Gondhala music of Maharashtra

• Although gondhala is now known as a Marathi folk art, it perhaps had its origin in Karnataka, and then spread to Maharashtra.
• Kalyani Chalukya king  Someswara III (1126–1138 CE), author of Manasollasa, systematised the dances of the Bhils and called them chitra gondhalis.
• Jayan, a commander-in chief of the King of Warangal, in his work Nritya Ratnavali written in 1240, says that gondhala is a dance festival of the Bhils of Kalyana, in Karnataka.
• Gondhalis in Maharashtra were not restricted to one caste. There were Brahmin gondhalis, Renukrai gondhalis, Kadamrai gondhalis, Koombhar gondhalis and so on.
• The appeal of the gondhali songs was such that Chatrapati Shivaji himself used to give gondhal performances in honour of Amba Bhavani of Pratapgadh
• Kadamrai gondhalis were hereditary office holders in the Tulja Bhavani temple.
• The gondhalis later became ballad singers too, rousing the patriotic fervour of the Marathas against the Muslim forces.
• Many of them were appointed as artistes in the Maratha army. They served as spies and fighters too, when needed.
• Gondhalis who, until then, had been singing mythological and religious songs, have come up with songs about Shivaji, Tanaji, Bajirao, Bhansaheb, Malharrao Holkar and Dattaji Shinde.

These ballads of the Gondhalis were called powadas. There were at least 300 popular powadas.

FSSAI Drafts New Labelling and Display Regulations 2018

The FSSAI has proposed new regulations to be called the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2018. The proposed regulations will prescribe the

• labeling requirements of pre-packaged foods
• display of essential information on premises where food is manufactured, processed, served and stored

The FSSAI may also establish an internal mechanism to address the problem arising out of implementation/interpretation of the regulations.

Helium

• Helium is known as He on the periodic table.
• Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe and was discovered on the sun before it was found on the earth.
• It has been detected in great abundance in hotter stars and it is an important component in both the proton-proton reaction and the carbon cycle, which accounts for the energy of the sun and stars.
• Helium is commercially recovered from natural gas deposits.

Uses

• Helium is used as an inert shield for arc welding to pressurize the fuel tanks of liquid fueled rockets and in supersonic wind tunnels.
• Helium is combined with oxygen to create a nitrogen free atmosphere for deep sea divers so that they will not suffer from a condition known as nitrogen narcosis.
• Liquid helium is an important cryogenic material and is used to study superconductivity and to create superconductive magnets.
• Liquid helium’s use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) continues to increase as the medical profession accepts and develops new uses for the equipment.
• Dating: Helium can be used to estimate the age of rocks and minerals containing uranium and thorium by measuring their retention of helium.
• Telescopes:The gas is used in solar telescopes to prevent the heating of the air, which reduces the distorting effects of temperature variations in the space between lenses.

The most readily recognized use for helium gas is to inflate blimps, scientific balloons and party balloons.