Slip, thud... ouchh...

Whether it is in school or college, the mall or at home, we all have fallen down the stairs sometime or the other in our lives.

But two things commonly occur when someone falls down the stairs - at least one person is hurt and at least one witness laughs over it and makes it a joke the next day at college.

Yes, the other day when i visited a mall, a group of teenagers, who finished their shopping, were getting down a long polished-marble staircase with around forty steps.

On their way down, they were holding few plastic bags, cracking jokes, laughing out loud and worst of it, few of them placed their hands upon each other's shoulders and others got down with tightly clasped hands.

Suddenly, one person couldn't land his leg properly and slipped. As it is a fully polished marble stairway, the slip was enough to accelerate his fall. On his way down, he dragged down his immediate partner and within seconds, the whole group stumbled over the stairs. Thud sounds were followed by sounds like ahh, ouch.

The people who were around helped them to get up and as I was nearby, I could manage to help two of them. One among them was unable to walk, his face became red. He was saying that he landed right on his bum and was unable to bear the pain.

When all this happened, I have noticed that few couples, who were standing in the balcony, watched it from above and were having a nice laugh over it. One man's pain is another man's gain?

Never run down or up stairs, if you are in a hurry, better take an elevator. When you are in a group, better don’t hold others hands while taking stairs, because if you fall, you tend to drag another one along with you.

There is even a weird phobia of falling down stairs called “Bathmophobia” - an abnormal and persistent fear of stairs or steep slopes. Those who suffer from such a phobia better hang on to the banister and move.

Falling on stairs is not a joke, it can lead to a stiff neck, a broken wrist or leg or can even be fatal if you hurt your head; so please be careful. While you are taking stairs, do take the help of the banister.

Biofuel, the fuel of the future...

Day before yesterday, Japan Airlines (JAL) carried out the world's first successful test flight of a Boeing aeroplane, run on biofuel that was made primarily from a non-food energy crop called camelina.

As fossil fuels are depleting faster, the race is on to find more environmental friendly alternatives. Is it not time for the greener biofuel to completely takeover and replace the traditional fossil fuels?

Biofuel, with very less greenhouse gas emissions, has variety of sources - biofuel crops such as jatropha and pongamia yield oil that can be blended with diesel or can be used directly. Sugar mills produce ethanol from sugarcane, which can be blended with petrol.

Biofuel production from seeds is multi-way beneficial. The raw material (oil seeds) is crushed in oil mills to physically expel the oil and leave behind the oil cake, which can be used as manure.

Biofuel is also produced from waste or low value products like converting waste biomass into fuel, processing lower quality vegetable oil into biodiesel, etc.

However the food vs. fuel debate is still pending. Biofuel is being considered as a threat to food crops. Experts predict that biofuel could directly affect food supplies.

Crops like jatropha and pongamia could divert land, water and other resources away from food production. Also, there are various other issues related to biofuel production which need to be sorted out.

Will biofuel dominate fossil fuels in future? Can biofuel really help us achieve energy independence?

Recession…

Recession put our economy in tail-spin; risk has now become a routine aspect of life. As companies are forced to lay off their employees, people are struggling to withstand economic hardships.

With prices of daily-use commodities sky-rocketing, the common man is the worst hit and is forced to cut costs. Those who have taken loans are now under pressure to repay them back. With no proper money flow in the market, people are learning to become tougher and are spending carefully.

Vacations have become out of question and youngsters, who used to spend lavishly, are now cutting down on their partying ways and bringing a change in their lifestyle. Almost all the sectors have slowed down and stock markets are in a mess.

Recession is creating havoc in the society; the situation may get even worse as it continues. The question is that how long will it stay?

Celebrating India's 60th Republic Day...

Photo courtesy: Vande Mataram footage, BharatBala Productions

The Republic Day is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm all over the country on January 26th every year. The patriotic fervor of every citizen gets multiplied on this day, showing India’s strength as unity in diversity.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Indian constitution and the country is all set to celebrate its 60th Republic day tomorrow.

Our first woman President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, will take the salute.

Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh will miss the special occasion for undergoing a coronary artery bypass graft surgery. This is for the first time in the 60 odd years since Indian independence, a Prime Minister will be missing the Republic day parade.

Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is on a four-day visit to India, will be the chief guest at this year's Republic Day parade.

The Grand Republic Day parade, held in New Delhi, is the main attraction of the day. Different regiments of the army, navy and air force march in all their fineries.

One should look out for the group dances, cultural programs by school children and the tableau display of beautifully decorated exhibits from different states of the country.

As we get ready to celebrate our 60th Republic Day, there is one question which people pause to think over every year, especially during these two occasions - the Republic Day and the Independence Day.

The big question - Is India really shining?