Month: August 2023
Air India unveils new brand identity, symbolising ‘Window of Possibilities’
Air India undergoes a makeover. The new aircraft livery and design features a palette of deep red, aubergine, and gold highlights as well as a chakra-inspired pattern.
In its release, India’s oldest airline said that its new symbol, ‘The Vista’ takes its inspiration from the peak of the gold window frame and stands for limitless possibilities, progress, and the airline’s bold, confident outlook for the future.
Air India was fully acquired by Tata Sons in January 2022. The task of its rebranding went to McCann Workgroup India and the brand design was carried out by Futurebrands.
KnowALLedge Plus:
>Even after the rebranding, Air India will continue using its iconic ‘Maharaja’.
>The much-celebrated mascot originated in 1946, when Bobby Kooka, Air India’s Commercial Director, and Umesh Rao, an artist with advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, together created the moustachioed icon.
>Kooka famously said, “We call him a Maharajah for want of a better description. But his blood isn’t blue. He might look like royalty, but he isn’t royal.”
Hogwarts Express is back in service
After a safety inspection raised alarm about passengers being put at risk, the Jacobite has received the necessary green light to resume operations yet again, following a temporary halt. Running every summer since 1984 and currently operated by the West Coast Railways, it covers part of the West Highland line, effortlessly combining legendary Scottish folklore, luxury travel and picturesque scenery.
KnowALLedge Plus:
The Jacobite Train is often referred to as the Hogwarts Express after it featured in the Harry Potter film series. Potterheads from around the world have been travelling to the Scottish Highlands to ride the Jacobite over the Glenfinnan viaduct.
Thiruvalluvar’s statue made with Tamil letters installed in Coimbatore
As part of enhancing tourism near the Kurichikulam lakefront under the Smart City Mission, the Coimbatore Corporation has installed a steel statue of the celebrated Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar.
The sculpture is designed in a sitting posture and with linguistic characters. The 1,330 letters of the Tamil language that adorn the statue are meant to denote the 1,330 Kurals (couplets) written by the poet.
KnowALLedge Plus:
Thiruvalluvar is best known as the author of Tirukkuraḷ, a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economic affairs. One of his more famous statues can be seen at Kanyakumari.
Rogan Josh and Galouti Kebab feature among ’50 best lamb dishes in the world’
Taste Atlas, an online food and travel guide that collates authentic recipes, critic reviews and research articles on local foods from around the world, has released a global list of 50 best lamb dishes. While the top two spots respectively went to Iskender Kebap and Cag Kebabi– both from Turkey- India’s very own Rogan Josh (23) and Galouti Kebab (26) make the cut as well.
KnowALLedge Plus:
Rogan Josh is believed to be a dish of Persian origin, introduced to Kashmir by the Mughals. It is a part of the traditional Wazwan, a 36-course Kashmiri feast. The word ‘rogan’ means ‘clarified butter’.
Galouti Kebab on the other hand has its origins in the kitchens of Nawab Asad-ud-Daula of Awadh. The toothless Nawab, known for his love of meat delicacies, wished for a kebab that would be so exceptionally tender that it would melt in the mouth.
Oldest fossil remains of a plant-eating dinosaur discovered in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer.
Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) have discovered the oldest fossil remains of a long-necked, plant-eating dicraeosaurid dinosaur in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The study published in Scientific Reports, an international journal by publishers of Nature, reveals that the remains are 167 million years old and belong to a new species, which makes this new Indian sauropod not only the oldest known dicraeosaurid but also globally the oldest diplodocoid (broader group which includes dicraeosaurids and other closely related sauropods).
KnowALLedge Plus:
It has been named ‘Tharosaurus indicus’, the first name referring to the Thar desert where the fossils were found, and the second after its country of origin. Some of the dinosaurs whose remains have been found in India include:
Barapasaurus, Indosuchus, Isisaurus, Kotasaurus and Rajasaurus