Who are the lesser-known people of India?

 Narayanan Krishnan - A Madurai born Indian chef.

He was working as a successful chef in Taj hotels at Bangalore, Karnataka.

He was even short listed for a very elite job in Switzerland.

But a final visit to his home before heading to Europe changed his life forever.

He was heading to a nearby temple in his car when he saw an old man under a bridge. He knew little that this man was going to change his life forever.

The old man was pretty weak & he was so hungry that he was eating his own human waste for food.

That one incident haunted him so much that he decided to quit his job. And he decided to serve the poor & mentally ill people.

In 2003, he founded a non profitable Akshaya Trust.

Till now he has served around 2 million meals to the homeless with help of Akshaya Trust.

Moreover, He also carries comb, scissors & razors and gives poor people free hair cuts.

He sleeps in Akshaya Trust's modest kitchen along with his co workers.

Since investing his entire savings in 2003, he has taken no salary till date.

The malayalam movie “Ustad Hotel” is based on his life.

“Be the change you want to see in this world.” He proved it with his life and his work.

Wait, I would like to quote one the question he asked the viewers in one of his interviews.

I would like to ask you a question that as an individual what you did. As an individual what impact have you created for society? You will see in the roadside, a BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, but on the same day you will see a homeless person. There is no bun, no burger for this person. You drive by in a Mercedes, but do you see the beggar on the sidewalk?

In 2010, he was awarded with the CNN heroes award.

What are some little-known facts about birds?

 

1. Ravens and crows are very intelligent and can translate English and make and use tools.
2. Parakeets are not a species of bird, but rather a term referring to small parakeets like budgies and lovebirds. Parakeets are often confused with budgies.
3. Doves are not peaceful birds and should not be used as a sign of peace.[2]
4. The largest bird of prey is the condor, which can have a wingspan of up to 10 feet.

What are some interesting, little-known facts?

 

• The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses all the letters of the English alphabet.
• The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
• Ants rest for about 8 minutes every 12 hours.
• Coca-Cola was originally green.
• American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by removing one olive from the salad served in first class.
• Each king on a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history.

- Spade - King David

- Club - Alexander the Great

- Heart - Charlemagne

- Diamond - Julius Caesar

• The only food that doesn't spoil is honey.
• No new animals have been domesticated in the last 4,000 years.
• Wearing headphones for just one hour can increase the number of bacteria in your ears by 700 times.
• Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from the sand blown in from the desert.

Who are some lesser-known characters of Ramayana?

Kumudvati, Chief Queen of Kusha (son of Shri Ram) was a Naga Princess of Sarayu river and her father was killed by Garuda. Naga King Kumud offered her to Kusha in peace alliance when Kusha had almost annihilated the Nagas when Kumudvati took his golden arm- bracelet mistakenly. Kusha married her and she gave birth to his eight sons and a daughter named Champakmalini. Her son Atithi was heir to the throne and when Kusha died, Kumudvati followed him in death like moonshine follows the moon. Her mention is in Raghuvansh and Ananda Ramayana not in Valmiki Ramayana. She was really beautiful, timid and shy and was a young maiden (kanya) when she married Kusha. Kusha had built Nageshwarnath Temple for her near Sarayu river so that she could worship Lord Shiva.

Champika

Champika was the first wife of Kusha and she had chosen Kusha as her husband in her Swayamvara. She was daughter of Maharaja Bhurikirti, King of the lands East of Ayodhya. Rishi Agastya prophesized about her to Shri Ram that she won't be having any sons but daughters. She eventually gave nine daughters to Kusha and their eldest daughter Hema was married to Prince Chitrangad of Avanti after her Swayamvara and a war after which Chitrangad and his son father Ugrabahu were pardoned by Shri Ram. Her reaction to her husband's marriage with Kumudvati is not mentioned but she seems like to enjoy her previous status as the seniormost Queen (Pattmahishi) despite Kumudvati being Chief Queen (Agramahishi or Mahadevi). She was respected in the royal house. Her sister Sumati was married to Kusha’s twin brother Lava.

Kumbhinasi

Kumbhinasi was daughter of Anala, Kaikesi’s younger sister and Vishvavasu. When she was staying in Antahpura of Ravana in Lanka and she was protected as a sister and enjoyed luxuries but she was daringly abducted by a demon named Madhu when others were not around in the palace. When Ravana got to know about this, he got really angry despite himself abducting many women. He went with his warriors to Madhura (Mathura) to kill him but Kumbhinasi pleaded him to not kill her husband. Then Ravana pardoned Madhu and made him his ally. She was mother of Lavanasura who later was defeated by Shatrughna. Shatrughna named the city Surasena after conquering it and the same land became the birth place of Shri Krishna years later.

There are many other characters in Valmiki Ramayana and other renditions which are lesser known like Mahaparshva, Sushena, Vidyutjhiva (husband of Surpankha), Prahasta, Kabandha, Yupaketu (son of Shatrughna in Ananda Ramayana) , Madansundari (princess of Shivkantipuri with whom Yupaketu did Rakshasa Vivah), Kanjanayana (Naga Princess whom Lava married) , etc.

What are some lesser known/interesting stories in Mahabharata?

 The fiery heroine Draupadi was not without kindness an affection. She was insulted, taunted and driven to the forest by the sons of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. When, Dusshasana pulled at her saree, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari would not help her. But after the war of Mahabharata, Draupadi looked after Gandhari with respect and affection; she treated her in the same way as she treated Kunti. She had a resolve that would not cool off after thirteen long years of suffering, and also sympathy for Gandhari after all was over.

When Aswathama (son of Dronacharya) who killed the sons of Draupadi, inspite of her great grief at the loss of her children, came to Pandavas, she moved forward and touched his feet and paid him his due respect. Bhima was unable to bear such sorrow and because of this, he was in great emotions which drove him to the point of exhibiting his physical prowess to the world. In fact he was looking at this quality of forbearance of Draupadi as a laughing matter. Bhima was greatly surprised at the peaceful attitude of Draupadi. He thought that the suffering of having lost all her children had driven her to insanity, for, otherwise he was not able to understand how a true mother could show such forbearance when the person who had killed all her children was standing before her. Draupadi was a great woman with exemplary character. When the strong Bhima was preparing to kill Aswathama with his bare hands, would it be possible for a weakling like Draupadi to go and stop Bhima? It was only the purity of her thought that was her strength. Draupadi was such a great woman that in order to protect right conduct, she would even oppose her husbands. But even now, it was Bheema who tried to avenge the death of her sons by uprooting the Shiromani (divine diamond) off the forehead of Ashwathama and thus ending his powers of invincibility.

Draupadi maintained the reputation of her husbands, her parents and parents-in-law. She wanted her parents to be proud of her, she wanted her children to feel that they are the children of a great mother, she wanted her husbands to feel that they were married to a great woman and she wanted her parents-in-law to be proud of her and she wanted to please them. Draupadi herself was always behaving in a manner in which she maintained the reputation of her family and her kingdom.

[ Ultimately, the fact that Draupadi stands quite apart from her five husbands is brought tellingly home when not even Sahadeva of whom she took care with maternal solicitude, nor her favourite Arjuna - tarries by her side when she falls and lies dying husbanded yet unprotected, on the Himalayan slopes ] during their journey to heaven - the Mahaprasthana. It is said, however, in some analyses of the Mahabharata, that only Bheema, at such a juncture tried to save her from her fall from the cliffs by extending an unsuccessful hand to catch her. He failed and Draupadi fell to the ground below and was dying a painful death when Bheema came to her side, consoled her and remained by her side till she eventually died. During these last moments, it is said, Draupadi realized the futility of her undying love for Arjuna and felt the selfless and unconditional love and support that Bheema had provided her at each moment in her life and repented the fact that she could never reciprocate the love of Bheema in equal terms.

What are some lesser-known love stories from Mahabharata and Ramayana?

Shri Ram and Mata Sita are the most famous couple from the epic. Besides them, original Valmiki Ramayana doesn't really deal with any other love story. Dashrath was very much in love with Kaikeyi but her evil boons made him forsake his love for her.

In Ananda Ramayana, Kusha and Champika are a marriage of royal convenience and Kusha and his second wife Kumudvati are a match of alliance but they develop natural love for each other. It's even mentioned in Raghuvansh.

Yupaketu (son of Shatrughna and Shrutkirti) had a love story of his own with Madansundari (Princess of Shivkantipuri) and he had Rakshasa Vivah with her.

Ravana and Mandodari are not a typical love story but when they first met when she was standing alongside with her father, he noticed her beauty and had a pure , ritually approved marriage with her and she was his Chief Queen. She was the only woman he truly respected being mother of his children and his favourite son Indrajit (Meghnad).

In Ananda Ramayana, Meghnad and Sulochana are an ideal couple who were very much in love with each other.

Devnadi Ganga and Shanthanu (Mahabhisha) fell in love with each other and got married but she left him when he broke his promise of never questioning her when she was saving vasus from curse.

Other lesser known couples are Yuddhisthir and Devika, Bhim and Valandhara, Nakul and Karenumati, Sahdev and Vijaya.

What are some lesser known facts about the Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar?

 Not many know this, but Manoj Kumar, as iconic as he was as an actor, was an even more brilliant director, at least that's what I think.

Manoj Kumar with Dilip Kumar in Kranti (1981)

He made huge hit films that were loved by critics and did great business. Many of those films also had him as the hero 👇🏻

He started as 'poor man's Dilip Kumar' but became one of the finest actor directors of the masala era. He brought Dilip Kumar out of retirement with the blockbuster Kranti and revived Dilip’s career.

Jai Hind was his final film. It starred his son Kunal Goswami, Rishi Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, and Manisha Koirala in lead roles. The movie was cringe worthy with terrible production quality.

Manoj Kumar's films were mostly about patriotism, and he showed it in a grand and impressive style.

Manoj Kumar's signature style was hand on the mouth pose

Which was shown in a trolling way in Om Shanti Om, Manoj got very upset and he filed a case against it…

What are some lesser known facts about Israel?

 Israel is the only nation to resurrect a dead language, holds the world record for milk production despite being a desert, and solved a global pediatric crisis using a baby snack.

Peanut allergies are practically non-existent in Israel, and the reason is a ubiquitous, peanut-butter-flavored puffed corn snack called Bamba. Israeli parents typically feed Bamba to infants as soon as they can chew solid food. For years, pediatric guidelines worldwide advised keeping peanuts away from babies. However, researchers noticed that children in the UK had peanut allergy rates ten times higher than children of similar ancestry in Israel. This led to the 2015 LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy) study, which proved that early, consistent exposure to peanuts prevents the allergy from developing, prompting a global reversal in pediatric health recommendations.

Geographically, the country forms a narrow land bridge connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa, making it one of the most crowded bird highways on the planet. Twice a year, an estimated 500 million birds—including massive flocks of storks, pelicans, and birds of prey—funnel through this airspace to avoid flying over the Mediterranean Sea. The Hula Valley in northern Israel serves as a critical pit stop, where hundreds of thousands of migrating cranes descend to rest and feed before crossing the Sahara Desert.

Hundreds of common cranes gather to feed in the Hula Valley during their winter migration. Photo by מינוזיג is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The linguistic resurrection centers on Hebrew. For nearly two millennia, it was strictly a liturgical and scholarly language, similar to Latin. It had no native speakers and lacked the vocabulary for modern life. In the late 19th century, driven by the efforts of lexicographer Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the language was reconstructed and adapted for everyday use. Today, it is the native tongue of millions of people, marking the only time an unspoken language has been brought back to life as a national vernacular.

Finally, the country's world-record milk yield comes down to heavily optimized, data-driven farming. Instead of relying on lush green pastures, Israeli Holstein cows live in specialized enclosures equipped with large misting and fan systems to eliminate heat stress. Their feed, health, and milk output are continuously monitored by computers, allowing them to out-produce dairy herds in the United States and Europe.

What are some examples of "the last known photograph of"?

 Here are a few:

1. Bhagat Singh secretly photographed in prison during his first arrest in July 1927.

2. Albert Einstein photographed outside his home in March 1955.

3. Robert F. Kennedy after being shot in the head on June 5, 1968.

4. Amy Winehouse photographed walking in north London a week before her death in July 2011.

5. Anne Frank photographed with her sister Margot in mid-1942.

6. The last photograph of Adolf Hitler was taken two days before his death, while he was inspecting the damage to the 'Führerbunker' in Berlin.

7. Steve Jobs photographed in the final days before his death from a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

8. Amelia Earhart photographed before her last flight.

9. Martin Luther King photographed during one of his final interviews in April 1968.

10. John F. Kennedy in his car one minute before being assassinated on November 22, 1963.

What are some little-known facts about North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un?

 First of all, Kim Jong-un's exact date of birth is unknown . The official North Korean version places his birth on January 8, 1982 , while South Korean intelligence services maintain that he was born on January 8, 1983.

Dennis Rodman ,

a flamboyant former NBA basketball player and a close friend of Kim, confirmed this second hypothesis .

You may be wondering how such an anti-American leader could be such close friends with a basketball player, given that basketball is practically the symbol of the United States, not only in sport but also in culture. Well, you should know that Kim lived in Bern between 1993 and 1998 , under an assumed name and with a South Korean passport: it is precisely there that the North Korean supreme leader likely cultivated a deep passion for basketball.

He completed his Swiss studies in Koniz , a town near Bern, where he lived between 1998 and 2000. Here he changed his identity again (now posing as the son of a North Korean diplomat working at the Swiss embassy) and created a more or less large circle of friends who still remember the current North Korean leader fondly: "he was very nice", "he was awkward with girls", "he never talked about politics or geopolitics, he was only interested in basketball, the NBA in particular".
One of his closest companions at the time even revealed how Kim had secretly confided in him that he was the son of the North Korean leader.

Originally second in line to his brother Kim Jong-nam , he became the direct heir to the North Korean 'throne' only because North Korean assassins caught his brother violating the regime's strict rules of conduct (he had secretly traveled to Tokyo, Japan, to visit Disneyland ): Kim Jong-nam was then killed , and Kim Jong-un took over the reins of North Korea.

Kim was chosen among his other brothers as direct heir by his father, Kim Jong-il, also because he was considered more viral, enterprising and resolute than the others: in fact, some delicate decisions that the current North Korean leader made at a young age are noteworthy (the sinking of the Cheonan and the bombing of Yeonpyeong ) and which allowed him to gain credibility with his father.

Since late 2011, Kim Jong-un has ruled North Korea alone and unchallenged, with one obsession: nuclear weapons . The supreme leader has repeatedly stated his readiness to launch a preemptive nuclear strike

against his historic rivals, the United States,

"if time permits."

Since 2018, North Korea has expanded its arsenal by equipping itself with a hydrogen bomb .

What are some little-known facts about the Harry Potter movies?

 1.Coincidence?

Harry's birthday is July 31, 1980. Rowling's birthday is also July 31 – but in 1966.

2. Old but Good

The actress who played Moaning Myrtle was 37 years old when "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was filmed. She is the oldest actress ever to play a Hogwarts student.

3. Dirty Mouth

The character of Ron Weasley originally swore a lot, but Rowling's publisher wouldn't allow her to use such language because it was inappropriate for young readers.

4.JK - Just Kidding ! (Just kidding!)

Rowling's publisher suggested she use initials rather than her given name, "Joanne Rowling," to appeal to male readers. She chose JK, borrowing the "K" from her grandmother, Kathleen. However, neither "Kathleen" nor "K" is part of her legal name.

5. Story Spoilers

Only Alan Rickman, the actor who played Professor Snape, knew his character's fate before the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" because Rowling told him.

6. Botanical Inspiration

Rowling has said the inspiration for the name of Harry's school in the books, "Hogwarts," may have subconsciously come from the name of a plant she saw at Kew Gardens in New York City.

7. Interesting Audition

Rupert Grint dressed up as his female drama teacher and rapped about Ron Weasley for his audition tape. His rap went something like, "Hello, my name is Rupert Grint, I hope you don't think I smell."

8. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

Contrary to popular belief, the 't' at the end of Voldemort is silent. His name comes from the French word meaning "flight of death."

9. Achievement

JK Rowling based 11-year-old Hermione somewhat on herself at the same age. She even made Hermione's Patronus her favorite animal, an otter.

10. The Itchy Second Year

A lice outbreak occurred among child cast members during the filming of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."