Operation Ajay

• Two more sorties Operation Ajay recently brought Indian citizens from war-torn Israel to India.

An Overview:

• Over nine hundred Indians returned from war-torn Israel.

About Operation Ajay:-

• Start date: October 12, 2023.
• The administration plans to use specially chartered flights to repatriate its citizens.
• The goal of Operation Ajay is to return Indian nationals who were living in Israel to their homeland.
• Special chartered flights would be sent by the Indian government to repatriate residents from Palestine and Israel.
• If necessary, ships from the Indian Navy may also be dispatched.

Israel’s current state of affairs:

• In reaction to a recent vicious attack by Hamas in Israel, Israel kept up its operations against Hamas militants in Gaza.
• 2,300 people have died on both sides thus far.
• The state of affairs is still dire.

The diaspora

• Now, there are about 18,000 Indians living in Israel.
• The majority of these are carers.
• In addition, there are roughly a thousand students, a number of IT specialists, and diamond dealers.
• There are at least 17 Indians who are stuck in Palestine, including both relief workers and business travelers.

Helplines for communication:

• Indian citizens who have registered with the Indian embassy in Israel receive instructions and updates for future flights via email.
• To keep an eye on the current events, the Ministry of External Affairs has established a control room that is open 24/7.
• Additionally, there is a 24-hour emergency helpline available through the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv.
• Further, the Representative Office of India in Ramallah has also set up a 24-hour emergency helpline.

Significance: –

• Operation Ajay Acts as a model for effective and flexible evacuation procedures, guaranteeing the safety of people during trying circumstances.

Rasmussen’s encephalitis

Recently, to stop the rare condition Rasmussen’s encephalitis, surgeons had to shut down half of a girl’s brain.

An Overview:

• Physicians at Loma Linda University Health in California disabled half of a sick girl’s brain in order to help her. Her name was Brianna Bodley.
• This was a result of the swelling in her brain caused by a disease known as Rasmussen’s encephalitis.

About encephalitis caused by Rasmussen:

• An extremely rare chronic inflammatory neurological condition is called Rasmussen’s encephalitis.
• Epilepsy and progressive cerebral damage are typically caused by recurrent episodes of uncontrollable electrical abnormalities in the brain that affect the patient. (Single Illnesses)
• As time goes on, further symptoms could include intellectual deficits, linguistic difficulties (if they arise from the left side of the brain), and growing weakening on one side of the body (hemiparesis).
• Cause: It is unknown what specifically causes this condition.
• The two main theories are that either an autoimmune condition affecting only one side of the brain and causing brain damage, or brain inflammation as a response to an antigen foreign to the body (infection).

Age Group:-

• It usually affects children between the ages of two and 10, though it doesn’t always.
• For many patients, the first eight to twelve months of the disease’s course are the most severe.
• The disorder’s course appears to slow down or stop once the peak inflammatory response is reached, leaving the patient with irreversible neurological impairments.
• It frequently causes long-term impairments like epilepsy, paralysis, and cognitive issues.
• Each person’s experience with severity differs.

Treatment:-

• Anti-seizure Drugs: Although they might not totally stop seizures, these drugs are frequently used to manage them.
• Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy administered early on may help manage seizures or stop more immune-related brain damage.
• Hemisphererectomy: This type of brain surgery is removing or cutting off the patient’s left half of their brain from their right side.

BlueWalker 3 satellite

Shortly after its launch, BlueWalker 3 was one of the brightest objects in the sky, according to recent observations.

An Overview:

• According to a new study, is as bright as the brightest stars in the 89 constellations of Canis Minor and Eridanus.

About the satellite BlueWalker 3:

• Start time: 9:20 p.m. ET
• Date of launch: September 10, 2022.
• A satellite prototype is called BlueWalker 3. (NASA and ISRO work together on the NISAR satellite.)
• It is a component of the satellite network that its owner, the American business AST SpaceMobile, has planned.
• It’s made to work straight out of the box with regular, unmodified mobile devices.
• Its antenna system covers 64 square meters, or 693 square feet.
• It generates power from space and delivers cellular internet straight to mobile phones via its massive phased-array antenna.
• The biggest commercial antenna system ever placed in low Earth orbit is this one.
• It is the first of over a hundred comparable or even larger satellites that are anticipated.
• It is an antecedent of the Blue Bird commercial satellites that are planned.

Applications:-

• The spacecraft was designed to use 3GPP-standard frequencies to directly establish communication with mobile phones.
• Anywhere in the world is where mobile or broadband services are supposed to be delivered.

Challenges:-

• Large size and dazzling shiny surfaces of Bluewalker 3 may cause problems for astronomical observations.
• Its luminosity could cause confusion with stars or obstruct the detection of fainter objects.
• It may interfere with radio telescope observations since it actively emits at radio frequencies that are near to bands designated for radio astronomy.

Garba

A directive was recently issued by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad requiring attendees of the nine-day Navratri holiday in Maharashtra, India, to have an Aadhaar card in order to participate in garba and dandiya festivities.

An Overview:

• In Maharashtra, the nine-day garba and dandiya dance is a component of celebration customs.

Regarding Garba:

• Gujarat, an Indian state, is the birthplace of garba.
• It is conducted around a “Garbha Deep,” an earthen pot (garbo) that has a lamp inside of it.
• The lantern represents life, especially life within the womb of the fetus.
• The pot itself represents the body, which is home to divinity.
• Dancer circle around this earthen pot, using their hands and feet in circular motions.
• This gesture represents the life cycle, in which everything changes from birth to death to rebirth, with the Mother Divine remaining constant, unwavering, and untouchable.
• The chaniya, or long skirt, the dupatta with embellishments, and the choli, or blouse, make up the three pieces of the Garba costume.
• The multicolored clothing has mirrorwork and embroidery, which adds to the bright and vibrant mood.
• The males dress in a full-sleeved kurta with a tight chest and a flared waist that resembles a gown, together with kafni pajamas, which are tapered pants with several pleats at the bottom, and a turban or pagdi.

Significance:-

• Over the nine days of the Navratri celebration, garba dancing is also performed. (Festival National Youth)
• The dances in Gujarat are typically performed to commemorate a girl’s impending marriage and her first menstrual period.

Regarding Dandiya:

• Men and women dance briskly in the Dandiya style, striking bamboo sticks painted and colored to the rhythms of tabla and dholak music.
• The fight between the Devi and the demon is masterfully recreated through the dance.
• Dandiya is also known as “The Sword Dance” because the vibrant sticks used in the dance form symbolize the sword of Goddess Durga.
• The metallic clangs that one may hear on the battlefield are evocative of the sounds made by the instruments.

About Navratri:-

• India celebrates Navratri, a national holiday, as a way to honor the goddess Durga in all of her nine manifestations.
• This celebration commemorates more than only the victory of good over evil (the demon king Mahishasur was vanquished by the Indian goddess Durga).
• The Yogic culture holds that the summer solstice heralds the start of the sun’s southern migration, or “sadhana pada,” when numerous festivals honoring the divine feminine are observed.
• During this period, Sharada Navratri is primarily observed.
• This celebration begins immediately following Mahalaya Amavasya, which honors the Devi Pada on Pitru Paksha.

Ruddy Shelduck

Recently come for a winter stay is Ruddy Shelduk.

An Overview:

• For a six-month winter stay, the first group of roughly fifty Ruddy Shelduck, also referred to as “Surkhab” birds, arrived.

Regarding Ruddy Shelduck:

• Brand name in science: Tadorna ferruginea.
• The Anatidae family.

Distribution

• Continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe.
• COUNTRIES: Denmark, Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain, South Korea, China, Mongolia, and Bulgaria.
• Canary Island is an island.
• Residency: Ruddy Large wetlands, lakes, and rivers with shingle banks and mudflats are home to sheducks.
• Their diet consists of grasses, roots, shoots, buds, leaves, seeds, and stems.

Legend:-

• According to legend, two individuals fell in love, but the Gods disapproved of their relationship and turned them into Ruddy Shelducks. They were then cursed to never meet and were put on the banks of a river.

Features:-

• The ruddy shelduck, also referred to as the Brahminy duck in India.
• This bird migrates.
• It is a unique case of bird flu.
• Its length is between 58 and 70 cm (23 and 28 in), and its wingspan is between 110 and 135 cm (43 and 53 in).
• Its head is paler than its orange-brown body plumage.
• The black flight feathers in the wings and tail give a striking contrast to the white wing coverts.
• These birds are really huge, called shelducks.
• It visits the Indian subcontinent and breeds in southeastern Europe and central Asia, though there are small resident populations in North Africa.