amudu

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Apparently illiterate farmers can do wonders in the field of technology and research.

Farmer Siddappa G Hullajogi from Karnataka never went to a school but designed a windmill to generate power. "I use the electricity from windmill in my fields and my house," he said.

The farmer first thought of alternative power when the electricity office refused to provide electricity to his village as it was far from the nearest powered village. His ideas came from windmills installed near his fields by private power companies.

Siddappa used waste materials to design the windmill. He fabricated blades using tin sheets, and he used wood and copper wires to make a propeller.

The windmill operates a borewell to irrigate Siddappa’s farm. It is also used to power bulbs in the homes of the farmer and his brother. “The windmill generates power to light up 10 bulbs of 60 watts and two TV sets in my home and my brother’s,” says Siddappa.

Image Courtesy: colorsmagazine. com

View near Point de Galle, Ceylon By Henry Salt (1780-1827) & Engraver Daniell Havell (1785-1826)

Henry Salt (1780-1827) - artist, traveller, diplomat and collector of antiquities, was born at Lichfield, Staffordshire, England 14 June 1780. He was destined to be a portrait- painter, and on leaving school was taught drawing by Glover, the watercolour-painter of Lichfield. In 1797 he went to London and became a pupil of Joseph Farington, R.A., and (in 1800) of John Hoppner, R.A. The turning point in his career was 3 June 1802, when Salt left London for an eastern tour with George, viscount Valentia (afterwards Lord Mountnorris), whom he accompanied as secretary and draughtsman.
He visited the Cape, India, Sri Lanka, and (in 1805) Abyssinia, returning to England on 26 Oct. 1806. He made many drawings, some of which served to illustrate Lord Valentia's Voyages and Travels to India, published in 1809. The present image is from "Twenty-four Views taken in St. Helena, the Cape, India, Ceylon, The Red Sea, Abyssinia & Egypt" published 1 May 1809 by William Miller Albemarle Street, May 1.st 1809 displayed in Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Whitehall, London, UK, with hand-coloured aquatints by D. Havell and J. Bluck from Salt's own drawings. The originals of all these drawings were retained by Lord Valentia, who also retained the ownership of the copper plates after Salt's death. The format and style of presentation of the plates is similar to Thomas and William Daniell's great work, Oriental Scenery (1795- 1808), and displays great artistry by both Salt and his engravers.