Roger Hargreaves - British Author, illustrator of children's book

Charles Roger Hargreaves (9 May 1935 – 11 September 1988) was a British author and illustrator of children's books, notably the Mr. Men and Little Miss series, intended for very young readers. The books' simple and silly stories, with bright-coloured, boldly drawn illustrations, have been part of popular culture for over 25 years, with sales over 85 million worldwide in 20 languages

Birth

Hargreaves was born in a private hospital^[2] at 201 Bath Road, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, England, to Alfred Reginald and Ethel Mary Hargreaves, and grew up in High Lees, 703 Halifax Road,^[2] also in Cleckheaton, outside of which there now is a commemorative plaque.

Early life

He spent a year working in his father's laundry and dry-cleaning business before starting out in advertising.^[1] But his original ambition was to be a cartoonist; and, in 1971, while he was working as the creative director at a London firm, he wrote the first Mr. Men book, Mr. Tickle. He initially had difficulty finding a publisher; but, once he did, the books became an instant success, selling over one million copies within three years. In 1975 it spawned a BBC animated television series called Mr. Men Show, Mr Tickle being voiced by Arthur Lowe.

By 1976, Hargreaves had quit his day job. In 1981, the Little Miss series of books began to appear. It, too, was made into a television series in 1983, which was narrated by John Alderton, who, with Pauline Collins, voiced the Men and Misses, respectively. Although Hargreaves wrote many other children's stories, including the Timbuctoo series of twenty-five books, John Mouse, and the Roundy and Squary books, he is best known for his 46 Mr. Men books and 33 Little Miss books.

Series by Roger Hargreaves

• Mr Men
• Little Miss
• Walter Worm
• John Mouse
• Albert Elephant, Count Worm and Grandfather Clock
• I am...
• Timbuctoo
• Hippo Potto and Mouse
• Easy Peasy People (Also by Gray Jolliffe)
• Roundy and Squarey

International Women’s Day

Go through these interesting facts on International Women's Day and acquaint yourself with the occasion.

International Women's Day, observed on 8th of March, is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies.

The first IWD was observed on 19 March 1911 in Germany following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. The idea of having an international women's day was first put forward at the turn of the 20th century amid rapid world industrialization and economic expansion that led to protests over working conditions.

Thus, International Women's Day is a time to reflect on what is it to be a woman, assess the progress we've made, to bring about further changes or simply to celebrate womanhood.

When is the next Leap Year?

The year 2012 is the next Leap year.

What is a Leap Year?

A leap year is a year in which one extra day has been inserted, or intercalated, at the end of February. A leap year consists of 366 days, whereas other years, called common years, have 365 days. The extra day, February 29 is the leap day of the leap year and has been associated with age-old traditions, superstitions and folklore.

Why does Leap Year exist?

It was the ancient Egyptians who first figured out that the solar year and the man-made calendar year didn't always match up.

That's because it actually takes the Earth a little longer than a year to travel around the Sun — 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to be exact. One day is defined by the Earth rotation, and one year by Earth revolution around the Sun. One revolution of the Earth is not 365 days but accurately 365.2422days.

Therefore, as the hours accumulated over the centuries, an extra day was occasionally added to the calendar, and over time the practice became more or less official. It was the Romans who first designated February 29 as leap day.

Which years are leap years?

The next leap year will occur in 2012.

In the Gregorian calendar the following three criteria must be met to be a leap year:

• It is evenly divisible by four;
• If it can be evenly divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless;
• The year is evenly divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year.

World's Wetlands Day

It is observed on February 2, every year since 1997, which was also the 16th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands signed in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, by 18 countries. Today the convention has 135 members.

What are Wetlands?

Wetlands are the eco-zones or transitional zones between permanently aquatic and dry terrestrial ecosystems. Wetlands are defined as "areas of marsh, fen , peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters". A wide variety of wetlands like marshes, swamps, open water bodies, mangroves and tidal flats and salt marshes etc. exists in our country.

Importance of Wetlands:

Wetlands are integral to a healthy environment. They have been called the 'nature's kidneys' because they cleanse our environment. If you ever thought that wetlands had no value, consider the following.

Wetlands help in:

• Controlling floods
• Water storage or supply
• Water purification, retention of pollutants/nutrients/sediments
• Ground water recharge or discharge, maintenance of underground water tables
• Freshwater cycle
• Staging ground for waterfowl, nurseries for fisheries and wildlife
• Stabilization of local climate
• Protecting bio-diversity
• Recreation, tourism and cultural heritage
• Providing livelihoods to local people

Some facts about wetlands:

• More than ½ of the worlds remaining wetlands have been destroyed in the 20thcentury, especially in developing countries by the demands of industrialization.
• 1/3rd of Indian wetlands has already been wiped out or has been severely degraded.
• Coastal wetlands provide nearly 12% of the total fish catch.
• Nearly 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe freshwater, and nearly 1.7 billion people live in water scarce areas. (Source: The World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002)
• One of the most important wetlands in India is the Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, which is a manmade wetland. Various migratory birds visit this park almost every winter.
• Chilka in Orissa is another important wetland and is the largest (1100 sq km) Brackish-water Lake in India.
• The Government identifies 6,48,507 hectares as wetland in India.

In remembrance of the Architect of India's Freedom!

Martyrs' Day is an annual observance in India to honour all those who gave up their lives in service of the Nation.  The observance is celebrated on January 30th of every year as it marks the 1948 martyrdom of The Father of the Indian Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.


Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, born on 2nd October, 1869 and assassinated on Jan 30, 1948, indeed was a remarkable personality. Millions of people from across the world held him in high esteem. There is some kind of charisma in him which simply fails to fade. His life was dedicated to the ideals of Truth, Non-violence and Love. 'The Bhagavad Gita is my mother,' he once said; and the name of Sri Rama was his shield. He was the architect of India's freedom and one of the greatest men of this century.


On the occasion of Martyr’s Day, we would like to share some little known facts about him which most of us don’t know.

• Mahatma Gandhi spoke English with an Irish accent, for one of his first teachers was an Irishman.
• During the freedom struggle, he wore nothing but a loin cloth, but for years he lived in London and used to wear a silk hat and spats and carried a cane.
• He was educated at London University and became an attorney. But the first time he attempted to make a speech in court, his knees trembled, and he was so frightened that he had to sit down in confusion and defeat.
• His income in South Africa touched fifteen thousand dollars a year! Something still a dream for most Indians!
• Despite this worldly success he was not happy. On seeing the untold misery of millions of his fellow countrymen; on seeing thousand of them dying of starvation; the worldly success seemed cheap and unimportant to him. He gave up all his money and ‘took the vow of poverty, and since that time, he consecrated his life to helping the poor and the downtrodden.
• Mahatma Gandhi experimented with diets to see how cheaply he could live and remain healthy. He started living principally on fruit and goats’ milk and olive oil.
• Mahatma Gandhi got inspiration of Civil Disobedience by reading a book of an American! He had been greatly influenced by the teachings of an American by the name of David Thoreau. 
• Mahatma Gandhi inspired millions of people world over to take the path of non-violence and civil disobedience. 5 world leaders who got Noble Peace prize viz. Martin Luther King Jr. (USA), Dalai Lama (Tibet), Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar), Nelson Mandela (S. Africa) and Adolfo Perez Esquivel (Argentina) have acknowledged the fact that they were influenced by the philosophy of Gandhi. Yet, Mahatma Gandhi; the man who inspired these Nobel Peace Prize winners, never got a Noble Prize!