What's so special about the diamond crossing in Nagpur, and why is it unique in the Indian Railways?

 When one track crosses another track at an angle, a diamond is formed at the intersection comprising two acute and two obtuse crossings. Hence it is called “Diamond Crossing”. In a diamond crossing two tracks cross (intersect) each other and only straight movement of trains is possible. In other words the train or train vehicle of one track (say Track A) cannot be diverted to another track (say Track B) due to absence of any moving switches as shown in the image (indicative). If one train on track A is passing on the intersection, then another train cannot move on track B and has to wait till the first train has completely passed. This type of crossing is provided where trains running in different directions have to cross at a certain point.

Diamond crossing (indicative image)

Diamond crossing (actual image)

The diamond crossing at Nagpur makes it unique in two ways:

(i) Here instead of one track, two parallel tracks intersect another two parallel tracks

(ii) One pair or parallel tracks intersect another pair of parallel tracks at right angle (i.e. 90◦)

This type of crossing is technically called as Double diamond Crossing

Please see the image given below:

Diamond crossing at Nagpur

This facilitates the movement of trains to northern, southern, eastern and western parts of the country in both directions. Blocking of trains on one pair of tracks during movement of trains on any of the second pair of tracks is ensured through deployment of advanced train detection devices and signal interlocking. Nagpur is an important junction station on the Howrah-Mumbai and Delhi-Chennai trunk line of the Indian Railways. It belongs to the A1 category of railway stations and is one of the top 100 stations of the Indian Railways system in terms of total bookings. Hence the Diamond Crossing at Nagpur is considered one of the busiest and most complex railway crossings in the world, with multiple trains passing through it every hour.

Although these are generally not recommended (except when most necessary) due to excessive wear and tear, speed restrictions due to track geometry, frequent component failures and some other technical issues etc.

What if the Indian state of Karnataka never existed?

 

• Kannada language wouldn't even exist.
• Tamilians, Telugites and Malayalis would be very happy if Kannadigas and Karnataka didn't exist
• India would lose more than 500 wild tigers and a rich diversity and ecosystem would be lost, especially the Western Ghats belt.
• Great Legendary personalities like Rajkumar, Srinath, Navarasa Nayaka Jaggesh would not be there.

• Important cities like Mandya (capital), Hassana, Chikkamagaluru, Gulbarga, Hubli-Dharwad, Gadaga, Davangere would not be there.

What are some food specialties from different Indian states?

 1. Ambur Biryani (Near Chennai, Tamil Nadu)

Kolathur Biryani (Near Trichy, Tamil Nadu) - Only available on Sunday
Dindugal Biryani (Tamil Nadu)

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2. Tirunelveli Alva

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3. Sriviliputhur Palkova

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4. Kovilpatti kadalaimittai

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5. Manapparai murukku

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6. Kumbakonam Coffee

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7. Sattur Sevu

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8. Madurai Jigarthanda

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9. Thoothukudi Macroon

10. Madurai Kari dosai

11. Virudhunagar Ennai Parota

3,500 steps down: the Indian “inverted pyramid” built to catch water and cool people

 In the image, you are looking straight down into a perfectly square stepwell. The walls are lined with steep, geometric staircases that repeat in a tight pattern, creating a deep, funnel-like void. At the top edge, you can see village houses and small trees, which makes the structure’s scale feel even more surprising.

This is Chand Baori in Abhaneri, in Rajasthan, India. It is one of the largest and deepest stepwells (baori) in the region, built to make groundwater accessible in a hot, semi-arid climate. Rajasthan’s tourism department dates it to the 9th century and links it to King Chanda of the Nikumbha dynasty. Many descriptions give the headline numbers you often hear about Chand Baori: about 3,500 steps arranged over 13 levels, descending roughly 20 to 30 metres depending on how the depth is measured.

Stepwells were practical infrastructure, but also social architecture. Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that stepwells across India supplied water for drinking and washing, supported irrigation, and worked as cool refuges for travellers in the heat of the day. Chand Baori follows that logic. As the water level changed with seasons, different landings and stair runs kept access possible, and the dense geometry also creates shade and airflow compared to the surface.

What are the lesser known facts about Indian actor Rajnikanth?

 Thanks to his insane popularity I think there is almost nothing about Rajnikanth which is not well known in public domain. Possibly the following are some titbits which his fans might still find interesting.

Rajni made his debut in a small role in Apoorva Ragangal starring Kamal Haasan in the lead in 1975. In the next few years he and Kamal costarred in about a dozen movies which were all commercially successful. Then it was Kamal who suggested that they should stop acting together, as this was hampering the career progression of both, especially that of Rajni. So they stopped acting together from 1980 and have never shared screen space in a movie since.

(Kamal and Rajni with their mentor, K.Balachander)

Rajni costarred with actress Latha, who was a favored heroine of M.G.R earlier, in the 1978 film Aayiram Jenmangal. It was widely rumored in those days that during the shoot of the film Rajni got emotionally involved in a relationship with Latha, which was resented by M.G.R. The story further goes that Rajni was kidnapped in a car to Pondicherry and was roughed up by MGR’s henchmen. In an interesting coincidence Rajnikanth later on fell in love with and married another girl, whose name was also Latha.

(A young Rajnikanth with his wife Latha)

Rajnikanth has been an ardent devotee of sage Sri Raghavendra right from his younger days, and by 1985, exactly after one decade in cinemas, Rajni is said to have felt burn out and wished to quit films after his 100th film. He personally chose the role of Raghavendra to be his swansong, and persuaded his mentor K.Balachander to produce the movie for him, and got his favorite director Sp. Muthuraman to direct it. However the film was not successful commercially, and later on,Rajni was also prevailed upon to drop his idea of quitting films.

(Rajnikanth in his role of a life time as sage Sri Raghvendra in the 1985 movie)

Way back in 1988 Rajnikanth has acted in a pivotal role in an Indian-American English language film titled Bloodstone . When asked about this Rajnikanth jokingly dismissed it saying that the producers were looking out for an Indian actor who could fit the role of a taxi driver, and possibly zeroed in on him because he was the only Indian actor who looked exactly like a taxi driver, while most others looked handsome,rich and aristocratic!

(Rajnikanth in the role of an Indian taxi driver in the English language film, Bloodstone. Incidentally Rajni’s son-in-law, actor Dhanush followed in his footsteps and featured in a Hollywood production titled “The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir)

After a string of blockbusters and ascent to the super stardom, Rajni wrote the story and screenplay, acted and produced his own film Baba in 2002 which bombed badly at the box office, leaving most of the Distributors of the film with huge losses. Rajnikanth reportedly made good some part of their losses from his own pocket and thus started this practice in the Tamil film industry for the first time. Though this gave a boost to his image at that time, it backfired later on himself when his films Kochadaiiyaan and Lingaa flopped one after the other in 2014, and the Distributors started clamoring for Rajni to compensate for their losses once again. It was said that Producer -Distributor “Kalaippuli” S. Thanu helped him sort out the issue with the recalcitrant distributors, and Rajni, as a token of his appreciation, acted in Kabali produced by S.Thanu a couple of years later, in which he also successfully tried for an image makeover.

(Rajnikanth in Kabali, in a new “avatar”)

So, these are some of the “lesser known” stories about the Super Star, which are predominantly in the realms of grapevine and gossip, for which one can not find any online sources or citation. But in my opinion, what is the biggest “unknown” fact about Rajnikanth is if at all he would take his plunge into politics as he has been promising for over two decades, and if so, when?

What are some never known facts about Indian cricketers?

Some never known facts about cricketers -

1. Sachin Tendulkar got out for a duck only once in his entire Ranji Trophy career.

And the bowler who dismissed him was the then 19-year-old Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was playing for Uttar Pradesh.

2. After claiming Sachin's wicket, Brad Hogg asked him to sign a photograph of the dismissal. Sachin signed and wrote 'it will never happen again'. And it never did.

3. Sachin Tendulkar played for Pakistan before India. It was an exhibition match between the two countries in 1987 and he came in as a substitute fielder for Pakistan.

4. Sourav Ganguly is the only player to win four consecutive Man-of-the-Match awards in ODIs. He achieved the feat against Pakistan.

5. Ravi Shastri was the first Indian to hit 6 sixes in an over. It was a Ranji Trophy Match between Bombay and Baroda in 1985.

6. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi of India became the youngest ever Test captain at the age of 21. This record was surpassed by 20-year-old Tatenda Taibu in 2004.

7. Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, Saif Ali Khan’s grandfather, is the only cricketer to play Test cricket for both India and England.

8. Indian with most number of T20 international runs is Mithali Raj. She was also the first Indian to reach the 2000-run milestone.

9. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar have been stumped out only once in their Test careers. Both on a delivery from England’s spinner Ashley Giles.

10. Mohammad Azharuddin is the only batsman on the planet to score three centuries in the first three Test matches he played.

Source - http://scoopwhoop. com

Who are the 5 Indian politicians who have the top most world beauties as their wives?

 

Image source— Google

1 Gorgeous wife of congress leader Sachin Pilot, Sara Pilot

Sachin Pilot married Sara Abdullah on 15 January 2004. She is is the daughter of Farooq Abdullah.

Image source— Google

2.Beautiful wife of UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav

Akhilesh Yadav got married to Dimple Yadav on 24 November 1999. She is MP from Kannauj constituency.

Image source— Google

3.Beautiful wife of Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Priyadarshini Raje Scindia

The couple have one son and one daughter.

Image source— Google

4.Gorgeous wife of Sukhbir Singh Badal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal

She is Food Processing minister of India.

Image source— Google

5.Gorgeous wife of congress leader Digvijay Singh, Amrita Rai

Amrita Rai is a journalist.

Image source— Google

6.Gorgeous wife of BJP leader Ravi Rana, Navneet Kaur

Navneet Kaur is actress and MLA.

7.Gorgeous wife of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Amruta Fadnavis

Amruta Fadnavis is Indian banker and famous for his song released on T-Series.

What are some famous kids from the 90s Indian movies/ads doing now?

 

• Sana Saeed

She played the cute little Anjali in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and now she’s the hottest girl in town. She starred in Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year and our jaws dropped when we saw her in a bold avatar. Today, Sana Saeed is a part of the dance based reality show, Nach Baliye with her boyfriend Dipesh Patel.

• ADAM HANN-BYRD

We remember him as: Little Man Tate. He was also in Jumanji, playing the young Robin Williams character.

Hann-Byrd graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 2004 with degrees in psychology and film studies. After being chosen as a fellow in the Warner Bros. TV Writers' Workshop in 2011, Hann-Byrd co-wrote a Slender Man short.

• Malvika Raaj

Remember Pooja a.k.a Poo from Shahrukh Khan and Kajol starrer Khabhi Khushi Khabhi Gham, but its not about Kareena Kapoor but the girl who played younger Poo, who used to teach CHANDU KE CHACHA NE………………….. to rich brats. She is now a successful model and thinking to try her luck in B Town again.

What makes Garib Rath Express the most unique train of Indian Railways?

 Garib rath literally “Poor people’s Chariot” are a series of super fast trains operating since 2006 that were meant to provide cheap “air conditioned” travel for the Travelers who could not afford standard Air conditioned Trains.

I have traveled On the Garib rath Once, And it was because we were break journeying from Sealdah to New Delhi. Needless to say a very good train, but not suitable for me (or my family)

The garib rath being very economical, had to do some changes to make it profitable and that includes some ridiculous engineering.

Enter The Side “Middle” Birth: This train has a side middle birth in AC 3 Tier coaches!!

Above: You”re got to be kidding me!! Am i supposed to sleep in the middle??!!

now, another engineering marvel. The Garib Rath is Fully Air Conditioned, and i can testify that it actually is but the AC is so underpowered, they have something else to cool you

Enter Fan in Fully Air Conditioned Coach!!: This Train uses fans as well as AC to cool the coach since the AC is so bad!!

Notice the Fans?? they work together with the AC!!

Enter the 130 KM/H Speed Limit: The coaches have a Maximum permissible Speed of a whopping 130 KM/H, same as ICF Rajdhani and Shatabdi but it seldom uses it. The fastest Garib rath, The Hazrat Nizamuddin Bandra Terminus Garib rath has a mythical average speed of 81 KM/H and i doubt it as much as my age.

What are some amazing facts about The Indian Railways, that most people don't know?

 Inserting a fact which only a few people know:

Indian railways is running single compartment train from Bobbili to Saluru it is called Rail bus in East Coast railway Zone in visakhapatanam division. Total 3 rail buses are present.

This was inside seating

Drive cabin: in Rail Bus drive cabin at both ends.

Manufactured BY Bharat Earth Movers Ltd

You can see timing of rail bus.

pic credit: Rugada Manikanta (మణికంఠ రుగాడ)

Grammatical Edit: User-11654848706922803741

Some other things

1. Indian railway uses only 2% of power of total generation of power.
2. Electric engine in railway always uses only rare pantograph irrespective direction of moving. Because if they use front one if any damage occurs then damage parts of may damage rare one and we can use rare at that time.
3. The transmission of 25000KV is combination of R Y B terminals. Some part R terminal then Y then B it will repeat through out the line. While changing from one terminal to other they stop power supply of engine for couple of seconds.