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Here are the topics covered for 08 January 2024:
GS-1: Thanjavur Doll, Sohrai Painting
GS-2: Delimitation Commission
GS-3: Lagrange Points
Facts For Prelims : Wetland City Accreditation, Panspermia
Thanjavur Doll
Context
- Famous for tourist souvenirs also known as thalaiyatti or bobble-head dolls facing numerous challenges that threaten its existence.
Challenges faced by Thanjavur Doll Makers
- Lost prominence with the advent of plastic toys.
- Lack of success has forced artisans to shift to other occupations.
- COVID-19 has further exacerbated the existing labor shortage.
- Scarce of raw materials like clay due to ban on sand mining.
About Thanjavur Doll
- It is a distinctive type of traditional Indian bobblehead or roly-poly toy, is crafted from terracotta material.
- These dolls, known for their continuous dance-like movement with slow oscillations, originated during the Maratha rule in the 17th century.
- Initially crafted under the patronage of the Thanjavur Nayak kingdom and later the Maratha rulers of Thanjavur, the dolls are part of the grand Tanjore art tradition, which includes Tanjore paintings and Tanjore-style crafts.
- Key features:
- Material: Thanjavur dolls are traditionally made from terracotta clay, skillfully shaped by artisans to depict various forms, including mythological characters, deities, and cultural motifs.
- Distinctive Design: These dolls feature exaggerated and colorful attire, intricate jewelry, and expressive facial features. Adorned with vibrant paints, metallic hues, and embellishments like beads and stones, they showcase meticulous detailing.
- Bobblehead Structure: Notably, the dolls have a bobblehead structure where the head is attached with a string, allowing it to move and bobble with gentle touches.
- Traditional Themes: Thanjavur dolls often portray Hindu gods, goddesses, mythological figures, and characters from epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. They may also represent local folklore, dancers, musicians, and traditional village life.
Sohrai Painting
Context
- Several villages in Bengal begin the New Year with a workshop on ancient indigenous art.
About Sohrai Painting
- Sohrai murals play a significant role in cultural expression, especially during events like Kali Puja, weddings, and childbirth, decorating walls with distinctive geometric patterns.
- The Santhali Sohrai murals, prevalent in regions dominated by the Santhal community, showcase a strong affinity for symmetrical precision, particularly in architectural practices.
- The art tradition extends across various districts, including Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj in Odisha, East Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan in Jharkhand, and Purulia in West Bengal.
- Notably, the Sohrai art from Hazaribagh district in Jharkhand, recognized with a Geographical Indication tag in 2020, features murals by women not belonging to the Santhal tribe.
- However, these differ significantly from the geometrically focused Santhali Sohrai murals, as they incorporate diverse motifs, emphasizing their unique artistic characteristics.
Delimitation Commission
Context
- On the completion of the five-year term, the J&K local body will dissolve w.e.f 9th January 2024. The officials also added that the next local body elections will be conducted after delimitation.
What is the Delimitation Commission?
- Delimitation refers to the action or procedure of defining limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies within a country to reflect changes in population distribution.
- The Delimitation Commission operates independently, free from executive influence.
- According to the Constitution, the decisions of the Commission are conclusive and not subject to legal challenge, preventing any undue delay in elections.
- Once the Delimitation Commission\’s directives are presented before the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly, they remain unalterable without the power of modification by the respective bodies.
- The primary objectives of delimitation are as follows:
- Ensuring equal representation for equivalent segments of the population.
- Achieving a just distribution of geographical areas to prevent electoral advantages for any political party.
- Upholding the principle of \”One Vote One Value.”
- The Delimitation Commission is constituted by the President of India and collaborates with the Election Commission of India.
- The commission includes a retired Supreme Court judge, the Chief Election Commissioner, and State Election Commissioners as its members.
Lagrange Points
Context
- Aditya-L1, launched by ISRO on September 2, 2023, is on a mission to observe and enhance our understanding of the Sun. Positioned at L1, the first Sun-Earth Lagrangian point.
Why Aditya-L1 is Positioned at Lagrange Point 1?
- Uninterrupted View: Placing Aditya-L1 at L1 ensures an uninterrupted view of the Sun, as it remains positioned between the Earth and the Sun. This eliminates eclipses or interruptions caused by Earth\’s movements.
- Observation outside Earth\’s Atmosphere: Being situated outside Earth\’s atmosphere allows Aditya-L1 to observe ultraviolet radiation from the solar corona, which is not feasible from Earth due to atmospheric absorption.
- Early Warning System: Continuous monitoring from L1 enables early detection of solar eruptions, providing valuable time for preparations to mitigate potential damages caused by these events.
About Lagrange Points?
- Lagrange points, also known as libration points, are specific regions in space where the gravitational forces of two celestial bodies create a stable equilibrium.
- Discovered by Joseph-Louis Lagrange in the late 18th century, there are five Lagrange points labeled L1 to L5, each offering unique characteristics and properties.
Facts For Prelims
Wetland City Accreditation (WCA)
- A voluntary accreditation system to recognize the importance of wetlands in urban and peri-urban environments.
- The WCA is an outcome of Ramsar Convention during COP12 in 2015.
- It promotes the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.
- It provides international recognition and branding of wetlands.
Panspermia
- The panspermia hypothesis proposes that the seeds of life are widespread throughout the universe and can be transported through space from one location to another.
- This idea has been debated philosophically for centuries but lacked validation until recent decades.
- Advances in various fields of research have led to panspermia being considered seriously in scientific circles.
Barriers to accepting panspermia have been overcome, with evidence showing that microorganisms can survive the high impact and velocity experienced during ejection from one planet, the journey through space, and the impact onto another world.