Facts about Parrots

 With their lovable and naughty personalities, parrots stand out in the bird world.

These vibrant birds are far more than just a pretty face; they are vibrant, intelligent, sociable, and long-lived creatures.

Photo by : Sid Balachandran

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There are nearly 350 to 400 parrot species worldwide, but many of them have become endangered.

Here are some fascinating facts about parrots:

🦜Parrots imitate sound to blend in with their surroundings. They lack vocal cords, so they use the muscles in their throats to direct air differently, allowing them to mimic sounds like a ringing phone, creaking door, or barking dog.

🦜🦜Parrots learn quickly and effectively. They can associate words with objects and situations, and they can even use tools to solve problems.

🦜🦜🦜The larger the parrot, the longer their lifespan.
The African Grey, for example, is known to live well past the age of 60. Macaws typically live between 25 and 50 years.
Pet parrots typically live longer than wild parrots because they face fewer predators and diseases.

🦜🦜🦜🦜When a male and female parrot pair up, they usually stay together, even when the breeding season is over. Even when the breeding season is over, parrots practise monogamy. They forage, groom, and sleep together most of the time. They are done once they find their mate.

🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜Parrots are the only bird species that can eat with their feet. They can grab their food with one foot and move it up to their beak to nibble on it. This is due to the fact that parrots have zygodactyl feet, which have four toes on each foot, two facing forward and two facing backward.

🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜Parrots have a curved and strong beak, with the top part being larger than the bottom. The beaks of the largest macaws are so powerful that they can crush a Brazil nut and even break open metal cages.

🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜The Kakpo Parrots:  This is the largest type of parrot, weighing up to 9 pounds and growing to be over 2 feet long. It is also the only nocturnal parrot, owing to the fact that it can escape prey more easily at night. Unfortunately, the kakapo is now one of the most endangered birds.

✋A pandemonium is a group of parrots. The word "pandemonium" simply means "noisy and wild," which is a fitting name for this group of chatterboxes.

#parrots
#fatcsparrots

#article

Not just Valentine's Day

 

VALENTINE'S DAY, also known as St. Valentine's Day, is celebrated on February 14th, when lovers express their love with greetings and gifts. But, there's more to this day. There are few stories behind this day:

💖The holiday derives from the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which takes place in February. The festival, which celebrated the arrival of spring, included fertility rites and the lottery pairing of women and men. 

Lupercalia was an ancient Roman fertility festival held in mid-February. This feast of debauchery was dedicated to Faunas, the Roman god of agriculture, and the Roman founders Romulus and Remus, and included a ritual in which an order of Roman priests ran through the streets, "gently slapping" women with the blood-soaked hides of sacrificed animals, which they believed promoted fertility. Women would later be paired with men "by lottery."

The celebration of Lupercalia was replaced by St. Valentine's Day at the end of the fifth century, but the true origin of the holiday is hazy at best. Valentine's Day did not become popular as a romantic holiday until the 14th century.

💖💖Pope Gelasius declared February 14th St. Valentine's Day at the end of the fifth century, and since then, February 14th has been a day of celebration—though it was generally more religious than romantic.

St. Valentine's Day was a Catholic feast day that was added to the liturgical calendar around 500 AD. The day was named after the martyred saint Valentine.

Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who performed weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry due to a Roman emperor's edict declaring that married soldiers did not make good warriors and thus young men could not marry. This Saint Valentine wore a ring with a Cupid on it, a symbol of love that soldiers used to identify him. In a forerunner to greeting cards, he distributed paper hearts to remind Christians of their devotion to God.

Saint Valentine became known as the patron saint of love as a result of this legend. The Saint Valentine prayer requests that Saint Valentine unite lovers so that two become one and the couple remembers their devotion to God.

💖💖💖It's not just St. Valentine's Day! Cupid, the winged baby boy frequently seen on Valentine's Day cards and merchandise, is another symbol of this love-filled holiday, and it's easy to see why. Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, in Roman mythology. He was known for shooting arrows at both gods and humans, causing them to fall madly in love.

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Valentine's Day is celebrated in various parts of the world :

💕South Korea and Japan: On Valentine's Day, women in Japan make the first move. When women buy chocolates for their male partners on Valentine's Day, it is the men who are treated to a special day.

💕Brazil - Instead of February 14, Brazilians celebrate Saint Anthony, the patron saint of marriage and matchmaking, on June 12.

💕Argentina: If you're a fan of Valentine's Day, Argentina is the place to be! They celebrate on February 14th, and then for an entire week in July—sweetness week—ending with Friendship Day.

💕China: China celebrates Valentine's Day on February 14th, but they also have their own traditional day. Qixi Festival occurs on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which is usually in August.

💕Taiwan : Taiwan celebrates Valentine's Day and White Day, but they also have their own special day of love on July 7th. Men give beautiful flowers to women on this traditional holiday, and the color and number of flowers sent have different meanings.

💕Ghana : Ghana celebrates National Chocolate Day on February 14th. Tastings, dinners, and other events are held throughout Ghana to promote the country's top agricultural export, the cocoa bean.

💕Slovenia: Since St. Valentine is one of the patron saints of spring, February 14 is regarded as one of the best days for working in the fields in Slovenia. Slovenians typically commemorate romance on St. Gregory's Day, which falls on March 12, one month later.

#valentine'sday
#monthoflove
#loveisintheair

World of Optical Illusion

 

Your eyes are incredible organs. Did you know that if you have blue eyes, you share an ancestor with everyone else on the planet? Blue eyes are the result of a genetic mutation that appeared more than 6,000 years ago. Originally, all humans had brown eyes.

Optical illusions come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and we can't get enough of them. Many optical illusions reveal fascinating secrets about how our vision and brains work, as well as how we perceive color and light, while others are simply perplexing.

They're popular on social media right now, but optical illusions are nothing new. Optical illusions have been delighting and perplexing people for centuries and in many different cultures.

There are several types of optical illusions, and the majority of them fall into one of four categories. The first are physiological optical illusions. These are the 'true' optical illusions: images that cause us to misinterpret them, such as a still image that appears to be moving or an image that appears to be a specific color when it isn't. These are caused by physiological factors in how our eyes and brains interpret things like brightness, angles, and movement.

For centuries, people have been fascinated by optical illusions. Plato and other Greek philosophers described them as tricks played on us by our senses and minds. W.E. Hill, a famous cartoonist, embraced the phenomenon of optical illusions by skillfully sketching a picture that was simultaneously two images by the nineteenth century. Your perception determined the figure you saw. It could have been a young girl or an elderly woman.

Sassi Punnu

🤍 SASSI PUNNU - A LOVE STORY 🤍

Sassi Punnu is one of Sindh's seven most popular tragic romances, and four of Punjab's. Umar Marvi, Momal Rano and Sohni Mahiwal, Laila Chanesar, Sorath Rai Diyach, and Noori Jam Tamachi are the other six members of the Seven Queens of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, a Sindhi and Sufi poet, wrote Sassui Punnu between 1700 and 1752.

There was once a raja who ruled the lands of Bhambour from the southern tip of modern-day Pakistan, in Sindh province. He had many children but was only blessed with one daughter. She was given the name Sassi, which means "moon," because they thought she was as pure and beautiful as the moon.

Astrologers predicted that Sassi's birth would be a curse for the royal family's prestige. Unfortunately, the poor parents had no other option. Sassi was unable to remain. The Queen directed that the child be placed in a wooden box and thrown into the Indus River.

A washerman from Bhambour village discovered the wooden box and the child inside. The washerman saw the child as a gift from God and took her home. He decided to adopt her because he didn't have any children of his own.

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Mir Punnun Khan, son of King Mir Hoth Khan (Hoth is a well-known Baloch tribe in Makran) (Balochistan).

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Punnu became curious of Sassi's beauty after hearing about her, and he was eager to meet her. So, the charming young Prince made his way to Bhambore. In order to get a glimpse of Sassi, he sent his clothes to Sassi's washerman father. They fell in love right away when he went to the washerman's house.

Punnu asked Sassi's parents for her hand in marriage. The dhobi understood the value of a humble husband, whether he was a prince or a peasant. He decided to put Prince Punnu to the test, telling him that if he could correctly wash a shirt, he would be able to marry his daughter, Sassi.

Punnu, who had never washed a single piece of clothing, was unable to wash the shirt like a dhobi in the river against the rocks. The shirt was brought back torn. The prince offered large sums of gold coins to compensate for his failed attempt, and the dhobi accepted it grudgingly, knowing that his daughter's heart would only be content with this.

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Punnu's father and brothers were opposed to his marriage to Sassi (Punnu being a prince and she being a washerwoman's daughter), so Punnu's brothers travelled to Bhambhoor for their father's sake. They threatened Punnu first, but when he refused, they tried more devious methods, pretending to enjoy and participate in the wedding celebrations and forcing Punnu to drink various types of wines. When he became inebriated, they carried him on the back to their hometown of Kech Makran.

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When Sassi woke up the next morning, she realised she had been tricked by her brothers-in-law. She went insane from the pain of being separated from her beloved and ran barefoot towards the town of Kech Makran. She had to cross miles of desert to get there. Alone, she continued her journey until her feet were blistered and her lips were parched from crying "Punnu, Punnu!".

She was thirsty and saw a shepherd emerge from a hut. He provided her with some water to drink. When he saw her incredible beauty, he had dirty lustful thoughts and tried to force himself on Sassi. Sassi fled and prayed to God to hide her, and when God heard her prayers, the land shook and split, and Sassi was buried in the valley of mountains.

Punu couldn't stop himself from running back to Bhambore when he awoke in Makran. He called out "Sassi, Sassi!" on the way, and the shepherd told Punnu the entire story. Punnu lamented the same prayer, the land shook and split once more, and he was buried in the same mountain valley as Sassi.

Sassi and Punnu were both devoured by the earth. In their place now stand two mountains, indicating that they will be together forever and that even death could not separate the star-crossed lovers.

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Love Story - Heer Ranjha

 

Heer Ranjha is one of many famous Punjabi tragic love stories, other notable ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", "Mirza Sahiban" and "Sassi Punnhun".

WARIS SHAH WORK :

Waris Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet, best known for immortalizing Heer Ranjha's love story in Punjabi literature.

Waris Shah was well-versed in Sufi. His depiction of the story of romantic love is a poetic expression of the mystical love of the human soul towards God, which is a central theme in both Sufi and Sikh mysticism.

WARIS SHAH :

His version of the legendary romance of Heer is his most notable work. Heer Waris Shah (or The Romance of Heer Ranjha, published in 1766) is thought to be based on the true story of two star-crossed lovers from the 16th century.

No one who followed him has yet been able to surpass the incredible poetic mould he created. Ibrat Nama and Ushtar Nama are two of his other well-known works. 

PLOT:

The plot revolves around two lovers: Heer, a beautiful girl from a wealthy Jaat family, and Ranjha, a poor farm boy.

RANJHA : 

Dheedo, a young man from the Ranjha clan, once lived in Takht Hazara village. He was the youngest son of a wealthy landowner, and as such, he was somewhat spoiled. He spent his days lazing in the sun and playing his flute, rather than working.

Sadly, his father passed away eventually, and the sons split the land among themselves. When the land was divided, the older brothers gave Ranjha the worst, least fertile portion because they didn't think much of the youngest. For a while, Ranjha made an effort to work his land, but in vain. He took his flute and left Takht Hazara out of disgust.

Ranjha was used to living comfortably on his family's property, so it was difficult for him to eke out a living by begging for scraps, which he did not always succeed in doing. He must, however, have had good intentions because heaven took care of him.

HEER : 

Heer, a stunning woman from Jhang, West Punjab, was born into a prosperous Sial clan family. Sials are a Rajput clan that originated in West Punjab's Jhang region and built the city of Sialkot. 

LOVE STORY :

Ranjha departs from home and travels to Jhang after receiving a reprimand from his brothers. Chaudhary Chuchak, the father of Heer, offers Ranjha a position herding his cattle. Heer captures his heart in this place. He also mesmerizes her with his flute playing, and she develops feelings for him.

Every day, Heer spent the entire day in the forest with Ranjha, bringing him milk and bread or desserts and rice. She neglected her housework, and all of her female friends. Within a short time, rumors started to circulate. 

For many years, they meet in secret before being discovered by Heer's mother Malki and her uncle Kaido.

As a result, Heer was forced to marry another man, and Ranjha left to resume his wanderings until he found refuge in the shelter of a yogi (mystic saint). 

Heer, on the other hand, refused to accept another man as her husband. Se severed ties with her family and wrote to Ranjha, begging her to return to her. Ranjha returned to Jhang and eloped with Heer, as per his ladylove's wishes.

The Khaira riders apprehend the eloping couple and mercilessly beat Ranjha. The couple is brought before Raja Adali of Qubala, who demands that Ranjha be executed. 

Heer's uncle Kaidu also came to testify against Ranjha, but Chaudhary Chuchak sided with the lovers. Raja Adali, on the advice of elders, orders Saida to divorce Heer in order for her to marry Ranjha.

TRAGIC END :

The couple returns to Heer's village, where Heer's parents approve of their marriage. Kaido, on the other hand, poisons her on the wedding day. When Ranjha learns of this, she rushes to Heer's aid, but it is too late; she has already consumed the poison and died. Ranjha, brokenhearted, eats the remaining poisoned Mithai (sweet) and dies by her side.

Heer and Ranjha are buried in Jhang, Heer's hometown. Visitors to their mausoleum include smitten couples and others.

Today, the graves of Heer and Ranjha are sought after by young lovers who want to marry the person of their choice. They pray by tying threads at the dargah's iron gates.

#heerranjha #tragiclove