Impressions & Inspirations

of what comes to my mind.

[tvaraj]

Sellur K Raju’s Experiment To Curb Water Loss Due to Evaporation

By T.V. Antony Raj Sellur K Raju aka “Thermocol” Raju. Five years ago, Sellur K Raju, the former Tamil Nadu Minister for Cooperatives, came up with an ingenious idea to curb water loss due to evaporation at Tamil Nadu’s Vaigai dam. The officials of the Public Works Department, under the guidance of the minister, undertook the task of covering a portion of the dam with thermocol sheets worth…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

Three Popular Toothpastes

By T.V. Antony Raj I am now 82 years old. My memory is failing. I can’t recall the names of people I knew when I was young, but I do remember the household items we used then. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, soap was the most common laundry detergent. My mother used Lever’s yellow Sunlight soap to wash our clothes. At that time, powdered soap was not manufactured, so my mother never had the…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

The Tail of the Fibonacci Chameleon

 .By T. V. Antony Raj Patterns in nature are visible regularities of form found in the natural world. These patterns recur in different contexts and can sometimes be modelled mathematically. Natural patterns include symmetries, trees, spirals, meanders, waves, foams, tessellations, cracks and stripes. Spirals are common in plants and in some animals, notably molluscs. With its colourful tail,…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

The Ordeal of the Bitter Water

. By T.V. Antony Raj A vital element of the Torah portion Naso (or Nasso), found in the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), concerns a treatise of the Talmud. It explains the ordeal of the bitter water, an ancient Israelite religious practice—a trial by ordeal to determine the guilt or innocence of a woman suspected of adultery by subjecting her to a painful, or at least an unpleasant…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

Is the pH Range for Coronavirus Between 5.5 and 8.5?

By T.V. Antony Raj In December 2019, a highly transmissible and pathogenic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2), emerged and caused a pandemic of acute respiratory disease named ‘coronavirus disease 2019’ (COVID-19), which threatens human health and public safety. COVID-19 was first identified in a flare-up in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and attempts to…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

The Writing Slate

By T. V. Antony Raj . Now in this computer age, everyone is trying their best to do away with paperwork. The technological advancements in writing aids have made work and life easier for all of us. Most of us are familiar with the writing tablet, an electronic device, just about the size and form of an iPad, that enables us to write or draw images on its surface with a unique writing instrument…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

When I Born, I Black.

  By T.V. Antony Raj Former South African President Nelson Mandela, who served 27 years in prison for anti-apartheid activities, remarked, “I detest racialism because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man… To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” When racial discrimination was rampant, a heart-stirring poem addressed to…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

The Tamil Word "Machaan"!

The Tamil Word “Machaan”!

I doubt the word ‘Machaan‘ used by the Tamils all over the world and the word ‘Machaang‘ used by the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka derived from the Tamil word have any connection to the English word ‘Chum‘. It’s common among Tamils living mostly in the southern part of Tamil Nadu to use the term ‘Machaan‘ to address one’s brother-in-law, the male offspring of one’s maternal uncle or the male offspring…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

Former Embezzler Is Now the Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Food Security in Sri Lanka.

Former Embezzler Is Now the Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Food Security in Sri Lanka.

Nalin Fernando Kachchakaduge Nalin Ruwanjeewa Fernando (born May 8, 1973) is a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament. Nalin Fernando got educated at Joseph Vaz College, Wennappuwa, Sri Lanka.. He has a Postgraduate Degree in Business Management from the University of Colombo and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Northampton. He has held various senior…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

Saint Devasahayam Pillai

By T.V. Antony Raj Statue of Devasahayam Pillai, St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Kottar, Nagercoil. In Vatican, during the impressive Canonization ceremony held in St Peter’s Basilica today, Sunday, May 15, 2022, His Holiness Pope Francis canonized Blessed Devasahayam Pillai, along with nine others. The choir made Tamil proud by singing the “Tamil Thai Vaazhthu” (Praise to Mother Tamil). Credit:…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

Sellur K Raju’s Experiment To Curb Water Loss Due to Evaporation

Sellur K Raju’s Experiment To Curb Water Loss Due to Evaporation

By T.V. Antony Raj Sellur K Raju aka “Thermocol” Raju. Five years ago, Sellur K Raju, the former Tamil Nadu Minister for Cooperatives came up with an ingenious idea to curb water loss due to evaporation at Tamil Nadu’s Vaigai dam. The officials of the Public Works Department under the guidance of minister undertook the task of covering a portion of the dam with thermocol sheets worth ₹10 lakhs…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

Former South African President Jacob Zuma married six women!

Former South African President Jacob Zuma married six women!

  By T.V. Antony Raj Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, Former President of South Africa (Source: newstimeafrica.com) Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, born April 12, 1942, was the President of South Africa from  2009 to 2018. He was Deputy President of South Africa from 1999 to 2005. When the ANC won the 2009 general election, the parliament elected him as President. After the 2014 election, they reelected…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

Genghis Khan - the founder of the Mongol Empire

Genghis Khan – the founder of the Mongol Empire

xxx What constitutes an empire? What land area does a particular empire occupy? These are controversial subjects when pointing to a particular empire. In his work “Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.” Social Science History Vol. 3, Rein Taagepera has defined an empire as “any relatively large sovereign political entity whose components are not sovereign” and…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

Weight and volume conversions for baking

Weight and volume conversions for baking

 This is the best conversion chart ever that I have come across. http://www.megaheart.com/conversionstables.htm?fbclid=IwAR0dyg4PVsYZcnLjjY9EcYlAKmCWztLNfpHb2M0Opy-_6flHGXnlABheNOs  

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

After Shaking Hands...

After Shaking Hands…

   .By T.V. Antony Raj. The Albanian proverb, “After shaking hands with a Greek, start counting your fingers” reminds me of the song “Dread and the Fugitive Mind” written by guitarist and vocalist Dave Mustaine who formed the American thrash metal band Megadeth. . Dave Mustaine of Megadeth performing during the River City Rockfest at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on May 29, 2016. .The…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

Are Alkaline Foods the Panacea for Coronavirus?

Are Alkaline Foods the Panacea for Coronavirus?

A couple of days ago I saw a message on a Tamil TV news channel that said the pH value of the novel coronavirus ranges from 5.5 to 8.5? It also said that consumption of alkaline foods above the virus’s pH level prevents its spread and cures this deadly infection.   Also, I came across similar messages on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp attributing this information to research published in the…

View On WordPress

[tvaraj]

I was Born In 1941

I was Born In 1941

. ..By T.V. Antony Raj. I was born in 1941.   In the 1940s most of us were born at home.   Our mothers fed us at any time of the day, and when we cried.   We did not sleep in cribs; we slept with our mothers or siblings on hard beds or on mats spread over the floor.   When we fell ill, the doctor gave us aspirin tablets for fever. Our mothers powdered the tablets, added honey and forced us…

View On WordPress