Countries In Africa

Africa is the second largest continent in the world after Asia. No less than 6 percent of the Earth’s total surface area is covered by Africa. The continent has total 53 countries and houses most number of people after Asia. There are numerous island groups in the continent. Africa is known for great many cultures and numerous tribes. It is also rich with wide variety of wildlife. One of the most primitive continents, Africa has a special place in the history of mankind.

• Mozambique (Republic of Mozambique)
• Namibia (Republic of Namibia)
• Benin (Republic of Benin)
• Botswana (Republic of Botswana)
• Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic)
• Zambia (Republic of Zambia)
• Cameroon (Republic of Cameroon)
• Cape Verde (Republic of Cape Verde)
• Comoros (Union of the Comoros)
• Côte d'Ivoire (Republic of Côte d'Ivoire)
• Djibouti (Republic of Djibouti)
• Egypt (Arab Republic of Egypt)
• Algeria (People's Democratic Republic of Algeria)
• Angola (Republic of Angola)
• Ethiopia (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia)
• Gabon (Gabonese Republic)
• Gambia (Republic of The Gambia)
• Ghana (Republic of Ghana)
• Guinea (Republic of Guinea)
• Guinea-Bissau (Republic of Guinea-Bissau)
• Liberia (Republic of Liberia)
• Libya (Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya)
• Madagascar (Republic of Madagascar)
• Malawi (Republic of Malawi)
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi (Republic of Burundi)
• Mali (Republic of Mali)
• Mauritania (Islamic Republic of Mauritania)
• Mauritius (Republic of Mauritius)
• Morocco (Kingdom of Morocco)
• Niger (Republic of Niger)
• Tanzania (United Republic of Tanzania)
• Togo (Togolese Republic)
• Nigeria (Federal Republic of Nigeria)
• Republic of the Congo (Republic of the Congo)
• Rwanda (Republic of Rwanda)
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Senegal (Republic of Senegal)
• Seychelles (Republic of Seychelles)
• Sierra Leone (Republic of Sierra Leone)
• Somalia (Somali Republic)
• South Africa (Republic of South Africa)
• Sudan (Republic of Sudan)
• Central African Republic (Central African Republic)
• Chad (Republic of Chad)
• Swaziland (Kingdom of Swaziland)
• Tunisia (Tunisian Republic)
• Uganda (Republic of Uganda)
• Zimbabwe (Republic of Zimbabwe)
• Kenya (Republic of Kenya)
• Lesotho (Kingdom of Lesotho)
• Equatorial Guinea (Republic of Equatorial Guinea)
• Eritrea (State of Eritrea)

Famous Books and Authors

Double helix - J.D Watson

Das Kapital - Karl Marx

Gathering storm - Winston Churchill

Hamlet - Shakespeare

Harsha Chritha - Vana Bhatt

Time machine - H.G Wells

Shakuntalam - Kalidas

The vendor of sweets - R.K Narayan

The Tempest - Shakespeare

A bend in the river - V.S Naipaul

A farewell to arms - Ernest Hemingway

Arthasastra - Kautilya

Apple cart - G.B Shaw

A suitable boy - Vikram Seth

Animal farm - George Orwell

Anand math - Bankim Chandra

Alice in wonderland - Lewis Carol

Caesar and Cleopatra - G.B Shaw

Coolie mulk - Raj Anand

Odakkuzhal - G.Shankara Kuruppu

Old man and the sea - Ernest Hemingway

Origin of species - Charles Darwin

Othello - Shakespeare

Gullivers Travels - Jonathan Swift

Macbeth - Shakespeare

My experiment with truth - Mahatma Gandhi

The discovery of India - Jawaharlal Nehru

Glimpses 0f world history - Jawaharlal Nehru

Robinson crusoe daniel - Defoe

The interpretation of dreams - Sigmund Freud

Invisible man - H.G Wells

Kama Sutra - Vatsyayan

Mahabharata - Vyasa

Jungle book - Rudyard Kipling

King Lear - Shakespeare

India wins freedom - Abul Kalam Azad

Panchtantra - Vishnu Sharma

Wealth of nations - Adam Smith

A passage to England - Nirad.C.Chaudari

A passage to India - E.M Foster

A tale of two cities - Charles dickens

Anna Karenina - Tolstoy

By Gods Decree - Kapil Dev

Eternal India - Indira Gandhi

Man eaters of kumaon - Jim Corbett

Meghdoot - Kalidas

Mein kampf - Adolf Hitler

My Truth - Indira Gandhi

Freedom at midnight - Collins and Lapierre

Interesting Facts That One Should Know

General knowledge is a fascinating concept. We get to know so many different things about the capital. Right from capitals, cultures, music, movies to politics and astronomy, even sky is not the limit. Garnering knowledge is one way to feel good about self. It also gives you more weightage in social gatherings. When you are aware of things happening around you, you get better perspective and make rational opinion. So, let’s join hands in knowing some of the interesting facts about the world.

What is South America's highest mountain range? - The Andes

In which continent is the Sahara desert? - Africa

Of which country is Khartoum the capital? - Sudan.

Name the two longest rivers in the world:- Amazon and Nile

Which ocean is to the east of Africa? - Indian Ocean

Which is bigger, a lake or an ocean? - An ocean

What is the capital city of Norway? - Oslo

What is the capital city of New Zealand? - Wellington

What is the biggest state in the U.S.A.? - Alaska

Which country has the biggest land area? - Russia

What natural phenomena are measured by the 'Richter scale'? - Earthquakes

Which two oceans does the Panama Canal link? - Atlantic and Pacific

What is the line of latitude 23.5 degrees north of the equator called? - Tropic of Cancer

Who named the Pacific Ocean? - Ferdinad Magellan

Which country is called "Land Of White Elephants'? - Thailand

In which part of the world is the River Snake? - USA

Which is the tallest race in the world? - Tutsis, average height 185 cm

Where are the Ajanta caves? - Maharashtra in India

In which country is Mount Everest? - Nepal

Which continent has the biggest population? - Asia

What is the capital of Fiji? - Suva

In which country is the world's highest waterfall? - Venezuela

Which country has the most people? - China

What is the capital city of Kenya? - Nairobi

Which are the lowest and highest points in United States? - Death Valley in southern California is the lowest point in the United States at 282 feet below sea level. The highest point in the contiguous 48 states is also in California: Mount Whitney, which is 14,491 feet above sea level.

Which town in the world is situated at a highest altitude? - Wenchan in Tibet at an altitude of 5100 M.

Musical Facts

Music is a universal theme. Go to any part of the world and you will find the ubiquitous presence of music. Music speaks just one language. The words are different but message and feel is same. So why not try gathering some interesting facts about music? This article will be giving you fascinating knowledge about some musical facts. So gear up for a musical ride.

When is World Music Day? - 21st June

How many strings does a bass guitar usually have? - Four

Which instrument has keys, pedals and strings? – Piano

Which instrument is a cross between violin and the cello? - Viola

The song, Ain't Misbehavin' was written by which famous jazz musician? - Fats Waller

How many instruments are there in a string quintet? - Five

Where did Ghazal originate? - Persia

What instrument did the jazz musician Miles Davis play? - Trumpet

How many strings does a violin have? - Four

Which classical composer became deaf near the end of his life? - Beethoven

Which western instrument most commonly used for Indian classical compositions? - Violin

In what country did reggae music originate? - Jamaica

Which British rock group does Liam and Noel Gallagher belongs to? - Oasis

In which country is a 'gamelan orchestra' most commonly found? - Indonesia

Who wrote the song entitled 'Yesterday'? - Paul McCartney

Name of the boy at the centre of the Michael Jackson abuse trial? - Gavin Arvizo

Who wrote The Sound of Music? - RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN

What is the small town in which called in which Clark Kent grew up? - Small Ville

Michael Jackson is known as the King of Pop. Who is the queen of Pop? - Madonna

What is unusual about “trance” music that mesmerizes the audience? - It is played at 130- 160 beats per minute

Which famous Indian musician collaborated on a Beatles album? - Pundit Ravi Shankar.

Crystals

Crystals are wonderful and essential elements of many aspects of our like Feng Shui, Reiki and home décor. The crystals are supposed to produce energy and that in conjunction with our own energy creates balance of energy in the environment where we stay. It could be a place like home or office or vehicle. Crystals remove hurdles from our life and allow us to proper in life. The crystals like gems, minerals lead crystals and stones are known to have miraculous effects. They get rid of obstacles that are never used in any positive way by us or environment.

Use of crystals is an ancient phenomenon that was brought into existence by the Tibetans and Chinese. They have been using it since 5000 years. Crystals bring energy of the nature in the lives of humans if used as per the instructions. Crystals are also used in the healing process and bring harmony. One can use crystals as pendulum. Crystals are normally put in windows or areas that have presence of light.

To disperse negative energy, crystals are placed or hanged in the room. By placing, crystals also create positive energy. If crystal is placed in the living room or in the north-east window of the house, which is considered as beneficial for the entire family in terms of knowledge and education. If you place in the west of children’s room then that helps in overall development and education of the child. All in all, if crystals are used in consultation with specialist then that proves to be hugely beneficial for the household.

Acupuncture Therapy

Acupuncture is also termed as Traditional Oriental Medicine because of its amazing benefits and usefulness. We need to understand the concept of acupuncture. Basically, in every part of living world, a physical energy force known as Qi exists. This Qi flows in channels of humans and that is ably reflected by acupuncture. There are Qi meridians in body that work in sync with blood and nerve system. These channels of energy in the body have own names based on human organs.

It is a very popular mode of treatment in many parts of the world. It demands understanding of human organs and flow of energy. Acupuncture is a combined tool of acupuncture, herbology and several other healing arts. Normally, people associate acupuncture with crystals, herbs, needles and magnets. These things are not necessarily used all the times by the practitioner. These modalities are complete units in themselves.

The most common modality of acupuncture is needles. In case of problems, the stainless needles are placed in appropriate points around the body. According to treatment, the size and length of needle varies from 1/5 of an inch to 3 inches. This is slightly painful but much lesser than hypodermic syringes that we all are scared of. However, the pain subsides within few seconds. You might feel a slight heat sensation. The usual parts of the body that are used for needles insertion are, heard, abdomen, arms, ears or legs. The vibrations produced by the needles go a long way in improving the patient’s condition.

Western Astrology

Our previous article talked about Indian Astrology and explained how it works. Now, we will focus on Western astrology that is widely prevalent in western countries. Its origin is traced to great ancient culture of Mesopotamia. It is said to be originated there and later on spread to other parts of the world. Egypt played a great role in development of western astrology. From Egypt, it moved to the historical land of Greece and there is witnessed the incorporation of new concepts.

Ptolemy was a Greek astrologer and astronomer and he is credited with introducing western astrological tradition. He wrote a book named ‘Tetrabiblos’ which contained foundations of the western astrological tradition. His theory took time of birth of a person in consideration and derived horoscope. Western astrology works on a different pattern than our own Indian astrology. According to them, different times witness different position of the cosmic bodies and that affects how our lives pan out.

Later on, western astrology moved to Middle-East and Arab and Persian scholars helped in reviving and refining western astrology and sent it to Europe. Astrology played a major role in European society. In medieval Europe, no function or policy announcement was performed without consulting astrologers. Western astrology is made up of twelve signs and further subdivided into four basic elements, Fire, Earth, Air and Water. The twelve zodiac signs represent twelve basic personality types.