Zurkhaneh

‘The House of Strength’ Before western influence, ancient Iranians participated in numerous sporting events, much like the Greeks and their Olympics. Iranians though prided themselves in a type of wrestling called â€Å"Koshti Pahlavani† or â€Å"Heroic Wrestling†, where they would do graceful but powerful moves to pin their opponents. In order to train for events such as this, they developed a place to go to gain the strength, power, and endurance necessary to master their event. This place was known as the â€Å"Zurkhaneh† or â€Å"House of Strength†.The Zurkhaneh was originally a place to train and get closer to God, through weight training, because strength was seen as something godly. The Zurkhaneh housed the one true Iranian way of weight training, â€Å"Varzesh-e-Pahlavni† or â€Å"The Workout of Heroes†. This workout was a 60-90 minute routine of different lifts and exercises all in alignment to the beat of drums and bell s. Now although there are many technical parts to the Zurkhaneh, like who leads it and different levels and rankings (much like those of Karate and Tae Kwon Do), I am going to focus specifically on the weight training aspect of the Varzesh.These exercises include the warm-ups, â€Å"Takhteh-Shena†, â€Å"Narmesh† (aka Calisthenics), â€Å"Meel† exercises, â€Å"Charkhidan†, â€Å"Pazadan†, â€Å"Kabbadeh Keshidan†, â€Å"Sang† exercises, and â€Å"Shelang-Takhteh†. Each part of the full exercise fully works different parts of the person’s body. In the 90 minute period, the people in the Zurkhaneh start by warming up. They do callisthenic exercises like jumping on one foot and slow walking to achieve a dynamic stretch. They use the dynamic stretch as a way to prepare for the rigorous exercise they have ahead of them. Right after this warm-up, the people start doing pushups with the â€Å"Takhteh-Shena†.The â€Å"T akhteh-Shena† is a wooden plank that elevates you a little bit so that you do incline push-ups instead of flat push-ups. There are a few types of push-ups that they do including a regular push-up with the hip raised, a push-up with the legs spread wide-apart, and push-ups with a twist. These push-ups deliver a good chest and bicep workout, testing endurance as well as flexibility. Once they finish these push-up exercises, they do another round of calisthenics to further stretch their muscles for what is ahead. The next exercise in the lineup is the â€Å"Meel Greiftan† or â€Å"Club Exercises.The â€Å"Meel† is a giant club weighing 10-30 kg (or 22-66 lbs) that is used in a few more exercises. This is the most physically demanding of the exercises because of the sheer weight of the clubs. This workout works power as well as strength, making it a great beginning to a workout. What the people do with these clubs first is put their hands around the handle and then twist the club around their shoulders in a continuous circular motion. This full motion gives an upper body workout, primarily to the triceps, and shoulders (with some bicep workout).Immediately succeeding this exercise is the exercise of juggling these clubs. The lifters throw the clubs in the air and juggle them. They do use smaller weights, and only a specific specialized group of them will do this activity. It is a break for them. The juggling does test hand-eye coordination but also uses biceps and triceps but isn’t as draining as the spinning of the clubs. Once this is completed they move on to the endurance part of their exercise. The â€Å"Charkhidan† is a rotating or spinning dance that they do in the Zurkhaneh. This dance is a constant spin that gets progressively faster.The person is supposed to reach their max speed before the end of the dance. This spinning increases their balance and agility. The more skillful spinners lose complete dizziness and can spin for a lengthy period of time. The time and speed are crucial in this exercise because if the person doesn’t go for a lengthy time and high speed, they won’t work endurance. Endurance is the main reason for this exercise. Following this dance is a set of footwork drills. These set as another break in the workout, with continuing movement being the main motivation. The footwork drills really are what we call warm-ups.They jump on one foot or two feet while moving their arms in different directions. This constant stretching helps the muscles tear and repair faster so that the person will not feel as much pain after the exercise. Now mind you, all of these exercises were meant to train warriors. The next few exercises were aimed towards ancient Persian warriors. The next part of the routine is the pulling of â€Å"Kabbadeh† or iron bow. This bow varies from 10-50kg (22-110 lbs) based on how many weights the bow has on the metallic chain. It is a very difficult exer cise and is only done by those who are masters at it.What you do with the bow is you put it at arm length away from your body, and you shake it violently in a 360 degree motion around your head. You do this until you cannot do it anymore. As you can see, this becomes extremely tiring, working the triceps, chest and shoulders heavily. This trains power and endurance because you are using high weights at a high velocity of shaking while doing it for a long period of time. This exercise is meant to be done in minutes not seconds. To also help balance, some athletes spin in a circle while shaking the bow. What I feel is the most demanding upper body exercises is one of the last ones.This is a unilateral push of shields or â€Å"sang†. These wooden shields are about 20kg a piece, totaling to a 90 lbs. press. Each arm extends with the shield in hand while doing what is widely known as a Russian twist. The athlete may not let the two shields touch and the shields may not touch the g round until they do the minimum of 50 double rotations. This is seen as a major disrespect to the gym. It is clear already that this exercise works endurance and not so much power because there are so many repetitions. The person (with their legs elevated 6 inches above ground) twists their body while simultaneously pushing the latter shield upwards.This unilateral push works out the chest and triceps while the elevated legs work the core. As you can see, this, along with other Iranian exercises stretches the body while simultaneously working the upper body. Another way of lifting them is straight up, just like a dumbbell unilateral bench press, but that is used more with the novices. Immediately following this is a round of â€Å"Koshti† or wrestling. The people in the Zurkhaneh are very tired and must use the rest of their body in the wrestling match, seeing as their upper body is completely worked.This leads into the final exercise. The last exercise, which is part of the warm down, is a walk that gradually increases to a run and finally to a sprint around the room. In no part of this training session do they do a static stretch. This shows how even in the ancient times, they knew that stretching and warming down with movement was beneficial to muscle repair. After the run, the athletes proceed to do jumping activities and sprints. The most enjoyable part of this exercise is at the end where the athletes get in a circle and massage each other down.They tend to focus on the upper body, seeing as most of the workout was aimed towards upper body performance. This massaging helps reduce muscle pain after the training session and in the morning. The training in these â€Å"Houses of Strength† show that there were ancient ways of weight training and that even without modern science, the ideals of strength and fitness remained the same. The Iranian heroic training stresses upper body lifting as well as the importance of core exercises. A heavy traini ng of balance, endurance, and the triceps is used because in wrestling and battle they are essential to victory.Overall this weight training technique is effective because of its effect on the toning and conditioning of humans and their muscles. The â€Å"Varzesh-e-Pahlavani† is a pioneer of modern weight training. Works Cited www. pahlavani. com/ www. zurkhaneh. com Koozehchian, Hashem & Izadi, Behzad, Zoorkhaneh: The Iranian Traditional Gymnasium Amirtash, Ali-Mohamad, Zoorkhaneh and Varzesh-E-Bastani, Video Reference http://resistancetraining. wordpress. com/2006/11/19/traditional-iranian-martial-arts-varzesh-e-pahlavani/

Lab report for synthesis of polystyrene Essay Example

Lab report for synthesis of polystyrene Essay Example Lab report for synthesis of polystyrene Paper Lab report for synthesis of polystyrene Paper 6-hexadecimal, Noah(s), 5% sebaceous chloride in hexane, glacial acetic acid, concentrated HOSES, cotton balls, acetic anhydride, CHICHI Procedure: For the synthesis of polystyrene, 10 ml styrene and 20 ml of 1 M Noah solution was placed in separators funnel and they were shaded for several times. Aqueous layer was discarded. The styrene layer was washed with water and dried with Cacao(s). The styrene was placed in 100 ml flask and 25 ml xylem and 7-8 drops of the t-butyl probationer was added. The reaction mixture was refluxed for 30 minutes. The solution was cooled to room temperature. Half of the mixture was poured into a beaker with 100 ml methanol. The white precipitate was collected using suction filtration and dried. A small amount of remaining polystyrene solution was poured onto a watch glass to observe the film. For the synthesis of nylon 6, 10, 10 ml of a 5% was laced in a 50 ml beaker. One pellet Noah was added with swirling to dissolve. 10 ml of 5% sebaceous chloride in hexane was added carefully to the beaker. The interface (Nylon 6,1 0) was pulled out between organic and aqueous layer with a bent spatula. The layers were then stirred vigorously to obtain a ball of nylon and dried. For the synthesis of cellulose, 5 ml of glacial acetic acid, 1 drop of con. HOSES and 1 Goff cotton balls was added was added in a stopped conical flask maintained at 70-ICC water bath for 20 minutes. Acetic anhydride (5 ml) as then added to the re-stopper flask and was placed in water bath with occasionally stirring for 20 min. 15 drops water was added to the flask and the unstopped flask was placed in water bath for 5 min. 50 ml water was added to the solution. Cellulose triplicate was collected by suction filtration which was washed with water. 18 ml CHICHI and 2 ml methanol were mixed and heated to a boil. Cellulose triplicate was added to obtain saturated solution and the beaker was removed from heat. Some anhydrous Nassau was added. The solution was filtered onto a water glass producing a film from the surface. Result and Discussion: For part A (synthesis of polystyrene), two layers were observed when styrene and Noah(aqua) were added to a separators funnel for extraction. The upper layer was yellow and lower layer was colorless. Same result was observed when washing with water. During the reflux, solution was changed from pale yellow to colorless. After reflux, a big white precipitate was formed when methanol was added. The product was adhered on the surface of filter paper during suction filtration. From the watch glass, a colorless film of polystyrene was observed. For part B (synthesis of Nylon 6, 10), when sebaceous chloride was added to Noah in 1, 6-hexadecimal, two layers was generated with little gas. Little heat was also produced. The interface between organic layer and aqueous layer was milky. The nylon 6, 10 was white strands. For part C (synthesis of cellulose triplicate), after acetic anhydride was added to the mixture and warmed by water bath for 20 miss, the cotton balls were dissolved to orange-brown solution. The white precipitates were produced after 1 5 drops of water for hydrolysis were added. After adding about 50 ml of water, he white-grey cellulose triplicate precipitates were generated. After cellulose triplicate was added to the mixture of CHICHI and methanol, the solution changed from colorless to pale brown. After some anhydrous Nassau were added, the solution became like glue. The white film was produced from the surface when the solution was filtered. In part A (polystyrene), Noah was added to remove inhibitor from styrene in order to undergo radical mechanism. It is because in order to prevent the styrene from popularizing during storage, the chemical 4-tablecloths is added nice it is a radical inhibitor (also known as a good chain terminator). Some inhibitors may be polar which can be dissolved in Noah. Water was then added to remove excess Noah in the solution. Xylem was added as a solvent to dissolve polystyrene as both of them are organic. But the polystyrene cannot be dissolved in methanol so after that some methanol was added during experiment, the white polystyrene was precipitated out. The colorless clear film adhered on the filter paper appeared because popularization occurs causing the solution to thicken and the viscosity to increase. Synthesis of polystyrene: The formation of radical initiator: Overall: Styrene polystyrene t-butyl probationer acts as radical initiator because it contains -0-0- group which is very unstable and reactive. Polystyrene was formed a large molecules (styrene) composed of repeating structural units. Synthesis of Nylon 6, 10: The synthetic polymers are classified by their method of synthesis. The synthetic method of polystyrene is chain-growth whereas that of nylon is step-growth. When mixing Noah and sebaceous chloride, two layers were formed. During the axing, the heat was produced. The formation of heat is due to the formation of amide bond, which is exothermic. The nylon 6, 10 was formed in the interface which was milky. Because of the way polypeptides are formed, nylon would seem to be limited to unbranded, straight chains. The nylon 6,10 can form H-bond due to amide group so the textile is very tough. Cellulose triplicate, also known simply as triplicate, CAT and TACT, is manufactured from cellulose and a source of acetate esters, typically acetic anhydride. The triplicate is derived from cellulose which come from the starting trial, cotton balls in this experiment, via activation mechanism. The cellulose acetate is dissolved in a mixture of deceleration and methanol for spinning. Cellulose is mainly obtained from wood pulp and cotton. For the process of generation of cellulose triplicate, the glacial acetic acid and con. HOSES were used to provide acidic medium for the action of acetic anhydride. When adding acetic anhydride, the cotton balls were dissolved into brown glue solution. It is because activation occurred.

Useful Hacks for Improving Your Life

Useful Hacks for Improving Your Life How to Stay Alert and Energetic for The Rest of Your Life? To have a constant supply of energy and feel a rush of power is not nonsense, and not a miracle, but a real or even normal state for a person. Anyone can achieve anything if they manage to overcome laziness and push away the potential obstacles to its productivity. By the way, productivity directly depends on the energy reserve of a person. And productivity, as we know, is almost the most important for each of us, and thanks to it we learn, work, achieve goals and conquer peaks. The problem is that each new day we notice is an increase in inactivity and indifference among people. Well, if the growing egoism in people because of the development of technology can still be forgiven, then indifference to one's own health is already frightening and even pissing. People are stuck in the comfort zone and are ready to sit in one position for the rest of their days. And how can those people believe that a constant surge of wakefulness exists? In this article, we try to inform that you constantly saving and accumulating energy is possible when following several simple rules. If you want to boost your energy level, then the provided information is for you. I Want to Become More Energetic: What Have I Do? The first and most important question that you must ask yourself: what am I doing all day? Perhaps, at first it will be difficult for you to get an answer, but in the course of self-examination you will understand that very often your time is simply wasted on unnecessary things, and by itself, the energy is also exhausted. So, you can determine what kind of person you are. There is one very interesting typology, according to which there are a jelly-filled human and a human hacker. Let’s review them both and maybe you'll learn if you belong to any of these categories. 1. A jelly-fish human is someone who usually refuses any physical activity, though understands its value and benefit. Jelly-fish humans have little energy, are afraid of changes, unpredictable situations, and risks. This results in disorders, illnesses such as a heart disease, obesity, dementia, or depression. 2. A hacker is a person who is constantly improving his or her life by taking challenges, searching adventures and gaining vital experience. Hackers have a sufficient amount of energy and generally a better health condition. Analyze your lifestyle, the level of physical and mental activity, potential sources of stress, and determine which category you belong to. Be honest with yourself, because your health and life depend on it. Valuable Tips for Boosting Energy 1. Exercise. The most helpful tip here is to exercise every day. Despite boosting energy and improving metabolism, this will help raise your mood and increase productivity for the whole day ahead. If you practice exercising at least 30 minutes a day, you will soon become a healthier person. 2. Run. Running is one of the most beneficial physical activities. It helps with blood circulating, losing weight, and recovery of nerve cells. 3. Sleep a lot. Sleep is a condition in which the brain actively works, helping the body to restore strength and energy spent for the day. So, in order to be active and stay awake for long - sleep at least 7-8 hours a day. 4. Improve your posture. Watch your posture and constantly improve it to avoid problems with the spine and nervous system. Believe me, good posture is the way to perfect health. 5. Drink more water. Water is necessary for every living organism to support its vital functions. Drinking enough water means giving your body a clear energy to perform any tasks. 6. Stand while working. A sedentary lifestyle, as well as a sedentary posture at work, negatively affects your physical and mental health. Therefore, try to stand while you work or so some exercises. 7. Stop worrying. Each of us has lots of problems that make us worry or panic. If you continue worrying about anything, you will lose energy faster and want to sleep. Practice meditation and a positive thinking. 8. Use smart drugs and vitamins. The last ways to boost energy are the so-called â€Å"smart drugs† and vitamins. Such supplements like Aniracetam and Piracetam help enhance memory, working performance and activity, and vitamin B-12 are great for getting an immediate energy boost and improve cognitive functions.

Child Labour Result Of Globalization Research Paper

Child Labour Result Of Globalization - Research Paper Example Child labor leads to violation of natural right of human beings, is unethical, increases poverty, damages the image of a nation and organization and causes health issues for children. Child labor is promoted because of its short term benefits including, decrease in poverty, increase and increase in economic development. This paper will discuss the impact of globalization on child labor, the consequences associated with it and the arguments in the favor of child labor along with a conclusion. Globalization Promotes Child Labor Introduction International labor organization defines child labor as tasks that are denying children with the right to have a childhood and tasks that are not good for the mental and physical health of the children (International Labor Organization (a), 2013). Globalization leads to increase in exchange of goods, services and ideas between different countries (Ritzer, 2012). Cigno states that increase in globalization has resulted in heavy debate over whether gl obalization is increasing or decreasing the incidences of child labor (Cigno, 2002). Those in the favor of globalization believe that globalization leads to decrease in child labor. ... They state that if parents perceive that the return of education is lower than the return gained through their child’s labor, they tend to send their children for work. Globalization leads to increase in incidences of child labor and child labor should not be practiced because it deprives children from deciding what is good and bad for them, it promotes poverty and intervenes in the cognitive and physical development of children, children are made to work in hazardous conditions, child labor is unethical and destroys the image of the nation that is practicing it. Body Globalization as a Cause of Child Labor Globalization has been held responsible for increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. World Bank states that the per capita income throughout the world of developed nations was 120 times higher than the poor nations during 1990 and this gap increased by 2 times within a period of 9 years (Raghavan, 2002). Since globalization leads to increase in the level of inequal ity as well as poverty, it even results in increased usage of child labor. According to the Government of India, a huge portion of the work that was paid and conducted outside the households have shifted to work that is being conducted within the households. Due to this, several activities such as making of carpets, matches and glass are conducted within the household and heavy populations of children are involved in this work. According to Kailash Satyarthi as the profits obtained from the international market rises, the use of child labor even increases and this is why there has been a tremendous amount of increase in the number of children working in industries that are export oriented in

How are we best to describe the actions of a serial killer Essay

How are we best to describe the actions of a serial killer - Essay Example Criminologist Eric Hickey’s database research on the demographics of serial killing highlights that 88% are male and 85% Caucasian and average age of 28.5 (E, Hickey. 2006). In terms of victim selection, Hickey’s empirical research further demonstrates that 62% target strangers exclusively and another 22% kill at least one stranger (E, Hickey. 2006). Additionally, 71% of the killers operated in a specifically targeted location or area, rather operating in multiple locations. Moreover, Wilson further refers to the â€Å"cooling off period† and patterns of similarity in the method of killing (D, Wilson. 2001). Reference is made to serial killer Wayne Gacy who would gag victims with their own underwear in order that they would die in their own vomit (J. Silverman, D. Wilson, 2002). Notwithstanding criminological observations regarding parallel trends in serial killer behaviour, scientific findings regarding physiological causal factors remain inconclusive to describe the motivations behind the actions of a serial killer (Vronsky 2004). Indeed, the attempts of social science, biological and criminological theory to explain differences between male and female violence in context of serial killers further highlights the flawed attempt to propound a conclusive and all encompassing rationale to explain the actions of serial killers (Vronsky 2004).

The Joy Luck Club Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Joy Luck Club - Research Paper Example According to him, the ‘matrilineal’ connection between the mother and daughter has not only been portrayed through the stories, but the direction of photography and the visuals scenes are very well organized. Each of the stories have been interlinked very beautifully which makes this movie all the more popular among the viewers. The director chose the actors very carefully because they needed to play the roles and get into the shoes of the characters in order to play their part properly (Li). The second article was published by John Mullan, who described the narration of the movie in a very interesting way and how the mothers played the most important role in the movie. According to Mullan, the story has been divided into two parts. The first and the last parts are essentially the stories of the four mothers and how they met each other frequently over a card game. The second and third parts in the film depict the lives of the daughters and how they describe their ‘silently soup eating father’ who watch the game of their mothers. Interestingly, the movie has concentrated upon the lives of the women, but no importance has been given to the men of the society (Mullan). The third article was published on a website called Turner Classic Movies (www.tcm.com) where more importance was given in understanding how the movie was prepared with the help of the earlier published book. According to the website, the project was initially rejected, but as the book started becoming popular and was later translated into 23 languages worldwide after being in the NewYork best seller weeks for 75 weeks, there were second thoughts about directing the movie. After the popularity of the movie, the Oscar winning director, Ronald Bass also helped Wayne Wang (director) and Amy Tan (author) in writing the screenplay of the movie (Passafiume). The last article in this research study is more like a movie review of the

Stages of Policy Making: Immigration Policy

Stages of Policy Making: Immigration Policy Five Stages of Policy-Making Process An on-going policy issue that is at the forefront of diverse opinions in Congress is the Immigration Policy issue. Immigration influx began during the Second World War, which led to the need of having policies to regulate the influx. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act set the guiding principles of immigration in the United States. The five stages of the Immigration Policymaking are explained below (Migration Information Source, 2013). Identify Policy Objective According to McCabe (2010), the major issue that has led to the need for immigration policies is the illegal immigration and large influx of immigrants from Mexico in search for better wages. Illegal immigrants enter US using fraudulent documents, overstaying visa durations and illegally crossing land borders. Illegal immigration continues to date due to the economic upward growth in the agricultural and construction sector that demands for semi-skilled labour. Secondly, the issue of terrorism is largely affected by immigration. The 9/11 attack led to the formation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003. They have the mandate of overseeing entry of people and goods at entry points, enforcing the customs and immigration requirements in the USA. Additionally, the DHS adjudicates the immigration benefits applications like visa, asylum and naturalization (Migration Information Source, 2013). America is also the leading countries of refugees, providing the protection for political and religious victims. They provide refugee resettlement and asylum which has been a conflicting issue in the Immigration Bill (McCabe, 2010). Policy Formation Russell (2012) indicates that the most convenient way of immigrating is employment-based and family-based channels. Family-based immigration has no numerical restrictions, but there must be sponsoring of a relative for approval. Employment-based immigrations are aimed to uphold the nation’s economic demands. It is limited to 140,000 visas annually. Employment-based green cards are available for workers, mainly sponsored by their employers. Secondly, many immigrants are legalised through the method of the diversity visa lottery. The numbers of people who are naturalized are restricted by per country limits and numerical ceilings. According to the Immigration Bill, refugees are granted all humanitarian help in a foreign country and are resettled in the US. The Congress and the president set the refugee admission ceiling yearly. Noncitizens residing in the US for studies, work or tourism, are eligible for the non-immigrant status. This status has restrictive terms and conditions related to duration of stay. The majority of non-immigrants are tourists and students. The increase in student visas has been led by a rise in students from China (Russell, 2012). Adopting The Best Solution Notably, the Obama administration enacted the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012 (Russell, 2012). The program protected young illegal immigrants from being deported and forced to work. However, this program applied only to those who came to USA as children, received education, and pose no threat to security. Policies such as the Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and No Child Left Behind Act were enacted to safeguard the interests of the immigrants and their smoother integration (Russell, 2012). The Congress is continuing in ensuring the rights of immigrants are upheld because of the immense effect the immigrants have on elections. The Latino voting population was 12 million, which consisted of ten Percent of the total voting population. The Democrats and Republicans are pushing for immigration reforms so as to win the allegiance of minority groups (Migration Information Source, 2013). Implementing Immigration, integration is one aspect of immigration policies that is highly underfunded and only target small groups. Hospitals, churches, schools and other groups have taken center stage to initiate the integration of immigrants through English classes, health clinics and training of the immigrants. The government is ensuring illegal immigration reduces through enforcing stricter measures in visa screening, border patrol, employment enforcement. Also, there are removal and deportation of criminals who have violated immigration regulations. Additionally, these measures are focused mainly on the US-Mexican Border. The government has invested billions in infrastructure, technology and personnel for the Border Patrol (Russell, 2012). Evaluating Policy Directives The refugee admission number is flexible and is subject to review annually by the president and the Congress. The Federal government is sensitive to changing political and religious situations in other countries and seek to enhance democracy to all people. Programs such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are an indication of the measures taken by the Federal government in evaluating the rights and restrictions of immigrants (Migration Information Source, 2013). References Infoplease (2005). Marbury v. Madison case. Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/us/supreme-court/cases/ar20.html. Migration Information Source. (2013) Immigration in the United States: New Economic, Social, Political Landscapes with Legislative Reform on the Horizon. Retrieved from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigration-united-states-new-economic-social-political-landscapes-legislative-reform Burt, L. Batalova, J. ( 2014).Refugees and Asylees in the United States.Retrieved from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/refugees-and-asylees-united-states This Day in History. (2009). Marbury V. Madison Establishes Judicial Review. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/marbury-v-madison-establishes- judicial-review Banning of the Festival of Basant: The Debate Banning of the Festival of Basant: The Debate â€Å"Depriving us from celebrating Basant is tantamount to depriving us of our fundamental rights,† Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer said. The festival of Basant was banned in Pakistan in 2005. Apart from the fact that the ban itself was not fully justified, it not only meant the loss of revenue from the tourism sector but also of discarding of our centuries old tradition. Culture is what defines us in this age and Basant is part of our culture; hence banning Basant just because the State is incapable of controlling its adverse effects is unjustifiable. Most importantly, the imposition of ban itself is not fully justified as the decision to ban Basant was not neutral and was influenced to serve the purpose of our politicians. â€Å"The current ban on Basant, the world famous kite-flying festival of Lahore, appears to be more an outcome of political tussle between two political forces of the country than anything else (Qadeer 7).† The ban on Basant is not an outcome of pure decision making based on its pros and cons; instead the decision is politically influenced. Basant marks the arrival of spring and is a symbol of joy and happiness. It is an integral part of our culture, heritage and lifestyle and nobody has the right to rob us from it. Basant is deeply rooted in peoples psyche and lifestyle. Majority of the public is not only against the ban on Basant but is offended by this government decision. Mian Ejaz, acting district coordination officer during the DCOs absence said, â€Å"Basant should not be banned because it attracts people from all over the world and is a cultural event.† He lamented about grave problems caused by Basant but also said that the public was unwilling to support such a ban (Ali 7). Basant has been in our tradition from a long time and has become a custom and very important part of our lives. But there are some people, particularly those with strong religious assocaition, who raise the point that Basant being a Hindu festival should be banned. Actually this is not the case; these are just illogical accusations made by these people to show their importance in the community. The Hindu festival which these people refer to is ‘Vasant Panchami which is also called Basant.   According to the article ‘Tracing the Origin of Basant, written by Dr. Shaukat Mahmood, Vasant Panchami is a Hindu festival which is about celebrating the glory of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music and art. In India particularly in Indian Bengal, during this festival children are taught to write their first words; Brahmins are fed; ancestors worship is performed; the god of love Kamadeva is worshipped. The festival Hindus celebrate is limited to worshipping, wearing same color clothes and relatives gathering at one place. There is no sign of kite flying in their festival which clearly shows that our tradition is different from theirs. Basant is one of the biggest festivals in the country and is also recognized world wide. It is a sport which mainly exists in Pakistan but is well known to the rest of the world. It is a colorful festival consisting not only of kite flying but also of music, dancing and dinners. People gather together to enjoy and celebrate the arrival of spring. Yasir Qadeer states that, â€Å"It attracts tourists, not just locally but from all over the world (7).†Because of the uniqueness of Basant, people from around the world visits Pakistan to participate in the most awaited event. According to Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab, the Basant Kite Festival held in Lahore has become such a major tourist attraction that people flock from countries worldwide to participate in this unique occasion. The increase in tourism due to Basant in turn boosts the economy of Pakistan and improves the standard of living. Another reason why Basant should not be banned is the amount of revenue generated from it is enormous. There are several ways in which revenue is generated during the Basant. Thousands of people travel and visits Pakistan to join in the festival. The revenue generated from the rental of accommodation facilities significantly increases during Basant festival because of the increased tourists. Revenue generation during Basant is not only limited to kite flying activities . During the festival a lot of events take place such as musical events and also the food streets are jammed packed with people. â€Å"The intense economic activity that went with Basant (trade, travel, hotel, tourism, shopping, etc.) was touching the $ 250 million mark — not bad, for a week-long celebration. To top it off various other quality festivals started around the Basant bonanza (notably the music conference and the international drama and puppet festival) (Mirza 3).† However, there is some opposition and criticism about the Basant being not profitable, rather resulting in losses due to damages done to the electric wires and poles. According to Ali Pervaiz, a newspaper reporter, â€Å"Basant also faced opposition from Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and itsdistribution companiesmainly the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) and GujranwalaElectric Power Company(GEPCO) as kite flying also resulted in frequent power tripping besides damaging the sensitive installations of WAPDA and its companies.† The main cause of this power failure is the use of metallic or chemical-coated string. These strings, when come in contact with electric wire, cause the wire to tear which result in power tripping. But this is a problem which can be easily resolved. By introducing and properly implementing a law which imposes a ban on the use of such types of strings can result in overcoming the power failure issue and countering the claims made by t hese companies. Kite flying business is a very large one. The industry related to it is massive with a very large market. About a week or two before the Basant, shopkeepers start to make preparations for selling kites and twine. Huge numbers of shops are set up and people invest millions of rupees in the trade. Many people are employed in the factories in which kites and twine are manufactured. â€Å"String and kite makers are working overtime on roadsides and in small factories in places like Shahdara, Murdike, Baghbanpura, Ichhra and Shadbagh. Kite making has become a sort of cottage industry involving even women and children the year round (Hanif 6).† So banning Basant, would lead to loss of employment for thousand of workers hence worsening their financial condition. For example, during the Basant the owners of the previously abandoned and dilapidated houses in Gowalmandis food street become rich overnight as many multi-national companies hustle to rent their rooftops for the occasion. Th e ban on Basant would affect them along with other in the kite flying business very roughly. The main incidents that lead to the ban on Basant were the use of the metallic and chemical-coated twine. Basant was officially banned in 2005 when a great deal of people in various cities including Rawalpindi lost their lives due to metallic or chemical-coated string that cuts instantly through the flesh like a sharp-edged weapon. Main issue regarding the ban was the damages that these razor-sharp strings caused. Many people lost their lives and many were severely injured when they came in contact with this twine while walking on roads or travelling on motorcycles. But banning is not the solution. Government should restrict the use of these types of strings. Also during these two days of kite flying, government should set a curfew on the people walking and driving motorcycles because most of the accidents happen to them. The government should alternatively provide free public bus transport during these days to accommodate those who want to travel. In conclusion, Basant should not be banned as it creates revenue for a country and is most importantly a part of our culture. To ban Basant is just like erasing an integral part of our culture which is unacceptable. Yes, there have been many unfortunate incidents in the recent past but banning Basant because of them is not the solution. For example, no government has banned flying of aircraft because some planes have crashed in the history. They rather focused on making flying a safer experience.Likewise, the government should focus on making this festival safer by reducing losses incurred to life and property to the minimum. Designated grounds should be prepared for flying kites and citizens who wish to participate in the activity should be facilitated to do so in safety in these designated areas. â€Å"Banning a festival which was like the smile of a child in spirit is too harsh a step——akin to rendering the city soulless† (Qadeer 7). Work Cited Qadeer, Yasir. Holi In Sky.Nation5 Mar. 2010. Print. Ali, Aayan. Ban on Basant Should There Be One or Not.Daily times11 Dec. 2004. Print. Mahmood, Shaukat. Tracing the Origin of Basant.The Nation Sunday Plus6 Mar. 2010. Print. Mirza, Nasir Abbas. Reasons behind the Basant Ban.Daily times31 Mar. 2010. Print. Hanif, Intikhab. Prepare for Basant, Come What May.Dawn5 Feb. 2002. Print.