) and indirect effects via changes in substrate chemistry.

Black carbon is a potent climate forcing agent, estimated to be the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide (CO₂).

Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. They are classified as a "known human carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Soot or black carbon is in the general category of airborne particulate matter, and as such is considered hazardous to the lungs and general health when the particles are less than five micrometres in diameter, as such particles are not filtered out by the upper respiratory tract. Smoke from diesel engines, while composed mostly of carbon soot, is considered especially dangerous owing to both its particulate size and the many other chemical compounds present.

Between 25 and 35 percent of black carbon in the global atmosphere comes from China and India, emitted from the burning of wood and cow dung in household cooking and through the use of coal to heat homes. Countries in Europe and elsewhere that rely heavily on diesel fuel for transportation also contribute large amounts.

Diesel combustion in trucks, buses and cars emit a lot of black carbon. The particulate air pollution also commonly comes from burning firewood, indoor cooking, and biomass burning.

Black soot deposited on Tibetan glaciers has contributed significantly to the retreat of the world's largest non-polar ice masses, according to new research by scientists from NASA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Soot absorbs incoming solar radiation and can speed glacial melting when deposited on snow in sufficient quantities.

There was a time when Sea Monsters did exist.

In many cultures of the world there are different stories of these ancient giant reptiles and their interactions with human beings.

by

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Fig. Kaliya Nag (cobra snake)
There is nothing quite so frightening as the idea of a sea monster. Unlike T. Rex and other giant dinosaurs, which went extinct, might sea monsters live on? Might they lurk beneath the leaden cloak of the oceans, breaching occasionally into view? Through the ages, serious mariners have returned to port with accounts of huge, snaky beasts baring teeth and trailing feathery manes, undulating through the waves or rearing like a horse. Stories about water serpents have slithered into many cultures. But what about the science of sea monsters? In fact, there was a time when they did exist. About 250 million years ago Earth’s continents were gathered into one landmass, Pangaea. Shallow seas and the lack of significant marine predators created new niches for many reptiles that had developed on land. They wriggled into the water, swam, reproduced, and died becoming the fossils.

In many cultures of the world there are different stories of these ancient giant reptiles and their interactions with human beings, stories from Scotland, to North America, India and to China is rich with stories of encounter with big reptiles. One such theory is of importance of dragon in Chinese culture. No one knows when the Chinese belief in dragons began, but it extends back thousands of year. With serpent like scaly bodies, horses heads, and blazing rabbit eyes, the dragons inhabited ponds and rivers and could fly on bat wings to the heavens in spirally water-spouts.

If times were hard and drought stalked the land, peoples gave them offerings, asking them to breathe out mists and clouds and their heavenly rain.

Some Chinese dragons are considered evil, such as the Chien Tang River monster and the seagoing, red-maned Shan, but overall they are benevolent, embodying fecundity and fortune. In the distant past some dragons were transformed into Sea Dragon Kings, Hai Long Wang, who lived in the oceans and protected seafarers.

The dragon is probably the best-known mythical creature. Steeped in symbolic meaning, it appears in all culture in the form of fairy tales and legends, including stories in the Bible, and is especially prominent in Chinese mythology. Dragons breathe fire and are close to invincible. In some cultures they are bane to humanity, but in others are bringers of good luck.

Well into the sixteenth century, most people believed that dragons really existed. Swiss natural scientists and humanist Konard Gesner (1516-1565) differentiated between three types of dragons in his six-volume work on the animal world. One was like a gigantic snake without wings, another resembled a winged snake, and third creature had a snake’s body, membranous wings, a horned head, and armored claws.

In Hindu religious stories many such descriptions of large serpent like animals has been mentioned several times. Lord Sheshnag is depicted is the divine serpent with a thousand heads. According to Hindu mythology, the world rests on the hoods of Lord Sheshnaga, and when he shakes his head, there are earthquakes. He is also known as Ananta (eternal) since he is immortal and is not affected by death even during the destruction of the Universe. The most common representation of Lord Vishnu shows him floating on the infinite space of the cosmic ocean reclined on the coils of the hydra-headed serpent-deity Shesh-Nag.

Kaliya in Hindu mythology , was the name of a poisonous Nāga(cobra snake) living in the Yamuna River, in Vrindavan in India. The water of the Yamuna for four leagues all around him boiled and bubbled with poison. No bird or beast could go near, and only one solitary Kadamba tree grew on the river bank.

The proper home of Kāliyā was Ramanaka Dwipa, but he had been driven away from there by fear of Garuda (a type of hunting bird), the foe of all serpents.

Once Krishna and herdboys were playing ball, and while playing Krishna climbed up the Kadamba tree and hung over the river bank, the ball fell into the river and Krishna jumped after it. Kāliyā rose up with his hundred and ten hoods vomiting poison and wrapped himself around Krishna's body. Krishna became so huge that Kāliyā had to release him. So Krishna saved himself from every attack, and when he saw the Brij folk were so much afraid he suddenly sprang into Kāliyā's head and assumed the weight of the whole universe, and danced on the naga's heads, beating time with his feet. Then Kāliyā began to die. But then the naga's wives came and prayed to Krishna with joined palms, worshipping Krishna and praying for their husband.
Kāliyā, recognizing the greatness of Krishna, surrendered, promising he would not harass anybody. So Krishna pardoned him and then let him go free to leave the river and go to Ramanaka Dwipa. Some identify it as Fiji
Kaliya is depicted as a large black cobra, and was said to have one hundred and ten heads; it may be that the Infada tribe had a cult within itself that worshipped this Great Snake.
Kraken are legendary sea monsters of gargantuan size, said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland. The sheer size and fearsome appearance attributed to the beasts have made them common ocean-dwelling monsters in various fictional works. The legend may actually have originated from sightings of real giant squid that are variously estimated to grow to 13–15 m (40–50 ft) in length, including the tentacles. These creatures normally live at great depths, but have been sighted at the surface and reportedly have "attacked" ships.
Kraken is the definite article form of krake, a Scandinavian word designating an unhealthy animal, or something twisted. In modern German, Krake (plural and declined singular: Kraken) means octopus, but can also refer to the legendary Kraken

Remains of a bus-sized prehistoric "monster" reptile was found on a remote Arctic island in year 2007. Initial excavation of a site on the Svalbard islands in August yielded the remains, teeth, skull fragments and vertebrae of a reptile estimated to measure nearly 40 feet long.
Argentine scientists have discovered the remains of a fierce sea monster in the year 2005 that terrorized Pacific waters in the age of the dinosaurs. The researchers are calling it Godzilla after the legendary movie monster, but it really was an ancestor of modern crocodiles. Millions of years ago when dinosaurs ruled the land, these early crocodiles dominated the oceans, but they never seem to have caught the public's imagination as dinosaurs have.

Around Lake Manitoba in the Canadian province of the same name, people believe in the existence of Manipogo, a snake-like, humped, dark brownish black sea monster. Its estimated length ranges between 12 and 50 feet. In 1962, two fisher man managed to photograph it, but the quality of the image was terrible-it could just as easily show as a drifting branch-and thus not accepted as proof.

North of Toronto, Canada, many people believe that Igopogo, also known as Kempenfelt Kelly, lives in the Lake Simcoe. It is said to have a long neck and dog like head. All descriptions of the beast are in agreement, supporting the theory that an unidentified creature really does inhabit the lake. In 1970, John Kirk, president of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, organized a search for it, which was unsuccessful. Amateur video recordings show a dark shadow, after a which a head surfaces, looks around for a few seconds, and then goes under again. Kirk categorizes the creature as a seal or sea lion.

460 million years ago, the biggest animal on Earth was a jet-propelled cone with tentacles, the type was Cephalopod mollusk. and size was up to 11m long. The giant orthocone's living tissue was at one end of a very long conical shell. It had no fins and no tail. Along the underside of the cone ran a flexible, fleshy tube. The orthocone moved along by forcing water out in the opposite direction to where it wanted to go. It controlled its vertical position by adjusting the amount of seawater in the chambers of its shell. Its mouth and metre-long tentacles emerged from one end of the shell.

It ate fish as well as arthropods, e.g. sea scorpions. It seized its prey using its tentacles and beak-like mouth to rip apart.

Sea scorpions were the first animal ever to have moved from water to land also knew how to get out of its shell. Size was 1-2m long. Lived during Ordovician, 460-445 million years ago. Sea scorpions had strong defences - spines, claws and armour plating. They walked on six legs, the back two of which were flattened into paddles. Out of the water they were cumbersome but could swim a little underwater.

They were normally sea-floor dwellers but they could also live in freshwater and on land. Megalograptus browsed the seafloor looking for fish, trilobites and other animals in the sand and mud. It also ate its own kind.

Megalograptus could only grow in size by shedding its hard shell and growing a new one. While it was naked, it gathered with others in shallow water for safety in numbers. During moulting, it took advantage of its briefly soft body and abundant nearby neighbours to mate.
It is amazing to think that ancient sea monsters swam over the most of the present land mass. Fortunately It was some million years ago when the present land mass was submerged by ancient oceans. Fossils found in central America and many parts of the world prove that they really lived.
Reference:
National Geographic Magazine, December,2005.
http://www.supiri.com/nature/ocean-life/ancient-sea-monsters/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22097625/
http://www.physorg.com/news82051643.html
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2005-11-10-voa88-67515052.html
http://www.asianartmall.com/AVATARS%20OF%20LORD%20VISHNU.html
http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn8298/dn8298-1_350.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/dinosaurs/seamonsters/
binagupta.sulekha.com/mstore/binagupta/albums...

Earthquake hits today Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.

Hindu Kush Mountain

A strong Earthquake rattled northern Pakistan, Afghanistan and India Friday, killing five people and injuring several more.
The quake had a magnitude of 6.2 to 6.4 on the Richter scale, and its epicentre was in the high-altitude Hindu Kush at a depth of about 180 kilometres, Pakistani authorities said.
Pakistani broadcaster Geo News reported that frightened people were seen running into the streets of major cities, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Lahore.
At least five people died and several were injured in different areas of Pakistan's remote, mountainous, northern parts.
The earthquake triggered a landslide in the Mirpur region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and demolished a house and killed three people. Three more were injured.

The temblor also hit the Indian part of Kashmir, causing panic but no casualties or damage.
Residents of the border town of Uri in Baramulla, 80 kilometres west of state capital Srinagar, rushed out of their homes and did not return for a couple of hours out of fear of aftershocks.
Geologists say Kashmir is located in a zone of high seismic activity.Srinagar falls in Seismic Zone-V and other parts of Indian Kashmir in Seismic Zone IV.A high intensity quake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale with its epicenter in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir shook the region on Oct 8, 2005, causing large scale destruction killing 80,000 people.

It was not only in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India but The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting that three earthquakes struck Thursday night near The Geysers in Sonoma County.
According to the USGS, the first earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 2.1 struck around 8:55 p.m., and at a depth just under one mile. The quake was centered three miles northeast of The Geysers and 14 miles east of Cloverdale, according to the USGS.
The second earthquake, a 3.2 - magnitude, struck at around 11:45 p.m. and at a depth of 1.9 miles, according to the USGS. The quake was centered three miles east of The Geysers and 14 miles east of Cloverdale, according to the USGS.
The third earthquake, a 2.2 - magnitude event, struck at around 11:50 p.m., according to the USGS. The quake was centered two miles northeast of The Geysers and 13 miles east of Cloverdale, according to the USGS.
Reference:
http://cbs5.com/localwire/22.0.html?type=bcn&item=THREE-QUAKES-00-38
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1508825.php/Earthquake-hits-northern-Pakistan-Afghanistan-India-Roundup
http://cannazine.co.uk/images/stories/afghanistan-images/hindu-kush-mountains.jpg

There is less oxygen in your blood in mountain- says research

There is less oxygen in your blood in mountain- says research

by

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Climbers summiting Mount Everest have as little oxygen in their bloodstream as residents of coastal areas who are in cardiac arrest- or who have even dead. Four physicians from University College London trekked up Everest and drew their own blood for analysis. They found that because of the altitude, they had about a quarter less oxygen in their blood than is normal for people at sea level. The analysis also confirmed other effects of being at high altitudes, such as the increase in hemoglobin to ferry as much oxygen as possible.

The number of people travelling to the high altitude regions, especially South America, Nepal, and India, has risen enormously in the past 10 years. Without special climbing ability these trekkers can be exposed to altitudes they will not have encountered in their home countries.

In India tourists traveling towards remote areas of Leh and Laddakh region of Jammu and Kashmir state complain of breathlessness and fatigue.

The concentration of oxygen at sea level is about 21% and the barometric pressure averages 760 mmHg. As altitude increases, the concentration remains the same but the number of oxygen molecules per breath is reduced. At 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) the barometric pressure is only 483 mmHg, so there are roughly 40% fewer oxygen molecules per breath. In order to properly oxygenate the body, your breathing rate (even while at rest) has to increase. This extra ventilation increases the oxygen content in the blood, but not to sea level concentrations. Since the amount of oxygen required for activity is the same, the body must adjust to having less oxygen. In addition, for reasons not entirely understood, high altitude and lower air pressure causes fluid to leak from the capillaries which can cause fluid build-up in both the lungs and the brain. Continuing to higher altitudes without proper acclimatization can lead to potentially serious, even life-threatening illnesses.

The major cause of altitude illnesses is going too high too fast. Given time, your body can adapt to the decrease in oxygen molecules at a specific altitude. This process is known as acclimatization and generally takes 1-3 days at that altitude.

Lack of oxygen causes high-altitude sickness. As altitude increases, the air becomes "thinner," which means less oxygen is in the atmosphere. You get less oxygen in your lungs with each breath, so the amount of oxygen in your blood declines. (This is called hypoxia). All people can experience mountain sickness, but it may be more severe in people who have heart or lung problems.

What are the symptoms?
Symptoms usually begin within 48 hours of arriving at high altitude. The higher the altitude, the greater the effects. People can notice effects when they go to an altitude of 7,000 to 8,000 feet. If you have heart disease (such as heart failure) or lung disease (such as emphysema), you may have symptoms at lower altitudes. Symptoms include headaches, breathlessness, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, inability to sleep swelling of the face, hands and feet.
Both heart rate and breathing rate increase as the body tries to send more oxygen to its tissues. At very high altitudes, body fluid can leak into the brain (called brain or cerebral edema) or into the lungs (pulmonary edema). Both these conditions can be serious or even life-threatening.

How can we prevent high-altitude illness?
You can do two important things to prevent high-altitude illness:

1. Take your time traveling to higher altitudes. When you travel to a high altitude, your body will begin adjusting right away to the lower amount of oxygen in the air, but it takes several days for your body to adjust completely. If you're healthy, you can probably safely go from sea level to an altitude of 8,000 feet in a few days. But when you reach an altitude above 8,000 feet, don't go up faster than 1,000 feet per day. The closer you live to sea level, the more time your body will need to get used to a high altitude. Plan your trip so your body has time to get used to the high altitude before you start your physical activity.

2. Sleep at an altitude that is lower than the altitude you are at during the day. For example, if you ski at an elevation of 10,000 feet during the day, sleep the night before and the night after at an elevation of 8,500 feet.

Reference:
L. Jordan, March 2009. Scientific American, India. pp.19
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4618
http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/safety/altitude.html
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/physical/injuries/247.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0999/is_n7165_v317/ai_21250857