The Incredible India Gate

The India gate was built as a memorial to all the dead soldiers who ever died in wars for India. Some of the bravest soldiers’ names are carved on the side of the India gate. The Amar Jawan Jyoti, the fire that is lit in the middle of the gate, is the fire that burns eternally in the memory of the soldiers, the ‘Jawans’ as the name says. The Fire is lit every year on Republic day. Today, the India gate is a major tourist spot in Delhi. It is one of India’s most famous monuments. In the night, it is one of the most beautiful sights in the world, glowing orange with the light of the fire.

Here are a few answers to some common questions about the India gate.

1.    How do they carve the new names of new brave soldiers?

Ans. They don’t. Even if they are not carved in the India gate, their names are still remembered in the hearts of the people of India. (Their ghosts and families must be disappointed, huh?)

2. What is the difference between the Gateway of India, which is in Mumbai, and The India Gate?

Ans. The India gate is a memorial, whereas The Gateway of India is a welcoming monument. The Gateway was built in the times of the British rule in India because Mumbai was the only port and the only way to get to India. (Aero planes hadn’t been invented, you know). The Gateway was built so that anyone who visited India had to pass through it as a mark of respect (hmmmm…Wonder if you could go around it?)

3. Why is their so much security around the India Gate? (After all, it isn’t a gate, really, or door)

Ans. It is to protect the memory of the soldiers. If India was under attack, the enemy can’t blow up our India gate. (Unless, of course, they went over the India gate in a plane and dropped a bomb. But who would go to such trouble for one, small memorial?)  A lot of people would. It is not only a mark of respect to the dead soldiers; it also gives courage to the other soldiers. The soldiers would think “Oh, this person went to war and died so bravely, and I’m such a wimp. I’m going to fight bravely and die like them.” It also inspires other people to join the army.

Those people would think “Oh, this person fought and died in battle so bravely, and so many are fighting for our country, let me also be like them and be remembered.’’ (Obviously, these people didn’t know that their names don’t get carved into the India gate. Their ghosts and family will also be disappointed) so, if the India gate was destroyed, the Indian army also.

4. On republic day, why is the India gate on the route of the parade?

Ans. The Republic day is to symbolize India and its history. The India gate is one of the main landmarks in Indian history. That is why the India gate is on the route of the republic day parade.

The India gate is a memorial of bravery and I am inspired by it. I enjoyed seeing it and I hope you liked this article about it.

DEVANSHIKA BAJPAI.

The Legend Of The Lion

The Legend Of The Lion
The legend of the city of Singapore

Once upon a time, there lived a brave and valiant prince called Sang Nila Uttama of the great Sri Vijaya empire. One day, he decided to go on a sea voyage to discover different and amazing lands. Before he set off, his father, the king, gave him a bejeweled Crown. After some time, he and his crew saw a far off island.

The Prince asked, “What is that island?”

One of his crew members answered, “That is the fisher village of Temasek, your majesty”.

“Let us explore it, then,” said the prince.

But, as soon as they neared the island, the sea became rough. Strong winds blew and it seemed as if the evil spirits were against them. All the prince’s crew were huddled together, terrified. But the prince knew what he must do. He threw his bejeweled crown into the sea, as a gift to the sea spirits. Immediately, the sea became calm and they were able to set anchor on the island. As soon as they got off the ship, they were confronted with a strange beast, a lion, but the prince and his crew didn’t know what a lion was. So, the prince drew out his sword and went forward to kill him.

But as the prince looked into the lion‘s eyes, a moment of understanding came between the lion and the prince. Slowly, the lion moved away and allowed the prince and his crew to enter the island.  

 

“From now on, this island shall be known as Singapura, after the beast that guards it,” announced the prince.

And to this day, on the coins of the city, it is written as Singapura, not Singapore.
 

The symbol of Singapore

In the year 1966, the Singapore tourism board decided that Singapore needed a new symbol  as an attraction. So, the merlion was created. The lion head of the merlion symbolizes the legend of Singapura and how the city got its name. The tail of a fish symbolizes the many blessings of the sea that Singapore has, and of the way Singapore has flourished as a seaport.

There are two Merlion in Singapore - the one at Sentosa island which is eight storeys tall and there are balconies the head and mouth .The view from the head’s balcony is an amazing view, in which you can see the whole of Singapore.

It was a pleasure to meet the Merlion and I look forward to seeing it again!

My Gallopific pet !

Dear everybody,
I wrote a new article and i wanted to share it with everyone. I hope you enjoy it!

My pet is a horse called Dollar. Most people would say that a horse is a very unusual pet and would not make a good pet at all .But, they are wrong. Well , not fully wrong, but partly wrong and partly correct. Because, a horse is an unusual pet, but it is an unusual pet for someone who doesn’t ride horses. But, for a rider, it is a very common pet, as most accomplished polo and dressage riders have their own horses, as they use them quite a lot.

Polo horses are ridden quite often. It is true that a round in a polo match called a “chakka” lasts only seven and a half minutes, but in those seven and a half minutes, the horses do as much work as they would have done for seven and a half hours [ Okay not seven and a half hours, I was just kidding. But they sure do work hard!] . Dressage is another type of equinine sport where the horse has to be ridden in a very precise manner. Training your horse for dressage makes the horse work har too!

Therefore horses which compete in sports have to be very well fed and kept with great care. And if they have a slight injury such as a slight limp in the front leg, they will no longer be fit for competitions. So, they are bought by riding schools and they are then used to teach people riding. Okay, it’s not sad. But don’t go straight to the animal rights officer and complain that they are not kept as properly as they were at the polo stables at the ones they are sent to! They are much more well kept and fed by the children who come there!! They always give the horses carrots and are good with them. This is what happened to dollar. Anyway enough about polo and its horses, we must talk about dollar, whom this is about.

Dollar is a bay [ bay is a dark brown, almost black color], and has a white star on his forehead and one white sock. He was a polo horse until he came to Red Earth, the place where he lives now. I was very excited when I heard that he was arriving from Bangalore, as he had come from Jaipur to Mumbai, from Mumbai to Bangalore, and then he came here. His transportation took almost a month. He is now being trained , as the rules of polo are different from the dressage rules.

Dollar is a very tall horse, in fact he is one of the tallest horses in Red Earth. He is a very gentle and quiet horse, and he loves eating carrots. I always give him carrots when I visit him. Sometimes he turns his head and stands in his stall, trying to poke his nose into the next horses’ stall. When he does this and I want to feed him carrots, I call his name and tap on the stall door. He always turns around and pokes his head out and looks at me as if he is saying: “ hey! I thought you got carrots for me! ” and sniffs me to see if I have his carrots. When he smells them, he lowers his head to my height,[ I can’t reach and give him carrots if he doesn’t lower his head, he’s too tall] and I make my hand flat and balance the carrot on my hand [ balancing is necessary or else it will fall on the sandy ground below, and horses don’t like eating sandy carrots and if I hold it with my fingers he might mistake my finger for the carrot and chomp them up], and he eats it.

He also has a long tail which he swishes to keep away flies, but when someone is grooming him [me, for instance ], he thinks the brush is a fly and swishes his tail, and it hits the person’s face [and his tail can hurt!]. That is why we must always wear a helmet, even while brushing a horse. Some horses kick too, but luckily Dollar doesn’t. That’s why I never go behind a horse so he can’t kick you as horses mostly kick only with back legs, because they can’t see who’s behind them. Dollar is too high for me to reach all the way up and groom him on his back, so the stable hands do that.

He is ridden everyday by the stable hands, and is fed well, too.[ he gets a lot of hay, and I give him a lot of carrots, all the horses around him look into his stall jealously while I give Dollar carrots, as they are not given carrots very often.] I also give some carrots to the pony I ride, but luckily Dollar is too far away from the pony too see, because he might be angry with me for giving carrots to another horse!, I also give carrots to the baby horse next to dollar and also to a horse called Magic but they are Dollar’s friends, so Dollar doesn’t mind. Dollar is a wonderful horse and he is the best pet I could have.

Devanshika Bajpai

Devanshika's Brother

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SECRETS OF THE TAJ MAHAL

THE FAKE COFFINS

The coffins which are surrounded by a marble screen inside the Taj Mahal are not real. They were built so that it looked beautiful. The real coffins are inside the underground chamber which you can see through a grill as soon as you enter the Taj Mahal. You cannot go and see the real coffins as they are locked. The taller fake coffin is on the left. It is Shahjahan’ s coffin. The shorter one, which is on the right, Is Mumtaz  Mahal’s coffin. These are the fake coffins. There are no pictures of the real coffins as they are kept locked and bolted.

2.THE EIGHT WELLS OF WONDER

The Taj Mahal was built next to the Yamuna River;  it was built on eight wells which had to be full of water . The wells were built when the Taj was first constructed, below the base to keep the marble white .But , there was a problem with building it next to the Yamuna too. If the was Yamuna was flooded, the Taj Mahal would be first to get flooded. But, the clever Mughals had a solution to  this problem as well. The eight wells also prevent the Taj from drowning.

3. THE LEANING TOWERS OF INDIA

The Taj Mahal ‘s towers are slightly slanted back, and if you look carefully at the Taj Mahal, you will see them too. They were built like that so that, in an earthquake, the towers would not fall on top of the Taj, but  backwards. It looks like its leaning forward, but the angle makes it look like that.

The mughals were great architects, weren’t they? .They thought of what could happen  to the building they were \making before it did. No wonder the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world.

Think of how much hard work the Mughals had to do build magnificent buildings, such as the Taj Mahal. We should be grateful to them that they only thought of how beautiful it would look and how famous it would become, not that it would deplete the royal treasury and how much work they would have to do!!!