Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike), "(art) of the Muses".
The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music vary according to culture and social context. Music ranges from strictly organized compositions (and their recreation in performance), through improvisational music to aleatoric forms. Music can be divided into genres and subgenres, although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individual interpretation, and occasionally controversial. Within "the arts", music may be classified as a performing art, a fine art, and auditory art.
To many people in many cultures music is an important part of their way of life. Greek philosophers and ancient Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "the harmony of the spheres" and "it is music to my ears" point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, only sound."According to musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez, "the border between music and noise is always culturally defined—which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus.... By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be, except that it is 'sound through time'.

Sport

Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. Some view sports as differing from games based on the fact that there are usually higher levels of organization and profit (not always monetary) involved in sports. Accurate records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced in sport news.
The term sports is sometimes extended to encompass all competitive activities in which offense and defense are played, regardless of the level of physical activity. Both games of skill and motor sport exhibit many of the characteristics of physical sports, such as skill, sportsmanship, and at the highest levels, even professional sponsorship associated with physical sports.
Sports that are subjectively judged are distinct from other judged activities such as beauty pageants and bodybuilding shows, because in the former the activity performed is the primary focus of evaluation, rather than the physical attributes of the contestant as in the latter (although "presentation" or "presence" may also be judged in both activities).
Sports are most often played just for fun or for the simple fact that people need exercise to stay in good physical condition.
Although they do not always succeed, sports participants are expected to display good sportsmanship, standards of conduct such as being respectful of opponents and officials, and congratulating the winner when losing.

Stories of Manang

Manang district lies in the western part of Nepal, which covers an area of 2246sq km( 1,395 square miles). It is one of the remotest districts of the country, rich in culture and nature, making it a major trekking destination in the Himalaya. The region falls on the famed Annapurna Circuit trek and is visited by more than 14,000 trekkers annually.Servals districts border it including Gorkha to the east, Lamjung to the southeast, Kaski to the south, Myagdi to the southwest, Mustang to the west, and the Tibet Autonomous region to the north in china. Manang district is part of the Annapurna conservation Area.Most of Manang district is high, arid, and isolated. it sits in the rain shadow on the northern side of the Himalaya and enjoys a much drier climate than other areas of Nepal on the southern slopes of the mountains.

• Geography

• Rivers and Lakes

• Major Settlements

• Mountains

• Flora and Fauna


Geography

Physically, the district is divided into three distinct regions namely:
Nyeshang Valley
Gyalsumdo Valley and
Nar Phu Valley.

Nyeshang Valley is the Tibetan name for the largest of the three region, the 'upper'Manang Valley. The name derives from an area of Tibet called Shang. It stretches from the villages of Pisang at the lower east end to Khangsar at the upper west end. Nyeshang is the Largest valley of Manang district. It is also the location of the original three villages of Manang, namely Ngawal and Ghyaru, Braga, and Manang village. The Nepali government kept the upper Manang valley above the village of Chame closed to outsides until 1977. This was partly because Tibetan Khampa guerrillas were using the valley as a base from which to fight the chinese. A violent and lengthy feud between the villages of upper Manang also made travel in the valley risky. The people from upper Manang are Nyeshang -ten and the language Nyeshangte.

Gyasumdo is the southeastern- most and lowest region in Manang abd is often called'lower Manang'. It stretches from the villages of Thonje to Brathang. Gyaasumdo means the 'meeting place of the three trails' referring to the tracks along the three Kholas(rivers), the Marshyangdi Khola, the dudh Khola, and the Nar Khola. gyasumdo is where people meet when travelling from Lamjung, Tibet, and upper Manang. Gyasumdo, meaning they 'sit'in Gyasumdo.

Nar is remote and rugged, and therefore, very difficult to reach. There are two routes into NAr. One begins in the canyon across from the villagge of Koto, and the other is over the Kang - La pass above the village of Ngawal. This region has only two main villages, the lower Nar village, and the upper Phu. Both are at extremely high elevations. sometimes the area is called Nar- Phu. People from Nar are Nar-Ten.

Stories of Nar

Nar is the most remote region of Manang District. It has of only two main villages, Nar and Phu. Nar is the only remaining area in Manang District with restricted aceess, and was only recently opened to a limited number of outside visitors every year.Nar village is also called Chuprong. the name comes from narsang meaning 'the place of the blue sheep'. The villagers are known as Nar- ten and the village is located up the Nar Khola towards Kang- La Pass.
Many generations ago a young hunter from Mustang wounded a blue sheep and tracted it over the mountains into the Nar valley. He wwondered if the land was suitable to farm, so he planted some barley from his pocket, vowing to settle there if it grew. He returned to Mustang but came back a year later and saw that the barley had ripened. so, he built the first settlement of NAr village. He married a girl from Chaku, a place in Tibet, and many of her relatives migrated to Nar. They lived in the village of Chgaku and Meta.
Phu is from phusang meaning 'the head of the valley' and is located up the Phu Khola. villagers from Phu are Phu- ten. Both Nar village and Phu are above the tree line and completely cut off during the snowy winter months.Residents of Phu live by herding yak and trading meat, wool and hides. In the summer they grow barley. During the long winter many travel to the middle hills of Nepal to trade. Jimbu, a high- altitude chive very popular in Nepali cooking grows.
The original Phu village was a walled citadel a top a bluff. It had one thick wooden door, bolted shut at night against maravders from Tibet. In recent years, residents of Phu moved out of the old village and built more comfortable houses along the hillside. Residents move down to the lower and warner village of Kyang during the winter months. Phu is Tso Karnak, a magic lake. Karnak means 'black and white'. the lake reflects the images of things, people, and places in dreams and wishes. Phu- ten used to prohibit outsides from visiting the lake, believing that they would contaminate it and take away the precious stones and images found in it.
there is a story that early in the 1900s the Jumla Raja invaded NAr Valley with an army, after travelling up through Lamjung district.The Jumla soldiers killed all the inhabitants of Chgaku and Meta in s fierce battle. Seeing this, the villagers of Nar Village pleaded with thier lama to save them from the same fate. It was winter so the lama caste a spell causing an avalanche to fall from the Kang Guru Mountain, blocking the path of the advancinfg army and killing many soldiers. This saved the people of Nar village. In another story, disease killed the residents of Meta, and Nar village only escaped the plague because it was so isolated.
The village ruins of Chgaku later became a Khampa guerilla camp. Today Chgaku is again deserted, but Meta is partially inhabited. In Phu, there is a monastery constructed by Lama Urgen Lhundup Gyatso, also known as Lama Khyedu Karma Lopsang, called the Tashi Lakhang. In Buddhism, the number 108 gompua throughout the Himalaya and Tashi Lakhang, which means' the blessed house of gods', was the 108th and last gompa he constructed. Tashi Lakhang eventually became the main Kargyupa gompa in Manang district and, along with the Braga Gompa and the Bodzo Gompa, is at the heart Ghale and Manangpa spiritual life.

Television (TV)

Television is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic ("black and white") or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission. The word is derived from mixed Latin and Greek roots, meaning "far sight".Commercially available since the late 1930s, the television set has become a common communications receiver in homes, businesses and institutions, particularly as a source of entertainment and news. Since the 1970s the availability of video cassettes, laserdiscs, DVDs and now Blu-ray Discs, have resulted in the television set frequently being used for viewing recorded as well as broadcast material.
Although other forms such as closed-circuit television are in use, the most common usage of the medium is for broadcast television, which was modeled on the existing radio broadcasting systems developed in the 1920s, and uses high-powered radio-frequency transmitters to broadcast the television signal to individual TV receivers.
Broadcast TV is typically disseminated via radio transmissions on designated channels in the 54–890 megahertz frequency band.Signals are now often transmitted with surround sound in many countries. Until the 2000s broadcast TV programs were generally recorded and transmitted as an analog signal, but in recent years public and commercial broadcasters have been progressively introducing digital television broadcasting technology.
A standard television set comprises multiple internal electronic circuits, including those for receiving and decoding broadcast signals. A visual display device which lacks a tuner is properly called a monitor, rather than a television. A television system may use different technical standards such as digital television and high-definition television (HDTV). Television systems are also used for surveillance, industrial process control, and guiding of weapons, in places where direct observation is difficult or dangerous.
Amateur television is also used for experimentation, pleasure and public service events by amateur radio operators. Ham TV stations were on the air in many cities before commercial TV stations came on the air.
Today it is very common in industrialised countries for a household to have at least one television. In fact, it is so common that it is difficult to imagine a household without TV. This shows just how significant television is to us, but we can see that its importance is far greater than just being an object we own if we look at the variety of programmes and valuable content it offers and the purposes it serves in daily life. First of all, there are many different types of programmes on television that are useful. The viewer can watch a weather report to prepare for the day. Cartoons and sport provide relaxation and fun. School programmes, documentaries and the news teach us about the world. And advertisements inform us about products and new ideas. TV can be used to enhance many important aspects of everyday life. People seek entertainment and distraction, and TV can give us that in the form of films or cartoons. People want education, information and instruction because they are inquisitive and like to learn. TV gives us these in documentaries or educational programmes, in reports or cultural magazines. People enjoy creativity, and TV gives us that in the work of all the people involved in creating clever film scripts, effective scenery, witty dialogues or magnificent camera shots. TV gives us the world, other cultures, other people, languages and ideas. It introduces us to knowledge. we have seen, television offers us a wide range of valuable programmes and content and serves many purposes in our daily lives. Television not only provides many types of programmes with interesting and broad content, but also serves to fulfil our needs in terms of entertainment and knowledge.

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.The date of commemoration is not known to be Jesus' actual birthday, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either a historical Roman festival or the winter solsticeChristmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.Although traditionally a Christian holiday, Christmas is widely celebrated by many non-Christians,and some of its popular celebratory customs have pre-Christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, Christmas carols, an exchange of greeting cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, and garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, Father Christmas is also known as Santa Claus a popular mythological figure in many countries, associated with the bringing of gifts for children.Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.
Christian writers accepted that Christmas was the actual date on which Jesus was bornHowever, in the early eighteenth century, scholars began proposing alternative explanations. Isaac Newton argued that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the winter solsticewhich in ancient times was marked on December 25.In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued Christmas was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and was therefore a "paganization" that debased the true church. In 1889, Louis Duchesne suggested that the date of Christmas was calculated as nine months after the Annunciation (March 25), the traditional date of the Incarnation.
The Christmas tree is often explained as a Christianisation of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan tree worship. The English language phrase "Christmas tree" is first recorded in 1835 and represents an importation from the German language. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century though many argue that Martin Luther began the tradition in the 16th century.From Germany the custom was introduced to Britiain, first via Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, and then more successfully by Prince Albert during the reign of Queen Victoria, and by 1841 the Christmas tree had become even more widespread throughout Britain.By the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become common in America.Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments.
Christmas cards are usually exchanged during the weeks preceding Christmas Day on December 25 by many people in Western society and in Asia. The traditional greeting reads "wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year", much like the first commercial Christmas card. There are innumerable variations on this greeting, many cards expressing more religious sentiment, or containing a poem, prayer or Biblical verse; others stay away from religion with an all-inclusive "Season's greetings".
The Significance of Christmas is known to men, all over the world. Though it is true that Christmas is celebrated as the day of the Birth of Christ into this world, yet it also symbolizes a very deeply significant truth of the spiritual life. Jesus Christ is the very personification of Divinity. He was born at a time when ignorance, superstition, greed, hatred and hypocrisy prevailed upon the land. Purity was forgotten and morality was neglected. In the midst of these conditions, Christ was born and He worked a transformation in the lives of people. He gave a new and a spiritual turn to the lives of man. There came a change upon the land. People started upon a new way of life. Thus a new era dawned for the world.In that period the seeker has no thought of God or higher spiritual life. He lives a life of lust, anger, greed, deluded attachment, pride and jealousy. If the seeker must enter into a new life of spiritual aspiration, purity and devotion, then the Christ-spirit must take its birth within his heart. That is the real Christmas when the Divine element begins to express itself in the heart of the man. From then onward, light begins to shine where darkness was before. A very small, but very beautiful, point of deep significance is attached to Christmas. It is the time and the manner of the birth of the Lord upon the holy Christmas day. Jesus Christ was not born in a grand palace. He was not born to very wealthy or learned parents. Jesus Christ was born in a simple lowly place, a corner of a stable. He was born to humble and poor parents, who had nothing to boast about, except their own spotless character and holiness. The above point of deep significance tells that the spiritual awakening comes to the seeker, who is perfectly humble and "meek" and "poor in spirit." The quality of true humility is one of the indispensable fundamentals. Then we find simplicity, holiness and the renunciation of all desire for worldly wealth and pride of learning. Thirdly, even as Christ was born unknown to the world and in the obscurity of darkness, even so, the advent of the Christ-spirit takes place in the inwardness of man when there is total self-effacement self-abnegation.

Teej in Nepal

Teej is the fasting festival of women in Nepal. It falls in the month of August or early September. Married women observe Teej fast to honor Lord Shiva and for long and healthy life of their husband. Unmarried girls also observe fast on this day for a good husband. Teej celebrations lasts for three pious days. Traditional dances and songs form an important feature of Teej celebrations. Red color is considered auspicious for women observing Teej fast and so most of them dress up in red or bridal clothes. Teej CelebrationsTeej is an annual festival of Nepali women. The festival is celebrated with utmost dedication and love by the women in Nepal. Preparations for the festival begin well in advance. Fabric stores, sarees and suit outlets are stocked with the bridal red color fabric. Women spend most of the time shopping when Teej is near. Teej festival celebrations are carried further with sumptuous feasts and traditional performances. On this day, women dress up beautifully. They clad themselves in red colored apparels, wear glass bangles, heavy ornaments and apply henna. Teej gives women an opportunity to dress like the newly wed. They worship the epitome of divine marriage - Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, for longevity and prosperity for their husband and family. Three Days of TeejTeej is a three-day-long festival in Nepal and each day has its own significance. 1. First day is called 'Dar Khane Din', the day to make merry. 2. Second day is a 'fasting day'. 3. The third day is called 'Rishi Panchami' in Nepal which is a day to perform Teej Puja. Dar Khane DinThe first day of Teej in Nepal is called the 'Dar Khane Din'. On this day, the womenfolk dressed in the finest clothed gather at one place and perform traditional dance and sing devotional songs. A special food called 'dar' is eaten. Celebrations continue till midnight after which the 24-hour-long fast begins. Fasting DayThe second or the fasting day of the Teej festival is dedicated to pujas and prayers. The holy Pashupatinath temple is thronged by women in red sarees to offer prayers to Lord Shiva. Women gather in the temple and circumambulate the Lingam (phallic symbol of the Lord) adorned with flowers, sweets and coins. The beautifully decorated idols of Shiva and Parvati are offered fruits and flowers to seek blessings of the divine spirits. Lighting of an oil lamp is very important part of the puja ceremony. It is said that the oil lamp should be kept lit all night to avoid bad omen. Rishi PanchamiThe third day of the Teej Festival is called Rishi Panchami. On this day, the seven sages of the Hindu pantheon are worshiped by women in a belief that it will cleanse all sins of the previous year. Womenfolk take a holy bath with red mud found on the roots of the sacred Datiwan bush, along with its leaves. After three hours of rigorous cleansing, they come out purified and absolved from all sins. After this they sit in a semicircle while a priest sitting in the middle chants devotional prayers.

Gai Jatra in Nepal

Gai Jatra is one of the most celebrated festivals in Nepal. Gai Jatra is celebrated in the Nepali month of Bhadra (August – September). Gai Jatra festival is celebrated on the next day to Janai Purnima .The festival of "Gai Jatra", the procession of cows, is generally celebrated in the Nepal. The festival of cows is one of the most popular festivals of Nepal. The whole complex of Gai Jatra festival has its roots in the ancient age when people feared and worshipped Yamaraj,"the god of death". However, the ironical sessions synonymous with the Gai Jatra festival came into tradition in the medieval period of Nepal during the reign of Malla Kings. Hence, the present form of Gai Jatra is a happy blending of antiquity and medievalism.
According to the traditions since times immemorial, every family who has lost one relative during the past year must participate in a procession through the streets of Kathmandu leading a cow. If a cow is unavailable then a young boy dressed as a cow is considered a fair substitute. In Hinduism, a cow is regarded as the most venerated among all the domestic animals. It is believed that the cow, revered as a holy animal by Hindus, will help the deceased relative's journey to heaven.
In terms of historical evidences, once when King Pratap Malla lost his son, his wife, the queen remained dumbstruck. The king was very sad to see the condition of his beloved queen. The king, in spite of his several efforts, could not lessen the grief of his wife. By all means he wanted to see little smile on the lips of his sweetheart. He announced that someone who ever made the queen laugh would be rewarded adequately.
During the festival of Gai Jatra, the cow procession was brought before the griefstricken queen. Then the participants began ridiculing and befooling the important people of the society. Finally when the social injustice and other evils were highlighted and attacked mercilessly, the queen could not stop smiling. The queen laughed, and Pratap Malla, the king ensued a tradition of including jokes, satires,mockery and lampoon in the Gai Jatra days.
After the procession is over, in the afternoon, nearly everyone takes part in another age-old tradition in which the participants dress up and wear masks. The occassion is filled with songs,jokes, mockery and humour of every kind become the order of the day until late evening. Hence, Gai Jatra is a healthy festival which enables the people to accept the reality of death and to prepare oneself for the life after death. According to Hinduism,"whatever a man does in his life is a preparation to lead a good life, after death".

Janai Purnima( Raksha Babdhan)

Janai Purnima is known as the Sacred Thread Festival. On this day Hindu men, especially the Brahmans and Chettris perform their annual change of Janai, a yellow cotton string worn across the chest or tied around the wrist of the right hand. This thread is only given to males during a lengthy and impressive religious ceremony called the 'Bratabandhan'. This cord initiates them into manhood and commands them to faithfuly the follow the relegion. The Janai must be worn everyday of their lives from this day onwards. The 'triple cord' is a symbol of body, speech and mind, and when the knots are tied the wearer is supposed to gain complete control over each. This cord is changed if it becomes frayed or defiled, for example, when the wearer touches a woman in menstruation, during which she is considered 'unclean'. But according to Hindu rules the cord must be changed without fail by a Brahman on this day, Janai meaning sacred thread, and purni meaning Purnima or the full moon, thus pointing to the change of the thread on the auspicious full moon day.
On Janai Purnima, there is a big mela at Kumbeshwor in Lalitpur. Devotees come here to worship Lord Mahadev and to tie a knot around their wrists. On the preceding day the wearer makes himself 'clean' by shaving, cutting the hair and bathing. He undergoes a partial fast, taking only one meal of foods considered to be 'clean' - no meat, onions or garlic. The next morning the family priest comes to the house. The entire family gathers around him as he reads from a holy book, performs a ceremony, which sanctifies the new thread, and places it about the recipient's neck across the chest. In payment the priest is given foodstuffs and some money.
This is also the day when male, females, and children regardless of station and caste tie a sacred yellow thread around their wrist. The males tie the thread around their right and the women tie it on their left. Raksha means 'protection' and Bandhan means a bond. The wearer believes that it will bring him good luck. It is believed that this thread should only be removed on Laxmi Puja, which falls three months later, and tied to the tail of a cow. Thus when death comes to the wearer the cow will help him to cross the river Bhaitarna, by allowing the dead to cling to her tail.
On the morning of Raksha Bandhan the people crowd around the Brahman who ties the yellow thread around the buyers wrist intoning a quick prayer which goes, 'Thus I tie the Raksha round your wrist, the same which bound the arm of the mighty Bali, King of the Danavas. May its protection be eternal.' Perhaps this is a reminder to the people of the extraordinary acts of charity performed by King Bali.
It seems that King Bali had taken the vow of Charity, according to which he would grant every wish made to him. His deep devotion and boundless benevolence won him a place higher than even Lord Indra, the King of of Heaven did. Seeing their realms under a mere "Danava"(demon), for Bali was the King of the Danavas, the Gods appealed to Lord Vishnu, who came to their assistance disguised as a dwarf. Knowing that Bali had taken the Vow of Charity; the dwarf begged him for as much land as he could cover in three strides. The moment Bali agreed, the dwarfed Vishnu swelled to the size of a tremendous giant and in two mighty strides stepped across Heaven and Earth. When he demanded were he might take the promised third step, Bali who had already recognized Vishnu placed the giant's foot atop his own head and was pushed far into the bowels of the earth. Thus Vishnu restored the Three Worlds to the rightful ruling Gods, and repaid Bali for his last act of earthly charity, by making him the King of the Underworld.

Organic Farming

Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity and control pests, excluding or strictly limiting the use of synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock feed additives, and genetically modified organisms.Since 1990, the market for organic products has grown at a rapid pace, to reach $46 billion in 2007. This demand has driven a similar increase in organically managed farmland. Approximately 32.2 million hectares worldwide are now farmed organically, representing approximately 0.8 percent of total world farmland.In addition, as of 2007 organic wild products are harvested on approximately 30 million hectares .Organic agricultural methods are internationally regulated and legally enforced by many nations, based in large part on the standards set by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), an international umbrella organization for organic organizations established in 1972. IFOAM defines the overarching goal of organic farming as follows:
"Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved.
Organic foods are made according to certain production standards. For the vast majority of human history, agriculture can be described as organic; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new synthetic chemicals introduced to the food supply. This more recent style of production is referred to as "conventional," though organic production has been the convention for a much greater period of time. Under organic production, the use of conventional non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides is greatly restricted and saved as a last resort. However, contrary to popular belief, certain non-organic fertilizers are still used. If livestock are involved, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones, and generally fed a healthy diet. In most countries, organic produce may not be genetically modified. It has been suggested that the application of nanotechnology to food and agriculture is a further technology that needs to be excluded from certified organic food.The Soil Association (UK) has been the first organic certifier to implement a nano-exclusion.Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as "organic" within their borders. Most certifications allow some chemicals and pesticides to be used, so consumers should be aware of the standards for qualifying as "organic" in their respective locales.
Historically, organic farms have been relatively small family-run operations, which is why organic food was once only available in small stores or farmers' markets.Since the early 1990s organic food production has had growth rates of around 20% a year, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations. As of April 2008, organic food accounts for 1–2% of food sales worldwide.
So, we should recommened the farmer and eater to band the chemical fertilizers and use only organic bio- fertilizers which is harmless for us.

Project management

Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific one-time objective.Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining and confirming the project goals and objectives, identifying tasks and how goals will be achieved, quantifying the resources needed, and determining budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes managing the implementation of the project plan, along with operating regular 'controls' to ensure that there is accurate and objective information on 'performance' relative to the plan, and the mechanisms to implement recovery actions where necessary. Projects usually follow major phases or stages (with various titles for these), including feasibility, definition, project planning, implementation, evaluation and support/maintenance.Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. It is often closely related to and sometimes conflated with program management.
A project is a temporary endeavor, having a defined beginning and end (usually constrained by date, but can be by funding or deliverables), undertaken to meet particular goals and objectives, usually to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast to business as usual,which are repetitive, permanent or semi-permanent functional work to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate management.
The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while honoring the preconceived project constraints.Typical constraints are scope, time, and budget.The secondary—and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives.
Project management has been practiced since early civilization. Until 1900 civil engineering projects were generally managed by creative architects and engineers themselves. Project Management developed from several fields of application including construction, engineering, and defense activity.Two forefathers of project management are Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques who is famous for his use of the Gantt chart as a project management tool; and Henri Fayol for his creation of the 5 management functions which form the foundation of the body of knowledge associated with project and program management. Both Gantt and Fayol were students of Frederick Winslow Taylor's theories of scientific management. His work is the forerunner to modern project management tools including work breakdown structure (WBS) and resource allocation.
The 1950s marked the beginning of the modern Project Management.Project management was formally recognized as a distinct discipline arising from the management discipline. In the United States, prior to the 1950s, projects were managed on an ad hoc basis using mostly Gantt Charts, and informal techniques and tools. At that time, two mathematical project-scheduling models were developed. The "Critical Path Method" (CPM) was developed as a joint venture between DuPont Corporation and Remington Rand Corporation for managing plant maintenance projects. And the "Program Evaluation and Review Technique" or PERT, was developed by Booz-Allen & Hamilton as part of the United States Navy's (in conjunction with the Lockheed Corporation) Polaris missile submarine program;These mathematical techniques quickly spread into many private enterprises.

PERT network chart for a seven-month project with five milestones
At the same time, as project-scheduling models were being developed, technology for project cost estimating, cost management, and engineering economics was evolving, with pioneering work by Hans Lang and others. In 1956, the American Association of Cost Engineers (now AACE International; the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering) was formed by early practitioners of project management and the associated specialties of planning and scheduling, cost estimating, and cost/schedule control (project control). AACE continued its pioneering work and in 2006 released the first integrated process for portfolio, program and project management (Total Cost Management Framework).
The International Project Management Association (IPMA) was founded in Europe in 1967, as a federation of several national project management associations. IPMA maintains it federal structure today and now includes member associations on every continent except Antarctica. IPMA offers a Four Level Certification program based on the IPMA Competence Baseline (ICB) IPMACompetenceBaseline.
The Program life Cycle integrates the project management and system development life cycles with the activities directly associated with system deployment and operation. By design, system operation management and related activities occur after the project is complete and are not documented within this guide.The program management life cycle is depicted and describe in the overall VA IT Project Management Framework to address the integration of OMB Exhibit 300 project (investment) management activities and the overall project budgeting process. The VA IT Project Management Framework diagram illustrates Milestone 4 which occurs following the deployment of a system and the closing of the project. The project closing phase activities at the VA continues through system deployment and into system operation for the purpose of illustrating and describing the system activities the VA considers part of the project. The figure illustrates the actions and associated artifacts of the VA IT Project and Program Management process.In 1969, the Project Management Institute was formed in the USA PMI publishes A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge ,which describes project management practices that are common to "most projects, most of the time." PMI also offers multiple certifications.
A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications or software development. Many other fields in the production, design and service industries also have project managers.

Pokhar

Pokhara valley is the second largest valley in the hill region of Nepal. The beauty of the valley is enhanced by its lovely lakes, Phewa, Begnas and Rupa which have their source in the glacial region of the Annapurna ranges of the Himalayas. Pokhara is situated 200 KM west of kathmandu and is connected by air as well as surface with any mode of vehicle or tourist couch and public bus ride.
The cities of Pokhara and Lekhnath are in this valley. It is located in the Gandaki zone. The city of Pokhara is one of the major cities of Nepal, and probably one among of the the most beautiful cities in the country. It is such a place that's rich in natural beauty. Mount Machchhapuchre (Fishtail) is to the north of the valley whose reflection falls on the crystal clear water of Phewa Lake.
Pokhara valley extends, in the 'Oriental Realm', between the north parallels of 250 7’ and 280 10' and east meridians of 83050' and 84050'. Situated in the mountainous region of the southern Himalayas and trapped between the higher Himalayas in the north and Mahabharat range in the south, it occupies central position in the country. It valley spreads mainly over Kaski district and covers small portions of Tanahun and Syangja district from Pokhara, Tibetan border to the north is 72 kilometers and Indian border to the south is 78 kilometers. Within a small area the elevation ranges nearly from 500 meters to 3,000 meters in the Pokhara valley.
Based on the administrative division on hierarchical order Pokhara lies in Western Development Region, Gandaki Zone and Kaski District. The valley includes Pokhara Sub‑Metropolitan City', Lekhnath Municipality, and some other Village Development Committees. The city is located in the central part of the valley.

ORIGIN OF POKHARA
The development of Pokhara valley and the origin of Annapurna range including the majestic peak Macchapuchhre is ascribed to Geological faulting in the 'Tertiary Period! (between 65‑25 million years ago from now). The convergence of Indian peninsula with Tibetan plate resulted into upsurge of Himalayas from the Tethys sea. After the upsurge of Annapurna range, due to the action of climatic components, glaciers started eroding mountains. The eroded materials ‑ limestone, gneiss and quartzite ‑were transported downwards depositing larger and coarser debris first and smaller as well as smoother debris later. Therefore the northern region of Pokhara has thicker layer of coarser and larger boulders but this thickness decreases southward and smoothness and size reduction occurs gradually. In this way, the tectonic valley was developed due to the hauling of debris as moraine and subsequent deposition as lake deposit.

CLIMATE
Pokhara experiences humid sub‑tropical to warm temperate climate. The climate of Pokhara valley is basically the influence of topography. Yearly mean temperature of the city (827m) is 20.80C whereas monthly averages are ‑ maximum 25.50C (During July and August) and minimum 13.20C (during January). The deviation of temperature from mean value is also interesting: absolute maximum temperature is 37.40C and absolute minimum temperature 2.40C. Average annual rainfall recorded in Pokhara city is 3,755mm while 5,337mm is recorded in Lumle (a village nearby Pokhara city). Pokhara receives both monsoon and winter rains. It is important to note that profound effect of micro‑climatic elements on climatic parameters is clearly observable around Pokhara. Sunshine hours in Pokhara is estimated to be nearly six hours a day on an‑annual average. From June to August, monsoon clouds may create problems to view and photograph the mountains. Rest of the months are almost cloud free but November to March is the best time to avoid this problem. The annual average high wind speed recorded at Pokhara is 4 km per hour from February to June. The air is generally humid throughout the year with 80.16% relative humidity on yearly average. The relative humidity is found to be low in March and high in April.
The climate 'is neither too cold nor too hot Hence, from climatic point of view, Pokhara is enjoyable all year round. However, to visit higher Himalayas northern of Pokhara, especially for trekkers the best period is February to April.

The Festivals of Dipawali (Tihar)

Dipawali is known as "Tihar" .It is celebrated during the October/November period.The word Dipawali literally translates as a row of lamps in Sanskrit. It is traditional for adherents of Diwali-celebrating faiths to light small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil within an individual. During Diwali, many wear new clothes and share sweets/snacks with each other. Some Indian business communities start their financial year by opening new account books on the first day of Diwali for good luck the following year.
In Hinduism, Diwali marks the return of Lord Raama to his kingdom Ayodhya after defeating Ravana - the ruler of Lanka in the epic story of Ramayana. It also celebrates the slaying of the demon king Narakasura by Lord Krishna. Both signify the victory of good over evil. In Jainism, Diwali marks the attainment of moksa by Mahavira in 527 BC.In Sikhism, Diwali commemorates the return of Guru Har Gobind Ji to Amritsar after freeing 52 other Hindu kings imprisoned in Fort Gwalior by Emperor Jahangir. He was welcomed by the people who lit candles and divas to celebrate his return, which is why Sikhs also refer to Diwali also as Bandi Chhorh Divas meaning "the day of release of detainees".
Diwali is considered to be a national festival in India and Nepal.[citation needed] The aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed around the world regardless of faith.The Nepali festival Tihar is also known by many names such as Dipawali or Bhai Tika or Laxmi Puja or as a festival of lights. It is a five-days festival, which comes soon after the Dashain Festival, and Tihar is all about worshiping of different animals such as crow, dog, cow, and worshiping of the Hindu Goddess of Fortune or Wealth (Goddess Laxmi), and cooking great meals at home, brothers and sisters shopping for gifts, flying kites, decorating homes and streets, playing cards with friends, resting and relaxing, and finally ending the festival with an exchange of a special temporary mark on forehead (tika in Nepali). The last day of the festival is known as Tika day or popularly known as Bhai Tika day (Bhai in Nepali means Brother). To sum up Tihar festival, Tihar is the festival when sisters wish a long life to their brothers (Bhai)!
Tihar is a festival for brothers and sisters, but What if you are a brother without a sister or a sister without a brother. Well, you can make one by accepting someone close to you in your relatives. If nothing works, you find one among your friends and neighbors, it becomes almost as if it was real. Whom ever you made your sister or brother remains so for life, and each year this festival makes your bond stronger. Tihar is a festival of sisters wishing a long life to their brothers, and Tihar is the most popular festival in Nepal. So hold on to your topi (hat), loads of excitement and fun are coming at you now!
Tihar is celebrate for Five (5) days
1. Kag Tihar - worshiping of crows - feed them and keep them happy
2. Kukur Tihar - worshiping of dogs - the protector of our homes
3. Cow Tika - worshiping of cows
4. Laxmi Puja - worshiping of Fortune Goddess
5. Bhai TikaDay - tika for a long life

Kag Tihar (Tihar and Crow):-
In the first day of Tihar, family prepares a good meal. Each member of the family takes the first portion of the meal outside on a platter. The crows come down in large numbers and partake of the feast, they will call others before beginning to eat : Share, Share what you have with all! Crows (Kag in Nepali) are considered as the messenger of the Lord of Death, Yama. There is a popular Nepali superstition of crows too: When the crows caw, sadness is coming.) On this day crows are worshiped and are kept happy. Where there are no crows, any winged animal of the heavens (bird) will enjoy the feast. So Tihar is also about appreciating animals around us.

Kukur Tihar (Tihar and Dogs):- On the second day of Tihar, Kukur (Dogs) are adorned with flower garland around their necks, red tika on their forehead, and are offered great meals, they are the king of the day! On this day, people pray to the Kukur to guard their homes. Call someone "Kukur", he/she will bash you instantly! There are lots of Kukur running around in search of a loving home. You can find them on streets and in your backyards, but on this day, even the most unsightly Kukkur will be treated like a king, everyone has a day. Tihar is also about breaking the boundaries only men created, "The Good", "The Bad", "The Ugly", and all but same to the mother nature! In Hinduism it is believed that Kukur guard's the underworld empire just like it guards our everyday homes!. Tihar is about loving Kukurs too!

Cow Tika(Tihar and Cows):- The 3rd day of Tihar is about worshiping the mother of the universe - cow. According to Hinduism, the human infant is fed breast milk by its human mother for under three years. After weaning, the cow acts as the surrogate mother providing milk for the rest of the human life - through childhood, adult age and old age. Cows are the mothers of the universe, the sacred animal. The cow puja is performed by giving a tika to a cow on her forehead, and a flower garland (Flower Leis) on the neck, and offering good meals. Those performing Cow puja place her manure in different parts of the home, drink a drop or two of the cow's urine, as a part of a purification process. Also dip a blade of grass into the urine and lightly sprinkle it on each other's body to become closer to the mother of the universe - cow.

Laxmi Puja(Tihar and Laxmi Puja):- (3rd Tihar Day) - One of the most important day of the festival is Laxmi Puja on which day the Goddess of wealth (Laxmi) is worshiped in every household in the entire Nepali Kingdom by means of Puja, decoration, candle lights, and oil lamps. In this 3rd day of the Tihar Festival, the entire nation becomes an illumination of lights. Pictures and icons of Laxmi Devi (Goddess) are placed and worshiped in a Puja room (or a place in a living room or a dedicated room for worshiping Gods) Puja is performed using flowers, incense, oil lamps, color-powders, bell and money (both notes and coins). Laxmi puja is performed at dusk using red mud, and puja is often done by a female in the family. She uses her hand covered with red mud to make a symbolic foot-print on the floor entering the home and makes a trail leading to the Puja room. Laxmi puja is not only for households but is equally done by Companies. Business-Laxmi-Puja is done exactly the same way as is done in home. Usually company's cashier performs the puja during which time the entire office including office compounds are lit with various lights including electrical, candle lights, and oil lamps and usually staffs are invited to participate in the puja procession.

Bhai Tika (Tihar and Tika) :- On the final day also known as Bhai Tika Day, sisters give tika (a colored powder placed on once's forehead), and mala (a necklace of flowers or also known as as flower leis, similar to that's used elsewhere like in Hawaii!) to brothers along with wishes for long life and prosperity.
To sisters, Tihar is also the time to re-call their continued wish for a long and a happy life for their brothers. Brothers sit on a floor while sisters perform their puja. Puja involves following a traditional ritual in which sisters circle brothers three times dripping oil on the floor from a copper pitcher. Afterwards, sisters put oil in brother's ears and hairs, then give Tika. Also breaking of walnuts by sisters prior to giving Tika to brothers is also a common practice. Tika starts with placing a banana leave already cut into a line shape placed on brothers forehead held by one of the sisters hand, then applying tika base (made from rice paste) in the open space. Then sister dabs seven colors on top of the base using her fingers. Some may give tika with the help of a small stick or a brush without the using banana leaves. In this case, small stick is dipped into the tika base, then brushed vertically on the forehead, then using a different stick, the seven colors are applied on top of the base. After tika, flower garland is put around brother's neck. Then brothers give tika to sisters in the same fashion. Sisters also receive flower garland around their neck. Brothers give gifts such as clothes or money to sisters while sisters give a special gift known as Sagun (which is made of dried fruits and nuts, and candies), and a fantastic Tihar feast takes place. Those without a sister or brother, join relatives or friends for tika. Sisters pray for their brother's long life to the hindu god of death Yam Raj.

The Festival of Dashain

Dashain is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the nepalese celebrated by nepalese of all caste.During the month of Kartik in the Bikram Sambat calendar (late September and early October), the Nepalese people indulge in the biggest festival of the year, Dashain. Dashain is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese of all caste and creed throughout the country. The fifteen days of celebration occurs during the bright lunar fortnight ending on the day of the full moon. Thorough out the kingdom of Nepal the goddess Durga in all her manifestations are worshiped with innumerable pujas, abundant offerings and thousands of animal sacrifices for the ritual holy bathing, thus drenching the goddess for days in blood.
Dashain commemorates a great victory of the gods over the wicked demons. One of the victory stories told is the Ramayan, where the lord Ram after a big struggle slaughtered Ravana, the fiendish king of demons. It is said that lord Ram was successful in the battle only when goddess Durga was evoked. The main celebration glorifies the triumph of good over evil and is symbolized by goddess Durga slaying the terrible demon Mahisasur, who terrorised the earth in the guise of a brutal water buffalo. The first nine days signify the nine days of ferrous battle between goddess Durga and the demon Mahisasur. The tenth day is the day when Mahisasur was slain and the last five days symbolise the celebration of the victory with the blessing of the goddess. Dashain is celebrated with great rejoice, and goddess Durga is worshiped throughout the kingdom as the divine mother goddess.
In preparation for Dashain every home is cleansed and beautifully decorated, painted as an invitation to the mother goddess, so that she may visit and bless the house with good fortune. During this time the reunion of distant and nearby relatives occur in every household. The market is filled with shoppers seeking new clothing, gifts, luxuries and enormous supplies of temple offering for the gods, as well as foodstuffs for the family feasting. Thousands of sheep, goats, ducks, chicken and water buffalo are prepared for the great slaughter. All types of organisations are closed for ten to fifteen days. Labourers are almost impossible to find; from the poor to the rich, all enjoy the festive mood. Anywhere you go the aroma of 'Vijaya Dashami' is found.
The first nine days of Dashain are called nawa ratri when tantric rites are conducted. In Nepal the life force is embodied in the divine energy and power of the female, depicted as goddess Durga in her many forms. All goddess who emanated from goddess Durga are known as devis, each with different aspects and powers. In most mother goddess temples the deity is represented simply as a sacred Kalash, carved water jug or multiple handed goddess holding murderous weapons. During these nine days people pay their homage to the goddess. If she is properly worshiped and pleased good fortunes are on the way and if angered through neglect then misfortunes are around the corner. Mother goddess is the source of life and everything.
The first day of Dashain is called Ghatasthapana, which literally means pot establishing. On this day the kalash, (holy water vessel) symbolising goddess Durga often with her image embossed on the side is placed in the prayer room. The kalash is filled with holy water and covered with cowdung on to which seeds are sown. A small rectangular sand block is made and the kalash is put in the centre. The surrounding bed of sand is also seeded with grains. The ghatasthapana ritual is performed at a certain auspicious moment determined by the astrologers. At that particular moment the priest intones a welcome, requesting goddess Durga to bless the vessel with her presence.
The room where the kalash is established is called 'Dashain Ghar'. Generally women are not allowed to enter the room where Dashain puja is being carried out. A priest or a household man worships the kalash everyday once in the morning and then in the evening. The kalash and the sand are sprinkled with holy water everyday and it is shielded from direct sunlight. By the tenth day, the seed will have grown to five or six inches long yellow grass. The sacred yellow grass is called 'Jamara'. It is bestowed by the elders atop the heads of those younger to them during the last five days when tika is put on. The jamara is taken as a token of Goddess Durga as well as the elders blessing.
As days passes by regular rituals are observed till the seventh day. The seventh day is called 'Fulpati'. On this day the jamara to be used by the royal household is brought from their ancestral royal house in Gorkha about a hundred and sixty nine kilometres away over the hills north west of the valley of Kathmandu. A parade is held in the Hanuman Dhoka Royal Palace. The fulpati, i.e. the procession bearing the jamara and other items necessary for the tika, is brought from Gorkha after a three day walk and most of the government officials are eagerly waiting for the fulpati parade to arrive at Rani Phokari in the afternoon. Rani Phokari area is filled with hundreds of government officials meticulously attired in the traditional formal dress.
In fulpati, the royal kalash filled with holy water, banana stalks, jamara and sugar cane tied with red cloth is carried by Brahmans from the ancestral royal house on a decorated palanquin under a gold tipped and embroidered umbrella, led by the military platoon of the royal priest. The government officials also join the fulpati parade. Whilst the fulpati parade is heading towards the old royal palace, His Majesty the King observes the ceremonies taking place in Tundikhel, the army parade ground in the center of the city. There a majestic display of the Royal Nepalese Army is held. Guns are fired and the entire valley echoes with the resonance sound of it. The firing continues for ten to fifteen minutes to honour the fulpati. By the time the function ends the royal fulpati is already taken inside the Dashain ghar in Hanuman Dhoka Palace. With this the Dashain feasting starts.
The eighth day is called the 'Maha Asthami'. The fervour of worship and sacrifice to Durga and Kali increases. On this day many orthodox Hindus will be fasting. Sacrifices are held in almost every house through out the day. The night of the eighth day is called 'Kal Ratri', the dark night. Hundreds of goats, sheep and buffaloes are sacrificed at the mother goddess temples. In the darkness of the night Durga temples, army barracks, and old palaces all over Nepal hold sacrifices for the mother goddess. The sacrifice continues till dawn. The old palace in Basantapur Hanuman Dhoka, is active throughout the night with worships in almost every courtyard. While the puja is being carried out great feasts are held in the homes of common people where large amount of meat are consumed.
The ninth day is called 'Nawami'. The Taleju temple at Hanuman Dhoka is opened for the public only once a year on this day. Thousands of people go and pay their respect to the goddess day. Temples of mother goddess are filled with people from dawn till dusk. On this day the official military sacrifices are held in the 'Kot' courtyard at Hanuman Dhoka. The government allows foreigners to witness this function so hundreds of tourists and diplomats eagerly gather here. Animals mostly black buffaloes are slaughtered by hundreds to honour Durga the goddess of victory and might and to seek her blessing. Military bands play war tunes, guns boom and officers with beautifully decorated medals in full uniform stand there. When the function ends the courtyard is filled ankle deep with blood. On this very day the god Vishwas Karma, the God of creativity is also worshiped. All factories, vehicles, any machinery instruments and anything from which we make a living are worshiped. We also give sacrifices to all moving machinery like cars, aeroplanes, trucks etc. to get the blessing from goddess Durga for protection for vehicles and their occupants against accidents during the year. The entire day is colourful.
The tenth day is the 'Dashami'. On this day we take tika and jamara from our elders and receive their blessing. We visit our elders in their home and get tika from them while our younger ones come to our home to receive blessing from us. The importance of Dasain also lies in the fact that on this day family members from far off and distant relatives come for a visit as well as to receive tika from the head of the family. This function continues for four days. His Majesty also receives tika from the royal priests and then gives on tika to his loyal subjects. Thousands of loyal Nepalese people as well as foreigners also receive tika from His Majesty the King as this is said to be auspicious. After four days of rushing around and meeting your relatives Dashain ends on the full moon day, the fifteenth day. In the last day people stay at home and rest. The full moon day is also called 'Kojagrata' meaning 'who is awake'. The Hindu goddess of wealth Laxmi is worshipped. On this day the goddess Laxmi is given an invitation to visit each and everyone.
After Dashain the nation settles back to normal. After receiving the blessing of goddess Durga, people are ready to work and acquire virtue, power and wealth. Dashain thus is not only the longest festival but also the most anticipated one among all the festivals of Nepal.

Music and Art

Music was an important part of cultural and social life .Music is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives from Greek (mousike), "(art) of the Muses".The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music vary according to culture and social context. Music ranges from strictly organized compositions (and their recreation in performance), through improvisational music to aleatoric forms. Music can be divided into genres and subgenres, although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individual interpretation, and occasionally controversial. Within "the arts", music may be classified as a performing art, a fine art, and auditory art.
To many people in many cultures music is an important part of their way of life. Greek philosophers and ancient Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "the harmony of the spheres" and "it is music to my ears" point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, only sound."According to musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez, "the border between music and noise is always culturally defined—which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus.... By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be, except that it is 'sound through time'."
There are many types of music,such as traditional blues and folk music were originally preserved in the memory of performers, and the songs were handed down orally, or aurally (by ear). When the composer of music is no longer known, this music is often classified as "traditional". Different musical traditions have different attitudes towards how and where to make changes to the original source material, from quite strict, to those which demand improvisation or modification to the music. A culture's history may also be passed by ear through song.
The world would be a very quiet place. Music is in many ways the fabric of our lives and the definition of society. It is a reminder of how things once were, an indication of how things are, and a view of where society is headed. Music is a direct reflection of the picture of
society. Music can be a way to deliver messages, a poetic
medium, a fine art, or nothing more than a source of
entertainment. No matter what it is used for, music is the perfect art and our lives would be that much less complete without it that life as we know it would not at all be the same without .Music is the perfect art. It has movement, because it
progresses over a set period of time. All musical works have a
beginning and an end. However, music does not restrict the
audience in the way that movies or graphic art does. The
listener can create whatever image she or he wants to when
listening to music. It is an art that appeals to the conscious mind, but the best music also appeals to the subconscious.

Classical music is important for many reasons. However before the benefits of classical music can be brought to light, it is important to clarify what "classical music" really is. There are many misconceptions on what classical music is. The name "classical music" is applied to the Viennese Classical expression, which flourished in the late 18th century, and early 19th do to the brilliance of three main composers. Hayden, Mozart, and Beethoven were the three brilliant minds that are credited for the classical music period. Some musical characteristics of classical music are: the use of energetic and orchestral color in a thematic way, the use of rhythm, including periodic structure and harmonic rhythm, to give definition to large-scale forms, along with the use of modulation to build longer spans of tension and release (most of the music is cast in sonata form or closely related forms), and the witty, typically Austrian mixture of comic and serious strains.

The Computer

The computer is an electronic device which is used to perform caluation at a high speed. The computer act as data processing device and also stores large amount of data. The data can be any written texts, graps, tables, pictures, photographs, numbers etc.It is a miarculous discovery of science and technology.
In the modern day computer was the result of advances in technologies and man's need to quantify. Papyrus helped early man to record language and numbers. The abacus was one of the first counting machines. . Some of the earlier mechanical counting machines lacked the technology to make the design work. For instance, some had parts made of wood prior to metal manipulation and manufacturing. Imagine the wear on wooden gears. This history of computers site includes the names of early pioneers of math and computing and links to related sites about the History of Computers, for further study. This site would be a good Web adjunct to accompany any book on the History of Computers or Introduction to Computers. The "H" Section includes a link to the History of the Web Beginning at CERN which includes Bibliography and Related Links. Hitmill.com strives to always include related links for a broader educational experience.

Without the extensive use of computers, present era cannot offer us numerous miracles. computers have changed our life completely. Everybody is obliged to learn how to use computers in order to acquire the access to the vastness of the present world.

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism.In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Sammāsambuddha) of our age, "Buddha" meaning "awakened one." The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE; more recently, however, at a specialist symposium on this question,the majority of those scholars who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death, with others supporting earlier or later dates.Gautama, also known as Śākyamuni or Shakyamuni ("sage of the Shakyas"), is the key figure in Buddhism, and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to Gautama were passed down by oral tradition, and first committed to writing about 400 years later. Early Western scholarship tended to accept the biography of the Buddha presented in the Buddhist scriptures as largely historical, but currently "scholars are increasingly reluctant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life and teachings."
Siddhartha was born in Lumbini and raised in the small kingdom or principality of Kapilvastu, both of which are in modern day Nepal. At the time of the Buddha's birth, the area was at or beyond the boundary of Vedic civilization, the dominant culture of northern India at the time; it is even possible that his mother tongue was not an Indo-Aryan language.At the time, a multitude of small city-states existed in ancient India, called janapadas. Republics and chiefdoms with diffused political power and limited social stratification, were not uncommon amongst them, and were referred to as gana-sanghas. The Buddha's community does not seem to have had a caste system, and their society was not structured according to Brahminical theory. It was not a monarchy, and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a form of republic.The more egalitarian gana-sangha form of government, as a political alternative to the strongly hierarchical kingdoms, may have influenced the development of the Shramana type Jain and Buddhist sanghas, where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism.
Siddhartha, said to have been destined to a luxurious life as a prince, had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) especially built for him. His father, King Śuddhodana, wishing for Siddhartha to be a great king, shielded his son from religious teachings or knowledge of human suffering. Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati.As the boy reached the age of 16, his father arranged his marriage to Yaśodharā a cousin of the same age. According to the traditional account, in time, she gave birth to a son, Rahula. Siddhartha spent 29 years as a Prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Siddhartha felt that material wealth was not the ultimate goal of life.
According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana or the final deathless state abandoning the earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha.Mettanando and von Hinüber argue that the Buddha died of mesenteric infarction, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning.The precise contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and ambiguity over the translation of certain significant terms; the Theravada tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the Mahayana tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom.

Industrial Geography of Nepal

Geographical knowledge is of substantial importance for planning and implementing the development programs in a country. Although geographical studies has become popular among the student of unversity level, we are still in a problem related to appropriate textbook as well as reference books on geography. Most of the students at master's level are compelled to buy books written by foreign scholars. It is a matter of greate pleasure that some of the Nepalease scholars have made their attempts to permorms this scarcity to some extent.
Nepal measures about 800 kilometers east to west and 100 to 200 kilometers north to south. With 147,181 square kilometers it slightly outranks Bangladesh or the state of Arkansas. Nepal is landlocked by India on three sides and China's Xizang Autonomous Region (Tibet) to the north. West Bengal's narrow Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck separate Nepal and Bangladesh. To the east are Sikkim presently part of India and Bhutan. Nepal depends on India for transit facilities and access to the sea the Bay of Bengal even for most goods imported from China.
Geographic coordinates: 28°00′N 84°00′E / 28°N 84°E / 28; 84
Contents
1 The Land
a. The Terai Region
b.The Hill Region
c.The Mountain Region
2 Climate
3 River system
a. River Management
4 Area and boundaries
5 Resources and land use
6 Forests
7 Environmental concerns
8 References
9 See also
10 External links
The Land
Nepal has tremendous geographic diversity. It rises from less than 100 meters elevation in the tropical Terai -- the northern rim of the Gangetic Plain past the perpetual snow line to some 90 peaks over 7,000 meters including 8,848 meter Mount Everest or Sagarmatha. In addition to the continuum from tropical warmth to perpetual cold comparable to polar fregions, average annual precipitation varies from as little as 160mm in the rainshadow north of the Himalaya to as much as 5,500mm on windward slopes.
Along a south-to-north transect, Nepal can be divided into three belts: Terai, Hill and Mountain Regions. It is also divided into three major river systems, from east to west: Koshi, Gandaki/Narayani and Karnali, all tributaries of the Ganges. The Ganges-Brahmaputra watershed largely coincides with the Nepal-Tibet border, however several tributaries of these rivers rise beyond the border in Tibet.
The Terai Region
The Terai or Madhesh region begins at the Indian border and includes the northermost part of the flat, intensively farmed Gangetic Plain called the Outer Terai. This is culturally an extension of northern India with Hindi, Awadhi, Bhojpuri and Maithili spoken more than Nepali, however it was annexed to Nepal by conquest and by treaty with the British.
The Outer Terai ends at the first range of foothills called the Siwaliks or Churia. This range has a densely forested skirt of coarse alluvium called the bhabhar along its base. Below the bhabhar, finer, less permeable sediments force groundwater to the surface in a zone of springs and marshes. In Persian, "terai" refers to wet or marshy ground. Before the use of DDT it was dangerously infested with malaria. Nepal's rulers used it as a defensive frontier called the char kose jhadi .Above the bhabhar belt, the Siwaliks rise to about 700 meters with peaks as high as 1,000 meters, steeper on their southern flanks because of faults known as the Main Frontal Thrust. This range is composed of poorly consolidated, coarse sediments that do not retain water or support soil development so there is virtually no agricultural potential. Hillside vegetation is limited to scrub forest and the area functions as a deserted buffer zone allowing the development of distinctive cultures in valleys and hills further north. In several places beyond the Siwaliks there are dun valleys called Inner Terai with productive soil. Among these are Dang and Deukhuri in western Nepal and the Rapti Valley (Chitwan) in central Nepal. Population in these valleys was historically limited by malaria and mainly limited to the Tharu ethnic group that had developed genetic resistance. Around 1960 DDT came into use to suppress mosquitos and the way was open to settlement from the land-poor hills to the detriment of Tharus.
The Terai ends and the Hills begin at a higher range of foothills called the Mahabharat Range.
The Hill Region
Situated south of the Mountain Region, the Hill Region (Pahar in Nepali) is mostly between 700 and 4,000 meters altitude. This region begins at the Mahabharat Lekh (Lesser Himalaya) where a fault system called the Main Boundary Thrust creates an escarpment 1,000 to 1,500 meters high, to a crest between 1,500 and 2,700 meters. These steep southern slopes are nearly uninhabited, thus an effective buffer between languages and culture in the Terai and Hill regions. Northern slopes are gentler and moderately well populated.
North of this range, Nepali-speaking Hindus and Newar merchants who also speak Newari densely populate valleys suited to rice cultivation as high as 2,000 meters. The increasingly urbanized Kathmandu and Pokhara valleys fall within this region. Indigenous "janajati" ethnic groups -- natively speaking highly localized Tibeto-Burman languages and dialects -- populate hillsides up to about 3,000 meters. This group includes Magar and Kham Magar west of Pokhara, Gurung south of the Annapurnas, Thamang around the periphery of Kathmandu Valley and Rai and Limb further east. Beyond microclimates suited to rice cultivation and proximity to water for irrigation, these cultivate maize, millet, barley and potatoes as staple crops. Temperate and subtropical fruits are grown as cash crops. Marijuana is grown and processed into Charas (hashish), but less than was produced before international pressure persuaded the government to outlaw it in the 1970s. There is increasing reliance on animal husbandry with elevation, using land above 3,000 meters for summer grazing and moving herds to lower elevations in winter. Except for the rice-growing lower valleys, hill populations suffer chronic food deficits. Many menfolk find employment in the Terai, in India or overseas to earn cash for imported grain. The Hill region ends dramatically where the main Himalayan Range abruptly rises thousands of meters.
The Mountain Region

The Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. The Mountain Region (Parbat in Nepali) abruptly rises into the zone of perpetual snow along the Main Central Thust fault zone. South of this fault system, "hills" do not greatly exceed treeline at about 3,500 meters. North of it the Himalayas rise as a virtual wall beyond the snowline at 5,000 to 5,500 meters to some 90 peaks over 7,000 meters (22,965') and eight exceeding 8,000 meters (26,246') including Mount Everest at 8,848 meters and Kanchenjunga at 8,598 meters. Unlike the Mahabharats, the Himalaya are not continuous across Nepal. Instead there are some 20 subranges including the Kanchenjunga massif, Kumbu around Mt. Everest. Langtang north of Kathmandu, Annapurna north of Pokhara and Dhaulagiri further west and Kanjiroba north of Jumla.
Alpine, often semi-arid valleys -- including Humla, Jumla, Mustang, Manang and Khumbu-- cut between himalayan subranges or lie north of them. They are lightly populated by people with Tibetan affinities called Bhotiya or Bhutia including the famous Sherpas in the Kumbu valley near Mount Everest. These people traditionally grazed yaks, grew cold-tolerant crops such as potatoes, barley and millet, and traded across the mountains, e.g. Tibetan salt for rice from lowlands in Nepal and India. Since the 1950s these mountain peoples have also found work as high altitude porters, guides, cooks and other accessories to tourism and alpinism.
Bhote language and culture extend north into Tibet proper, wih the international border following the Himalayan crest in eastern Nepal. In central and western Nepal the border mostly follows the watershed between the Ganges and Brahmaputra River basins along (~6,000 meter) ranges tens of kilometers north of the highest peaks Climate.

Satellite image of Nepal in October 2002
Nepal has tremendous variation in climate. Its latitude is about the same as that of Florida so Terai land up to 500 meters has a fully tropical climate, with a subtropical zone extending up to 1,200 meters which is the lower limit of frost in winter. Warm temperate climates prevail from 1,200 up to 2,400 meters where snow occasionally falls. Then there is a cold zone to 3,600 meters (treeline), a subarctic or alpine zone to 4,400 meters and fully arctic climate above that. Precipitation generally decreases from east to west with increasing distance from the Bay of Bengal, source of the summer monsoon. Eastern Nepal gets about 2,500mm annually; the Kathmandu area about 1,400mm and western Nepal about 1,000mm. This pattern is modified by adabiatic effects as rising air masses cool and drop their moisture content on windward slopes, then warm up as they descend so relative humidity drops. Annual precipitation reaches 5,500mm on windward slopes in the Annapurna Himalaya beyond a relatively low stretch of the Mahabharat Range. In rainshadows beyond the high mountains, annual precipitation drops as low as 160mm, creating a cold semi-desert.
Furthermore the year is divided into a wet season from June to September -- as summer warmth over Inner Asia creates a low pressure zone that draws in air from the Indian Ocean -- and a dry season from October to June as cold temperatures in the vast interior creates a high pressure zone causing dry air to flow outward. April and May are months of intense water stress when cumulative effects of the long dry season are exacerbated by temperatures rising over 40 celsius (100 fahrenheit). Seasonal drought intensifies in the Siwaliks hills consisting of poorly-consolidated, coarse, highly permeable sediments that do not retain water, so hillsides are covered with tropical scrub forest that is extremely drought-tolerant. In fact outside marsh and riparian zones, most of Nepal's native vegetation is adapted to withstand drought, although less so at higher elevations where cooler temperatures mean less water stress.
The monsoon is preceeded by a buildup of thunderstorm activity in the hills that helps farmers irrigate rice seedbeds. Sustained rain on average arrives in early June as rising temperatures over Inner Asia creates a low pressure zone that draws in air from the Indian Ocean, but this can vary up to a month. Significant failure of monsoon rains historically meant drought and famine while above-normal rains still cause flooding and landslides with losses in human lives, farmland and buildings. The monsoon also complicates transportation with roads and trails washing out while unpaved roads and airstrips may become unusable and cloud cover reduces safety margins for aviation. Rains diminish in September and generally end by mid-October, ushering in generally cool, clear, and dry weather, as well as the most relaxed and jovial period in Nepal. By this time, the harvest is completed and people are in a festive mood. The two biggest and most important Hindu festivals-- Dashain and Tihar (Dipawali)--arrive during this period, about one month apart. The postmonsoon season lasts until about December.
After the postmonsoon comes the winter monsoon, a strong northeasterly flow marked by occasional, short rainfalls in the lowlands and plains and snowfalls in the high-altitude areas. Precipitation varies from year to year but increases markedly with elevation. Adequate snowfall in the Himalaya is important for sufficient spring and summer meltwater for irrigation in the lower hills and valleys. At lower elevations, winter rainfall is needed for the success of winter crops such as wheat, barley and vegetables. In this season the Himalaya function as a barrier to cold air masses from Inner Asia, so southern Nepal and northern India have warmer winters than would otherwise be the case.
[edit] River system
Nepal has three categories of rivers. The largest river systems -- from east to west Koshi, Gandaki/Narayani, Karnali/Goghra and Mahakali -- originate in or beyond the high Himalaya and maintain substantial flows from glacial melt through the hot, droughty spring before the summer monsoon. These largest rivers cross the mountains in deep gorges before emerging onto the plains where they have deposited megafans exceeding 10,000 square kilometers' area.
the Koshi is also called Sapta Koshi for its seven Himalayan tributaries: Indrawati, Bhote Koshi, Tama Koshi, Dudh Koshi, Liku, Arun, and Tamor. The Arun rises about 150 kilometers inside Tibet.
The Gandaki/Narayani also has seven Himalayan tributaries: Daraudi, Seti, Madi, Kali, Marsyandi, Budhi, and Trisuli also called Sapta Gandaki. The Kali Gandaki flows between the 8,000 meter Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges in the world's deepest valley. After the seven upper tributaries have joined, the river becomes the Narayani inside Nepal, however it is called the Gandak in India.
The Karnali drains western Nepal, with the Bheri and Seti as major tributaries. The upper Karnali rises inside Tibet near sacred Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash. The area around these features is the hydrographic nexus of South Asia by containing the sources of the Indus, Sutlej, Ganges tributary Karnali and Brahmaputra. It is the center of the universe according to traditional cosmography. The Mahakali or Kali along the Nepal-India border on the west joins the Karnali in India, where the river is known as Goghra or Ghaghara.
Second category rivers rise in the Middle Hills and Mahabharat Range, from east to west the Mechi, Kankai and Kamala south of the Kosi; the Bagmati that drains Kathmandu Valley between the Kosi and Gandaki systems, then the West Rapti and the Babai between the Gandaki and Karnali systems. Without glacial sources, annual flow regimes are more variable although limited flow persists through the dry season.
Third category rivers rise in the outermost Siwalik foothills and are mostly seasonal.
None of these river systems support significant commercial navigation. Instead, deep gorges create obstacles to establishing transport and communication networks and de-fragmenting the economy. Foot-trails are still primary transportation routes in many hill districts.

Nepal's towns, villages, rivers and peaks
[edit] River Management
All three categories are capable of causing serious floods, for example the West Rapti in the second category is called "Gorakhpur's Sorrow" for its history of urban flooding. Koshi River in the first category caused a major flood in August 2008 in Bihar state, India after breaking through a poorly-maintained embankment just inside Nepal.
If uplift and erosion are in rough equilibrium in the Himalaya, rapid uplift would be balanced by huge amounts of sediments washing down and settling out of suspension on the plains in vast alluvial fans or inland deltas over which rivers meander and change course at least every few decades, causing some experts to question whether manmade embankments can contain the problem of flooding. Traditional Mithila culture along the lower Koshi in Nepal and Bihar celebrated the river as the giver of life for its fertile alluvial soil, yet also the taker of life through its catastrophic floods.
Another approach would be to build large dams -- in gorges crossing the Mahabharat Range or further upstream -- with storage capacities measured in cubic kilometers to capture high flows during the monsoon when there is usually enough rainfall on the plains if not flooding, then releasing water for hydroelectric generation and irrigation especially during the hot and dry pre-monsoon "summer". Nepal would appear to have unusual potential given its average annual 150 cm. of precipitation and thousands of meters of relief between mountains and plains, but there has only been limited development of this potential for example on the Kali Gandaki north of Tansen.
Building dams in Nepal is controversial for several reasons. First, the region is seismically active. Dam failures caused by earthquakes could cause tremendous death and destruction downstream, particularly on the densely populated Gangetic Plain. Second, global warming has led to the formation of glacial lakes dammed by unstable moraines. Sudden failures of these moraines could lead to cascading failures of manmade structures downstream. Third, sedimentation rates in the Himalaya are extremely high, leading to rapid loss of storage capacity as sediments accumulate behind dams. Fourth, there are complicated questions of cross-border equity in how India and Nepal would share costs and benefits that have proven difficult to resolve in the context of frequent acrimony between the two countries.
[edit] Area and boundaries
Area
Total: 147,181 km²
Land: 143,181 km²
Water: 4,000 km²
Area - comparative
Roughly 1⅔ Tasmania's size
Roughly twice New Brunswick's size
Slightly less than twice Scotland's size
Slightly larger than Arkansas
Land boundaries
Total: 2,926 km
Border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims
None (landlocked)
Elevation extremes
Lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
Highest point: Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) 8,848 m
[edit] Resources and land use
Natural resources
Quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore
Land use
Arable land: 21.68%
Permanent crops: 0.64%
Other: 77.68% (2001)
Irrigated land
11,350 km² (1998 est.)
[edit] Forests
25.4% of Nepal's land area, or about 36,360 km² (14,039 mi²) is covered with forest according to FAO figures from 2005. FAO estimates that around 9.6% of Nepal's forest cover consists of "primary forest" which is relatively intact. About 12.1% Nepal's forest is classified as "protected" while about 21.4% is "conserved" according to FAO. About 5.1% Nepal's forests are classified as "production forest." Between 2000-2005, Nepal lost about 2640 km² of forest. Nepal's 2000-2005 total deforestation rate was about 1.4% per year meaning it lost an average of 530 km² of forest annually. Nepal's total deforestation rate from 1990-2000 was 920 km² or 2.1% per year. The 2000-2005 true deforestation rate in Nepal, defined as the loss of primary forest, is -0.4% or 70 km² per year.
Deforestation is driven by multiple processes. In the hills, conversion of forests to agricultural land -- even on steep hillsides via terracing -- is historically important, but has lessened in recent decades due to a shortage of remaining suitable terrain and mosquito suppression having opened formerly malarial land for settlement in the Terai. As a result, forest land in the Terai is being cleared by settlers.
In the hills the greatest contemporary impacts involve degradation of forests rather than outright clearing. Degradation is caused by harvesting firewood, and to a lesser extent wood for local construction purposes. These practices are generally carried to unsustainable levels. Trees are also severely damaged by intensive harvesting of leaves as fodder, especially in the driest months preceeding the summer monsoon. Households typically keep at least one cow or buffalo for milk production and may also keep oxen for agricultural labor. In addition goats are herded as the main source of meat that is culturally acceptable to upper-caste Hindus.
FAO Forestry Department Nepal Country Page
Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation Nepal
Forestry Information in Nepal

Geography of Nepal
Asia
Region
Southern AsiaIndian subcontinent
Coordinates
33°00'N 80°00' E
Area
Ranked 93rd147,181 km2 (56,826.9 sq mi)92.94% land7.06 % water
Borders
Total land borders:2,926 km ,China (PRC):1,236 km India:1,690 km (1,050 miles)
Highest point
Mount Everest8,848 m (29,028 ft)
Longest river
Karnali
Largest lake
Rara Lake