Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo – Best Remaining Example of Inca Town Planning

Ollantaytambo, an attractive town is situated towards the western side of the Sacred Valley, around two and a half hours journey by bus from Cusco. The town is on top of the original Inca foundations and is one of the best remaining examples of Inca town planning.

It is divided in blocks or canchas which are completely undamaged. Each of the blocks have only a single entrance that tends to lead into a central courtyard and the houses seem to surround the courtyard. Controlled by two huge Inca ruins, the village of Ollantaytambo also known to the locals as well as the visitors as Ollanta is the best example of Inca city planning with narrow cobblestone streets which have been constantly inhabited since the 13th century.

Ollanta is an amazing place and is perfect for exploring the mazy narrow byways, stone buildings and babbling irrigation channels that takes you back in time. Moreover it also provides access for good hiking as well as biking. The town is placed at the foot of remarkable Inca ruins that protects the planned entrance of the lower Urubamba Valley and the temple area is towards the top of steep terracing.

Excellent Defence for the Town

This has provided an excellent defence for the town where the stones for these buildings was brought from a quarry high up from the opposite end of the Urubamba River. The complex was still under construction during the time of the conquest and has never seemed to be completed.

After the defeat of Manco Inca by the Spanish at Sacsayhuaman followed by the unsuccessful siege of Cusco he withdrew to Ollantaytambo. In order to capture Manco Inca, Hernando, the younger brother of Francisco Pizarro led a force of 70 cavalry, 30 foot soldiers together with a large contingent of natives.

The Inca’s forces that were joined by the neighbouring jungle tribes, showered down arrows, spears as well as rocks on the unfortunate Spanish troops. In a smart move, the Inca flooded the plains below their stronghold and made the movement difficult for the horses wherein Hernando unexpectedly ordered a hasty withdrawal. The only place which resisted attacks from the Spanish was Ollantaytambo.

Qollqas Featuring Ventilation Systems

The Incas had built many storehouses out of fieldstones over the hills surrounding Ollantaytambo with their locations at high altitudes. This provided more wind and lower temperature thus saved their contents from being decayed. Furthermore, the Ollantaytambo qollqas featured ventilation systems which are believed to be utilised to store the production of the agricultural terraces that were built around the place.

 It was said that grains were poured through the windows on the uphill area of each building and emptied through the downhill side window. Presently Ollantaytambo is suffering for being an access for Cuzco and the jungle since there does not seems to be any alternate roads. Big semi-trucks as well as buses pass through the narrow main streets. Locals are concerned with the disruption of town life as well as the effect of extreme exhaust on the ruins and talks on alternative road does not seems to take any positive turn.

Ollantaytambo tends to have some of the oldest constantly occupied buildings in South America. Being a stronghold of Inca resistance, once upon a time, it seems to be strangely well preserved. Several of the tourist visits Ollantaytambo since it is the beginning of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and the ruins seems to be very fascinating.

Hidden Portrait 'Found Under Mona Lisa', says French Scientist

Second PortraitBeneath the Top Layer of Famous Painting

According to BBC reports, the art world is bustling with claims made by a French scientist who has discovered a portrait of another woman beneath the top layer of the most famous painting of the world, the Mona Lisa. According to Newsweek, a Paris-based company, Lumiere Technology, working closely with galleries and museums, co-founded by Pascal Cotte, digitised in fine art pieces, had been researching Da Vinci’s signature piece for 10 years utilising a technology known as the Layer amplification Method – LAM.

It involves shining `intense’ light to a painting and then measuring the bounced back reflection to scale what is beneath it. Its website claims to have digitized works by Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Claude Renoir and Vincent Van Gogh. BBC which is airing a documentary regarding the discovery reports thatCotte had gained access by the Louvre to the Mona Lisa in 2004.Cotte states that underneath the surface of the Mona Lisa is an image of a woman looking off to the side and not straight ahead with various physical characteristics than the model which tends to smile down on the crowds at the Louvre.

Image Lacks Famed Direct Gaze & Smile

Cotte informs that the hidden image lacks both the famed direct gaze and the smile of Mona Lisa which was observed by projecting it to intense light. A camera which measured the light’s reflection enabled Cotte to reconstruct what had been created with each layer of paint.

The Telegraph notes that the hidden portrait, for instance displays a woman who has a bigger head, nose, hands and smaller lips. BBC informed an Oxford University art history professor that the newly discovered model was probably not the beginning of a completely different painting but an evolution of the final Mona Lisa wherein Da Vinci had kept the painting over the previous version till he received the result he desired. He has commented that he is convinced that the Mona Lisa is Lisa.

According to BBC, that analysed the painting, the Louvre on its part, had refrained from commenting since it was not part of the scientific team. The theory seems to be controversial and not without its critics It is claimed that the hidden portrait represents the original `Lisa’ and what we see is believed to be Lisa Gherardine, the wife of a Florentine merchant and is a different being altogether.

Mona Lisa – Topic of Various Scientific Examinations

However, emeritus professor of History of Art at the University of Oxford, Martin Kemp, who is quoted by the BBC, had informed that though the images shown by Cotte, portrays Da Vinci’s artistic process, they tend to represent an evolution in the creation of the Mona Lisa instead of separate paintings. The Mona Lisa has been the topic of various scientific examinations for more than half a century.

 Recent techniques comprised of infrared inspections together with multi-spectral scanning. Andrew Graham-Dixon, an art historian has made a BBC documentary known as The Secrets of the Mona Lisa, researching historical documents connected to the painting together with Cotte’s scientific discoveries. He informs that he has no doubts that this is definitely one of the stories of the century and there would possibly be some reluctance on the authorities at the Louvers in changing the title of the painting since that is what all have been talking about and it will be goodbye Mona Lisa, she is somebody else’.

Enceladus’s Underground Ocean That Could Host Life

Saturn’s Enceladus – Similar to Deep Oceans on Earth

An enormous breakthrough in the search for life on other planets has been revealed by scientists. Spacecraft of Nasa’s Cassini had provided scientist with the first clear evidence that moon of Saturn, Enceladus tends to exhibit signs of current day hydrothermal activity which is similar to that seen in the deep oceans on Earth. If the same is confirmed, it would make the moon Enceladus, the only known body in the solar system beside the Earth where hot water as well as rocks tend to interact underground.

 It is said that the activity would make the moon a much more attractive place for hunting microbial life. Astrobiologist consider the 314 mile wide Enceladus as one of the best bets of the solar for hosting life beyond the Earth. The satellite is said to be covered by an icy shell and is geologically active, as proved by the powerful geysers which tend to blast constantly from its south polar region. The clouds tend to contain substantial amount of water, which according to the scientists have originated from a subsurface ocean. Earlier research recommended that the ocean is in contact with the rocky mantle of Enceladus with possibility of all kinds of interesting chemical reactions.

No Sunlight Flowing in Underground Sea

The scientists discovered weird life form in hydrothermal vents on the ocean bottom, on Earth, where there seems to be no sunlight flowing through the underground sea of Enceladus. However, any microbes which tend to exist there could gain access to two different sources metabolism-supporting energy sources, molecular hydrogen and the heat provided by hydrothermal vents.

NASA states that the implications of this activity on a world besides our planet tend to open up exceptional scientific possibilities. These discoveries add to the possibility that Enceladus which comprise of a subsurface ocean, displaying remarkable geologic activity could contain an atmosphere which could be suitable for living organisms, according to John Grunsfeld astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission directorate in Washington.He further added that the location in our solar system where the extreme environments takes place in which life could exist, may bring us closer to answering queries to : `are we alone in the Universe’.

Hydrothermal Activity – Seawater Infiltrates/Reacts with Rocky Crust

Hydrothermal activity tends to take place when the seawater infiltrates and reacts with rocky crust and arises as a heated mineral laden solution, which is a natural event in the ocean on Earth. As per two science papers, the effects were the first clear indications that an icy moon could have same on-going active processes. The first paper published in the journal Nature relates to microscopic grains of rock that were noticed by Cassini in the Saturn system.

A four year extensive analysis of data from the spacecraft, laboratory experiments and computer simulations directed the researchers to the conclusion that the tiny grains probably formed when the hot water containing dissolved minerals from the moon’s rocky interior travelled upwards coming in contact with cooler water. According to the researchers, the subsurface sea of Enceladus contains dissolved sodium chloride like the Earth’s ocean but is full of sodium carbonate, also known as washing soda or soda ash. Study team members state that this alien water body is possibly similar to terrestrial soda lakes like the Mono Lake in California than it is to the Atlantic as well as Pacific oceans.

Hypothetical Planet Vulcan

Planet Vulcan Presumed to Be Orbiting Around the Sun

In the present model of the solar system, the planet Mercury seems to be the closest to the Sun. Planet Vulcan was the planned planet presumed to be orbiting around the Sun in the area between Mercury and Sun. Based on the calculation of Le Verrier, the proposal of planet was done to explain the peculiarities in the orbit of Mercury and the French mathematician, Le Verrier was the one who had predicted the existence of the planet Neptune by calculations to clarify the orbit of Uranus.

He assumed that the peculiarities in the orbit of Mercury could be owing to some unknown planet orbiting between the Sun and Mercury. Numerous investigators were involved in the study of the new planet Vulcan though no such planet seemed to be found. Peculiarities in orbit of Mercury had been clarified by the Theory of General Relativity of Albert Einstein. Besides Mercury, asteroid 2007 EB with a semi-major axis of 0.55 AU has the smallest known semi-major axis revolving around the Sun. Director of the Paris Observatory, Francois Arago, had suggested to the French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier, in 1840, to work on the topic of orbital motion of the planet Mercury around the Sun.

Purpose – Recommend a Model for Planet Mercury

The purpose of the study was to recommend a model for the planet Mercury based on the laws of motion and gravitation of Sir Isaac Newton.Towards 1843, Le Verrier had published his provisional theory on the topic that would be tested at the time of transit of Mercury across the face of the Sun in 1843. However his theory failed in matching the observation.

 He then published a thorough study of Mercury’s motion again. The consistency of the study meant that any deviation from prediction would be the result of some unknown factor and there would still be some discrepancy. During the motion of Mercury, its perihelion progresses by a small amount each orbit, technically known as perihelion precession. The value observed differs from the value predicted by Classical mechanics by around 43 arc seconds per century. Le Verrier assumed that the unwarranted precession could be described with the presence of a small planet within the orbit of Mercury, proposing the name `Vulcan’ for this object.

Astronomer Denies the Passage of any Planet over the Sun

Lescarbault, a country doctor at Orgeres, France had reported Le Verrier that he had seen an object which was a size of a planet cross the disc of the Sun on March 26, 1859. Lee Verrier had been to Orgeres and had interviewed the amateur astronomer regarding the unidentified planetary object. Lescarbault had estimated the duration of the transit as 1 hour, 17 minutes and 9 seconds.

He was completely convinced from the observation of Lescarbault and believed that he had seen the transit of an earlier unknown planet. He announced the discovery of Vulcan on January 2, 1860, at a meeting of the Academic des Sciences in Paris. Apparently not all accepted the discovery of Vulcan and renowned French astronomer, Emmanuel and Liais claimed that they had been studying the surface of the sun through a telescope which as powerful as the telescope of Lescarbault at the same time when reported by him. Liais has strongly denied the passage of any planet over the Sun during the time indicated.

Why Nobel Prize was not Awarded Gandhi subsequently for 5 Times

Mahatma Gandhi Continues to be Strongest Models of Peace/Non-Violence

Over 60 years after his death, the leader of India’s independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi still continues to be one of the strongest models of peace and non-violence all over the world. Yet the query remains answered as to why he was not granted the world’s greatest honour for peace inspite of being nominated five times as well as shortlisted thrice for the Nobel Prize?

The issue had come up when Kailash Satyarthi, children’s rights activists of India, had been awarded the prize jointly with Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai. Norwegian historian and Nobel Peace Prize expert, Oivind Stenersen, had informed The Wall Street Journal that awarding Mr. Satyarthi the peace prize had been a smart move by the committee.

He commented that it always had a guilty conscience since Gandhi did not get the prize and that they knew that the committee had been looking for an Indian for quite some time. The selection committee had provided a host of reasons on the official website of the Nobel Peace Prize on why Mr Gandhi had never received the popular prize.

In 1937, during Mr Gandhi’s first nomination, the adviser of the selection committee, Jacob Worm-Muller had been critical about him stating that according to the Nobel Foundation, `he was undoubtedly a good, noble and ascetic person, a prominent man who is deservedly honoured and loved by the masses of India’.

Several Critics in International Peace Movement

Mr Worm-Muller, at the same time had written that ‘there were sharp turns in his policies that could hardly be satisfactorily explained by his followers. He is a freedom fighter and a dictator, an idealist and a nationalist; He is frequently a Christ, but then, suddenly an ordinary politician’.

He added that Mr Gandhi had several critics in the international peace movement and was not consistently pacifist and should have known that some of his non-violent campaigns towards the British could degenerate into terror and violence.

He also believed and had mentioned in his report to the selection committee, that Mr Gandhi was too much of an Indian nationalist and one could say that it is significant that his well-known struggle in South Africa was for the sake of the Indian only and not of the blacks whose conditions of living was even worse.

Mr Gandhi – First & Foremost a Patriot

One of the committees was also of the opinion that Mr Gandhi had not been a `real politician or supporter of international law, nor a humanitarian relief worker or an organizer of international peace congresses. Mr Gandhi had been nominated for the award again in 1938 and 1939, though was shortlisted a second time only in 1947 when the Nobel Peace Committee Advisor Jens Arup Seip had been less critical of Mr Gandhi than Mr Worm-Muller.

Selection committee chairman, Gunnar Jahn had mentioned in his diary that `while it is true that Gandhi is the greatest personality among the nominees, plenty of good things can be said about him, we should remember that he is not only an apostle for peace, he is first and foremost a patriot.

 Moreover, we have to bear in mindthat Gandhi is not naïve. He is an excellent jurist and a lawyer’. In 1948, Mr Gandhi had been shortlisted for the third time just days prior to his assassination which had prompted the selectors to think whether the awards could be given subsequently.

Building Hitler's SuperGun

V-3, Remarkable Weapon – Afflicted with Technical Difficulties

It is said that the V-3 was intended to win the war for Germany and for the first time in 1943, since the World War II began, Hitler was on the back foot. Big guns had shattered German cities and the Fuhrer was upset. The V-3, his proposed cannon would be the largest gun that the world had ever seen. However, the remarkable weapon had never been test fired and afflicted with technical difficulties.

The working of the German supergun was also a mystery since much of it was destroyed with only a few photographs and documents that survived. The V-3 had been built in a massive bunker that was buried deep in a chalk hill in northern France.

Millions of tonnes of rock had been excavated by hand and among the workers there were hundreds of slave labourers as well.In its original conception, 25 barrels were to point at London around 100 miles distance, delivering up to one bomb each minute, developing an atmosphere of fear which would turn the course of the war back in favour of Hitler.

It was said to be a destined secret `drone’ mission to end the V-3 which led to the death of Joe Kennedy, Junior, who was a pilot and the older brother of the future US president, John F. Kennedy.

Trouble in Achieving All-Important Timing

It was estimated that a missile reaching London should achieve speeds over 1,500 metres per second and each barrel of Hitler’s gun was said to be 130 metres long and inclined at 50 degrees that was worked out that this would be the perfect angle to reach London, which they seemed to have got it right.

The missile was said to be accelerated through a means of a sequence of charges along the barrel and accurate timing of these extra charges was an important element. This was presumed that this was done electrically. In a study for a TV documentary on Channel Four, PBS Nova and National Geographic International, no evidence was found for this.

Photographs from that time showed no signs of electrical wiring or triggering devices. From their experience it was recommended that the charges were triggered due to heat of the advancing gas behind the missile. The engineers of Hitler had great trouble achieving the all-important timing and it was presumed that it was due to leakage of hot gas past the seal behind the missile.

Project Anvil Ended as a Failure

They also faced various other issues with their design, especially to perfect a shape of missile which would be aerodynamic at supersonic speeds. It had to be steady without the assistance of spin. However, in the initial tests, the projectile was found to tumble uncontrollably and the issue never seemed to be solved.

The Partners had not known about the supergun till the Canadian forces had invaded the site after D-Day. However, they were aware that for the Germans to be spending that many resources on the site they were surely of no use. It was not easy to imagine how to destroy the supergun.

 The Americans had planned to attack the installation with a drone that was controlled remotely by heavy bomber packed with 12 tonnes of high explosives. The idea was to crash the unmanned aircraft directly into the site at Mimoyecques near Calais. However, the mission, code dubbed Project Anvil ended as a failure.

Yakshi

Yakshi – Female Earth Spirit - Symbol of Fertility

Yakshi is female earth spirits which is considered as a symbol of fertility by the Hindu, Jain and the Buddhist faith and are portrayed as wide-hipped voluptuous women with narrow waists, broad shoulders who caused a tree to bear fruit by simply touching it with her foot.

Here the figure is depicted smartly unified in the form of a column, the centre of which takes the shape of a leafy tree. The yakshi is generally depicted with her upper hands holding a branch of the tree with a graceful pose which is a traditional gesture in sculptures of yakshi. The Ashoka tree is closely linked with the Yakshini mythological beings.

Yakshi with her foot on the trunk and her hands holding the branch of anartificial flowering askoka or less often other tree with flowers of fruits, is one of the frequent elements in India art that is found at the gates of Buddhist as well as Hindu temples.The sculptures of yakshi are generally perceived in intricate architectural motifs on the porticoes of temples as well as stupas.

These types of figures recognized often as mother-goddesses date back to the Indus Valley civilization which is the earliest known Indian urban culture.

Yakshi Female Counterpart of Male Yaksha

Yakshi or Yakshini or Yakkhini are mythical beings and the female counterpart of the male Yaksha who are attendees of Kubera, the Hindu god of wealth. He rules in the mythical Himalayan kingdom of Alaka. They are considered to be guardians of the treasure that is hidden in the earth, resembling fairy.

 Thirty six Yakshinis, in Uddamareshvara Tantra, are described which include their mantras as well as ritual prescriptions. In early Buddhist monuments, Yakshis were considered important as decorative element and are found in several ancient Buddhist archaeological locations.

One will find an identical list of Yakshas and Yakshinis in the Tantraraja Tantra which states that these beings are givers of whatever is preferred.

 Though Yakshinis are generally generous, there are other yakshinis with spiteful characteristics in Indian folklore. In pre-Aryan days, the folk goddesses were protective deities in Indian religions and yakshis were worshipped by the rural folks with the expectations of boon or protection from evil.

Main Indian religions of later day considered these goddesses to attract the rural folks, making them accept these religions without reservation. Importance to yakshis in Jainism is seen from the fact, that there is a yakshi of each of the 24 tirthankaras and is the tirthankaras of the guardian deities.

Yakshi have Special Place in Art History of India

Five out of these 24 yakshis, are celebrated in sculptures, terracotta figurines and bronzes, the popular ones are Ambica, the yakshi of Neminatha, the 22nd tirthankara. The others are the Jwalamalini, Padmavathy, Siddhakkiya and Chakreswari, the protecting goddesses of Parsvanatha, Mahaveera, Chandraprabha and Adinatha, respectively, the 23rd and 24th - the last, the eighth and the first tirthankaras.

Yakshis have now become folk deities again due to the decline of Jainism. Retired senior epigraphist, V, Vedachalam, of Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department who has done perceptive research on the origin and the growth of the yakshi cult has commented that `yakshis have a special place in the art history of India’.

From the fourth century B.C. during the time of the Mauryas, the Kushanas – second century B.C. and the Guptas – fourth century A.D. right to the 13th century A.D. yakshi has been celebrated in hundreds of standalone sculptures, terracotta figurines, bas-beliefs and stunning bronzes. Nonetheless, yakshis worship was recognized in a regular manner from the Gupta era. In Tamil Nadu one will find separate shrines for them dating from the 12th century.