JUNE 2020 CLASS 5 & 6 TEACHER REFERENCE PRESENTATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS JUNE 2020 CLASS 5 & 6 Pick of the Month Gap Profiles Global Updates ❖ The Tiger’s Nest ❖ Tulasi Gowda ❖ Tokyo’s Face Showing Festival ❖ Vishy’s New Role Discover India Did you Know ❖ Snippets: Salazar’s ❖ Click Art Museum ❖ Sea Gypsies of Pit Viper the Andaman Born This Month Around the World Mixed Bag Gappenings ❖ Rome
Pick of the Month The Tiger’s Nest The Tiger’s Nest is a sacred Buddhist site located near Paro, in Bhutan. The monastery stands on a mountain cliff 900 metres above the Paro Valley. Due to its stunning beauty and remote location, it is one of the most famous tourist destinations of the country and the cultural icon of Bhutan. Its significance The Tiger's Nest Monastery is located over the mouth of a cave where Guru Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, is believed to have first meditated in the 8th century. He is credited with introducing Buddhism in Bhutan. It is said that he meditated in the cave for three years, three months, three weeks, three days, and three hours in order to subdue evil demons residing within it. He is said to have purified the place for building a monastery that would later become one of Bhutan’s holiest sites. In the late 17th century, the then leader of Bhutan laid the foundation of the temple in front of the cave where Guru Padmasambhava meditated. Soon after, a beautiful monastery was built in a seemingly impossible location.
Pick of the Month The Tiger’s Nest The Temple Complex The monastery comprises of four temples and a couple of residential shelters that are uniquely designed to rest on the mountain. The buildings, which are white in colour with golden roofs, are interconnected by staircases with steps carved into the rock. Almost all buildings have a balcony with a splendid view of the surrounding area and the valley below. Paintings can also be found on the walls of the monastery. The interior design of the temple is amazing with glistering lights, golden dome, and idols. In the ‘Hall of Thousand Buddhas’, which is carved into the rock, a large statue of a tiger is located. The tiger is respected as the symbol of the monastery.
Pick of the Month The Tiger’s Nest Did You Know ❖ It is famously known as Taktsang Palphug Monastery or Paro Taktsang. ❖ Legend has it that Guru Padmasambhava landed here on the back of a tigress, thus giving it the name ‘Tiger’s Nest’. You can give the heading ‘The Tiger’s ❖ The only way to get here is by trekking or on a horse’s back. Nest’ and ask the kids to tell you as to what they think it could be. ❖ The mountainous paths that lead to the temple are decorated with colourful prayer flags to guard the temple from evil spirits. Kids may come up with several thoughts ❖ The temple is shrouded in folklore and myth, illustrating the but it’s unlikely for them to refer it to a sacred tales of Guru Padmasambhava. monastery in Bhutan. You can now educate the kids about this unique ❖ The prayer wheel in the courtyard of the main shrine is rotated every morning by the monks to mark the beginning of a new destination, which is one of Bhutan’s day. religious sites. ❖ The buildings we see today have been replaced several times, including major reconstruction completed in 2005 after a fire devastated the structure and its contents in 1998.
Gap Profiles Tulasi Gowda Tulasi Gowda is an Indian environmentalist who has been working for the past six decades to raise awareness about forest conservation. Life in brief Currently in her late 70s, Tulasi Gowda belongs to the Halakki tribe. She hails from the Honnalli village in Uttara Kannada district. Coming from a poor background, Tulasi lacked formal education. She lost her father at the age of two and worked with her mother as a daily wage worker. At a young age, she joined the forest department as a temporary worker. The Department of Forests recognised her dedication and honest work while sowing the seeds in the nursery and offered her a permanent job. She retired after serving the department for 14 years.
Gap Profiles Tulasi Gowda As a Nature Enthusiast Knowing all about plants, right from the amount of water required to the benefits of each species, Tulasi has committed her life to planting thousands of saplings and nurturing them till they grow into trees. She is also actively involved in afforestation programmes conducted by the forest department and has single- handedly planted around one lakh trees in Karnataka. She emphasises on the need for protecting the environment to the younger generations, by sharing her vast knowledge about the diverse plant and herb species and their uses. Her immense contributions towards preserving the environment have been honoured by various organisations. She has also received the Rajyotsava Award in 1999, the Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra Award and Kavita Memorial Award, to name a few. She still manages to contribute her might by nurturing plants in her surroundings. Her commitment and selfless contribution even at this age makes her a role model and an inspiration for all.
❖ Gap Profiles Tulasi Gowda Did You Know ❖ She is known as the 'Encyclopedia of Forest' for her vast knowledge of plants and herbs. ❖ In January 2020, the Government of India bestowed upon her the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award. ❖ As we celebrate World Environment Day in June every ❖ In early 2020, an elephant calf born at the Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological Park was named after her. year, introduce the kids to a tribal woman from Karnataka named Tulasi Gowda, who has devoted her life to environmental causes.
Tokyo’s ‘Face - Global Update Showing Festival’ Tokyo’s Sumida Aquarium, housed in a complex at the foot of the Tokyo Skytree tower, had organised a Face-Showing Festival for hundreds of spotted garden eels residing in its aquarium, in May 2020. Called ‘ chinanago ’ in Japanese, the spotted garden eels are very popular in Japan. Why was it organised? The aquarium staff observed a very odd behaviour among the hundreds of its eels living in the tank ever since the aquarium was closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. They noticed that they were getting used to a largely human-free environment and had started to forget the existence of humans. The eels were also seen avoiding human caretakers since its closure. They were seen burrowing in the sand when staff members approached them to feed.
Tokyo’s ‘Face - Global Update Showing Festival’ Before the shutdown, the eels were accustomed to streams of people looking into their tanks and rarely hid when approached by visitors. This behaviour of the eels was posing a great task for the caretakers as they were unable to feed the eels and monitor them. Aquarium officials were concerned the eels were reverting to their wild behaviour of burying themselves in the sand of the ocean floor at the sign of any threat. The solution To keep the eels socially engaged, the staff launched an event named ‘Face - Showing Festival’, which encouraged people from around the world to video call the eels in an attempt to re-familiarise them with people. They felt the eels needed training to learn that humans are not a threat to them. During the event which happened for several days in May 2020, virtual visitors were asked to wave, show their faces, and speak quietly, as any loud noises could scare and upset the creatures. In this way, the eels could also see the callers. The staff felt this temporary solution would help both the eels and animal lovers to stay connected amid the lockdown time.
Tokyo’s ‘Face - Global Update Showing Festival’ Did it help? It was the aquarium's first attempt at re-familiarising animals to humans through technology and were not sure if would be a success. The coronavirus outbreak has made us aware of the benefits of social distancing, For the event, five tablet computers were placed in front of the but the same had adversely affected animals, aquarium. As soon as the event began, a flood of video calls especially the garden spotted eels in came in from those hoping to interact with the eels from home. Japan, in a weird way. Read out the story At first, the eels hid into the sand in surprise when seeing the to explain the above situation. images of participants waving at them on tablet screens, but they grew gradually accustomed and began to poke their heads Use this story to educate kids about the timidly. The event attracted millions of video calls and live garden eels. viewers from around the world.
Tokyo’s ‘Face - Global Update Showing Festival’ Did You Know ❖ It is a small fish that looks like a worm. ❖ Several hundred of them live together at the sandy sea bottom in burrows of their own. ❖ They look like plants or a bed of seagrass gently swaying in the current. ❖ It digs a burrow using its pointed tail. ❖ It feeds on small organisms that float in the water current. ❖ When feeding, it rises out of its burrow, exposing up to two-thirds of its body. ❖ It escapes from its enemies by diving tail-first into the burrow.
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