Sea Slimes
Imagine spending your holiday on a seashore. With the sun shining bright and a cool breeze sweeping past your hair as you walk carefree with no work stress, you spot a beautiful, almost transparent, slimy umbrella-like animal swimming, gliding smoothly just a few meters away. Well, that is a Jellyfish! They are beautiful, elegant, almost see-through marine animals resembling gelatinous umbrellas with long threads called tentacles attached to their bodies. They look so un
Seeking the True Source of the Latte
We all love sipping a caffé latte on a cold rainy day with a slice of chocolate cake by the side. But have you ever wondered about the source of the latte or milk from which the coffee beverage derives its name? Does it come from the cow? Really? Let me take you on a journey of unlearning and relearning the true source of milk. Cows are one of the several domesticated cattle that are raised for milk, meat, and hides. They belong to the order Artiodactyls of the Bovidae
The Majestic Land Mammals
On our way back from Dehradun last summer, we spotted an elephant standing on the banks of Ganga, spewing water all over his body using its trunk, perhaps trying to beat the heat. Due to hilly terrains, elephants in this region bend their forelegs and slide down the hill to get to the river. According to local eyewitnesses, the sight is both exciting and frightening. Located in the northern part of India, Chidiyapur and its surrounding area are known for wild elephants.
Webs of Steel
Have you ever noticed fine threads hanging from the ceiling in a remote corner of your home or a small spider landing on top of your work desk? Spiders are fantastic creatures. Their webs are more common during the monsoon season but did you know that they are actually stronger than steel? There are 40,000 species of spiders on Plant Earth, everywhere except Antarctica. They belong to the kingdom Animalia and to the class Arachnida and order Araneae. These arthropods hav
The Industrious Ants
The other day, while kneading dough to make Indian bread, I noticed a black ant that seemed to have detected the spilled honey on the slab of our kitchen. I smiled at the ant and continued my work. By the time I was finished, there was a long trail of ants, some heading and others returning from the location. Each of them was bumping its head into the other as they were marching. As I bowed to have a closer look at them, they began dispersing, and in no time the trail di
Honeybees and their Golden Syrup
The other day, while watering plants in my backyard, I spotted some honeybees humming around our Passionfruit flowers. This was the first bloom of the Passionfruit vine we planted recently. As I observed them for a while, I noticed they have already built a hive concealed in the depths of one of the trees nearby. The honeybees were the tiny ones, known as dwarf honey bees or Apisflorea. The delicious honey they are designed to produce makes them more welcoming as opposed
The Surreal Snow
Thousands of tourists visit the mountains every year, not only to explore the scenic beauty that high altitudes have to offer but also to experience snowfall. Just like rain and hailstones, snow too falls from the sky; but unlike the former, snow is more appealing to people mostly because of the element of fun associated with it, be it through the social activities of building a snow man, having a snowball fight, sliding down the hill on a sled, etc. Even more fasc
Creatures in The Underwater World: The Mariana Snailfish
The underwater world is just as mesmerizing and insanely beautiful as the world above it. We all love spending our vacations on beaches or on cruises discovering scenic routes. Sea diving is now gaining popularity amongst adventurous people due to the allure of discovering the hidden depths of the sea. But, have you ever wondered how deep the seas and oceans can be and how creatures survive in the deepest part of the ocean- right at its bed- where it is extremely dark an
The Hanging Homes
One rainy day, after the storm calmed down and the sky was clear, I went on the terrace to enjoy the weather. An exquisite nest hanging on the branch of a tree in our neighborhood caught my eye. On another branch of the tree were its owners perching and chirping as if they were making their presence known, guarding their valuable home from predators. The nest was tear-shaped with an entrance at the bottom carefully weaved with twigs and grass strands. To my surprise the
Shaheen: The King of the Skies
The Shaheen falcon ( Falco peregrinus peregrinator ) belongs to the family Falconidae . It is a subspecies of the Peregrine falcon ( Falco peregrinus ) which is known to hunt down its prey at a whopping speed of over 320 km/h (approximately 200 mph). Mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, the Shaheen falcon is also known as the black Shaheen or Indian peregrine falcon. To catch its prey, it flies high then dives down at a very high speed- a characteristic feature that
A Tale of the Kachumbar Salad by Saba Irshad Ansari
Cold nights and warm afternoons, sprouting trees and the sweet scent of blooming flowers, animals returning from their hiatus and the euphony of chirping birds, all of this marks the setting in of the spring. It seems as if the earth has dressed itself up in a thick verdure blanket to exhibit its joie de vivre to celebrate the arrival of the spring season and to mark the end of the grey winter days. This is a sight that is cherished by all, especially by those who have b
Pondering on the Importance of Oxygen during the Pandemic
Pondering on the Importance of Oxygen during the Pandemic Out of the many things that we take for granted in our lives is free atmospheric oxygen- a colorless, tasteless, and odorless “chemical element that constitutes 21 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere, that is capable of combining with all elements except some noble gases, that is active in physiological processes of almost all known organisms, and that is involved especially in combustion.” [i] The atomic nu