JUNE, 2022

SRI ALLURI SITARAMA RAJU

• born: 4th july, 1897 - 125th anniversary
• “manyam veerudu”, “hero of jungle”
• led the RAMPA REBELLION, 1922 opposing the madras forest act, 1882
• rebelled between aug, 1922 to may 1924
  

SANT KABIR DAS

• 15th cen mystic poet
• born in varanasi
• last days in maghar, up
• writings:
  • bijak - poems
  • kabir granthawali
  • wrote in hindi mixing with avadhi, braj, bhojpuri

August 2025

3000 year old hymn reveals musical links across Bronze Age civilizations from India to the Mediterranean

• More than 3000 years ago, in the port city of Ugarit on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean in Syria, the scribes inscribed a song in the Hurrian language on a clay tablet.
• The Hymn to Nikkal is the earliest known musical score found to date.
• The study compares the Hymn to the Nikkal with Rig Veda.
  • It demonstrated parallels between the two. One in Five Rig Veda verses ends with the same cadence as the Hymn to Nikkal.
  • It also echoed melodic tendencies.
  • Ancient commentators on the Rig Veda described its melodies as mounting upon accented syllables and falling thereafter.
  • When reconstructed digitally, the two pieces resonated with such similar characteristics, that their kinship became unmistakable.

January 2025

Shree Mandir Parikrama Prakalpa, Puri

• A 75-metre-wide heritage corridor that was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on 17 January.
• Announced in December 2019 but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and a legal obstacle in January 2021, when the National Monuments Authority (NMA) issued draft by-laws that prohibited any construction within 100 metres of the temple.
• The chief minister intervened and requested the NMA to withdraw the by-laws, clearing the way for the project to resume, according to media reports. Print

National Animal - Lion

'National animal of India was the lion. We passed a resolution in late 60s urging then PM to change the national animal to tiger' — Watch Congress leader & veteran politician Karan Singh in ThePrintDialogues with journalist Vir Sanghvi

Full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRdBTFvxkZo

January 2026

World's oldest civilization

Sumerian civilisation in modern day Iraq

A land that became the cradle of one of the world's oldest civilizations, Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day Iraq.

Between Tigris and Euphrates river

The Sumerian civilization was born around 3500 BCE in the fertile plains between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. The word Mesopotamia actually means "land between rivers" and was given to this region by the Greeks.

Built earliest known cities

• The Sumerians are credited with building some of the earliest known cities in the world, with Uruk being considered the world's very first city.
• They were not just a collection of houses, but rather with own governments, trade, and religions.
• Places like the Ziggurat of Ur and Babylon ruins provide a glimpse of what was present thousands of years ago.

Cuneiform, earliest form of written language

• The Sumerians developed the cuneiform, one of the earliest forms of written language, on clay tablets. The written records included everyday things like trade records and even shopping lists.
• Formal education was around 4,000 years ago, and scribes were taught how to write and to do administration.
• The idea of dividing time into 60 minutes and 60 seconds originated in this part of the world.

Culture and Trade

• Beer was a common drink, and brewing was an important skill to have.
• The wheel was perfected in this part of the world and tuned the pace of trade and travel forever. MSN

March 2026

10,000-year-old prehistoric settlement found in Turkiye

Reshapes the previous assumption

• This reshapes the long-held assumption about how and when humans transition from human-like lifestyles to permanent lives.
• The absence of fully developed agriculture during the earliest phases of this site suggests that the decision to settle may not have been driven solely by farming, as long believed.
• Instructs of social, environmental, or cultural factors may have played a significant role in anchoring populations to specific locations. Social cohesion and collective media may have been key drivers in the formation of early settlements.

New questions about the settled community of humans

• This perspective opens new avenues for research into the origins of human society. It encourages scientists to reconsider the role of environmental pressure, technological innovation, and social interaction in shaping early communities.

• This shifts the focus from purely economic explanations towards a broader understanding of human motivation and adaptation.

Organised Semi Sedentary life

• The site presents evidence of an organized semi-sedentary life that emerged under conditions far more complex than previously believed.

Dates back to Early Holocene era

• Getting back to the early Holocene, the period which has been long associated with a gradual shift towards agriculture and permanent settlements. Yet the findings suggest that the structured living arrangements may have taken root earlier under different circumstances than traditionally assumed.

Reflects planning and cooperation

• The early inhabitants were not only surviving but organizing their environment in ways that reflect planning and cooperation.
• The arrangement implies an intentional design, possibly reflecting social hierarchies or shared communal factions.
• Had distinct activity areas suggesting coordinated use of space within the settlement.
• It displays a level of planning and continuity that contrasts with the idea of a loosely organized, transient group.
• It indicates repeated occupation, spatial organization, and communal activity zones, pointing to a society that was not merely experimenting with sedentism but actively sustaining it.
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  Indian Defence Review