Press Information Bureau (PIB) IAS UPSC – 27th April to 30th April – 2020
Press Information Bureau (PIB) IAS UPSC – 27th April to 30th April – 2020 ARCHIVES GS-1 Revelation of 35 thousand-year history of river erosion in Ladakh Himalayas (Topic: Geography; Smart planning) The scientists have traced where the rivers draining Himalaya and its foreland erode the most and identify the zones that receive these eroded sediments and fill up. This study is important – To understand the landform evolution in transitional climatic zone, using morpho stratigraphy and provenance study of landforms like valley fill terraces, alluvial fans(triangle-shaped deposit of gravel, sand, and even smaller pieces of sediment, such as silt) Crucial as the country gears up its infrastructure and develops smart cities Will help to understand river-borne erosion and sedimentation, which are the main drivers that make large riverine plains, terraces, and deltas that eventually become the cradle to evolving civilizations. The study shows – How rivers in drier Ladakh Himalaya operated in longer time scales and how they responded to varying climate leading to an understanding of water and sediment routing Most sediments were derived from Higher Himalayan crystalline that lie in the headwater region of Zanskar Dominant factors responsible for sediment erosion were: deglaciation and Indian Summer Monsoon derived precipitation in the headwaters despite the presence of a geomorphic barrier (the deep, narrow gorge) between the upper and lower catchments of the river The Ladakh Himalaya Forms a high altitude desert between Greater Himalayan ranges and Karakoram Ranges The Indus and its tributaries are major rivers flowing through the terrain. The Zanskar River is one of the largest tributaries of the upper Indus catchment; Two prominent tributaries of Zanskar River are the Doda and TsrapLingti Chu, which confluence at Padam village in the upper valley to form the Zanskar River. Naming of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean (Topic: Geography) Worldwide there are six regional specialised meteorological centres (RSMCs) and five regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs) mandated for issuing advisories and naming of tropical cyclones. India Meteorological Department is one of the six RSMCs to provide tropical cyclone and storm surge advisories to 13 member countries and is also mandated to name the Tropical Cyclones developing over the north Indian Ocean (NIO) including the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the Arabian Sea (AS). How cyclones are named? The tradition started with hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, where tropical storms that reach sustained wind speeds of 39 miles per hour were given names. (Incidentally, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones are all the same, just different names for tropical storms in different parts of the world; Hurricane in the Atlantic, Typhoon in the Pacific and Cyclone in the Indian Ocean). If the storm’s wind speed reaches or crosses 74 mph, it is then classified into a hurricane/cyclone/typhoon. Tropical storms are given names and they retain the name if they develop into a cyclone/hurricane/typhoon. Objectives: Identify each individual cyclone Create awareness of its development Remove confusion in case of simultaneous occurrence of TCs over a region Remember a TC easily Rapidly and effectively disseminate warnings to much wider audience The new list will be used for naming after the name ‘Amphan’ from the previous list is utilised. Access the list here. Member countries – Bangladesh India Iran Maldives Myanmar Oman Pakistan Qatar Saudi Arabia Sri Lanka Thailand United Arab Emirates Yemen Back-to-Basics Tropical cyclones are violent storms that originate over oceans in tropical areas and move over to the coastal areas bringing about large scale destruction caused by violent winds, very heavy rainfall and storm surges. This is one of the most devastating natural calamities. They are known as Cyclones in the Indian Ocean, Hurricanes in the Atlantic, Typhoons in the Western Pacific and South China Sea, and Willy-willies in the Western Australia. Tropical cyclones originate and intensify over warm tropical oceans. The energy that intensifies the storm, comes from the condensation process in the towering cumulonimbus clouds, surrounding the centre of the storm. With continuous supply of moisture from the sea, the storm is further strengthened. On reaching the land the moisture supply is cut off and the storm dissipates. What conditions are required for the formation of a Tropical Cyclone? A source of warm, moist air derived from tropical oceans with sea surface temperature normally near to or in excess of 27 °C Winds near the ocean surface blowing from different directions converging and causing air to rise and storm clouds to form Winds which do not vary greatly with height – known as low wind shear. This allows the storm clouds to rise vertically to high levels; Presence of Coriolis force, provides energy to rotate or curve in anti-clockwise (in the northern hemisphere) or clockwise (in the southern hemisphere) The structure A mature tropical cyclone is characterised by the strong spirally circulating wind around the centre, called the eye. The diameter of the circulating system can vary between 150 and 250 km. The eye is a region of calm with subsiding air. Around the eye is the eye wall, where there is a strong spiralling ascent of air to greater height reaching the tropopause. The eye is surrounded by the “eye wall”, the roughly circular ring of deep convection, which is the area of highest surface winds in the tropical cyclone. Eye Wall region also sees the maximum sustained winds i.e. fastest winds in a cyclone occur along the eyewall region. The eye is composed of air that is slowly sinking and the eye wall has a net upward flow as a result of many moderate – occasionally strong – updrafts and downdrafts. Convection in tropical cyclones is organized into long, narrow rain bands which are oriented in the same direction as the horizontal wind. Because these bands seem to spiral into the center of a tropical cyclone, they are called “spiral bands”. Along these bands, low-level convergence is a maximum, and therefore, upper-level divergence is most pronounced above. A direct circulation develops in which warm, moist air converges at the surface, ascends through these bands, diverges aloft, and descends on both sides of the bands. Tropical cyclones form in many parts of the world from initial convective disturbances sometimes referred to as cloud clusters. As the clusters evolve from a loosely organized state into mature, intense storms, they pass through several characteristic stages. The factors leading to increased frequency of tropical cyclones Increase in frequency of tropical cyclones is specifically observed in Arabian Sea. Here winter monsoon circulations, plays an important role. The interplay of global warming, climate variability and weather changes, the winter northeast monsoon circulation has been weakening over the years. One important factor is the wind shear, or the change in direction and speed of the winds from bottom to the top of the atmosphere. Generally, this wind shear is relatively strong in the Arabian Sea compared to the Bay of Bengal. Opposing winds prevent cyclones from developing vertically, this wind shear is weakening in the Arabian Sea with increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Important contributors to rise in global temperatures, such as manmade black carbon particles and sulphate emissions might have increased the intensity of these cyclones in almost all oceans of tropics. On the other hand burning of fossil fuels such as petrol, diesel, etc. was the main reason for climate change as it had affected the greenhouse gas cover around the earth, leading to a rise in atmospheric temperature. Similarly, aerosols, greenhouse gases, volcanic activity, solar variability, and internal climate variability also add degrees to sea surface temperature, making the conducive weather conditions for tropical cyclones. A La Niña (a weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean that is less damaging than El Niño) event is unfolding over the Pacific. Studies have shown that La Niña conditions change the atmospheric circulation over the north Indian Ocean and make them favourable for cyclogenesis. There are six regions that are more vulnerable to tropical cyclones: Tropical North Atlantic (Gulf of Mexico, West Indies and Caribbean Sea): Cyclones in this region is known as Hurricane, occur mainly during August-October. Main reasons being increased sea surface temperature, convective instability, low wind shear and other thermodynamic activities. Examples-Hurricane Katrina, Florence etc. Eastern part of the tropical north pacific (Western coast of Mexico and Central America): also known as Hurricane, usually observed during June-July. The shifting of Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) northwards and low pressure formed, aided by northwest movement of wind (due to Coriolis force) favours the formation of Tropical Cyclone in this region. Western part of tropical north pacific (The Philippines, the China Sea and areas around Japan): The cyclones in this region are called as Typhoon, occurs during months of June-December. The presence of low vertical wind shear of less than 10 metres/second, monsoon trough and atmospheric instability favours development of tropical Typhoons. Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea: They are more frequent during June-September, high sea temperature along with the low pressure regions, sometimes the typhoons originating in western pacific too help in cyclone formation. Ex-Fani, Ochkhi etc Western South Pacific Ocean (regions of Samoa, Fiji Island and the east and north coast of Australia): Occur during January-March season. They too are result of high surface temperature and low vertical wind shear that result in atmospheric instability and heavy cloudiness. The south coast of Indian Ocean (coastal regions of Madagascar): Occurs during January-March and the westward movement of tropical depression intensified by low vertical wind shear favours cyclone formation. One dangerous recent event is the Idai Cyclone (March 2019) that resulted in more than 1300 deaths and several missing cases. Solve: What makes coastal India more susceptible to tropical cyclones? Discuss. Examine the strategies to mitigate tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones are a recurrent climatic phenomena in India. Discuss the origin and movement of tropical cyclones that originate in the Bay of Bengal. GS-2 Launch of SVAMITVA scheme (Topic: Government schemes) By: A collaborative effort of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Panchayati Raj Departments, State Revenue Departments and Survey of India Aim: To provide rural people with the right to document their residential properties so that they can use their property for economic purposes Streamlining planning and revenue collection in rural areas and ensuring clarity on property rights Enable creation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) engaging Drone Surveying technology G20 Digital Ministers Summit (Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests) Aim: To discuss the challenges posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and to forge a global coordinated response harnessing Digital Technologies A coordinated global Digital response to fight the pandemic Adopting measures to strengthen Communication infrastructure and network connectivity Non-personal data exchange in a secured manner Use of Digital Solutions for Healthcare, cyber secured world Measures to strengthen resilience of businesses At the meeting, India emphasised The next phase of Digitalization is about applications that will impact livelihoods, accelerate various sectors, strengthen the supply chain and build a cyber safe world. The present situation demands greater collaboration among stakeholders for providing solutions that can address issues related to social distancing, distributed workforce and the changing nature of global supply chain. G20 to come out with a concrete Digital action plan to fight the global pandemic; the critical role of Indian IT-ITeS Industry in maintaining the Global Business Continuity and offered India as a lucrative destination for displaced Global Supply chains. Back-to-Basics G20: The G20 (or Group of Twenty) is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union. It was founded in 1999 with the aim to discuss policy pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability. India: Member of G20 Other members: The G20, short for “Group of 20”, is made up of 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus the European Union. Spain is a permanent guest and always participates in the G20 summits. Together, the G20 members represent – Two thirds of the world population. 85% of the global gross product. 75% of international trade. 80% of global investments in research and development. Because the G-20 is a forum, its agreements or decisions have no legal impact, but they do influence countries’ policies and global cooperation. Why was the G20 created? The G20 was conceived in 1999, while the repercussions of the Asian financial crisis of 1997 still lasted. The committee’s inaugural meeting took place in Berlin in December 1999. In a meeting of finance ministers and presidents of central banks of the G7, it was decided to expand the group and make it more representative in order to generate policies that have an impact In the economy. They decided to invite a group of key emerging economies to a new forum of finance ministers and presidents of Central Banks, which would later become the G20. With the start of the global financial crisis of 2008, the G20 became the main instrument to face the debacle. And for that it was essential to involve the highest ranking officials. Thereafter, presidents and heads of state joined the G20. Note: India will chair the G20 in 2022 for the first time; coinciding with the country’s 75th anniversary of Independence. The G20 Troika: Every year, when a new country assumes the presidency (Argentina in 2018), it works hand in hand with the previous presidency (Germany) and the next presidency (Japan) in what is known as the troika. This ensures continuity in the group’s agenda. Where is the G20 headquarters? The G20 does not have permanent offices or employees. The country that presides over the group (in a year) takes care of all the organization and the logistical coordination of the meetings. 11th Petersberg Climate Dialogue (Topic: Diplomacy around climate change) The eleventh session of Petersberg Climate Dialogue witnessed India along with 30 other countries deliberating over ways and means to tackle the challenge of reinvigorating economies and societies after COVID-19, while enhancing collective resilience and catalysing climate action while also supporting in particular those most vulnerable. Hosted by: Germany since 2010; originally an initiative of German Chancellor Angela Merkel Aim: To provide a forum for informal high-level political discussions, focusing both on international climate negotiations and the advancement of climate action Key Agenda: To discuss how we can jointly tackle the challenge of reinvigorating our economies and societies after COVID-19, while enhancing our resilience and catalyzing climate action while also supporting in particular those most vulnerable. India We should have Climate Technology as open source which must be available at affordable cost. Stressing on the issue of Climate finance, India said that we must plan for 1 trillion USD in grants to developing world immediately The world must think of adopting more sustainable consumption patterns in line with requirement of sustainable lifestyles India’s Nationally Determined Contributions spanning a ten-year time frame are ambitious and are also compliant with the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. The world has an opportunity today to accelerate renewable energy deployment and creating new green jobs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector. Measures Indian Government has taken to address climate change Over several decades India has pursued policies and publicly funded programs focused on energy conservation and deployment of renewable energy technologies to fight climate change. This has been backed by legislation, regulation and tariffs arrangements. Some of these are: India ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1993 and the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. In June 2008, India announced its National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The Action Plan effectively pulls together a number of the government’s existing national plans on water, renewable energy, energy efficiency, agriculture and others – bundled with additional ones – into a set of eight missions. The Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change is in charge of the overall implementation of the plan. The plan document elaborates on a unique approach to reduce the stress of climate change and uses the poverty-growth linkage to make its point. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, India set three major goals to be achieved for the period between 2020 and 2030—increase the share of non-fossil fuels to 40% of the total electricity generation capacity, to reduce the emission intensity of the economy by 33 to 35% by 2030 from 2005 levels, and to create additional carbon sink of 2.5 -3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover. India has emerged as a global leader in renewable energy, where investments top those into fossil fuel. After adopting its National Electricity Plan (NEP) in 2018, India remains on track to overachieve its “2˚C compatible” rated Paris Agreement climate action targets. Since 2010, the Indian Government has doubled the coal tax three times, reaching 400 rupees per tonne (around USD 3.2 per tonne) of coal produced and imported in the 2016–2017 budget. On transport, the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India scheme came into effect in April 2019, and provides incentives to purchase electric vehicles, while also including provisions to ensure adequate charging infrastructure. The main instrument to increase energy efficiency in industry is the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) Mechanism, which is implemented under the ‘National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency’. PAT resembles an emissions trading scheme (ETS) and has been in place since 2012. The scheme is currently in its second phase (2016–2019). PAT differs from traditional cap-and-trade systems as it sets intensity-based energy targets Rural Electrification Policy, 2006: The policy promotes renewable energy technologies where grid connectivity is not possible or cost-effective. Energy Conservation Building Code, 2006: This regulatory code is designed to ensure energy efficiency in all buildings with above 500 kVA connected load or air-conditioned floor area over 1000 square metres. Further steps that India is considering – In 2007, then Indian Prime Minister Singh pledged that India’s per capita emissions would never exceed those of the developed world. Meeting this pledge does not require any emissions reductions compared to current policy projections up to 2030. Despite the negative trend in the power sector due to coal, India’s Paris Agreement target is within the range of what is considered to be a “2°C compatible” fair share of the global effort. Further, India could become a global climate leader with a “1.5 ̊C compatible” rating if it abandons plans to build new coal-fired power plants. The Government is in the process of implementing carbon pricing mechanisms to encourage energy efficiency in industry. A pilot system for small to medium enterprises is expected soon. This can form the basis for global carbon pricing mechanism. The government is also attempting to harness the potential of off-grid solar PV pumps to not only provide reliable electricity for pump sets, but also to provide additional income generation opportunities for farmers. India has said that it will finalise its long-term plan strategies for development that result in lower levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. India also said that it will increase its climate pledges, or nationally determined contributions (NDCs), under the Paris Agreement. The Indian Government is considering long-term growth strategies over the period 2030–2045 that would result in a decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth. The Paris Agreement: The Paris Agreement was the first legal instrument to set an explicit temperature target. It pushes countries to keep the average global temperature rise to below 2°C over pre-industrial levels and encourages them to limit it to 1.5°C. It does this largely through voluntarily agreed Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs. Solve: Will COVID-19 complicate the conversation around climate change? Discuss. What measures has the Indian Government taken to address climate change? What further role can India play in the global efforts towards mitigating climate change? Suggest. Green Recovery What are the recent setbacks to global climate change negotiations? What can be its possible implications? India signs $1.5 billion loan with ADB to support India’s COVID-19 immediate response (Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests) The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $1.5 billion loan that will support the government’s response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, focusing on immediate priorities such as disease containment and prevention, as well as social protection for the poor and economically vulnerable sections of the society, especially women and disadvantaged groups. (i) COVID-19 containment plan to rapidly ramp up test-track-treatment capacity (ii) social protection for the poor, vulnerable, women, and disadvantaged groups to protect more than 800 million people over the next three months India will also take the ADB’s technical support to strengthen its implementation framework and capacities to implement Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. Asian Development Bank (ADB) It is a regional development bank that was established on 19 December 1966. Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines Aim: To promote social and economic development in Asia Motto: Eradicate extreme poverty Types of loans it offers: The ADB offers hard loans (currency) on commercial terms primarily to middle income countries in Asia and It provides soft loans (loan with a below-market rate of interest) to poorer countries in the region. Both types of loans are sourced from the bank’s ordinary capital resources (OCR). Five largest borrowing countries are China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh. GS-3 Technological Developments (Topic: New technology; Research and development) A. Electrostatic Disinfection Technology for effective disinfection and sanitization to fight with corona pandemic Transferred for Commercialization Developed based on the electrostatic principle It produces uniform and fine spray droplets of disinfectants in the size range of 10-20 micrometre to kill microorganisms and viruses. Due to the small size of droplets, the surface area of spray droplets increases thereby enhancing the interaction with harmful microorganisms and coronavirus. The machine uses very less disinfection material as compared to conventional methods, which helps to save natural resources with negligible increase of chemical waste in the environment. B. Development of a natural product based Alzheimer inhibitor Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre For Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) have modified the structure of Berberine, a natural and cheap product similar to curcumin, available commercially, into Ber-D to use as a Alzheimer’s inhibitor. Selected isoquinoline natural product berberine found in India and China and used in traditional medicine and other applications. However, berberine is poorly soluble and toxic to cells. So they modified berberine to Ber-D, which is a soluble (aqueous), antioxidant. They found it to be a multifunctional inhibitor of multifaceted amyloid toxicity of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and accounts for more than 70% of all dementia. The multifactorial nature of the disease attributed to multifaceted toxicity has made it difficult for researchers to develop effective medication. C. HCARD, a robot, to assist frontline COVID-19 healthcare warriors The robotic device HCARD, in short for Hospital Care Assistive Robotic Device, can help frontline healthcare workers in maintaining physical distance from those infected by coronavirus. HCARD is developed by Durgapur-based CSIR lab, Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute. The device is equipped with various state-of-the-art technologies and works both in automatic as well as manual modes of navigation. This robot can be controlled and monitored by a nursing booth with a control station having such features as navigation, drawer activation for providing medicines and food to patients, sample collection and audio-visual communication. D. SERB approves funding for study of mathematical & simulation aspects of COVID 19 Most of these studies attempt to propose mathematical/ simulation models to account for various factors relevant to COVID 19 by modifying the basic SIR (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered) models. Some of such factors are heterogeneity of population, the role of asymptomatic population, migration and quarantine, effect of social distancing and lockdown, socioeconomic factors and so on. These studies will be primarily aimed to study Indian conditions and will provide an estimate of Basic Reproduction Number-- the qualitative indicator of the degree of contagiousness of the disease. These will be helpful to forecast future pandemic by using the data available and provide fundamental insights into kinetics and management of infectious diseases. The proposed studies also aim to identify the maximum likelihood infection tree when infection reports and contact network structure are known to substantially reduce the efforts of the administration by targeting a subset of manageable size. They will address the spread of pandemic and the impact of preventive issues through a parametric prediction process with an outcome consisting of a packaged solution in the form of usable software which may be made available for ready use by the Government of India and identify possible cure of COVID 19 through the study of DNA structures by creating patterns of DNA of different viruses. These studies of disease transmission dynamic models supported under the MATRICS Special call on Covid 19 will help to estimate parameter sets and provide control mechanisms of the spread of COVID-19 and also help the frontline health professionals and policymakers to define effective measures. F. New simulation code helps study electric field structure in Earth’s Magnetosphere where satellites hover Have developed a generalized one-dimensional fluid simulation code capable of studying a wide spectrum of coherent electric field structures in near-earth plasma environment or earth’s magnetosphere which can be useful in planning of future space missions. The Earth’s magnetosphere is a vast region which has a finite number of satellites hurtling through this realm. Hence, the in situ observations are finite and discrete. The morphology of the plasma processes around the satellite can be understood quite well. However, when they leave the observational domain of one satellite to enter into another, a vast blind arena is created. How the morphology of these processes changes over space and time can be ideally deciphered only through computer simulations. Almost 99% of matter in the universe is in the form of plasma, Earth’s magnetosphere, too, contains this material and the plasma processes have the ability to hamper the working of a number of satellites that have been placed in orbit in the magnetospheric region. Apart from the well-being of these expensive satellites, the academic understanding of this region is quite essential to comprehend the cosmos in its entirety. Creation of the Magnetosphere Sun is the major source of plasma deposition in space around the Earth. Sun forces some of its plasma towards the earth in the form of the solar wind. The speed of this wind varies between 300 to 1500 km/s, which carries with it solar magnetic field, called as Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF). The interaction of the IMF with the earth’s magnetic field creates the magnetosphere of the earth. Note: Five out of eight Northeast States are Corona free while the other three States have not added any new Corona positive case: 5 North Eastern States of Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura are totally Corona free, while 3 other states of Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram had 8, 11 and 1 Corona positive cases respectively, which are waiting to become negative Northeast has emerged as a model of developmental transformation, in the wake of the present COVID crisis, it has emerged as a model of effective, diligent and disciplined health management. Portal on MSME Bank of Ideas, Innovation and Research Provides access to all schemes of Union, State and UT Governments Has the provision for uploading Ideas, Innovations & Researches in the sector and has unique features of not only crowd sourcing of Ideas, but also evaluation and rating the ideas by crowd sourcing. Facilitate inflow of venture capital, foreign collaboration etc. Will help in the research activities like those in rural tribal knowledge, skills will get a chance for spreading their knowledge. Similarly it can assist the farmers in planning, production, storage and marketing of their produce. 172nd Birth Anniversary of Raja Ravi Varma Raja Ravi Varma was born into an aristocratic family in Kerala. A self-taught artist of European techniques; Raja Ravi Varma was a master at handling the oil medium and achieved a magical ease with European naturalism. While Raja Ravi Varma stood at the transitional stage between Indian painting tradition and the emergence of Salon artist well versed in European academic naturalism he reconciled the aesthetic principles of both in his style. He represented the Hindu mythological stories so loved by the Indian imagination, with an illusionistic flair that mirrored the society of his time. According to art historians, Raja Ravi Varma's dramatic history paintings influenced the pioneers of Indian cinema like DadasahebPhadke and Baburao Painter. He established a press with German technology so that inexpensive oleographs could be made to cater to a mass demand. So briskly did the prints sell that they left a deep impression on popular visual culture even to this day. His realistic portrayals and interpretations of religious and mythological figures captivated and fascinated the country. Ravi Varma’s works transcended painting; he was also a poet, scholar and a visionary far beyond his times.