This is the first such project by an Indian startup with a U.S. company, the companies said in a statement.

Following on the joint U.S.-India Roadmap for defence industrial cooperation, Liquid Robotics, a Boeing company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd, an Indian startup working on unmanned systems, announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to co-develop and co-produce Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASV).

“This partnership aims to enhance undersea domain awareness through manufacturing, system of systems interoperability, ocean testing, and the establishment of a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capacity for the Wave Glider ASV platform,” a statement from the companies said. The MoU supports the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA) that was announced during te visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the U.S. aimed at expanding industry partnerships and strengthening production capabilities across the Indo-Pacific region, it stated.

“The U.S.-India relationship continues to strengthen, and we see immense potential in deepening our collaboration,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India and South Asia. “This partnership with Sagar Defence Engineering underscores our commitment to co-developing and co-producing critical systems in India, fully aligning with the collaborative vision of both the U.S. and Indian governments outlined in the U.S. – India Joint Leaders Statement last month.”

The Wave Glider is a key platform for U.S.-India collaboration, strengthening tactical readiness in the Indo-Pacific, said Shane Goodenough, CEO of Liquid Robotics. “Partnering with Sagar Defence advances bilateral defense cooperation and supports the ASIA initiative to expand industry partnerships and production across the region.”

As the first such project by a U.S. company in partnership with an Indian startup, this collaboration marks a milestone in U.S.-India defence industrial cooperation, with undersea domain awareness as a key focus, the statement said. “This strategic partnership brings together the best of U.S. and Indian defence capabilities by co-developing advanced technologies like the Wave Glider, our aim to contribute towards fostering innovation within India’s defence ecosystem strengthens,” Capt. Nikunj Parashar (Retd), Founder, Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd.

As reported by The Hindu earlier, India and U.S. are scaling up their cooperation in Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA), a key focus for both countries with a new ASIA initiative aimed to scale industry partnerships and production in the Indo-Pacific and has identified a range of UDA technologies identified for co-production in India.

In addition to the Wave Glider, the other technologies identified include Sea Picket autonomous surveillance system with sonar acoustic array produced by Thayer Mahan; Low Frequency Active Towed Sonar; Multi-Static Active (MSA) sonobuoys; Large Diameter Autonomous Undersea Vehicles produced by Andruil; and Triton autonomous underwater and surface vehicle produced by Ocean Aero. Among these, for the MSA Sonobuoys in January, the two countries announced the “first-of-its-kind partnership on co-production” of these high-end technology that allows, tracking submarines in the deep seas and oceans. As part of this Sonobuoys of Ultra Maritime (UM) will be co-produced in India in partnership with defence public sector undertaking Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

The celebrations began after the successful splashdown of the Dragon spacecraft, which brought Sunita Williams back to Earth along with Crew-9 members Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Residents of NASA astronaut Sunita Willaims’ ancestral village in Gujarat’s Mehsana district burst into celebrations on Wednesday (March 19, 2025) morning as a SpaceX capsule carrying her and her colleague Butch Wilmore splashed down off the Florida coast.

All eyes were on Ms. Willaims’s safe return as those in Jhulasan gathered at a village temple to view the event live on a television screen. As soon as she landed, residents celebrated the moment by bursting firecrackers, dancing and chanting ‘Har Har Mahadev’.

SpaceX crew Dragon splashdown updates: March 19, 2025

Ms. Williams has been in the thoughts and prayers of the villagers, who were eagerly awaiting her safe return.

Even as Ms. Willaims was on her way back, the villagers gathered at the temple performed ‘yagna’ and offered prayers. They said they have been performing yagna and have lit up ‘Akhand Jyot’ (eternal flame) on the premises for her safe return.

Jhulasan, known as the ancestral home of Ms. Williams’ father Deepak Pandya, was alive with excitement ever since the news of her proposed return, after a delayed stay at the International Space Station (ISS) around nine months ago, trickled in.

Navin Pandya, her cousin, said that the villagers have been praying for her safety, taking care of the ‘Akhand Jyot,’ the eternal flame that was lit up for her safe return soon after she went to space over nine months ago.

He said the villagers have planned a grand procession in her honour, accompanied by prayer chanting and fireworks to create a festive atmosphere similar to Diwali and Holi.

A procession will be taken out from the village school to the temple where the ‘Akhand Jyot’ has been kept, with students joining the celebrations, he said. The ‘Akhand Jyot’ will be immersed after the procession reaches the temple, he said.

“We have organised a procession with Sunita Williams’ photograph and will perform a dhun (prayer chanting) at the temple,” said Mr. Navin Pandya Pandya.

He said the villagers are looking forward to inviting Williams to visit Jhulasan.

Ms. Williams has visited India at least thrice, including in 2007 and 2013, soon after her space missions and was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2008.

Her father, originally from Jhulasan, migrated to the United States in 1957.

Vishal Panchal, principal of Jhulasan primary school, said elaborate arrangements have been made for Wednesday’s (March 19, 2025) celebrations.

Ms. Williams’ space mission was initially scheduled to last seven days but got extended due to a technical glitch. Her SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico, just hours after departing the ISS.

Ms. Williams, who has completed 62 hours over nine spacewalks, holds the record for the most time spent spacewalking by a female astronaut.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Panchanan Karmakar’s creation led to the printing of the first Bengali language book, and his legacy will soon be showcased to Kolkata.

Hidden inside the labyrinthine lanes of Serampore is a 200-year-old legacy associated with the creation of the first Bengali type face, which led to the printing of the first Bengali language book, A Grammar of the Bengal Language in 1778.

The Vidyasagar, Panchanan and Carey Bhavans are located on a narrow lane diverting from GT Road in Serampore’s Battala area. Neither of them are historical buildings but rather modern day apartments, named such on the insistence of the landowners, who were related to Panchanan Karmakar. While the name Vidyasagar needs no introduction, Carey refers to William Carey, the Christian missionary who lived in Serampore and translated the Bible into Bengali. Panchannan is perhaps the least known of the three names and refers to Panchanan Karmakar, who is considered as the father of Bengali typography.

The creation of the Bengali typeface

The story begins in the late 18th century with the East India Company and a family of blacksmiths — the Karmakars — based in Tribeni in Hooghly. The Karmakars specialised in calligraphy and were known for inscribing names and decorations on copper plates, weapons, metal pots, etc. One of Panchanan Karmakar’s ancestors was known for carving designs on swords, shields and armours for one of the nawabs of Bengal, Alivardi Khan, who awarded him the title Mullick.

Hidden inside the labyrinthine lanes of Serampore is a 200-year-old legacy associated with the creation of the first Bengali type face, which led to the printing of the first Bengali language book, A Grammar of the Bengal Language in 1778.

The creation of the Bengali typeface

The story begins in the late 18th century with the East India Company and a family of blacksmiths — the Karmakars — based in Tribeni in Hooghly. The Karmakars specialised in calligraphy and were known for inscribing names and decorations on copper plates, weapons, metal pots, etc. One of Panchanan Karmakar’s ancestors was known for carving designs on swords, shields and armours for one of the nawabs of Bengal, Alivardi Khan, who awarded him the title Mullick.

In the late 18th century when the British were making inroads in India, they felt the need to master local languages including Bengali. Few East India Company officials like English Orientalist and philologist Nathaniel Brassey Halhedhad already mastered the language, but there was a need for books to teach Bengali grammar to the masses. Halhed came up with a book on Bengali grammar, but it could not be printed since the Bengali typeface was not available.

Enter Charles Wilkins, English typographer, Orientalist, and a founding member of the Asiatic Society. He initially took the initiative of making the Bengali typeface in England, but the endeavour proved too expensive and the end result was not up to the mark.

After a long search he got in touch with Panchanan Karmakar, the blacksmith who has already mastered the art of Bengali calligraphy on metal. Panchanan created the Bengali typeface for the presses, which finally resulted in the printing of Halhead’s book A Grammar of the Bengal Language.

Later, Panchanan also helped William Carey with printing the Bengali translation of the Bible from Serampore. He also went on to develop the typeface for several other Indian and foreign languages.

The continuing legacy of the Karmakars

Panchanan was assisted in his work by his brother Gadadhar Karmakar. After Panchanan’s death in 1804, his son-in-law Monohar Karmakar (Mullick) and Gadadhar’s son Adhar Chandra Karmakar (Mullick) continued their legacy. Adhar later joined Vidyasagar in developing a simplified typeface of Bengali alphabets.

According to Gadadhar’s descendent Priyanka Mullick, the family press remained operational till the early 1990s and followed a traditional method of printing. “My father Biman Mullick was forced to discontinue due to the advent of new technology,” she said, adding, “Today, only the mansion constructed by Adhar Chandra Mullick survives. The adjoining land was sold on the condition that the apartments coming up in the plot will be named after Vidyasagar, Carey and Panchanan.”

Priyanka’s family inherited the printing machines along with a large collection of typefaces, which after her father’s passing in 2022 were passed on to her.

Gutenberg and the Bengali typeface

German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer and publisher Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press and mechanical movable type printing in 1439 played an important role in the European Renaissance.

The Gutenberg process involved creating the typeface for a language by making a hard metal punch known as a mother type. The alphabets created on the mother type, which were mirror images of the original lettering, were then hammered into a soft copper bar creating an imprint of the actual alphabet. This is known as a matrix, which operates as a mould for the final typeface, known as movable type, which is made with a lighter alloy.

A single matrix can be used to make thousands of movable types, which in turn are arranged in the required sequence, inked, and printed on paper.

The English language follows a fixed set of 26 alphabets, but on the other hand, Indian languages like Bengali have a combination of alphabets that can run into thousands making the job of creating a matrix extremely difficult. Moreover, Bengali alphabets have more intricacies and carving them out of hard metal is a challenge. This is where the skill and artistry of Panchanan Karmakar came in. More than 200 years ago he accomplished an almost impossible task.

Showcasing a legacy to Kolkata

Today, Priyanka Mullick shuttles between Mumbai and Serampore to maintain her professional commitments, and while the family is no longer in the printing business, a part of the two-century history lives with Priyanka through the large collection of Bengali and other language typeface and several typing machines. She wants to showcase this legacy to Kolkata now.

“These have been out of reach of the general public and we are planning an exhibition at Khelat Ghosh house in north Kolkata in mid-April,” she said, adding that these kinds of exhibitions help create awareness about forgotten legacies in Bengal’s history.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

One of the last uses of Indian yellow, reportedly, was by Van Gogh in The Starry Night (1889). The famous yellow moon held within a cluster of radiant orbs was a blend of zinc yellow and Indian yellow.

Indian yellow subsequently travelled to studios across Europe, becoming a preferred pigment on many palettes.“The pure pigment has an incomparably beautiful, deep and luminescent gold yellow in shade which is achieved with no other pigment,” write Rebecca Ploeger and Aaron Shugar of the art conservation department of SUNY, Buffalo State, US, in a 2016 article titled The story of Indian yellow — excreting a solution. Elsewhere, the colour has been described as “a luminous, deep-mustard pigment widely admired for its depth, body and radiance”. Yet others say it resisted fading, even acquiring a stronger presence when exposed to sunlight.

In Pahari paintings, this yellow was used to drape gods as well as all royalty, to depict spring and summer, and to convey a bright mood in general.

The most important of all the yellow pigments used in Indian paintings — according to the Government of India’s Geographical Indications Journal No. 55 — is gaugoli. Gaugoli or gogili is an Indian version of the Persian term gaugil, meaning “cow-earth”. This pigment is also known as peori, piuti, peoli or the hardwari peori. The article further states: “This pigment is prepared from the urine of cows who had been fed exclusively on mango leaves and water. After heating and drying in the sun, the residue is rolled with hands into lumps.”

Artist Partha Dasgupta recalls Lalu Prasad Shaw, his teacher at Visva-Bharati’s Kala Bhavana, talking about the pigment — prepared from the urine of goats fed on mango leaves. Perhaps goat urine was a source too, who can tell. “Basically, it was the bilirubin that was extracted,” says the Calcutta-based artist. An artist’s job is to create, out of whatever is available around — plants, the earth and even animals. Sculptor Ramkinkar Baij worked with laterite gravel found around the Kopai river in Birbhum district mixed with cement, thus rejecting plaster which was rather expensive. And that sthaniyakaran or the property of being regional, Dasgupta explains, is a function of names such as Indian yellow and Indian red. The latter being a rich, opaque colour derived from red laterite soil.

The colour yellow has a long history. “In the Ajanta caves, for example, there was a great deal of use of yellow. This yellow was derived from ochre, which is a mineral,” says Benoy Behl, who is a Delhi-based art historian, documentary filmmaker and photographer. Most of the pigments used at the time were minerals available locally: red ochre, vivid red, yellow ochre, indigo blue, chalk white and so on. Behl agrees that some of the most brilliant uses of yellow are in miniature paintings, particularly the Pahari paintings. The fascination of the Europeans, he says, “is more like an outsider’s response to the vibrant colours in Indian paintings, since they were used to their own more subdued colours”.

Large quantities of this beautiful but “strange-smelling” pigment began to be shipped to London from Calcutta in the 1780s. By some accounts though, the Dutch painters were the first in Europe to get their hands on it in the 17th century. The Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602 and flourished till about the early 18th century.

Winsor & Newton, a London-based manufacturer of fine art products, had been getting sealed packages of the pigment. The company website reads thus: “The dirty yellow balls would be washed and purified, and the greenish and yellow phases separated. The precise ingredients of these pieces of pigment were unidentified, but they gave off a strong odour of ammonia and were suspected of containing snake urine, ox bile or, according to a more popular theory, camel urine.” The Winsor & Newton archive is one of the few places in the world wherein pieces of the original Indian yellow pigment are preserved.

The curiosity among chemists and pigment makers continued. Some contended the colour came from plant sap, but none was able to establish anything with certainty. While all this was happening, the colour spread in the hands of luminous patrons such as the Dutch masters Johannes Vermeer and Vincent Van Gogh, and English painter J.M.W. Turner. Think Van Gogh’s wheat fields or sunflowers — the whole range of interactions, between strokes and tones, time and temperament, amidst the greens, blues and whites…

Mandar (who goes by one name), a Delhi-based artist who nurtures a fondness for yellow, believes “you have to have faith in your colour and intention”. His preferred shade is Naples yellow, which is perhaps the earliest known synthetically produced yellow pigment. “At times after application, I just let it be for a few days, to see if it turns out the way I want it to, to get the right feel,” says Mandar.

Although most indigenous pigments now have synthetic versions, it’s not quite the same, as artist Arpana Caur will say. Caur — along with her mother — is also an art collector with over 200 Pahari paintings among others. They are 150-200 years old and are displayed in two museums. Caur tells The Telegraph, “There was a flood a few years ago, and unfortunately water seeped in and the Indian yellow was washed out. I got a lot of them restored, but it is not the same.”

Caur began to paint when she was nine, now she is 70. She says, “I find
Indian yellow very transparent. I used to buy it earlier but by temperament, I like opaque colours. Now I use Indian yellow only when I have an opaque colour under it, perhaps the solid cadmium yellow.”

In 1883, the story of Indian yellow took a definite turn. Joseph Hooker, director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, London, drew the attention of officials in India, leading to an investigation into the origins of the pigment. A few months later, Hooker received a reply from T.N. Mukharji, who was a government employee. Mukharji had found a group of gwalas or cowherds in Munger, now in Bihar, feeding their cattle a restricted diet of mango leaves and water. These cowherds, he said, produced the “mysterious” yellow pigment. He also commented that the cows “looked very unhealthy”.

Mukharji’s report was published in the Journal of the Society of Arts and in the early 20th century, Indian yellow was outlawed. And it disappeared from the market.

One of the last uses of Indian yellow, reportedly, was by Van Gogh in The Starry Night (1889). The famous yellow moon held within a cluster of radiant orbs was a blend of zinc yellow and Indian yellow.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

Experts carried out an in-depth study about its biodiversity, archaeological ancestry and unique ecosystem and later, a proposal was sent to include its name in the UNESCO tentative list.

In a significant achievement for Chhattisgarh’s tourism, the state’s Kanger Valley National Park is India’s new UNESCO heritage claimant with its unique biodiversity.

The park has been included in the tentative list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, marking the first site in Chhattisgarh to achieve this prestigious recognition.

It was an arduous journey to get the exceptional beauty and historical importance of Kanger Valley recognised to this stage. In December 2023, the Chhattisgarh government and the Archaeological Survey of India planned to facilitate global awareness of this amazing site.

Experts carried out an in-depth study about its biodiversity, archaeological ancestry and unique ecosystem and later, a proposal was sent to include its name in the UNESCO tentative list. Chhattisgarh achieved the first vital step to get entry into the special list carrying names of places that can be declared as World Heritage in future. The state keeps its hopes alive that Kanger Valley will get the status of permanent World Heritage in the coming years.

“It is a matter of pride for the state that Kanger Valley has been included in the UNESCO Tentative List, which will open up new possibilities in tourism and employment. We will continue to work together to preserve our heritage in the future”, said Vishnu Deo Sai, Chhattisgarh chief minister.

A government spokesperson said that Kanger Valley is not just a forest, it is an incredible realm that for many, appears like a fairy tale world.

The region, with more than 15 mysterious caves such as Kotamsar, Kailash and Dandak caves, looks no less than a mystical world. The 15 limestone caves in the Valley are not only geological wonders but also narrate archaeological stories.

Various rare animals—otters, mouse deer, giant squirrels, Lethis softshell turtles, and wild wolves, among others thrive in this park. More than 200 bird species wing their way above in the sky with a colorful carpet of over 900 plants on the ground. Across this bio-geography landscape, over 140 different butterflies fill the air with colour.

In the surrounding villages inhabited by Dhruva and Gond tribes, the Kanger Valley forest is not just a jungle but a part of their culture and life. With the increase in tourism, new employment opportunities will also open up for the locals.

A few months ago, Dhudmaras village of Bastar gained the attention of the world with its simplicity and has been included in the top 20 villages of the world by joining the UNWTO’s “Best Tourist Village” promotion programme. Now Kanger Valley has taken the regional glory to another height.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)