taking care of the calligraphy pen reservoir

The calligraphy pen is a simple tool that takes considerable application to master. Some pens come with little added extras which may also take some time getting used to.

Some calligraphy pens come with a detachable reservoir and some are permanently fixed. A calligraphy pen reservoir is a little piece of metal fitted to the calligraphy pen nib that increases the amount of ink it holds. You’ll find that it will give you a more even flow of ink. It will also reduce the frequency with which you will have to recharge your pen while working.

The calligraphy pen reservoir might be a detachable piece that can be removed for refilling or cleaning while other pens come with the reservoir permanently attached. Both have their pluses and minuses, but using them is just a matter of trial and error and becoming accustomed to the new tool.

Although a detachable reservoir gives you an easier pen to clean, you also have the responsibility of reassembling the pen carefully. Allowing the reservoir to protrude from the nib will reduce the quality of the ink flow and your work will suffer.

A top-mounted reservoir can prove to be a distraction for some people because it can obscure the vision to the writing edge. There are options available to over come this, such as the Mitchell Roundhand Series pens which have the reservoir permanently mounted to the holder sitting underneath the nib.

Care must also be taken when recharging the reservoir that is permanently attached to the pen. Turn your pen upside down and, either with a paintbrush that has been dipped in ink or with an eyedropper , add the ink to the widest part of the nib. This will allow the ink to fill the space between the nib and the reservoir. Make sure the upper side of the pen nib is ink-free.
Careful application of ink to the nib and reservoir will ensure you maintain a smooth, even flow when lettering and you reduce the risk of leaving large ink blots around your work surface – your lines will be consistently wide.

To clean the reservoir, slide it off and simply rinse it under running water. Soak the nib in a special solvent (such as Higgins Pen Cleaner) overnight and then take an old toothbrush to it to get it clean. Take the soaking nib the next morning and rinse it in cold running water before drying it thoroughly with a towel.

When buying a calligraphy pen with an attached reservoir make sure that you have a close look at the nib and reservoir settings to ensure that the tip of the reservoir hasn’t been bent away from the nib. The flange of the reservoir should sit lightly on top of the pen with little excess air space visible.

As with all important tools, the more care you take with maintenance of your pen, the longer it will remain in good working order.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was the first movie in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, based on the popular fantasy books written by J.R. R. Tolkein. The movie was a blockbuster hit at both the box office and at the Oscars. The story, in and of itself, is creative, captivating and magical. But even a wonderful story can flop when put onto the big screen. Cinematography, special effects, visual effects and the quality of acting all play an important part in making a story “live” for an audience. Music also plays a vital part in making a movie successful. Music can make us feel that we are in another place and time. It captures our emotions by creating an ambiance of happiness, sadness, tension, fear or excitement. Music helps suspend our disbelief about the fantasy of the story. It helps us identify with distinct characters, places and cultures. The music of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, does all of these things. Through music, composer Howard Shore successfully takes us to Middle Earth.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring takes us to another time and place. Howard Shore’s music tells us that we have left our world before we’ve seen even the first frame of the film. As the screen fades from black into the New Line Cinema icon, we hear music. The music has an Eastern sound, using woodwind instruments from Africa and East India. The sound is quaint and mysterious. It gives us the feeling of being in a far away land and contributes to the suspension of disbelief that helps the audience subconsciously consent to be taken to a place with which they are not familiar.

The mystical music that we hear during the first few moments of the film is soon joined by a voice – the voice of the Elf queen Galadriel, of Lothlorien. This music that we hear is the theme of Lothlorien. Every time that we see or hear of Lothlorien or Galadriel, we hear a version of this theme.

Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, understood the importance of a musical score in a movie. He said, "The music score to any film, obviously, is very important because it guides your emotions when you're watching the film. The actors can do their job, the director can do (his) job in terms of creating a certain mood and emotion, but using music is so strong and evoking of what you should be feeling at any given time."

Jackson continued, "I wanted the music (of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) to reflect Tolkien. I wanted the music to also bring the world of Middle Earth to life."

Howard Shore the composer said, "Tolkien spent fourteen years writing The Lord of the Rings. And now you're writing a musical image, creating a musical mirror, if you will, to his writing. And I mention this so often - even in other discussions - and I feel like Frodo. I did feel like that. Like I have this amazing journey to take, and I had the ring in my vest pocket and 'You were chosen, now you're going to write the music to Lord of the Rings. And, you have to do it."

Peter Jackson added this regarding the huge task that Howard Shore had in composing the music for the The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, "It's doing two jobs at once. It's underscoring the film. It's providing an emotional link - a bridge between the movie and the audience - and it's drawing the audience in. But it's doing it in such a way that it's also telling you a lot about the cultures of this world."

Therefore, every major place, race and character in this movie has a musical theme attached to it. This film has a large number of characters, cultures and races. The distinct races, geography, trees, nature, and the earth itself were a big part of Tolkein’s story. It would have been very easy for the audience to become confused trying to distinguish between the many peoples and places of Middle Earth. Giving each of these elements a musical theme makes them live as individual characters, all contributing to the essence of Middle Earth.

The Shire, for example, is the place where the Hobbits live. The Hobbits are a peaceful people and they live a quiet life. Any sort of adventure is a scandal. They are an agrarian society and live as part of the land. Even their homes are burrows in the ground. Howard Shore uses music to “describe” Hobbits and the Shire to the audience. Their theme is very light and cheerful. A slide flute accompanied by a full orchestra give a Celtic or Irish feel. This accomplishes the feeling of another time, but brings the audience a little closer to home and gives a feeling of comfort. A solo violin carries the melody for a while until the full string section finishes the theme, but whenever the Shire is mentioned or referred to in the movie the score refers us back to the slide flute.

The Fellowship, made up of people and creatures from different races, has its own distinct theme. “As the two Hobbits leave Hobbiton and set out on their own, you hear the first statement of the Fellowship theme in the corn field, because it's essentially the first time that the Fellowship is formed," said Mr. Shore.

When the four Hobbits are on their way to the village of Bree, they are running from the “Nasgul”, or Ring Wraiths. There is very little dialogue during this scene. Our emotions are heightened and we feel the tension of the moment through the musical score. This is accomplished largely through dissonance. Our ears like to hear nice chords. Notes that are close to each other in value sound terrible to us. In the theme of the Ring Wraiths, the chords that clash are used to make us to feel uncomfortable. The movie makers want us to squirm in our seats. They want us to feel fear. The French horns are playing staccato quarter and eighth notes in a building rhythm while the strings are on descending eighth notes that continually clash. Add a men’s choir chanting an Elvish poem and it makes for a very confusing and intense moment.

Then while in the village of Bree, the Hobbits think that they are finally safe. We see images of them sleeping in their beds smiling. The scene then cuts to the Ring Wraiths coming into the village. The dissonant music becomes louder. Cut to the inn keeper’s face in horror as the Wraiths enter his inn. Cut to the peaceful Hobbits in their beds. All the while, dissonant and ancient sounding music is playing loudly. Then silence. As the Wraiths approach the Hobbits in their beds there is silence. This adds to the tension. We hold our breaths. This is a stroke of genius. Knowing when to not have music, or score, is just as important as knowing when to include it.

As soon as the Wraiths discover that they were tricked, however, the angry dissonant Wraith theme returns with a fury to remind us how serious the situation is. Even though the Hobbits are safe for the moment, they will never really be secure or free until they have accomplished their goal. The music reinforces this to the audience, as a version of the Wraith theme plays softer while Frodo watches the Wraiths from across the street from the Inn.

The Ring itself has an interesting theme. The Ring, though an inanimate object, is a character of its own. Its essence is evil and its intent is to deceive and enslave. The theme of the Ring portrays all of that through instrumentation and dissonance. It is appropriate that the main instrument used for the theme of the Ring is the oboe. The oboe is the instrument used to charm a snake out of a basket. It is also often associated with seduction, or allure. The ring certainly personifies that. Frodo, Bilbo, Gollum and many others were seduced, even addicted, to the Ring.

The wizard, Gandalf, goes to visit his superior and mentor, Sauraman, at the tower of Isengard. We believe at first that Sauraman is still a friend to Gandalf.

Once the story reveals that Sauraman has turned to the side of darkness, the musical theme, as well, “tells” us that the tower of Isengard is a place of evil. Howard Shore uses several methods to give that feeling. Dissonance is used to portray a feeling of uneasiness or apprehension.

Also, during the musical theme for the Tower of Isengard, Howard Shore uses an odd way of timing so that we feel off balance. Anytime that we see the tower of Isengard and the forging of weapons, Mr. Shore adds a beat to throw us off and make us feel uncomfortable. We are used to hearing music in common time (or four-four time), with four beats to each measure, and that feels right to us. The industrial sounding theme uses a five-four time which makes us uncomfortable by adding an extra beat to each measure. Also, French horns are used for the main melody, but Howard Shore also relies on the bass drum, tympani and a chime or bell to give the effect of a hammer pounding away down in the depths of the caverns underneath the tower.

Rivendell, a city of the Elves, has a theme of its own. This is a western haven for the Elves. We feel the peace and the beauty of the city, as well as its antiquity, through the music. This is quite different from the theme of Lothlorien. We are made to feel comfortable here at this place.

When the Fellowship leaves Rivendell and sets out on its journey, the theme of the Fellowship is fully revealed. The theme is naturally lyrical, aimed at the brass, but is restrained by a fully mixed and realized string section. The music is heroic and we feel the importance of their quest. We are excited and proud of them for making the decision to destroy the Ring and save Middle Earth.

Later, the Fellowship takes refuge in the Mines of Moria, only to discover that they are trapped inside a Dwarf “tomb”. The theme music of the Mines of Moria features a men’s chorus made up of Polynesian men. Peter Jackson had this to say about the music for the mines of Moria. "We sat around our kitchen table at home talking about the choral arrangement ideas for Moria and I thought it would be really great to weight it fairly heavily toward Polynesian singers. Maury or Pacific Islanders who have again, another worldly quality to their voice."

"Mines being a Dwarven kingdom would really suit having those male voices. A bit like a Welch mining choir. So, Howard found himself in the town hall with an all-Polynesian male choir."

At the bridge of Khaza-Dhum, the Fellowship is chased by the Moria Orcs. The Polynesian men’s choir and the tympani drums heighten the tension and excitement of the scene. The members of the Fellowship cross the bridge, but Gandalf stays behind to fight the Balrog. The music crescendos to an all-time forte until Gandalf falls from the bridge. Then very suddenly, the music goes into a very soft and melodic hum with just a single boy singing, lamenting for Gandalf. Under this beautiful theme, the camera shows a montage of the members of the Fellowship reacting to the loss of Gandalf. We see the characters faces and expressions of grief, but it is the music that makes us feel with them. The music “guides” our emotions and we feel as they do.

Later, when the Fellowship enters the forest of Lothlorien, we again hear the theme that was introduced at the beginning of the movie. There is also a twist of tension and mystery to this theme. As the Fellowship creeps through the forest, we sense through the music that they are wary of being in this land of the Elves. We sense that they fear that they will not be welcome.

In Lothlorien, when Boromir speaks of his home in Gondor, we hear a very brief part of the theme of Gondor, offered by a solo French horn, foreshadowing a people that we have not yet seen. The full theme of Gondor, however, is not revealed until the third part of the trilogy.

Critics of the music in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring say that there is just too much music. This simply is not true. This film was successful largely because of the comprehensive score. The extensive music in this film augments what is happening on the screen and enhances the experience for the audience. At every important moment in this film, the music is there to “guide” the audience emotionally. The music also helpes suspend our disbelief in a world that might otherwise seem ridiculous and surreal.

This film has an extensive number of characters, places, cultures and races. It would have been very easy for the audience to become confused. Howard Shore uses music to help the audience distinguish between the different groups and places by giving them their own distinctive themes.

Through the musical score, we know what to feel. We feel fear when the Hobbits are on their way to Bree. We feel sadness when Gandalf falls. We feel tension when Arwen is trying to get Frodo to Rivendell. We celebrate when the Fellowship sets out on their incredible journey. We understand the emotions of the characters and we feel with them. We become part of Middle Earth. And the musical score of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring helps take us there.

Every tourist who comes to Florence ends up by visiting the square outside the Uffizi Gallery. This is simply explained by the attraction of the wonderful paintings in the Gallery and partly to admire the original architecture of the palace itself, which Giorgio Vasari, commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici, completed in just five years (1560-65). This horse-shoe shaped palace, whose two wings stretch from Palazzo Vecchio to the Arno, that actually creates the square itself; the porticoes on the western side open off into Via Lambertesca, a narrow street that leads right into the heart of the oldest part of the city, the mediaeval area that Vasari partly demolished to make room for his new creation.

In this area, a mafia car-bomb exploded on the night of May 27th 1993, on the corner between Via Lambertesca and Via dei Georgofili, killing five people and causing damage to the artistic heritage of Florence. The explosion damaged the upper rooms of the Uffizi and the ancient house and tower of the Pulci family, from 1932 seat of the historic Academy of the Georgofili, specialized in agricultural studies and conservation of the territory since 1753. The tremendous sight is still in the memory of the rescuers who arrived on the scene after the explosion and this time the small palace of the Georgofili, which had survived so many wars and floods, seemed to have suffered its death blow. One half of its facade had been totally destroyed: the explosion created a huge pit, about ten metres deep, that opened up in the interior, while the entire south wall, which faced onto the Courtyard of the Caldaie, was in danger of collapsing because it had been shifted 10 centimetres by the impact. The attic-flat that had been created at the top of the tower in the early 20th century had crashed to the ground, covering the bodies of the four people who lived in it: the caretaker of the Academy, her husband and their two little daughters, one aged nine and the other only two months. The fifth victim was a student who lived in the house opposite, which was also directly hit by the explosion.

Florence has always replied to barbaric acts such as this by immediately getting on with repairing and rebuilding everything that has been damaged. Once the huge patrimony of books belonging to the Academy (50.000 volumes plus 4.000 essays from the archives of the Georgofili) had been carried away to safety and all the rubble removed, the walls still standing were reinforced and the ones that had been destroyed were reconstructed. Traditional techniques were combined with advanced technological solutions: the roof and bent tiles were made by hand, the corbels and capitals carved by Florentine craftsmen but use was also made of mortar injections, chains, steel plates and bolts. Great care was taken during restoration to ensure that the newly reconstructed areas of the building could be recognized from the original. Therefore a zig-zagging fracture line divides now the floor of the huge Assembly Hall on the first floor, to delimit the area that fell to the ground, and another line on the facade, a vertical one this time, divides the ancient decorated walls from the new. Two large canvases by the painter Bartolomeo Bimbi were irreparably damaged and had to be replaced. This catastrophe, however, led to some unexpected and extraordinary results, like the discovery of seven small rooms, which were once part of the State Archives, later walled up and forgotten and now available for the use of Academy of the Georgofili once more. Above all, it revealed the existence of a well and staircase system that leads up from the cellars to the upper floors and which probably is the last trace of the house that the Florentine land register of 1427 noted as being the property of Jacopo di Francesco de' Pulci and father of Luigi, a friend of Lorenzo Il Magnifico and author of the poem "Morgante". The house and tower still bear the name of the Pulci family even today, in spite of the fact that the building passed to the Gherardini family after 1433.

The well and the staircase that winds around it and reaches the top floor of the Uffizi Gallery are now free of the walls and plaster that once hid them; the grey stone archivolt and steps have been restored in order to form a single and harmonious unit with the various rooms of the Academy. Apart from being an unexpected reward for all those who worked on restoring the building, this discovery is yet another demonstration of Giorgio Vasari's skill in construction, as he managed to incorporate the ancient tower of the Pulci family into the revolutionary architecture of the Uffizi without destroying it.

The initial project included plans to expropriate and demolish at least 43 houses and towers in order to build the new palace of the "Uffici" or offices, but Cosimo de' Medici decided that this would be too expensive in the long run and therefore the most of the buildings were spared though they were eventually incorporated into the new construction. The Tower of the Pulci and the results of this extraordinary restoration work can be visited during the hours in which the Academy of the Georgofili is open to the public and that is from Mondays to Fridays, from 3.00pm to 6.30pm.

The people of India are proud of

The people of India are proud of when their forefathers had established the following concepts and these concepts are still alive and all the people of the world have started believing and following these concepts:
(1)The people of India established concept of God centuries ago.
(2)The people of India accepted that God is one and only one.
(3)The people of India established religious books.
(4)The people of India started reciting these religious books.
(5)The people of India started the concept of prayer before God.
(6)The people of India started concept of 'Bhgati' i.e. devotion to God.
(7)The people of India established the Court of 'dharam Raj' .
(8)The people of India established the concepts of Hell and Heaven.
(9)The people of India established the concept of salvation.
(10)The people of India prepared a list of good conducts and told the people what are sins, crimes and misconducts.
(11)The people of India established the concept of marriage and family.
(12)The people of India established the concept of one wife and one husband.
(13)The people of India established the concept of faithfulness and sincerety between husband and wife.
(14)The people of India established the concept that marriage is not a contract but a sacrament.
(15)The people of India established the joint family system.
(16)The people of India established the institution of teacher and the pupil.
(17)The people of India established the concept of peace and no war.
(18)The people of India established concept of charity and help to the needy.
(19)The people of India four parts of life of man and they had been following these lines and even kings had been vacating their throne in old age.
(20)The people of India never established imperialism.
(21)The people of India established the concept of common wealth.
(22)The people of India established the concept of unity of people in a nation.
(23)The people of India established the concept of service to the mankind.
(24)The people of India established started giving first position to their teacher.
(25)The people of India had been the first to establish superstitions.
(26)The people of India had been the first to write down mythology.
(27)The people of India had been the first to talk of 'uddan khatola' and 'television' when the whole activities in battle of Kurkshetra were seen at a far off place.
(28)The people of India had been the first who utilized war heads in war of Kurkshetra.
(29)The people of India are the first who started forecasting system through calculations.
(30)The people of India are the first who wrote 'Kaam shasstra'.
(31)The people of India are the first who could live for hundred of years.
(32)The people of India are the first who divided the time in 'yuggas'.
(33)The people of India re the first who transplanted head of an elephant on the body of a man.
(34)The people of India are the first who had been utilizing lions and others for driving.
(35)The people of India re the first who located 'sanjeevani booti' .
(36)The people of India are the firsts who wrote four Vedas.
(37)The people of India are the first who visited other planets.
(38)The people of India are the first who invented forecasting the destiny of a man.
(39)The people of India are the first who invented all these drinks like wine.
There could be hundreds of items which could not be listed here where the people of India had been the first. Therefore, the people of India must be proud of their past and past heritage. Their contribution had always been on the higher side and therefore, they are the leaders and that is the reason we are talking that the Sun rises in the east.
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The Miris otherwise known as the Mishings are the second largest ethnic group in Assam. They have been enlisted as a scheduled tribe in the plains of Assam as the Tiwas popularly known as the Lalungs. At present they are mainly living in the riverine places of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Sibasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Golaghat and Sonitpur districts of Assam. Originally, the Miris were a hill tribe but in course of time they came down to the plains of Assam and mixed with the Assamese.

There are the paucity of sources for the reconstruction of the history of the Miris. They have no authentic written records. Their legends which are in vogue in them only speak of the coming down of their first group to the plains of Assam on the eve of the downfall of the Chutiya dynasty.

The Miris consider themselves as the descendants of the sun and the moon. They regard Polo (moon) as their father while Donyi (sun) as their mother. So they always remember them first at the time of any ceremony, business or necessity or need. The Miris are simple-hearted men. They introduce themselves as the Mishings. Their social life is very peaceful and they take delight in songs and festivals and functions. Both the Miri males and females dance and sing for the sake of pleasures.

Of the various festivals observed by the Miris with pomp and grandeur during a year according to traditional pattern mention may be made of “Ali- Ali- Ligang”. An account of this festival is given below.

“Ali-Ai-Ligang” is the most important colourful “Spring Time Festival” of the Miris which is held every year on the first Wednesday of the month of “Ginmur Polo” i.e of the Assamese month of Fagun. This festival is observed to mark the sowing of the seeds. In other words, this festival is observed to appease the mother earth and the fore-fathers of the Miris to mark the sowing of the seeds of the new seeds. The meanings of the words of the term “Ali-Ai-Ligang” mean separately as “Ali” means root, seed, “Ai” or “yai” means fruit, “Ligang” means sow. Hence “Ali-Ai-Ligang” festival means the ceremonial sowing of Paddy which starts on Wednesday.

The Mikirs observe the festival in their village publicity and continue it for five days. “Dancing and singing is the characteristic feather of this festival”. So during these five days the youn boys and girls of each house put on their traditional dresses and dance Gumrag dance using different musical instruments as drum, pipe, flute, cymbal and gong etc. Thus the whole atmosphere is surcharged with the songs of the singers and sounds of their musical instruments on the one hand and dance of the dancers on the other.

The Miris call the dance “Gumrag Pakes cha nam” which is danced in “Ali-Ai-Ligang” festival. The formal dance of the festival starts from the easternmost house of the village and in the end it extends towards the field and the river. The dance party of the festival dances encircling on the courtyard of each of the house of the villagers. However, it may be mentioned that during the festival days “dancing and feasting is held on the courtyard of the villagers and in return the host entertains the “Gumrak” dancers”.

“Ali-Ai-Ligang” festival comes to an end with “Dapan Tipan” i.e. community feast for which a vast arrangement is made. The Miris join the feast gladly and eat “Purang” along with meat and fish. Arrangement is also made for getting “Apong” in the feast.

It is needless to say that the Miris observe “Ali- Ai-Ligang” with pomp and grandeur. In case of the songs the domination of the dances is much in the festival. Basically, the festival is chiefly dance creative.

It may be mentioned that during this festival, specially on the fourth day of the festival, the Miris observe some certain taboos strictly. They are so in respect of cutting trees, catching fish, ploughing in the field, burning jungles and so on. The Miris take full rest on that day and even do not do any work at home.

The songs of “Ali-Ai-Ligang” do not remain confined to she songs of youth alone. Their subject matters or themes are vast and varied. They include the life of a man, his sufferings in life and even his death. Apart from them, the songs describe the matters of individual love and affection including joy and sorrow. In short, the songs of the festival speak of the various experiences of the Miris experienced in their day to day life, or in the life as a whole.

The last day or the concluding day of the festival is called “Lilen”. The Miris connect think of anything parting with such a festival. It is life of the society of the Miris. Above all, it is their tribe’s soul.

Culture is one’s heritage. It is like a necklace. Every civilization have their own culture. Hence, dances and festivals occupying a pivoltal position. The Bohag Bihu is the most important and largest Bihu among the three Bihus of the people of Assam. It begins on the last day of the month of chait and continues up to the sixth day of Bohag, the first month of the Assamese calendar. The Bohag Bihu heralds the Assamese New year. The first day of the Bohag Bihu is observed as ‘Goru Bihu’ or the Bihu for the cow.

The second day of the Bihu is the most important day as it is the actual Bohag Bihu day, because it falls on the first day of the month of Bohag and is observed as Assamese New Year’s day. This day is also called the ‘Manuh Bihu’ or the Bihu for men. In lower Assam that day of the Bihu is called ‘Bar-Domahi’.

In the evening of the Bohag Bihu day the astrologer comes to the village, reads out the ‘Bihu Patrika’ in the Namghar and the people listen to him attentively. Of course, at present this system has nearly come to an end.

People are afraid of natural calamities. They want the New Year to be free from all sorts of dangers and difficulties which bring untold troubles and sufferings to them and their domesticated animals. They pray to God to save them from the said troubles and write the following hymn praying Him on the leaves of the Nahar trees and on the very day of the Bohag Bihu push them into the eaves of the roofs of their houses___

‘Deva deva Mahadeva Nilgriba Jatadhar

Bat bristi harang deva Mahadeva namastute’.

The simple English rendering of the hymn is like this __

‘Oh, God of the gods blue-necked knot-haired Mahadeva I have saluted you. Mar or destroy storm and rain’.

One pecularity of the Bohag Bihu is the offering of the Bihuwan and the wearing of the same. On the Bihu day, people bathe in the morning, wear new clothes and new home—woven red bordered Gamochas (Napkins). The women of Assam weave napkins in the month of chait and on the New Year’s day they present them to their friends and relatives.

It is why, they busy themselves in weaving clothes and as such the sounds of the shuttles of their looms echo and re-echo everywhere. It is sung in the Bihu song__

‘Atikai senehar Mugare mahura

Atikai senehar mako;

Tatokai senehar Bahagar Bihuti

Nepati Kenekai thako?’

The song simply means that the muga silk bobbins as well as the shuttles are very dear to the Assamese women; but dearer still is their Bihu festival of Bohag. Professor Jogesh Das has given a fine English rendering of the said Bihu song in his book “Folklore of Assam” under “Fairs and Festivals” as under__

‘Very dear to me is the muga bobbin,

Very dear is the shuttle;

Dearer still is the Bihu of Bohag,

Could I do without it?’

In short, the Assamese cannot part with neither the silk muga bobbins and the shuttles nor the Bihu of Bohag which they always celebrate with much joy and merriments.

The Rongali Bihu is the another name of the Bohag Bihu. In the proper sense of the term, it is really the Bihu of rong or merriment. It is the Bihu of cheerfulness. It maddens the people with the sounds of drums, flutes and other musical instruments. The “Bihu gits” and “Bongits” echo and re-echo in the plains and hills of Assam. They are “for the most part youthful vibrations and are woven round themes of love and youthful nature.” Principal Hem Barua in his famous book “The Red River & the Blue Hill” mentions a specimen of the same as under__

“I cannot fix my mind in my home, O my love:

I cannot fix my mind in the paddy field:

My mind wants to fly as is the roving cotton.”

The Bihu songs “rouse the softer notes of the young hearts of both the sexes.” The young people become fickle-minded. Their minds are about to fly. Their souls are about to fly. They cannot fix their minds anywhere. In the world of nature also the Bihu songs rouse the waves of lust for creation in the hearts of the birds and animals. The sweetness as well as the intoxication of the Bihu songs makes the earth also fertile for the production of crops.

Another peculiarity of the Bohag Bihu is the singing of the huncharis or hucharis. Young boys and girls dressed in their traditional customs move from house to house in the village to sing huncharis with drums, cymbals and taka; sing Bihu songs and dance Bihu dances, collect gifts and shower blessing in return. Properly speaking, the Bohag Bihu is still the festival of songs and dances.However, the Bihu songs and the Bihu dances and the huncharis of the young people last for a period of seven days. Then they give Bihu a formal send off called Bihu Urua or Bihu Thowa all ceremonially.

The Bohag Bihu festival has now become very significant in Modern Assam. The Bihu songs and dances are now performed on stages in the towns. They are becoming more and more attractive than before. As such, the Bohag Bihu alias the Rongali Bihu is becoming more and more cosmopolitan with its distinctive features.

ORIGINAL TITLE:
The Encampment of the English Forces Near Portsmouth, Together With a View of the English and French Fleets at the Commencement of the Action Between Them on the XIXth of July MDXLV (19th of July 1545)

OTHER NAMES:
The Cowdry Picture
The Cowdry Print
The Last Moments of the Mary Rose

This historic picture was originally painted in 1545 or just afterwards from eye-witness accounts and was destroyed by fire in 1793. It shows the last man standing on the crow's nest of the great Tudor warship Mary Rose the rest of the ship has disappeared as she sinks below the waves of the Solent.

This article describes the importance of the picture and the story of its preservation and re-publication by modern fine art printing technology. In a sense, the story of the picture modestly echoes the story of the modern technology that helped find, recapture and ultimately preserve the Mary Rose warship herself.

The picture measures almost two metres across and a near-full-size reproduction hangs prominently in the Mary Rose Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard to illustrate the context of the Battle of the Solent, the forgotten action in which Mary Rose went down. Sales of the same reproduction print help to raise funds for a new Mary Rose Museum building in which to reunite the inspiring remains of the resurrected warship with the thousands of her crew s Tudor items recovered from the wreck site, from coins and cannon to English longbows.

The warship s English flag is shown still flying as she slides to her death, surrounded by bodies in the centre of the picture, just above Southsea Castle.

The dispositions of the fleets for the sea battle, and of the English army preparing to defend Southsea and the approaches to Portsmouth, are on show here. The boats are correctly shown in the deep-water channels of the Solent. Historians say that everybody important who attended the event is in the picture, and it has been proven to be geographically accurate. No wonder that asking a question about the picture is all you need to get senior museum personnel talking at length on the fateful events of that day.

On the morning of July 19, 1545, simply the biggest invasion fleet ever to reach British shores had sailed around the eastern side of the Isle of Wight, landed troops and burned villages near Bembridge, and massed in the Solent with the intention of capturing the town and naval base of Portsmouth. It is thought up to 40,000 French invasion troops were on board.

The mighty French fleet, augmented by gun galleys on loan from the Vatican, had been sent to teach King Henry VIII's newly Protestant England a lesson and quash Henry's claim to the throne of France once and for all. Henry had previously been protected from the French by his alliance with Spain, friends he lost when he divorced his first wife, the Spanish Catherine of Aragon.

A year earlier, in 1544, Henry had invaded France and laid siege to Boulogne another battle recorded in a matching great panoramic picture (by a different original artist) now also available as a modern reproduction helping the Mary Rose new museum building fund. Also in 1544, Henry commissioned the building of Southsea Castle to protect the sea lanes into Portsmouth Harbour shown in this picture newly opened, just in time to fire on the French invaders.

The invasion fleet was twice as big as the much more famous Spanish Armada defeated by Francis Drake in later Elizabethan times. As the English fleet sailed out to engage the French off Southsea Castle, led by flagships The Great Harry and The Mary Rose, the Battle of the Solent had begun.

Today, the Battle of the Solent is largely forgotten as an inconclusive military stand-off in largely becalmed waters. In practice the English won by virtue of the French being unable to break through to Portsmouth.

But the events which would otherwise remain as just a historical footnote are alive in the memory because of the famous sinking of the Mary Rose, her dramatic rediscovery (in exactly the position where she is shown sinking in the picture) and then her ultimate resurrection in 1982 in front of a worldwide TV audience of tens of millions of people.

The original picture (artist unknown) of c.1545 is a brilliant piece of art. The characters are all full of life and style, drawn with immense detail and character.

Satellite mapping today of the coast of the Isle of Wight matches the coast painted here, even though the picture s aerial view could never have been seen by the artist as there is no hill from which that view can be seen and obviously there were no aircraft of any sort in 1545. Old maps and plans of the town of Portsmouth show the precision of the layout of key buildings in the picture.
The underwater photographer on the project to find and raise the Mary Rose which culminated in her salvage in 1982 was Dr. Dominic Fontana, now Senior Lecturer in Geography at the University of Portsmouth, who has much more about the picture and its accurate geography on his site.

The original picture was commissioned by the Master of the King s Horse, Sir Anthony Browne, seen on the white horse in the dead centre of the picture, directly behind the King (a spectacular piece of political self-aggrandisement available to Browne as the client paying the artist! the Commander-in-Chief of the army, Sir Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, is painted riding alongside Browne, largely obscured but for his mighty beard). Browne had earlier commissioned the panoramic picture of The Siege of Boulogne , in a much simpler, cartoonistic style than that of the artist responsible for this work. Perhaps he learned from the first work that he needed an artist with more sophisticated skills.

These two pictures plus two others depicting the 1544 campaign in France and one from 1547 hung in the dining hall of Browne's home, Cowdry House (a.k.a. Cowdry Castle) in Sussex, which became the seat of the Viscounts Montague when Browne s family was ennobled. The other pictures of the 1544 campaign in France were The Departure from Calais" and "The Camping of The King at Marquison .

A fire destroyed Cowdry House in 1793 and all the historic original pictures went up in smoke. Today the old walls of the Cowdry House ruins still rise to a great height near the international polo fields of what is now called Cowdray Park at Midhurst in West Sussex. After 200 years mouldering away, the ruins were restored and opened again in early 2007.

So how can we have reproductions of the destroyed Battle of the Solent picture? Just five years before the fire, by a stroke of great good luck and brilliant timing, the Society of Antiquaries of London had copied both pictures to preserve as important historical records. In 1788 Browne allowed the society to commission Samuel Hieronymus Grimm to make painstaking copies by hand in obviously masterly fashion. While doing so, Grimm painted his own watercolour and ink pictures of Cowdry House itself. The society then employed a fine engraver, James Basire, to make plates from Grimm s copies; black-and-white prints were then published for the enlightenment of historians and military scholars.

The 1788 prints were very large for prints at that time 1,775mm (nearly 6ft.) wide, by 545mm (nearly 22 inches) high. The engravings had to be printed in two halves on pairs of sheets of paper that were then joined, as 18th Century paper-making technology did not reach to sheets of even 3ft. wide.

Sometime over the centuries from 1788 another artist hand-coloured one of the 1788 prints. This was used to make a reproduction Battle of the Solent 1788 print which in 2007 went on sale on the Internet to support the Mary Rose Museum. So the best available 21st Century high-resolution scanning and computerised fine-art printing technologies have now been employed to capture and faithfully reproduce the fine details of a hand-coloured Basire engraving from Grimm s 1788 hand copy after the 1545 original painting.

The stylishly coloured reproduction looks best on canvas, which lends a suitably old feel to the picture, but is also available on archival paper. Both are printed with UV-resistant, archival pigment inks, in a seven-colour giclée printing process. Surprisingly, the richly detailed old picture looks impressive on the sparse walls of minimalist modern homes.

DONATIONS TO The Mary Rose MUSEUM FUND

The Mary Rose was the pride of the Tudor Navy built by Henry VIII the father of the English navy . After she sank in the Battle of the Solent, she lay on the sea bed off Southsea Castle for 437 years until she became an international icon again when she dramatically rose to the surface again in 1982.

Since then she has been intensively treated and has now been restored from the destructive effects of soaking in sea water for four centuries.

Now a new museum building is needed to reunite the great ship currently inspiringly displayed in an ancient dry dock under a huge hut in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, southern England with the artefacts found alongside her in the mud of the Solent sea bed.

But Britain's Heritage Lottery Fund the relevant funding authority has so far refused to contribute the necessary £13.5m towards the new museum building, which remains in doubt, casting doubt on the future of the ancient warship herself.

To help raise funds towards the £23m. total required, the publishers of the print request interested people to make voluntary donations. They themselves promise 20% of the online price of the Battle of the Solent art print (and an associated spoof Tudor Football reproduction poster) will go to the fund.

Incidentally, there is a free download available of wallpaper for your PC carrying the spoof Tudor Football reproduction poster). When downloading your free computer wallpaper you also have the opportunity to make a voluntary donation to the museum fund online ... you will be helping preserve unique British heritage for your children.

Before the beginning of the 20th Century little had been written about calligraphy except The Story of the Alphabet by Edward Clodd and Maude Thompson's fine work on Greek ana Latin Paleography together with his volume on English Illuminated Manuscripts, published in 1895 and out of print before 1906. But since the time that Edward Johnston published his book on Writing, Lettering and Illuminating a steady stream of works upon all aspects of the subject have been written; probably it was because of the interest aroused by the pioneers in the practical side of the craft that this flow of literature occurred, both here and in the United States.

The following are among the most important. The British Museum published a guide to the collection of manuscripts they had in 1906. About the same time John W. Bradley was publishing illustrated books on illuminating, its history and development. During 1907 the British Museum published Reproductions of Illuminated MSS., a series of fifty collotype plates. In 1920 W. A. Mason published in New York a work of considerable scholarship dealing with the subject of picture writing in the Americas together with the growth of letter-form in Egypt, Phoenicia, Babylon, Assyria, Crete, Greece and Rome, a book of great interest to all who wish to study the formation of alphabets.

With the development of photography and process reproduction the range of examples showing epigraphy and paleography has increased to a degree unthought of during the early days of the century. During 1932 B. L. Ullnan of the University of Chicago published Ancient Writing and Its Influence, which brings the history of the alphabet more up to date and includes some observations on the Sinai stones, which may eventually help to solve <