ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
Saraswati is one of the Hindu goddesses. The Vedas also mention her name. She is the goddess of speech, learning and knowledge. The legend states that she created the Sanskrit language and invented the vina, a musical instrument similar to a lute. The legend also says that she is the wife of Brahma, one of the gods of the Hindus. Birth. Mata Saraswati was born from the Samudra Manthan that arranged between the Devatas and the Asuras. She was born from the sea and was married to Lord Brahma thereafter. In another legend, Brahma created her by his imagination. However, she turned out to be so beautiful that he could not takes his eyes off her. Since he had five heads - four in the four cardinal directions - and one on top, his head kept turning in whichever direction Saraswati went. Saraswati is mentioned in the Vedas, the Brahmans, the Aranyaks, the Upanishads and the Mahabharat. She is dressed in white, carries a book and a lotus. Her favorite instrument is a lute and she rides a swan. Generally, an image or a statue of Saraswati shows her with four arms. Two arms hold the vina. In other arms she holds a book and a lotus flower.
Holi is one of the major festivals of Hindus. It is celebrated in South Asian countries, especially in India and Nepal. Hiranyanaksap wanted to kill his son, so he called his sister, Holika. She had a magic robe. This robe had the power to save the wearer from burning in fire. Hiranyakashyap ordered his sister to sit on a burning fire along with Prahlad. He thought that his sister would not be harmed by the fire of the magic robe and Prahlad would be burnt to death. But the result was the opposite of what the evil demon king planned. Thus Prahlad came out of the burning fire safely and Holika was burnt to death. Holi is the festival of colours. It is celebrated with colors to mark the victory of virtue and goodness over evil. The festival is celebrated for two days. The 2nd day, Rang Panchami marks the closing day of the Holi festival. People are seen with different varieties of colors on Holi. They put colors on each other, sing, dance. They worship Lord Krishna and put colors on his idol. Families gather together and Parvi the whole day...
Electronic music is music which is made with electronic equipment such as synthesizers or computers. Sometimes electronic music artists create special sounds using tape recorders too. After World War II, when tape recorders had been invented and were becoming popular, composers started to use them to make music. The tape recorder was needed for the performance. Composers used them to combine lots of different sounds. Sometimes it was music played on ordinary (acoustic) instruments which was then changed in some way by the tape recorder. Sometimes they took sounds from everyday life such as the sound of water, traffic noise or bird song. All these noises were put together in the way the composer wanted by using the tape recorder. Tapes of sounds were often cut into pieces, then the pieces were 'spliced' – put back together in a different order. The results were often very interesting, but there were problems. Some people asked: “Is it music?” Others thought it was boring to just look at a tape recorder during a concert instead of being able to watch live musicians play. Composers in Paris were experimenting with electronic music in the 1940s. They called it “Musique concrète” because they used natural, concrete sounds. (“Concrete” in this sense meant the opposite of “abstract” music which was written down for performance). The sounds were played back at different speeds, combined in lots of ways, played backwards or played continuously (repeated in a 'loop'), or played into a mixer and re-recorded onto another tape recorder. The sounds could be filtered. Effects such as vibrato or echo could be added. Sometimes composers used synthesizers which were machines that could make electronic music in real time. They sounded more like normal instruments than the sound effects on a tape recorder. Computers have often been used for composing electronic music.  Classical music. Composers who have used these ways of making music include John Cage (1912-1992), Bruno Maderna (1920-1973), Pierre Boulez (1925-2016), Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007), Martin Garrix (2009-2019) with songs like "Pizza", "Forever" and "Sc
Reggae is a music genre that began in Jamaica in the late 1960s. Most music from Jamaica comes from the reggae style. The music has regular chops on the back beat (off-beat). These are called “skank”, and are played by a rhythm guitarist. The bass drum hits on the second and fourth beat of each measure (each bar). These are called the “drop”. Reggae bands also use a bass, a keyboard or organ, and horns. Reggae music is often used by Rastafarian groups. They are usually songs about religion, love and social problems. Bob Marley (1945-1981) was a famous reggae artist. Famous instruments in reggae music are drums, guitar, saxophone, trumpet and trombone. Reggae was started in 1960 but became famous in the 1970s. Reggae songs often have lots of backing singers. Rapper Snoop Dogg released an album of reggae music in 2013. Som[
Bebop or bop is a kind of jazz that became popular near the beginning of the Second World War, in the mid-1940s. Bebop is often fast. The musicians improvise using a small group of chords which are repeated again and again. Charlie Parker (1920-1955), who was famous for his saxophone playing, was a bebop artist. The famous trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993) was also a renowned artist of this genre. The term "bebop" originates from a group of syllables used in scat singing, where random strings of sound were used in place of words.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), are techniques that doctors use to give a visual representation of soft tissue (flesh) inside the body. Magnetic resonance uses nuclear magnetic resonance to generate these images. To take an MRI image, the patient lies on a movable bed. The bed enters a strong magnetic field and then radio waves are applied for a short time in a different direction. This sudden shift causes certain atoms in the patient's body to make special signals. The MRI scanner detects those special signals. The MRI scanner then sends the signal information to a computer, and the computer creates an image of the inner body by using the signal information. Pros and cons. The MRI is used to diagnose disorders of the body that cannot be seen by X-rays. The MRI is painless and has the advantage of avoiding the dangerous X-ray radiation.  It is an expensive medical procedure, due to the high cost of the equipment. Some metallic objects may distort the image, like hip, shoulder and knee replacements but the exam can still be done. Cochlear (ear) implants, some (older) aneurysm clips in the brain, and most pacemakers are not MRI compatible. Obese and severely claustrophobic patients often need sedation and/or imaging with an "open" magnet, which is much less confining. Contrast agents may or may not be indicated for some patients, and those with compromised kidney function may not be able to receive the contrast, due to a serious but rare skin reaction. Which parts of the body MRI scans study. MRI scans can be used to study the brain, spinal cord, bones, joints, breasts, the heart and blood vessels. It can also be used to look at other internal organs. MRI scans can be used to find blood clots as well. An MRI scan can be used as an extremely accurate method of disease detection throughout the body. Neurosurgeons use an MRI scan not only in defining brain anatomy but in evaluating the integrity of the spinal cord after an injury. An MRI scan can evaluate the structure of the heart and aorta, where it can detect aneurysms or tears. Furthermore, MRI is nowadays used intraoper
When there is a war or some other armed conflict in a country, many people will try to flee (run away) from that country. They will go to other countries, around the country where there is no war. Because they fled, they are called refugees. If there are just a few refugees coming into a country it is generally no problem to get housing for them somewhere. However, if there are many (or if the government of a country expects many) refugees, it may build what is called a refugee camp. This is usually done by putting many tents, and a few toilets and showers on an unused plot (stretch) of land. This is usually land where no one wants to live. Usually the governments hope that conflicts get resolved soon, and that those camps are only temporary. This has not been the case for the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, for example. Those camps have existed since the mid-1970s.
Rubber is a type of material called a polymer. It can be produced from natural sources (e.g. natural rubber) or can be synthesised on an industrial scale. Many things are made from rubber, like gloves, tires, plugs, and masks. Some things can be made only from rubber. Sometimes the word means only natural rubber ("latex rubber"). Natural rubber is made from a little wood from an oak tree such as the "Hevea brasiliensis" (Euphorbiaceae). Synthetic rubbers are made by chemical processes. Properties. Rubber can stretch and shrink. Rubber can also contain gases. It is an insulator, which means that it does not conduct electricity. Producers. "Hevea brasiliensis" is the tree that most rubber comes from. Other plants that have the special sap (called latex) are figs ("Ficus elastica"), "Castilla" (Panama rubber tree), euphorbias, lettuce, the common dandelion, Taraxacum kok-saghyz (Russian dandelion), Scorzonera tau-saghyz, and Guayule. In the 1800s, most sap to make rubber came from South America. In 1876, Henry Wickham got seeds from rubber trees in Brazil, and took them to Kew Gardens, England, and sent them to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Indonesia, Singapore and British Malaya. Later, Malaya (now Malaysia) made the most rubber. People tried to grow rubber in India, in 1873 at the Botanical Gardens, Kolkata. The first "Hevea" farms in India were made at Thattekadu in Kerala in 1902. The Congo Free State in Africa grew a lot trees for rubber at the start of the 20th century, and most of the people who worked on those farms were forced labor. Liberia and Nigeria also started growing trees to make rubber. Industrial development. Charles Marie de La Condamine presented samples of rubber to the Académie Royale des Sciences (Royal Academy of Science) of France in 1736. In 1751, François Fresneau read a paper to the Acad
A argument is a way to persuade someone of something. Reasons are given to accept the conclusion. The general structure of an argument in a natural language is that premises (propositions or statements) support the claim or conclusion. The strength and validity of arguments can be evaluated based on the factors such as relevance and truth of the premises, the logical structure connecting premises to the conclusion, and the overall coherence of the argument.  Reason. An argument is a Reason to support an opinion.  There can be a "strong argument" or a "convincing argument" (for example, a good reason for why something should be done). Arguing is the process of conducting an argument. The opposite is a "weak argument" or an "unconvincing argument". Arguments can be valid or invalid or a combination of both. Some arguments may appear reasonable, but they turn out to be misleading or wrong.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq (March 20, 2003 - May 1, 2003) was the war fought by the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Poland and some other countries against Iraq, to end the rule of Saddam Hussein. The main reason that the war started was said to be because the British and American Governments believed that Iraq had dangerous weapons of mass destruction (such as chemical or nuclear weapons) that could be used against other countries. This turned out after the invasion to not be true. Another reason for the start of the war was that many people thought that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, one of the leaders of al-Qaeda, was hiding in Iraq after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Though Saddam Hussein was not involved in the planning of the September 11 attacks, many people accused him of giving al-Qaeda a safe place to hide from the United States. The war was extremely controversial. Many British and American people blamed British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the American President, George W. Bush. American and British paratroopers landed in the far north of Iraq and a few soldiers attacked from the sea, but most invaded from Kuwait in the south. The combined forces proceeded to advance and capture Baghdad. 4,734 NATO soldiers were killed in Iraq war including 4,600 U.S. servicemen, 179 UK servicemen and 139 Other NATO soldiers with a total of 4900 casualties. 31,882 U.S. servicemen and over 3,600 UK servicemen were wounded in Iraq. More than 180,000 Iraqi civilians who were not soldiers were also killed. Aftermath. The United Nations Secretary-General said that "[F]rom our point of view and from the Charter point of view [the war] was illegal."
A helmet is a hard or cushioned hat which is worn to protect a person's head. There are many different types of helmets. Some helmets are made from leather or other natural materials. Other helmets are made from metal or plastic. Helmets often have fabric cushions inside and fabric straps to hold the helmet on a person's head. Soldiers wear steel helmets to protect their heads from explosions and flying bits of metal. Construction workers wear plastic helmets to protect their heads from falling objects. Welders wear special helmets with a dark window that lets less light through. This protects their eyes from the bright light of welding. People who ride bicycles or horses wear plastic helmets with foam, to protect their heads in case they fall. Motorcycle riders wear similar but stronger helmets. People who rock climb wear helmets in case they fall. Cavers wear helmets to protect their heads from bumping into rocks in a cave. Helmets are also worn for protection by participants of numerous sports including horse racing, baseball, ice hockey, and cricket.
A coonskin cap is a hat made from the fur of a raccoon. Usually, the tail of the racoon is attached to the back of the hat. The coonskin cap is a symbol of the early United States frontier. Coonskin caps were first worn by the Native Americans who lived around Tennessee and Kentucky. The American settlers who moved to this area liked the caps and wore them themselves. Some famous American pioneers who wore coonskin caps are Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. Other websites. http://www.coonskincap.com/
The Crazy Horse Memorial is the world's largest mountain sculpture in progress. It is in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA. The statue depicts Crazy Horse, a famous Lakota warrior. Korczak Ziolkowski started the project in 1948 at the request of Chief Henry Standing Bear and other Native American elders. The statue is meant to be a memorial to the spirit of Crazy Horse as well as the Native American people. Ziolkowski believed in individual initiative and private enterprise, and as such, never accepted government funding. He continued to work on the memorial until his death in 1982. Today. Ziolkowski's wife and family have continued to work the Crazy Horse Memorial. Completion of the project is currently unknown because of several factors including weather, the availability of financing and the challenges of the mountain engineering. The face of Crazy Horse was completed and dedicated in 1998. Work on the memorial continues today and current plans include blocking out the face of the horse itself.
Dwarka (with other spelling as Dvarka) was a city of Ancient India. The city was one of seven holy cities of the Hindus. It is also one of the four most important places of pilgrimage for the Hindus. Hindus call such four places as Dhams. Dwarka is located in the western part of India in Gujarat state. During the birth day of Krishna, and the Hindu festivals of Holi and Divali, thousands of Hindus visit the place.  In Ancient India, the place was the capital of the kingdom ruled by Krishna and his clan of the yadavas. Soon after the death of Krishna, the city went below the sea.
The 'Ramayana' is an ancient Hindu epic about Rama and Sita. It is one of the two most important ancient epics of [India], the first one being the ancient Mahabharata.. The epic was originally written by sage (rishi) Valmiki of Ancient India. The book has about 24,000 verses and is divided into six parts. The story of the Ramayana is about Prince Rama who has been exiled from his kingdom of ([Ayodhya]) with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshman. He goes on to kill [king] Ravana of Lanka in a long battle to get back his wife Sita. Seven different versions of the book are available. It has been translated into all the major languages of the world. The different parts of the Ramayana are also called books. These seven parts or books are noted below: There are different views about the time the Ramayana was written. Some people believe that it was written 2,500 years ago. Others think that it was written around 1,800 years ago. All agree that the book is very old and was written before the Mahabharata. The Ramayana is still very popular today. Every autumn the "Ramlila" ("Rama play") is performed at the festival of Dassehra. A huge model of Ravana is set alight. This symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness. It is also believed that he turned in to Krishna and also many more things are believed. A Tamil version of the book was written between the 9th and 10th centuries. The writer of this book was Kamban. This version is known as Iramavataram, which means the coming of Rama. In the 16th century, Tulasidas wrote a Hindi version of Ramayana. This was named Ramacharitmanasa. Over many centuries, the story of Rama reached places in other countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. The Ramayana has been translated into most of the major languages of the world. The Ramayana was used in Ancient India for the teaching of young children. It was mainly
The Mahābhārata (; ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India written by saint Vyasa, the other is the "Rāmāyaṇa". It tells of issues between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War. It also tells the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors. The "Mahābhārata" includes philosophical and devotional material. It has a discussion of the four "goals of life" or "puruṣārtha" (12.161). The stories in the "Mahābhārata" include the "Bhagavad Gita", the story of Damayanti, the story of Shakuntala, the story of Pururava and Urvashi, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Kacha and Devyani and the story of Rishyasringa. It also has a shortened version of the "Rāmāyaṇa". The "Mahābhārata" is normally said to be written by Vyāsa. Most of it was probably put together between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. The oldest parts o it are not much older than around 400 BCE. The text probably became in its final form by the early Gupta period (c. 4th century CE). The "Mahābhārata" is the longest epic poem known. It has been said to be "the longest poem ever written". Its longest version has over 100,000 "śloka" or over 200,000 individual verse lines. It also has and long sections of prose. The "Mahābhārata" has about 1.8 million words in total. It is about ten times the length of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" combined, It is about four times the length of the Rāmāyaṇa. The importance of the "Mahābhārata" to world civilization has
The Hajj ("pilgrimage") is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the most holy city of the Muslims. It is a Fard, a religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, and Sawm. The Hajj is the largest annual gathering of people in the world. The state of being physically and financially capable of performing the Hajj is called "istita'ah", and a Muslim who fulfills this condition is called a "mustati". The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God (Allah). The word Hajj means "to intend a journey", which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th (or in some cases 13th) of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date of Hajj changes from year to year. Ihram is the name given to the special spiritual state in which pilgrims wear two white sheets of seamless cloth and abstain from certain actions. The Hajj is associated with the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to stretch back thousands of years to the time of Abraham. During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who all go to Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Ka'aba (the cube-shaped building and the direction of prayer for the Muslims), runs back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, drinks from the Zamzam Well, goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, spends a night in
The English Civil War happened in the mid-17th century. A civil war is a war in which the sides involved in the fighting are from the same country. At the centre, there was a struggle between King Charles I and the Parliament of England over how England should be ruled. The King wanted to rule without Parliament telling him what to do. At first, Parliament wanted to reduce the King's power, but it later decided that the country did not need a king. Charles's supporters were known as the Royalists and were nicknamed "Cavaliers". Parliament's supporters were known as the Parliamentarians and were nicknamed "Roundheads". From 1639 to 1653, there was fighting in England, Scotland and Ireland, three separate countries that were ruled by the same king. The fighting in each of those countries broke out at different times and for different reasons. In England, it lasted from 1642 to 1651. Some people think of this as one big war, and others think of it as three separate wars: the First English Civil War (1642-46), the Second English Civil War (1648) and the Third English Civil War (1649-51). The wars are also sometimes known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, including the Bishops' Wars in Scotland in 1639 to 1640 and the Irish Rebellion from 1641 to 1653. The Parliamentarians won the war. Charles I was captured, put on trial and was in 1649 executed. His son Charles II then tried to take over the country but lost and escaped abroad. As a result, the three kingdoms spent 11 years without a king. For most of that time, they were run by Oliver Cromwell, a former Parliamentarian general who called himself "Lord Protector". After Cromwell's death, the monarchy was restored under Charles II. However, the kings became never as powerful as they had been before the war. Causes. The reasons for the fighting had mostly to do with power, money and religion. Power and money. In the 17th century, the king had a lot of power over England with one exception: he could not raise taxes unless the Parliament of England