Pandavara Batti (leaf burns like the wick), India & Sri lanka

Pandavara Batti is a species of beautyberry plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is found in Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka and in India, found in Konkan, North Kanara, Western Ghats, Dakshina and Uttara Kannada. It is a small tree with about 5m tall. Leaves simple, opposite; elliptic to broadly elliptic; apex acute or acuminate. Purplish flowers show branched axillary cymes. Fruit is 3-4 seeded globose drupe. Fruits provide food for wildlife. They are sometimes used to make herbal medicine. The leaves are also food for wildlife.

Scientific name is Callicarpa Tomentosa, its family is verbenaceae. Pandavara Batti is considered a medicinal plant since ancient times and in the scriptures, maharishi charak called it “urine bleaching” (Purifying urine and decolorizing its color and “purish collectable” and Facilitating the flow of stool and increasing it). It is a group of herbs. Various masters of ayurveda have also classified it in different classes as herbs in their texts.

Pandavara Batti is a large shrub or small tree about 5 m tall. Bark grey, smooth. Branchlets are quadrangular, densely velvety. Leaves are simple, opposite, carried on stalks 2.5-7.5 cm long, densely white velvety. Leaf blade is 10.5-25 x 5.5-15 cm, elliptic to broadly elliptic or ovate, tip pointed to long-pointed, base narrow, thinly leathery, glaucous, densely white velvety beneath. Secondary nerves and reticulation are impressed above, midrib raised above. Secondary nerves are 6-9 pairs. Inflorescence consists of branched cymes in leaf axils. Flowers are purple, stalkless. Fruit is a round drupe, black, shining, 4 pyrenes; seeds 3-4. Velvety Beauty Berry is found in open disturbed evergreen to semi-evergreen forests in Peninsular India and Sri Lanka, and throughout Western Ghats, up to 1400 m.

It is such a plant that when a little oil is applied on the leaf, that leaf burns like the wick of a lamp and starts giving light. It is said in the legends that when the pandavas went to exile, they lit the tree by applying oil to the leaves and burning them. Due to which the name of this plant was given as pandava batti or “Pandavara Batti” which means torch or torch of the pandavas.

Decoction of the bark used in fever, hepatic obstruction and skin diseases; leaves boiled in milk and used as wash for aphthae of mouth; flower and fruit used in epilepsy, diseases of nervous system, haemorrhage, oedema, cardiac diseases and dysuria.

A paste of its bark is applied on the forehead for the treatment of headache. Priyangu bark powder is also used to rub on gums in inflammation and irritation of gums and to be used in face packs to improve the complexion of the face.

Medicinal use of Pandavara Batti or Pandava Batti:-

• Its fruits are somewhat astringent in taste, somewhat like berries, but they are used in making wine and jellies.
• A paste of its bark is applied on the forehead for the treatment of headache.
• Priyangu bark powder is also used to rub on gums in inflammation and irritation of gums and to be used in face packs to improve the complexion of the face.
• Priyangu bark powder is used as a dusting powder to control bleeding from wounds.
• A decoction of the bark of priyangu (callicarpa macrophylla) is given in a dosage form of 30-40 ml to stop internal bleeding in cases of peptic ulcer, internal hemorrhoids.

Coober Pedy (Opal Capital of The World) Underground City, Australia

Coober Pedy is a town in northern South Australia, 846 km (526 mi) north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. The  town is sometimes referred to as the "opal capital of the world" because of the quantity of precious opals that are mined there. Coober Pedy is renowned for its below-ground dwellings, called "dugouts", which are built in this fashion due to the scorching daytime heat.

The name "Coober Pedy" is thought to derive from the Kokatha-Parnkalla term kupa-piti, which means "whitefellas' hole",but in 1975 the local Aboriginal people of the town adopted the name Umoona, which means "long life" and is also their name for the mulga tree.

In the 2021 Australian census, there were 1,566  people in  Coober Pedy. Aboriginal peoples have a long-standing connection  with the area. Coober Pedy is considered by the senior Western Desert people to be the traditional land of the Arabana people country, but  Kokatha and Yankunytjatjara people are also closely attached to some ceremonial sites in the area. The origin of the name of the town (decided in 1920) is thought to derive from the words in the Kokatha language, kupa piti, usually translated as "whitefella – hole in the ground", or guba bidi, "white man’s holes", relating to white people's mining activities. Further investigation into the words by linguists shows that kupa may have originated from the Parnkalla language and that piti may be the Kokatha word specifically created for "quarry".

The first European explorer to pass near the site of Coober Pedy was Scottish-born John McDouall Stuart in 1858. The town was not established until after 1915, when the first opal was discovered by Wille Hutchison on 1 February of that year. Opal miners started moving in around 1916. The name of Coober Pedy was decided upon at a meeting in 1920, when a post office was established. In July 1975, the local Aboriginal people of Coober Pedy adopted the name Umoona, which means "long life" and is also their name for the Acacia aneura, or mulga tree, which is plentiful in the area. The name has since been used for various establishments in the town

Coober Pedy is a small town about halfway between Adelaide and Alice Springs. It is situated on the edge of the erosional scarp of the Stuart Ranges, on beds of sandstone and siltstone 30 metres (98 ft) deep and topped with a stony, treeless desert. Very little plant life exists in town due to the region's low rainfall, high cost of water, and lack of topsoil.

The harsh summer desert temperatures mean that many residents prefer to live in caves bored into the hillsides. A standard three-bedroom cave home with lounge, kitchen, and bathroom can be excavated out of the rock in the hillside for a similar price to building a house on the surface. However, dugouts remain at a constant temperature, while surface buildings need air conditioning, especially during the summer months, when temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F). The relative humidity rarely gets over 20% on these hot days, and the skies are usually cloud-free. The average maximum temperature is 30–32 °C (86–90 °F), but it can get quite cool in the winter.

The town's water supply, managed by the District Council which operates a bore and associated treatment plant, comes from the Great Artesian Basin. Problems with ageing pipes, high water losses, and lack of subsidies contribute to consumer water charges being the highest in South Australia

In May 2009, South Australian Premier Mike Rann opened the $1.15 billion Prominent Hill Mine, 130 kilometres (81 mi) southeast of Coober Pedy. The copper-gold mine is operated by OZ Minerals. In August 2010, Rann opened the Cairn Hill iron ore/copper/gold mine operated by IMX Resources near Coober Pedy. It was the first new iron ore mining area opened in South Australia since the 19th century. Due to low iron ore prices, the Cairn Hill mine was closed in June 2014. It was sold to Cu-River Mining who reopened the mine in 2016. In 2013, a potentially significant tight oil resource was found near the outskirts of Coober Pedy in the Arckaringa Basin. This resource was estimated to hold between 3.5 and 223 billion barrels (560×106 and 35,450×106 m3) of oil, providing the potential for Australia to become a net oil exporter.

The town has become a popular stopover point and tourist destination, especially since 1987, when the sealing of the Stuart Highway was completed. Entrance to an underground motel. Coober Pedy underground motel room, 2007. The inverted umbrella in the ceiling catches loose dirt that falls down the ventilation shaft from the surface.

Coober Pedy today relies as much on tourism as the opal mining industry to provide the community with employment and sustainability. Visitors' attractions in Coober Pedy include the mines, the graveyard and the underground churches (the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church). There are several motels offering underground accommodation, ranging from a few rooms to the entire motel being a dug-out. The hybrid Coober Pedy Solar Power Station supplies power to the off-grid area. Coober Pedy has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:13 Hutchison Street: Three-Roomed Dugout and 9 Hutchison Street: Coober Pedy Catholic Church and Presbytery.

The Umoona Opal Mine and Museum is a popular attraction and The annual Coober Pedy Opal Festival takes place in June, with the 34th edition occurring in 2023.

The local golf course mostly played at night with glowing balls, to avoid daytime heat is completely free of grass, and golfers take a small piece of "turf" around to use for teeing off. As a result of correspondence between the two clubs, the Coober Pedy golf club is the only club in the world to enjoy reciprocal rights at The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. The town also has an Australian rules football club, the Coober Pedy Saints, established in 2004, which competes in the Far North Football League. Due to the town's isolation, to play matches the Saints must make round trips of over 900 kilometres (560 mi) to Roxby Downs, where the rest of the league's teams are located.

The town is served by daily coach services from Adelaide by Greyhound Australia. The Ghan train serves the town through the Manguri Siding, 42 kilometres (26 mi) from Coober Pedy, which is served by trains once weekly in each direction. Passengers on The Ghan are not usually allowed to disembark at Manguri unless they have prearranged transport, due to the siding's isolation and the extremely cold temperatures at night.

Coober Pedy is a gateway to the outback communities of Oodnadatta and William Creek, which are both located on the Oodnadatta Track. There is a twice-a-week mail run from Coober Pedy to these communities and other outback homesteads. It carries the mail, general freight and passengers. Regional Express also has direct flights to Adelaide, from Coober Pedy Airport.  

The Umoona Tjutagku Health Service Aboriginal Corporation (UTHSAC) was established in 2005 to provide health services for local Aboriginal people.

Coober Pedy is home to the Coober Pedy Regional Times, a free community publication released fortnightly since 15 March 2001. Under a previous name, it had begun as a newsletter called the Coober Pedy Times, which was first issued in August 1982, itself continuing from a publication known as "Opal Chips".After some financial difficulties, the Times was bought by its editor, Margaret McKay, in 2006 and now includes online versions.

The town has a drive-in theatre. It opened in 1965, but became less popular after 1980 with the arrival of television to the town, and ceased regular operation in 1984. It was re-opened in 1996, and with the closure of the Mainline Drive-in at Gepps Cross in February 2022,became the last drive-in in the state.

A board for the Umoona Community Art Centre was established in 2021, but needs government funding to establish a permanent location in the town. A group of highly talented artists has joined the APY Art Centre Collective, which helps to create employment opportunities for Indigenous artists in the region. An exhibition in the Adelaide gallery of the collective in September 2021 featured the work of 24 of these artists.

A rare exhibition cachet, signed by Coober Pedy postmaster Alfred P. North, was discovered in Memphis, Tennessee by philatelist David Saks on 3 February 2016. To date, it is the only known example of this cachet in the world.

Both the town and its hinterland, for different reasons, are photogenic and have attracted film makers. The town itself is the setting for several films, and its environment has also attracted movie producers. These include:

•     Fire in the Stone (1984)
•      Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
•      Ground Zero (1987)
•      The Blood of Heroes (1989)
•      Until the End of the World (1991)
•      Stark (1993), a TV miniseries
•      The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
•      Siam Sunset (1999)
•      Pitch Black (2000)
•      Red Planet (2000)
•      Kangaroo Jack (2003)
•      Opal Dream (2006)
•      The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One (2016)
•      Instant Hotel Season 2 (2018)
•      Mortal Kombat (2021)
•      Stars on Mars (2023)
•      Limbo (2023)

The town is also featured in the 2016 racing game.

The Begich Towers (Town Under One Roof), Whittier, Alaska

The Begich Towers Condominium is a building in the small city of Whittier, Alaska. The structure is notable for being the residence for nearly the entire population of the city as well as containing many of its public facilities. This has earned Whittier the nickname of a "town under one roof"

The area where modern-day Whittier sits was developed during World War II, when it was chosen as the place to build a military harbor and a logistics base for the US Army. After the war, the military planned to develop a large complex in the area. What is now the Begich Towers was part of that plan.

The building was designed in 1953 to host the headquarters of the US Army Corps of Engineers. It was named the Hodge Building in memory of Colonel William Walter Hodge, commander of the 93rd Engineer Regiment on the Alcan Highway. The Hodge Building was part of a larger project meant to include the construction of ten other similar buildings for military use. Construction started with the Hodge Building, along with the Buckner Building 660 yards (600 m) to the northeast, with both opening in 1957. Despite the ambitious plan, these buildings were the only two to be built, and they were used by the US Army until the early 1960s; the Buckner Building has been abandoned since 1966.

In 1964, the area was hit by a tsunami caused by the Good Friday earthquake, but the damage was not extensive. The Hodge Building was transformed into a public building with several units, including the headquarters of the major institutions and commercial services of Whittier.

In 1972, the building was renamed Begich Towers Condominium, in memory of Nick Begich, a Congressman from Alaska who disappeared in the area and is presumed to have died in a plane crash. In 1974, the Begich Towers Condominium Association of Apartment Owners Inc. became the official manager of the entire structure.

With most of the community and its services either inside of or connected to the building, residents are able to remain inside the building for long periods of time if the weather is inclement, or if they simply do not want to leave.

Completed in 1957, the building has a rectangular plan and a flat roof. It is 14 floors high and is made up of three modules connected together. The north side has two protruding modules that form two square towers. Inside, sets of branched corridors and elevators allow residents access to all areas of the complex. The school is connected to the towers via a tunnel.

In addition to the residential areas, the building contains the basic services for condo owners and guests: a post office, a general store and a laundromat. There is also a small Baptist church, two floors of bed and breakfast daily rentals, a conference room, and an indoor playground at the school.

During the U.S. military's tenure in Whittier, all Whittier buildings had their hydronic heating needs fulfilled by a single heating plant. Following the Army's departure, each building had to get its own system, including the Begich Towers, which had a pair of boilers in a side building.

As of 2015, only one of the two boilers serving Begich Towers was functional, but it experienced major maintenance-related issues almost daily. The problems were traced back to the hydronic loop using water, which was susceptible to freezing, instead of a mixture of domestic water and glycol, which lowers the freezing point and prevents pipes from bursting due to ambient temperature drops below zero degrees Celsius.

As of 2016, funding for repairs relating to maintaining mechanical systems and renovating the façade came with a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Gartang Gali (150 years Old Bridge) , Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand

Gartang Gali Trek is situated at a distance of 90 km from Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. This is a very old trek route street, which is a rare path made by cutting huge mountains, which is known as Gartang Gali. This bridge was built 150 years ago, which is the trade between China and Barhat Market Uttarkashi. There is a connecting trek route which was closed in 1962 after the Indo China War. But now it was reopened for trekkers and locals.

It is said that the Pathans, who came from Peshawar to Gartang Gali, built this difficult bridge 150 years ago at an altitude of 11000 feet. Gartang Gali Trek comes to Gangotri area in Uttarkashi district.

 
The elderly people here say that before independence, the people of Uttarkashi district had built the Tibet track via Nelong Valley for trade with Tibet. This trek in Gangotri National Highway was prepared by cutting the steep and complex rocks near Bhairon Ghati, by laying an iron rod and laying wood on it. Through this route wool, leather cloth and salt were transported from Tibet to Badahat of Uttarkashi. This bridge gives an exciting view of the Nelang Valley.

About 150 meters long stairs of Gartang Gali are now visible in a new color. The stairs of Gartang Gali, built at an altitude of 11 thousand feet, are considered to be a unique example of engineering. Now this trek route has been re-opened for tourists. Keeping in mind the Corona guidelines and security, only 10 people will be sent on the bridge at a time.

Best time to visit the Gartang Gali trek is May, June, July, Aug, September, October. Only this is a summer trek where you get a combination of both greenery and snow, which makes the trek very spectacular. The weather in May and June is quite good and trek friendly, which makes trekking a lot of fun.

During the day the temperature of Gartang Gali Day is 10°C to 15 °C and during the night the temperature comes down to 5 °C to 10 °C which is not bad.

Gartang Gali, one of the most thrilling and exciting treks in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, was opened to visitors and tourists in 2021 after 59 years. This route was traditionally used by merchants trading between India and Tibet. It was damaged over the years after it fell into disuse following the Indo-China war in 1962.

 

Painstakingly reconstructed, the 1.8-m-wide bridge, perched at around 3,352 m (11,000 feet), challenges even the most enthusiastic adventure-seeker. Hanging from the rocky ledge, it overlooks the picturesque Nelong Valley and the flora and fauna, while way below rushes the Jadh Ganga river. The around 2.5-km trek through dense forests leading to Gartang Gali is arduous but all the strain is washed away the moment you walk up the steps.

Interestingly, it is said this is the bridge that Austrian climber Heinrich Harrer (of “Seven Years in Tibet” fame) had used to escape to Tibet from India, during World War II. His story later inspired the Hollywood film of the same name starring Brad Pitt.

From the security point of view, only ten visitors will be allowed at a time and they will have to maintain a distance of one metre from each other. Movement of groups or any other activity, such as jumping, dancing, drinking liquor or carrying inflammable substances are prohibited on the bridge.

Jageshwar Dham (One of the Twelve Jyotirlinga), Almora, Uttarakhand

Jageshwar Dham  is a Hindu pilgrimage town near Almora in Almora district of the Himalayan Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is one of the Dhams in the Shaivism tradition. The site is protected under Indian laws, and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It includes Dandeshwar Temple, Chandi-ka-Temple, Jageshwar Temple, Kuber Temple, Mritunjaya Temple, Nanda Devi or Nau Durga, Nava-grah temple, a Pyramidal shrine, and Surya Temple. The site celebrates the Jageshwar Monsoon Festival during the Hindu calendar month of Shravan (overlaps with July–August) and the annual Maha Shivratri Mela (Shivratri festival), which takes place in early spring.

Jageshwar Temples, also referred to as Jageswar Temples or Jageshwar Valley Temples, are a group of 125 ancient Hindu temples dated between 7th and 14th century, The valley has a number of temple clusters such as the Dandeshwar and Jageshwar sites. Some locations have attracted construction of new temples through the 20th-century. Together these clusters over the valley consist of over 200 structural temples built from cut stone. Many are small, while a few are substantial. They predominantly illustrate North Indian Nagara style of architecture with a few exceptions that show South and Central Indian style designs, many are dedicated to god Shiva, while others in immediate vicinity are dedicated to god Vishnu, Shakti goddesses and Surya traditions of Hinduism.

There are other Hindu temples in the Himalayan region that are called Jageshwar Temple such as one in Dalash, Himachal Pradesh. Jageshwar is located 36 kilometres (22 mi) northeast of Almora, in the Kumaun region. The temples site is on the south of the road, across which is an eponymous village at an altitude of 1,870 m, in the Jataganga river valley near a Deodar forest (Cedrus deodara). The temple clusters begin starting from satellite road branching off east from the Artola village on the Almora–Pithoragarh highway, at the confluence (sangam) of two streams Nandini and Surabhi after they flow down the hills in the narrow valley.The site is about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) long along the Jataganga rivulet, is a narrow forested valley of oaks, deodara, rhododendrons and pines. Around the valley is human habitation which provide services to the pilgrims and travelers visiting these temples or passing through to other sacred sites in the Uttarkhand region. The resident villages are Mokshadham, Dandeshwar, Jageshwar and Koteshwar.

Jageshwar is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the historic Baijnath Temple and about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast from the resort town of Nainital. It is mentioned in Hindu texts dated prior to the 10th-century as a tirtha (pilgrimage) site. The nearest rail head is Kathgodam 125 km. Jageshwar has direct road links with Almora (35 km), Haldwani (131 km.), Pithoragarh (88 km) and Kathgodam. State transport, and private jeeps and taxis ply from these place for Jageshwar regularly.

The origins of the Jageshwar temples site are unclear. Its remote location has limited its studies and scholarly attention. The site shows evidence of different architectural styles and building periods for both temples and stone steles, which range from the 7th to the 12th century, and then in the modern times. Estimates for the same temple or stele varies widely, sometimes 1,400 years. According to the ASI, some belong to the post-Gupta or the second half of 1st millennium while others belong to the 2nd millennium. Some colonial-era guesses attribute them to the Katyuri or Chand hill dynasties but there is no textual or epigraphical evidence to support or refute these proposals.Another prevailing theory is that Adi Shankara built some of these temples, but once again there is no textual or epigraphical evidence to support this claim. Instead, the architectural features and style of some of these Hindu temples is from early 7th century, which is about 50 to 100 years before Adi Shankara lived (c. 788-820 CE).

The lack of systematic studies of Indian temples and ruins in many parts of the remote Himalayan regions limits what can be said about the chronological sequence of monuments in the Jageshwar valley. According to Chanchani, it is likely that the valley had reached a prominent position in Indian architecture by the 10th century, with the earliest monuments from the 7th-century.

The valley has two major clusters of Hindu temples and a number of roadside shrines. Of these some 151 temples have been numbered by ASI as protected pre-12th century monuments. The two largest groups are locally called as the Dandeshwar group temples (Dandeshwar samuh mandir, 15 temples) and the Jageshwar group temples (Jageshwar samuh mandir, 124 temples). Of these, temple number 37, 76 and 146 are the largest, all dated to the late centuries of the 1st millennium. In the historic text, Jageshwar is also referred to as Yageshvara.

 

 
Jageshwar was once the centre of Lakulish Shaivism, likely by monks and migrants who left the plains of the Indian subcontinent from places such as Gujarat and settled in the high mountains. The temple site, over time, was positioned as and grew as sacred geography in the form of northern (Uttara) Kashi (Varanasi)

The Jageshwar group of temples are similar to some large historic cluster of Hindu temples found on the Indian subcontinent. For example, a similar cluster is seen near Bhubhaneswar, Odisha at the Lingaraja group of temples. Another large group of stone temples is illustrated at the Batesvar complex in Chambal valley of Madhya Pradesh. Almost all the small and large temples in the Jageshwar valley, states Chanchani, have a "simple square plan sanctums bounded by plain walls and tiered superstructures"

The temples are atypical than other Hindu temples build after the 6th-century. The Jageshwar temples have a design that deliberately does not anticipate their use as house of worship. The sanctum space in most temples is generally too small that a priest cannot sit inside, leave alone move around to complete a ritual. Further, most of the lingas do not provide for a drain from abhisheka, a feature that Hindu temples from Gupta and post-Gupta period include. There is no record of their being used for worship, nor traces at the site that would suggest unrecorded use. According to Chanchani, most of these temples may have been memorials to Hindu monks or saints, or part of dedication or grant to the monasteries.

The site is additionally notable for rock steles featuring Hindu theological themes. Included in these are all four major traditions of Hinduism: Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Sauraism. Example steles include those of Ksemankari, Narayana, Revanta and Surya. Other significant reliefs include those of dancing Ganesha, seated and smiling Uma-Parvati and Saptamatrikas.

The Jageshwar temple site attracts a few hundred pilgrims and visitors every day. It remains a part of the Hindu sacred geography, particularly for the central Himalayan region. Many complete a part of the post-cremation last rites after the death of a loved one at the Jageshwar temple site. The temples are particularly popular in the late monsoon season. In other months, pilgrims typically combine their pilgrimage to Jageshwar Temples with those at Lake Mansarovar or Badrinath and Kedarnath, or other places in the Himalayas such as Gangotri. The site remains popular with Hindu monks and they continue to protect the site's sacrality