Author: Vipraja Rao

Gold is a personified emotional legacy; it is an essential portfolio diversification tool for an investor. Gold is one of the rare things that have retained importance over the centuries, with value steadily rising. The spectacular glow earned the metal names like “Tears of the sun” Aristotle believed that gold was a mixture of water and sunlight; scientifically questionable but metaphorically agreeable. The perception of its value is almost as old as time itself; our languages have phrases like “to be worth one’s weight in gold”, “Striking gold”, “gold digger”, or the Hindi one “Khara Sona”. So what’s unique with…

Social media is flooding with images of Chinese citizens tackling their tasks in the absence of electricity. Restaurants are preparing and serving food with the aid of candles and flashlights. Factories have been forced to suspend production, and if this trend continues, scarcity of goods can be expected. So why exactly has the government done this? Is it compensating on conservation targets after coronavirus lockdown, or there is a vested political agenda too? Let us get behind this power crunch. Cause of Electricity Shortage – Pricing System China derives most of its electricity from hydropower, where coal is burnt to…

Midnight Mass is a Netflix original series that has stunning reviews. After The Haunting of the fly manor and The Haunting of the hill house, director Mike Flanagan brings us an astonishing tale. IMDb gives it 7.9 points out of 10. The series has received love from youngsters and elders alike, so what exactly is unique about it? Let’s find out. The Plot The series begins with Riley Flying returning to the small isolated Crockett island. He has just completed his prison sentence for an accident caused by drunk driving in which a girl died. The island has only one…

It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that alcohol has been around ever since humanity can recall. It is savoured in all parts of the world and is as versatile as you can think. Alcohol brewing is considered an art and has a rich history of birth and evolution. So allow this piece to take you on a journey across maps and calendars. Cheers! Naturally occurring alcohol In their earliest form, sugars in overripe fruits attract yeast and are fermented to produce alcohol. Consumption of this spoiled fruit created a bug in the person and was considered a side…

Akhilesh Yadav has promised that if elected, he will conduct a caste census in Uttar Pradesh. After a tumultuous government by Yogi Adityanath, assembly polls 2022 is going to be a riveting event. There are varying views about BJP and Samajwadi Party; the leaders try their best to interpret the public’s sentiments and cater to them. On 29 September, Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the BJP led Centre is afraid of conducting caste census as the backward sections may begin demanding their rights. So let’s get behind these claims to find out whether these are facts or just communalizing fiction by…

The terms’ virus’, ‘vaccine’ and the like have become parts of mainstream conversation in the last two years. All of us have done our research on the same. It would be interesting to know how the concept of vaccination came into existence and its evolution to the ‘life saviour’. Also, how did the world stand together to eradicate the much-feared disease at that time, Smallpox, to make our existence more accessible and safer? The Beginning of Smallpox  Smallpox is one of the world’s oldest diseases; its evidence is found in 3000-year-old Egyptian mummies. It was the cause of death of…

Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics with multiple applications, be it architecture, astronomy, calculus or science. We always associate trigonometry with Pythagoras, the classic a² + b² = c², but was he the first to find out? Archaeologists may differ. A French archaeologist found a clay tablet in 1894 near Baghdad; the government placed it in a museum in Istanbul without many studies. It was spotted in 2018 by Australian mathematician Daniel Mansfield. He is a senior lecturer in Sydney and has been investigating the angles of the tablet for three years. He says this 3700-year-old tablet might be the…

Etymology is the study of words, their meaning and evolution through history. Most of us know that English emerged from Germany when the Anglo-Saxons reached present-day England. Around 29% of English is taken from French and Latin, and many other words from different languages also encompass a rich vocabulary, including Hindi words like bazaar, loot, jungle etc. This borrowing is a vast subject in itself, and so is how they changed in spelling, pronunciation and meaning with their arrival. So let’s look at some words common in our vernacular tongue that have a riveting origin. Embracing the evil Satan – …

The previous ambassador of Afghanistan, Ghulam Isaczai, would not participate in the General assembly debate. He used to represent the Ashraf Ghani government, which led Afghanistan in the last two decades. Since the Taliban has now taken over, no country recognises this government. What course will this move cause for the already volatile Afghanistan, and what consequences will this absence mean? The Refusal and its Reasons The Ghani government has been ousted, and the Taliban has officially taken control. The portfolio of the members of the new government has also been released. The foreign minister of the Taliban nominated Suhail…

Geothermal energy, in the simplest terms, is the energy derived from the heat inside the earth. It is contained in the rocks and fluids beneath the earth’s crust and can be found as far down as its hot molten rock, Magma. The core constantly produces heat due to radioactive decay, and so it is a renewable resource.  The Ins and Outs of the Resource  It is usually utilised in two ways, directly drilling into the earth or from hot springs on the surface. Equipment is dug at places where the Magma reaches the surface, forming pockets. So the critical factor…