SAM PITRODA

SAM PITRODA

Gist :

Sam Pitroda wanted IT to throw all that and create a new India. IT is not about software exports or internet access, but a whole new way of doing things. Back in 1980s, making a phone call was a difficult thing and telephone was the property of only the rich and elite sections of society. In today’s India we are connected to the world, a common man carries a cell phone of his own. If there is one man who build the foundation of this revolution in communication system, it is Sam Pitroda.

Pitroda did his Masters in Physics and Electronics from Baroda. He first used a telephone while he was studying Electrical Engineering at United States of America. He started a telephone exchange company called Wescom Switching in 1974. He thought to set up cheap rural exchanges in India.

In 1984 Pitroda was made Chief Scientific Advisor to start a new public-sector venture called Centre for the Development of Telematics (C-Dot) in India. He successfully created and launched the Rural Automatic Telephone Exchanges (RAX). As a result, about 40,000 exchanges totalling about 20 million telephone lines were installed in India. Tremendous changes have taken place in the fields of administration, business, education, information, media etc.

Sam Pitroda became the Chairman of National Technology Mission. He was the first Chairman of India’s Telecom Commission. He brought the telephone to some of the world’s most isolated regions. Pitroda tenacity helped create the concept and technology behind the network of ‘STD/PCO’ phone booths. The fibre optic mechanism worked out by Pitroda made high-speed connectivity possible in telecommunications.

Pitroda believed that it is possible to realise Mahatma Gahdhi’s dream of self-sufficient village community through IT applications by connecting every village in India with every other part of the country and the world. According to Pitroda, the Internet will be a key tool in shaping many of these changes in the country. Sam Pitroda is currently working on a ‘electronic wallet’, which would have all kinds of cards - credit card, debit card, health card, insurance card, even the driving license. This would pave the way for electronic payment systems, which would take over the existing systems of payments.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

1. Where and what kind of a family was Sam Pitroda born in ?

Sam Pitroda was born in Titlagarh, Orrissa on 4^th May 1942 in a large family of seven brothers and sisters.

2. What did Pitroda study in Baroda ?

Pitroda did Masters in Physics and Electronics from Baroda.

3. Where did he start his career in digital technology ?

Pitroda started his carrer on digital technology at GTE Inc., Chicago, USA

4. What did he do in 1974 ?

Sam Pitroda started a telephone exchange company called Wescom Switching in 1974.

5. When did Pitroda think of setting up cheap rural exchanges ?

Pitroda thought of setting up cheap rural exchanges when he first used a telephone and the fascination of first call.

6. In what capacity did he approach the bank in Jeddah ?

In 1984 Sam Pitroda visited Saudi American Bank (Citi Bank) in Jeddah and introduced himself as venture capitalist.

7. How did Rajiv Gandhi provide Pitroda the right opportunity ?

Prime Minister Mr. Rajiv Gandhi made Pitroda his Chief Scientific Advisor and requested him to start a new public-sector venture called Centre for the Development of Telematics (C-Dot).

8. What were the Rural Automatic Exchanges equipped with ?

The Rural Automatic Exchanges (RAX) were equipped with SS7 Intelligent Networking Signalling Systems-the systems which are used to find out if a number is busy or availale and to check up the database of telephone numbers.

9. How according to Pitroda can IT impact the nation ?

According to Pitroda IT solutions can help to tackle problems in core areas of governance, commerce, finance, education, health, agriculture, environment, legal issues and employment.

10. What was his idea of an electronic wallet ?

An electronic wallet, which would have all kinds of cards - credit card, debit card, health card, insurance card, even the driving license. This would pave the way for electronic payment systems, which would take over the existing systems of payments.

Bits :

1. Sam Pitroda was born in Titlagarh, Orissa on 4^th May 1942
2. Pitroda did his Masters in Physics and Electronics from Baroda
3. Pitroda – “father of the Indian telcom revolution”
4. Pitroda first used a telephone at United States of America
5. Sam Pitroda studied Electrical Engineering in United States of America
6. Pitroda’s dream was setting up small, rural exchanges and connect in India
7. Pitroda started his career in digital switching technology at GTE Inc., Chicago USA
8. In 1974 Pitroda stated a telephone exchange company called Wescom Switching
9. Wescom Switching was sold to Rockwell for 10 million dollars
10. Sam Pitroda visited Saudi American Bank (Citi Bank) in Jeddah in 1984
11. Pitroda was made as Chief Scientific Advisor to Rajiv Gandhi
12. Rajiv requested Pitroda to start Centre for Development of Telematics (C-Dot)
13. C-Dot exported the telephonic equipment to Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Ethiopia, Ghana and Uganda
14. Pitroda crated and launched the Rural Automatic Telephone exchanges (RAX)
15. RAX were equipped with SS7 Intelligent Networking Signalling Systems
16. Sam Pitroda became the Chairman of National Technology Mission
17. Pitroda became the first Chairman of India’s Telecom Commission
18. Pitroda determined to create the network of STD/PCO phone booths
19. Centre for Development of Telematics (C-Dot) founded in 1984
20. According to Pitroda the Internet will be a key took in shaping many in the country
21. ICC stands for Internet Community Centres
22. World Tel was founded by Pitroda in 1995
23. Sam Pitroda received India’s National Citizen’s Award
24. In 1993 Pitroda awarded the IIT Alumni Medal
25. in 1995 Pitroda received the International Distinguished Leadership Award
26. Dataquest has presented Pitroda the IT Life Achievement Award for 2002
27. Sam Pitroda currently working on electronic wallet.

Sam Pitroda - SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS

Sam Pitroda
SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS

HARGOBIND KHORANA

Hargobind Khorana

Gist :

Hargobind Khorana was born on January 9^th 1922 in a Hindu family in a little village called Raipur in Punjab in British India. His father was determined to educate his children. Hargobind studied at the Punjab University in Lahore and obtained a M.Sc. degree.

Khorana lived in India until 1945. Government India awarded Fellowship which had thrown an opportunity for him to go to England. He studied for a Ph.D. degree at the University of Liverpool. He stayed in Cambridge from 1950 till 1952. He began research on nucleic acids at the University of Cambridge. His interest in both proteins and nucleic acids got strengthened at that time.

Hargobind held fellowships and professorships in Switzerland at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Universities of British Columbia and Wisconsin. In the 1960s Khorana corroborated that the way the four different types of nucleotides are arranged on the spiral “staircase” of the DNA molecule determines the chemical composition and function of a new cell.

Khorana shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1968 with Marshall W. Nierenberg and Robert W. Holley for research that helped to show how the genetic components of the cell nucleus control the synthesis of proteins. Nirenberg and Khorana cracked the genetic code and Holley sequenced and deduced the structure of the first RNA molecule. Khorana made a contribution to genetics in 1970. In 1976 Khorana lead the team that first synthesized a biologically active gene.

Dr. Khorana’s invention of oligonucleotides has become indispensable tools in biotechnology. Khorana is a person with an extraordinary sense of perseverance and uncommon vision.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

1. What kind of a job did Khorana’s father hold ?

Khorana’s father was a parwari, a village agricultural taxation clerk in the British Indian system of government.

2. What was his attitude to his children’s education ?

Although the family was poor, Khorana’s afther was determined to educate his children and they were actually the only literate family in their village inhabited by about 100 people.

3. How did the government of India help Hargobind in his studies ?

Government of India awarded a Fellowship and threw an opportunity to go to England.

4. Where and what did Hargobind study after he obtained a fellowship ?

Hargobind studied Ph.D. Degree at the University of Liverpool in England.

5. What was the role of Dr.Gordon M.Shrum of British Columbia in Khorana’s career ?

Dr.Godrdan M.Shrum of British Columbia offered Khorana a job. There was a great amount of freedom to do whatever the particular researcher liked to do.

6. Who are the other two significant people Khorana met in Vancouver ?

The other two significant people Khorana met in Vancouver were Dr. Jack Campbell and Dr.Gordon M. Tener.

7. What did Khorana achieve in the early 1960’s ?

In the 1960s Khorana corroborated that the way the four different types of nucleotides are arranged on the spiral “staircase” of the DNA molecule determines the chemical composition and function of a new cell.

8. Who did Khorana share the 1968 Nobel prize in Physiology/Medicine with and with what was their work concerned ?

Khorana shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1968 with Marshall W. Nierenberg and Robert W. Holley for their interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis.

9. What were Khorana’s achievements during the 1970’s ?

Khorana made a contribution to genetics in 1970, when he and his research team were able to synthesize the first artificial copy of yeast gene.

10. What kind of a role did Khorana’s wife Esther Elizabeth Sibler play in his career ?

Khorana’s wife Esther Elizabeth Sibler greatly strengthened his sense of purpose. This is especially true in his life during the time when, after six years’ absence from the country of his birth, Khorana felt out of place everywhere and at home nowhere.

Bits :

1. Hargobind Khorana was borin on January 9^th,1922 in a little village called Raipur in Punjab in British India
2. Khorana’s father was a Patwari – a village agricultural taxation clerk
3. Hargogind Khorana studied at D.A.V High School in Multan (now in Pakistan)
4. Khorana studied at Punjab University in Lahore and obtained M.Sc. degree
5. Hargobind was influenced by Ratan Lal and Mr. Mahan Singh at School and University respectively.
6. Government of Indian Fellowship threw Khorana an opportunity to go to England
7. Khorana Studied Ph.D at the University of Liverpool
8. Khorana spent a year (1948-1949) at the Eidgenossische Technische Hoschschule in Zurich with Professor Vladimit Prelog
9. Khorana obtained a fellowship in England to work with Dr.G. W. Kenner and Professor A.R.Todd
10. At the University of Cambridge, Khorana began research on nucleic acids under Sir Alexander Todd
11. Hargobind was offered a job in 1952 by Dr. Gordon M. Shrum of British Columbia at Vancouver
12. Hargobind held fellowships and professorships in Switzerland at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Universities of British Columbia and Wisconsin
13. In 1960 Khorana joined the Institute for Enzyme Research at the University of Wisconsin
14. Khorana shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1968 with Marshall W.Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley
15. The research which brought the Nobel Prize was their interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis.
16. Khorana’s role was to design the methods that led to the synthesis of well-defined acids, ultimately leading to the solution of the genetic code
17. Nirenberg and Khorana cracked the genetic code and Holley sequenced and deduced the structure of the first RNA molecule
18. Marshall Nirenberg 1927 was born in New York City.
19. Nirenberg passed out from the University of Florida with Bachelor of Science degree
20. Nirenberg acquired a Master’s degree in Zoology from University of Florida
21. Nirenberg completed his Ph.D at University of Michigan in 1957 on sugar transport in tumor cells
22. Khorana made his contribution to genetics in 1970, when he and his team were able to synthesize the first artificial copy of a yeast gene
23. Khorana joined the faculty of the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology as Alfred P. Solan Professor of Biology and Chemistry in 1971
24. Khorana subsequently became a naturalized citizen of the United States
25. Hargobind Khorana married in 1952 to Esthre Elizabeth Sibler of Swiss origin
26. Julia Elizabeth (May 4^th 1953) Emily Anne (October 18^th 1954) and Dave Roy (July 26^th 1958) were the children of Khorana
27. Dr. Khorana was also the pioneering scientist to synthesize oligonucleotides, that is, strings of nucleotides
28. Dr. Khorana’s invention of oligonucleotides has become indispensable tools in biotechnology

29 . Khorana currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United states serving as MIT’s Alfred P. Solan Professor of Biology and Chemistry, Emeritus

Hargobind Khorana - SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS

Hargobind Khorana
SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS

TELPA

TELPA

Sir C.V. RAMAN - SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS

Sir C.V. RAMAN
SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS

SIR C.V. RAMAN

SIR C.V. RAMAN

Gist

C.V. Raman’s story begins in a village near Tiruchirapalli in southern India. He was born on 8 November 1888. Raman was a voracious reader and pored eagerly over all the books written by great scientists of his father’s collection. Three books determined the Raman’s chosen path, those were Edwin’s Arnold’s Light of Asia, which is the story of Gauthama Buddha, The Elements of Euclid, a treatise on classical geometry, and The Sensations of Tone, by German scientist Helmholtz, on the properties of sound waves.

Raman completed his school when he was just eleven years old. He joined in the BA course at the age of thirteen only. He was suggested by his teachers to prepare for the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination. But he could not qualify the medical examination to travel to England. This was the only examination that Raman failed.

Raman joined the MA physics in Presidency College, Madras, During this time he became famous for his experiments with light waves. Raman wondered what would happen if the light shone straight, not from an angle on the screen. Raman not only studied this variant problem and published in a paper in the Philosophical Magazine, a British journal. He was the first student of Presidency College to publish a research paper.

Raman passed the MA examination in January 1907, coming first in the university. He has taken the Financial Civil Services (FCS) examination due to lack of facilities to pursue his research in India. Later Raman started his research at ‘Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science ‘ (IACS).

Raman was fascinated by waves and sound. He remembered the reading of Helmholtz’s book in his school days. He explained the working of the ektara. He took up a violin for study and developed a way of characterising the quality of the instrument. Raman’s studies on the violin published as book. Until 1920, acoustics continued to interest him he also studied the veena, tambura, mridangam, tabla and others.

Around 1917 Raman was offered the position of Palit Professor of Physics at the university. In 1921, the University of Calcutta conferred on him an honorary doctorate. He attended University Congress at Oxford, during the voyage back Raman watched the sea and did the experiments to capture the colour of the sea. Raman set his team members to work on his idea on light scattering. In 1927 of 28^th February the famous Raman effect was discovered, and the date now celebrated as National Science Day. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 1930. Raman devoted his final years from 1946 to 1970 to the setting up of the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore.

C.V. died on 21 November 1970. By a special arrangement his mortal remains were consigned to flames in the institute campus itself, amidst the surroundings he loved without any religious ceremonies. Raman was a brilliant student, a very original thinker and a hardworking, disciplined person. Further, when he faced with a lack of infrastructure, he always improvised and built up. His determination, spirit and contributions will indeed remain special within the context of the practice of science in India.

Questions with Answers :

a. How were the great men who Raman read about as a child reflected in the work he did later in life ?

As a child Raman read, The Sensations of Tone by German scientist Helmholtz, on the properties of sound waves. Raman was fascinated by waves and sound, and seems to have carried in his mind the memory of reading Helmholtz’s book in his school days. Then he got the chance to study and experiment in the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS). He has chosen musical instruments to study like violin, veena, tambura, mridangam, tabla and others. Raman’s studies on the violin were extensive and were later published as a book entitled On the Mechanical Theory of Vibrations of Musical Instruments of the Violin Family with Experimental Results: Part I.

b. Why did Raman fail to impress his teachers when he joined Presidency College ?

Raman completed school when he was just eleven years old. He joined the BA course at Presidency College, when he was only thirteen years old. Being young for his class Raman failed to impress his teachers with his appearance. In the first English class that he had attended, Professor E.H. Eliot asked if he really belonged to the junior BA class.

c. What made Raman say of the Civil Surgeon of Madras, ‘I shall ever be grateful to this man’ ?

Raman was suggested to prepare for the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination by his teachers. Raman had to undergo a medical examination to take the ICS test. But the Civil Surgeon of Madras declared him medically unfit to travel to England. This was the only exam Raman failed, and he would later remark in his characteristic style about the man who disqualified him because at that time, he simply put the attempt behind and went on to study physics.

d. Why was the day when Raman walked into the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science a historic moment ?

The day when Raman walked into the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science a historic moment because the building that became the laboratory where he and his team performed the legendary experiments on light.

e. Outline the subject of the first research Raman conducted in the IACS ?

The first research Raman has chosen was studying musical instruments. He explained the working of the ektara. He developed several idea that he called, ‘remarkable resonances’. He took up a violin for study and developed a way of characterizing the quality of the instrument. This was the first time a scientific understanding was established, and it is used even today.

f. What discovery did Raman make during his voyage across the Mediterranean and how did it prove to be important ?

Raman discovered that water molecules could scatter light like air molecules, during his voyage across the Mediterranean. It set him on the track to discovering the famous Raman effect. In 1922, he wrote a brilliant essay entitled ‘The Molecular Diffraction of Light,’ in which he speculated that light may exist in quanta, that is, as massless particles of energy.

Bits:

1. Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman shortly as C. V. Raman
2. C.V. Raman was born on 8 November 1888
3. Raman was the second child of R. Chandrasekhar Iyer and Parvathi Ammal
4. As a child, Raman was an avid (voracious) reader
5. Light of Asia is written by Edwin Arnold – the story of Gautama Buddha
6. The Elements of Euclid, treatise on classical geometry
7. The Sensations of Tone by German scientist Helmholtz on the properties of sound waves
8. Raman completed school when he was just eleven years old
9. Raman joined the BA course at Presidency College, Madras, when he was thirteen years old
10. ICS stands for Indian Civil Services
11. The only exam Raman failed was a medical examination to travel to England to take ICS test
12. Raman joined the MA physics class in Presidency College, Madras
13. Raman studied on light and published a paper in the Philosophical Magazine, a British Journal
14. Raman was in teens and the first student of Presidency College to publish a research paper
15. Raman passed the MA examination in January 1907 coming first in the university
16. Raman married Lokasundari, who belonged to Madurai
17. FCS stands for Financial Civil Services - a forerunner of the Indian Administrative and Audit Services (IAACS)
18. IACS stands for Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science
19. Raman’s papers appeared in international journals such as Nature and the Philosophical Magazine, published in England
20. The Physical Review, published in the USA
21. Raman was fascinated by waves and sound
22. At IACS Raman has chosen to study musical instruments first
23. Raman has explained the working of the ektara
24. Raman studied the violin and later published a book entitled On the Mechanical Theory of Vibrations of Musical Instruments of the Violin Family with Experimental Results: Part I
25. To study on violin Raman assembled the parts from a cycle shop and other odds and ends found in the lab
26. Besides violin, Raman studied the veena, tambura, mridangam, tabla and others
27. Raman became interested in optics
28. Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee, appointed as Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University.
29. Around 1917 Raman was offered the position of Palit Professor at the university
30. Some of the well-known names among Raman’s brilliant students are K.R. Ramanathan, K.S.Krishnan and Suri Bhagavantam
31. Raman was conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Calcutta in 1921
32. Raman attended the University Congress at Oxford
33. Lord Rayleigh, who had explained the blue colour of the sky
34. Lord Rayleigh, explained ‘The dark blue of deep sea has nothing to do with the colour of water but is simply the blue of the sky seen in reflection.’
35. Raman’s experiments on the colour of sea were explained and published to the journal Nature
36. Raman’s discovery started during the voyage across the Mediterranean Sea
37. Raman said that water molecules could scatter light just like air molecules, which set him to discover the famous Raman effect
38. In 1922 Raman wrote a brilliant essay entitled ‘The Molecular Diffraction of Light’
39. The Compton effect was discovered in 1923
40. Raman set his team members to work on his idea of light scattering
41. Raman’s students K.R. Ramanathan, first spotted the light scattering phenomenon in 1923
42. Many of Raman’s other students were able to reproduce this effect and ‘feeble fluorescence’
43. In 1927 it was said that the effect was not ‘a type of fluorescence’ but a ‘modified scattering’
44. On 28 February of 1927 the famous Raman effect was discovered
45. 28 February is now celebrated as National Science Day
46. Raman has received Nobel Prize for physics in 1930
47. Raman took up the directorship of Indian Institute of Science until he retired in 1948
48. Raman devoted his final years, from 1946 to 1970 to the setting up of the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore and the running the Indian Academy of Science
49. Raman edited the journals Current Science and the Proceedings of the Academy
50. C.V. Raman died on 21 November 1970

DIWALI GREETINGS

click on image

HEAVEN'S GATE

HEAVEN'S GATE

Gist

The author had been to Ladakhi capital of Leh. He has observed around snowfields, with ragged prayer flags and Indian soldiers shivering in their camps. They moved along Nubra Valley. They have seen Buddhist Diskit gompa or temple. The high, dry region Ladakh in northern India that borders Tibet and is called ‘the world’s last Shangri-La’ and also described as the “land of high passes”. Ladakh also borders Pakistan. In official terms, Ladakh takes in the Muslim region of Kargil, so almost half its population is Islamic.

The author’s first day in Leh, he has observed the faces that spoke Lhasa, Herat even Samarkand. He has observed a scramble of dusty, mud-coloured buildings a few blocks along, an abandoned palace and temples. According to author street lighting did not arrive in Leh until the third year of Clinton administration. Internet cafes on every corner were also existed. The author also witnessed the great events of Ladakhi calendar, the Tse-Chu festival at Hemis. 90 percent of the audience members were foreigners at Tse-Chu and it was told that the party for the tourists only. Indeed, many of Ladakhi’s festivals, traditaionally held in the winter when they don’t have to work in the fields.

One of the first Europeans to settle in Leh, Helena Norberg-Hodge, arrived in 1975 and set up an ecology center. The lampposts of Leh saying “Say No to Polythene”. Ladakh is a way to retrieve something lost, sustaining within us that, which once experienced, comes to seem as contemporary, as invigorating, as tomorrow.

Questions with Answers :

A. What animals and trees did the writer find in the Nubra Valley ?

Marmots, wild asses or kiang, humped Bactrian camels. Apricot trees and willows.

B. How did the writer’s observations match descriptions he had read of the way people live in Ladakh ?

The author came to know ladakh as the high, dry region in northern India that borders Tibet and is often called ‘the world’s last Shangri-La’. He has seen one of the planet’s great centers of Himalayan Buddhism. He has seen the people as they might have several centuries ago, in whitewashed houses amid fields of barely and wheat irrigated by glacial snowmelt. He had heard that Ladakh the “land of high passes”, as it name means, was the one place where this pastoral existence was still preserved.

C. What did the writer discover to his surprise on reaching Ladakh, which he had imagined to have had no contact with other parts of the world ?

The writer realised that Ladakh borders Pakistan. Ladakh takes in the Muslim region of Kargil, so almost half of its population is Islamic. And most of all the place associated with blue-skied purity has for centuries been one of the most cosmopolitan trading posts in the Himalayas, through which traders transported silk, indigo, gold and opium to Kashmir, Kashgar, Yarkand and all other great caravan stops of the Silk Road.

D. What do you think the writer means when he says, ‘I saw faces that spoke of Lhasa, Herat, even Samarkand’ ?

The writer saw the people from China, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan in Leh.

E. How do travelers to the ‘otherworldly and highly magical’ Ladakh affect the people who belong there ?

Ladakh is the latest secret treasure to dramatize all the paradoxes of civilization and its discontents. Its temples that mock gravity, its , its khaki-colored stretches of emptiness with small white Buddhist stupas above them, even the tree-lined walks out of Leh were more beautiful than anything. Such wonders have brought a new restlessness to the people of Ladakh, who now fill Leh’s narrow streets with construction cranes and revving Suzukis, and their future lies in packaging or even abandoning of their past.

F. What does the writer tell us to show that while young people in Ladakh’s town prefer western ways of entertainment, people in rural areas continue to enjoy their old, local forms of music and sports ?

The writer witnessed the great Tse-Chu festival. He found the girls selling necklaces and statues of Buddha, mystical scrolls and even CDs, such goods could be aimed only at the tourist market. Indeed, many of Ladakh’s festivals, traditionally held in the winter when Ladahkhis don’t have to work in the fields, have now been moved to the summer so they can grab a foreign audience. As a result, inevitably, Ladakh is something of a test case of what good as well as bad can be brought by travelers, who in Ladakh seem mostly committed to protecting the apparently self sustaining traditional world they’ve discovered here.

Bits :

1. Ladakh is the capital of Leh

2. Marmots, wild asses, or kiang Bactrian camels, apricot trees and willows appeared toward the Nubra Valley.

3. Ladakh was the high, dry region in northern India that borders Tibet

4. Ladakh was often called the world’s last Shangri-La

5. Ladakh was one of the planet’s great centers of Himalayna Buddhism

6. Journey in Ladakh’ written by Andrew Harvey

7. Ladakh is described as the “land of high passes”

8. Ladakh borders Pakistan

9. Ladakh takes in the Muslim region of Kargil

10. Half of Ladakh’s population is Islamic

11. In Leh people speaking Lhasa, Herat, Samarkand

12. The son of the last king of Ladakh, Choegyal Jigmed Wangchuk Namgyal

13. The writer witnessed Tse-Chu festival at Hemis

14. Ladakhi’s festivals traditionally held in the winter

15. One of the first Europeans to settle in Leh was Helena Norberg-Hodge, arrived in1975

16. Helena Norberg-Hodge setup an ecology center in 1975

17. The lampposts of Leh saying “Say No to Polythene”

18. Plastic bags are prohibited in Leh

19. The author’s account of Ladakh is based on his visit to the place

20. Preparing traditional Ladakhi food is not easy because the ingredients are expensive