Bhageerati Jayanti – 2013
Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013After a yearlong effort of understanding the River as one of the most necessary life sustainers , this year we have proceeded with our thematic learning focusing on the inter reliance of lives in the world. And on this theme weekly classes are being conducted in the campus. But how can anybody appreciate the variety of lives, their habitats and network without experiencing the least contact with them? Hence our field trip to Tippagondanahalli, a place where the rivers Kumudvati and Arkavati meet which is a habit for a large variety of birds. Just adjacent to the meeting point of the two rivers, the flow is blocked by Chamrajasagar reservoir built by the British during 1933 under the supervision of Sir. M Vishveshvaraih to supply piped water to their establishment and other parts of Bangalore. The reservoir has supplied about 35 million liters of water per day to Bangalore for more than thirty years and hence it is also a place of historical significance to Bangalorians. However water supply from the reservoir to any place has stopped and the reservoir remains dry or holds little water during most months. Two bird watchers Mr. Srinivasa Rao and Mr Ullas Anand accompanied us as guides. As we began to stroll along the paths amidst plantation, almost once in every two footsteps, they spotted a species of a plant or an insect or a bird and explained it’s attributes. Some of the aspects that came to light in their conversation with children are here: Etymology of the word Tamarind – When the Arabs visited India and saw Tamarind trees unfamiliar to them, the fruit part appeared similar to dates which they call ‘Tamarai’. So they called it ‘Tamarai-Hind’- The Dates of India. Later, the British modified it as Tamarind to their convenience. Sandlewood tree – In any grown up tree there are two kinds of tissues- The Xylem and The Phloem. Xylem is marketed as hard wood after the tissue dies and sandlewood tree requires a period of 20 years to develop fragrance. Anthill- Anthills are not made by snakes which live in them. They are made by Moths(insects that are attracted to light). They are social animals which categorize as queens- the individuals that lay eggs, workers- those which work for food and soldiers- those which work for protection. They collect leaves, harvest fungi on them and then feed on them. When these insects leave the place, snakes, which are cold blooded take shelter in them to protect themselves from the sun. The anthills being mud structures act as natural air conditioners(convention cycle- hot air goes up and cold air comes down) and are pleasant to snakes. Are they spacious enough for a group of snakes to live? Yes. A quite old ant hill is about 25 to 30 feet deep below the ground and the volume of an ant hill is directly proportional to its age. Emigrant butterfly – They migrate when it rains. Bonnet monkey – These are monkeys whose head look like a car bonnet and are commonly found in South India. In the northern parts of India the commonly found monkey kind is the Rhesus monkey. Humans must owe a lot to those monkeys because they are the first ones to alert scientists about the presence of Rh factor in human blood neglecting which blood transfusions could become fatal. Rh factor means Rhesus factor. Some more introductions – Basavana pada or Bahunia or Kanchuvala tree whose leaves look like Oxe’s hooves. Plumeria or Devakanigile or Temple tree popularly found in temple premises.(Old Plumeria trees can be found in Virupaksha temple at Hampi). Epiphytes are plants that grow upon other plants non-paracitically( without drawing food out of them). Insects are six legged and arachnids are eight legged. They are together called arthropods. For more photos please click here Oxygen reduction, algae bloom, toxicity, increased temperature make water hazardous to life and water pollution is the most common crisis nowadays. So, to ensure a healthy eco-system the society needs to learn to check these parameters in water. With this in mind, we had organized a water testing session for the day. Dr Iqbal and Dr Deepesh – scientists from CPCB demonstrated a few tests for chemical and physical parameters of water purity. The details are given below – Water was collected from the lake(Reservoir) Children observed the color and odor of the collected water. A pH paper was dipped in the water and children compared the color of the pH paper with a color code. A test for Turbidity(Relative clarity of water) was conducted using Secchi disc(A black and white disc) method- clearer the visibility of the disc inside, purer the water. Children titrated and found out the content of dissolved oxygen in the water. They learnt about the hardness of water and titrated the water against EDTA solution using Erichrome black – T – indicator. We then visited Spoorthy Vana situated at an extent of about half a kilometer from the place. It is a forest looked after by a group of committed horticulturists led by Mr Eshwar Prasad. Children enacted three short plays – one conveying the commitment of all animals to their activities, another on the life style of forest dwellers and the last one on chipko movement – a non violent resistance of the people through hugging trees to protect them from being felled. Children planted about a dozen of trees in the Spoorthy vana before leaving the place. Our field trip ended with a very creative game modeling the birth of aquatic animals like turtles, their reaching to the water from the place where they hatch and the life threats they face on their way to water. Thus on Bhagirathi Jayanthi Purnapramati successfully completed its first field trip of the year relevant to the year’s theme jivo jivasya jivanam and also to that of the previous year jivanam jalam uchyate. ಪೂರà³à²£à²ªà³à²°à²®à²¤à²¿à²¯à²²à³à²²à²¿à²‚ದೠà²à²¾à²—ೀರಥಿ ಜಯಂತಿ…. ಮಕà³à²•à²³à³Šà²‚ದಿಗೆ ಹೆಜà³à²œà³† ಹಾಕà³à²¤à³à²¤à²¾… ಇಂದೠಜೇಷà³à² ಮಾಸ, ಹಸà³à²¤ ನಕà³à²·à²¤à³à²°, ನವಮಿ
