antarctica-the common heritage...........................

Antarctica once isolated by time , distance & ignorance no longer remains the unknown continent . Since its discovery in 1820 explorers from many nations have struggled against turbulent seas , floating ice , raging storm & sub zero temperature to chart its frozen waters .

With an area of about 14 , 20 , 00 ,000 square kilometers , the frozen continent is larger than any country in the world , with only less than 5 percent visible while the rest is covered by a vast expanse of ice more than 200 meters of thick & containing 90 % of worlds ice reserve .

The Antarctica land is almost completely barren of plant life , the only ones being mosses & microscopic fungi . But the Antarctic seas are almost as rich in life as the land is barren , with plenty of fish , seals & whales as well as many smaller creations .

In the international geographical year 1957-58 12 nations co-operated

in a massive programme of Antarctic research & exploration , setting up many bases & scientific stations . The continent remains nature's unique treasure endowed with minerals , oil & food resources . Its strategic location & potential minerals resources made it a site of intense territorial competition among the nations of the world .

India , despite being late ON THE SCENE HAS DONE SOME USEFUL scientific spadework in the first two expeditions .

However , not individual efforts , but only complementery & co - operative endeavours by all nations may yeild the benefit of making Antarctica a common heritage of mankind . I

the pot calls the kettle back..............

The pot & the kettle are both black . The colour of the kettle is not inherent.

It is requred during the process of boiling water . And perhaps a little cleaning will remove the stain . But the case of the pot is different . Its blackness is in born , wash it or clean it , it will still remain there . But yet the beauty is the pot calls the kettle black !

The pot & the kettle are the only euphemisms . They stand for people who are not perfect . Indeed in this world ., nobody is perfect . Every one of us , big or small , all have some kind of vice or blemish . None without a black spot . But we conviniently forget our deformity in other people . Not merely do we notice it , but also make much pf it , talk in a loud voice & proclaim it to the world around . But why???

The morals & the values we have set before us , donot allow us to honour & worship vice . A lie should put on the garb of truth before it can claim acceptance . No bad man is respected no vice is tolerated . But still knowing all this , we do not try to wipe out our black spots. We wish to pass for the virtuous & command respect . We do not think of real solution & reform us ; on the other hand , we find someone who is not so virtuous & expose his weakness to the world . It is certainly not because of sadistic tendencies in us ; but because we want to escape under the protecting sheild of comparison . A little introspection will set things right & we would stop calling the kettle black.