Several groups of tetrapods have undergone secondary aquatic adaptation, an evolutionary transition from being purely terrestrial to living at least part of the time in water. These animals are called "secondarily aquatic" because although their ancestors lived on land for hundreds of millions of years, they all originally descended from aquatic animals (see Evolution of tetrapods). These ancestral tetrapods had never left the water, and were thus primarily aquatic, like modern fishes. Secondary aquatic adaptations tend to develop in early speciation as the animal ventures into water in order to find available food. As successive generations spend more time in the water, natural selection causes the acquisition of more adaptations. Animals of later generations may spend the majority of their life in the water, coming ashore for mating. Finally, fully adapted animals may take to mating and birthing in water or ice.

Marine Reptiles

Mesosaurs

Mesosaurs were a group of small aquatic reptiles that lived during the early Permian period (Cisuralian), roughly 299 to 270 million years ago. Mesosaurs were the first known aquatic reptiles, having returned to an aquatic lifestyle from more terrestrial ancestors. Most authors consider mesosaurs to have been fully aquatic, although adult animals may have been only semiaquatic.

Turtles
Archelon is a type of giant sea turtle dating from the Cretaceous Period, now long extinct.  Its smaller cousins survive as the sea turtles of today.

Squamates

Squamata is the largest order of reptiles, comprising lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians (worm lizards). There are many examples of aquatic squamates, both living and extinct; a secondarily aquatic lifestyle has evolved multiple times.

Living at the same time as, but not closely related to, dinosaurs, the mosasaurs resembled crocodiles but were more strongly adapted to marine life. Scientists continue to debate on whether monitor lizards or snakes   are the closest living relatives of mosasaurs. Mosasaurs became extinct 66 million years ago, at the same time as the dinosaurs.

Modern squamates which have made their own adaptions to allow them to spend significant time in the ocean include marine iguanas and sea snakes. Sea snakes are extensively adapted to the marine environment, giving birth to live offspring and are largely incapable of terrestrial activity.  The arc of their adaptation is evident by observing the primitive Laticauda genus, which must return to land to lay eggs.

Ichthyosaurs

These marine reptiles had ancestors who moved back into the oceans. Ichthyosaurs adapted as fully as the dolphins they superficially resemble, even giving birth to live offspring instead of laying eggs.

Crocodilomorphs
Crocodilomorphs are a group of reptiles that include crocodilians and their extinct relatives. Many though not all crocodilomorphs had an aquatic or semiaquatic lifestyle. One group, the Metriorhynchidae displayed extreme adaptions for life in the open ocean, including the transformation of limbs into flippers, the development of a tail fluke, smooth, scaleless skin, and probably even live birth.

Sauropterygians

Sauropterygians developed from terrestrial ancestors soon after the end-Permian extinction and flourished during the Triassic before all except for the Plesiosauria became extinct at the end of that period. The plesiosaurs went extinct at the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, the same event which killed the non-avian dinosaurs. Sauropterygians include placodonts, nothosaurs, plesiosaurs, and pliosaurs.

Marine mammals

Cetacea

During the Paleocene Epoch (about 66 - 55 million years ago), the ancient whale Pakicetus began pursuing an amphibious lifestyle in rivers or shallow seas. It was the ancestor of modern whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The cetacea are extensively adapted to marine life and cannot survive on land at all. Their adaptation can be seen in many unique physiognomic characteristics such as the dorsal blowhole, baleen teeth, and the cranial 'melon' organ used for aquatic echolocation. The closest extant terrestrial relative to the whale is the hippopotamus, which spends much of its time in the water and whose name literally means "horse of the river".

Sirenians

The ancestors of the dugong and manatees first appeared in the fossil record about 45 to 50 million years ago in the ocean.

Pinnipeds

The fossil records show that phocids existed 12 to 15 million years ago, and odobenids about 14 million years ago. Their common ancestor must have existed even earlier than that.

Polar bears

Although polar bears spend most of their time on the ice rather than in the water, polar bears show the beginnings of aquatic adaptation to swimming (high levels of body fat and nostrils that are able to close), diving, and thermoregulation. Distinctly polar bear fossils can be dated to about 100,000 years ago. The polar bear has thick fur and layers of fat on its body to protect it from the cold.

Speculative theories

Humans

Proponents of the aquatic ape hypothesis believe that part of human evolution includes some aquatic adaptation, which has been said to explain human hairlessness, bipedalism, increased subcutaneous fat, descended larynx, vernix caseosa, a hooded nose and various other physiological and anatomical changes. The idea is not accepted by most scholars who study human evolution.

See also
Related topics
 Fin and flipper locomotion
 Tradeoffs for locomotion in air and water
 Evolution of cetaceans
 Vertebrate land invasion

Lists
 List of marine mammal species
 List of marine reptiles

References

Aquatic organisms
Biological evolution

Secondarily aquatic tetrapods


Fredric John Warburg (27 November 1898 – 25 May 1981) was a British publisher, who in 1935 founded the company Secker & Warburg. He is best known for his association with the author George Orwell. During a career spanning a large part of the 20th century and ending in 1971, Warburg published Orwell's major books Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), as well as works by other leading figures such as Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka. Other notable publications included The Third Eye by Lobsang Rampa, Pierre Boulle's The Bridge over the River Kwai, Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

Warburg is an important figure in the history and study of Cold War propaganda due to his work with Orwell's widow Sonia Orwell in a collaboration with the Information Research Department (IRD), a secret propaganda wing of the British Foreign Office, which helped to increase the fame of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. With Warburg's support, the IRD was able to translate Animal Farm into more than 16 different languages, and for British embassies to disseminate the book in more than 14 countries for propaganda purposes. Warburg was also involved in the sale of the movie rights to Animal Farm to the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This deal resulted in the creation of the 1954 propaganda film Animal Farm, which became the first feature-length animated film ever to be made in Britain.

Life

Warburg was born on 27 November 1898 in Paddington, London, to John Cimon Warburg (1867, London – 1931, London), a photographer, and his wife Violet Amalia (1868, Melbourne – 1925, London) (née Sichel), both of Jewish descent. John Cimon was the oldest son of Fredric Elias Warburg (1832, Gothenburg, Sweden – 1899, London) and Emma (1844–1925) (née Raphael).

At the age of nine, Fredric Warburg was sent to Wilkinson's boys' preparatory school. He later won a scholarship to Westminster School. He recalled his first two years there as "among the most hateful of my life". While he excelled academically, as a Jew he often felt an outsider. He found refuge and solace in his love of books.

In summer 1917, Warburg was commissioned to serve as an officer in the Royal Artillery. He was stationed in the Ypres area until the end of the war. After the war he began studying chemistry at Christ Church, Oxford, but later switched to classics and philosophy, receiving his MA in 1922.

Warburg's first marriage (5 July 1922), to May Nellie Holt (born 20 May 1902, Hampstead, North-West London), produced three sons: David (22 August 1923–10 November 1987), Hew Francis (8 April 1925–10 April 1983) and Jeremy Fredric (14 October 1928–9 June 1986). The marriage ended in divorce in 1932, and on 21 January 1933 Warburg married the painter and designer Pamela Bryer (née de Bayou, widowed) (20 March 1905–1978). They had a son who died of a brain haemorrhage within 24 hours of his birth, on 13 March 1933.

During the Second World War, Warburg served as a corporal in the Home Guard, in the same section in which Orwell held the rank of sergeant.

Warburg died of heart failure at University College Hospital, London, on 25 May 1981, at the age of 82.

Publishing career

Warburg started his publishing career in 1922, as an apprentice at Routledge & Sons, where he came under the tutelage of William Swan Stallybrass, a man he regarded as "the greatest scholar-publisher of his day". After Stallybrass died in 1931, Warburg became increasingly dissatisfied with Routledge and in 1935 he was dismissed. Later that year, he and Roger Senhouse purchased the publishing firm of Martin Secker, which had gone into receivership, and renamed it Secker & Warburg.

The firm became renowned for its independent left-wing position, being both anti-fascist and anti-Communist, which put it at loggerheads with many intellectuals of the time. Among the books the firm published were C. L. R. James's World Revolution, Reg Groves's We Shall Rise Again, Boris Souvarine's Stalin and André Gide's Back from the USSR.

When George Orwell parted company with Victor Gollancz, over publication of The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), it was to Secker & Warburg that he took his next book, Homage to Catalonia (1938). The firm published all of Orwell's books from then on, and he and Warburg became intimate friends. In 1940, Warburg introduced Orwell to another of his firm's authors, T. R. Fyvel, and between the three of them they planned the creation of Searchlight Books.

According to Trinidadian historian and politician Eric Williams (1911–1981), Warburg refused to publish his doctoral thesis (completed in 1938, which became the basis of his book Capitalism and Slavery, and argued that Britain's desire to abolish slavery was economical, not humanitarian, in nature), saying that "such a book... would be contrary to the British tradition".

With its financial position devastated by paper shortages during and after the war, Secker & Warburg was forced to join the Heinemann publishing group in 1952. During the 1950s and 1960s, Secker & Warburg published books by authors including Simone de Beauvoir, Colette, Alberto Moravia, Günter Grass, Angus Wilson, Melvyn Bragg and Julian Gloag.
In 1961, Warburg was made a director of the Heinemann group, a post he retained until his retirement in 1971.

Warburg published two volumes of autobiography: An Occupation for Gentlemen (1959, described by Walter Allen as "the record of a vocation rather than the story of it author's intimate life") and All Authors are Equal (1973).

Controversy

In 1952 Warburg became a member of the committee of the Society for Cultural Freedom (SCF), an organisation established, in the words of Warburg's friend T. R. Fyvel, to "promote western culture and defend it against the Communist culture of the East". The SCF produced a cultural magazine, Encounter, which received sustained criticism in the 1960s when it emerged that much of the money used to produce the magazine had come directly from the CIA, without the knowledge of most of its contributors and supporters, including Warburg.

In 1954, Secker & Warburg was prosecuted for obscenity after publishing The Philanderer, a novel by US writer Stanley Kauffmann. Warburg was offered the chance to plead guilty and escape with a minimal fine, but opted for trial by jury at the Old Bailey. The book was found not to be obscene and the summary by the presiding judge, at the trial, Sir Wintringham Stable, was added as an appendix to later editions of The Philanderer.

Bibliography
 An Occupation for Gentlemen. London: Hutchinson, 1959
 All Authors Are Equal: The Publishing Life of Fredric Warburg, 1936–1971. London: Hutchinson, 1973.

Notes

External links
Jane Potter, "Warburg, Fredric John (1898–1981)", in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 23 September 2004.
Richard Lance Keeble, "Warburg and the Making of George Orwell", The Orwell Society, 11 August 2020.

20th-century English businesspeople
1898 births
1981 deaths
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
British Army personnel of World War I
British Home Guard soldiers
British Jewish writers
English Jews
People educated at Westminster School, London
Writers from Paddington
Publishers (people) from London
Royal Artillery officers
Fredric

Fredric Warburg


Modernist literature is the literary form of modernism. It does not mean "modern" in the sense of recent in time.

Literary modernism has its origins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mainly in Europe and North America. Modernism is characterized by a break with traditional styles of poetry and verse. Modernists experimented with literary form and expression. Ezra Pound's maxim was "Make it new". The horrors of the First World War had an effect. Thinkers such as Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx were influential.

Modernist literature was at its height from 1900 to 1940, and featured such authors as Knut Hamsun, Vladimir Nabokov, T. S. Eliot, James Joyce, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Franz Kafka, Joseph Conrad, Virginia Woolf, Andrei Bely, W.B. Yeats, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, D.H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, Gertrude Stein, Samuel Beckett, Menno ter Braak, Marcel Proust, Thomas Mann, Mikhail Bulgakov, Robert Frost and Boris Pasternak.

One strand of modernist literature is the concept of the outsider. A good survey is the book of this title by Colin Wilson.

References

Other websites

Literature

Modernist literature


Social studies is the name of a course or set of courses taught in primary and secondary schools or elementary, middle, and high schools, but is also sometimes the study of parts of human society at  schools around the world.

At primary school, social studies is usually about the local community and family. By middle and high school, social studies includes many subjects about past and current human behavior and .  Usually, social studies taught in middle and high school is in the form of history, civics, economics and geography.

Social studies is a little different than social science, though many of the social sciences are covered in social studies.

The meaning of social studies is taken by understanding and the observing of the Great thinkers and scholars therefore teachers who teach social studies provide and understanding and acquisition of knowledge to learn as by giving them the full knowledge of the world they live in and in this provide an understanding of social and cultural Dynamics that shape and the influence human behaviour institution and norms

Social studies


Namaacha or Naamacha is a town in southern Mozambique, lying 80 kilometers west of Maputo on the border with Eswatini. It is located in the Lebombos area. It is known for its colonial church and for its waterfall.

The town of Namaacha lies in Namaacha District, of Maputo Province.

History

In the 1960s, Danúbio Nunes, a Portuguese citizen living in Namaacha, publicised the slogan Faça da Namaacha a Sintra de Moçambique ("Make Namaacha Mozambique's Sintra"), due to some local features, namely the climate, the altitude and the proximity to the capital city, that could make it comparable to the picturesque and historical town of Sintra, in the proximity of Portugal's capital city.

This might be at the origin of Namaacha having later been twinned with:
 Sintra, Portugal

Notable people

 Azagaia (1984–2023), rapper

Populated places in Maputo Province
Eswatini–Mozambique border crossings

Namaacha


The rainbow boa (Epicrates cenchria) is a boa species endemic to Central and South America. A semi-arboreal species (not only do they climb in the wild but also proven in captivity), it is known for its attractive iridescent/holographic sheen caused by structural coloration. Five subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.

Distribution and habitat
The rainbow boa is found in lower Central America (Costa Rica and Panama), and farther south into South America. It occurs east of the Andes, roughly reaching northern Argentina (in the provinces Chaco, Córdoba, Corrientes, Formosa, Salta, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán).

The rainbow boa's habitat generally consists of humid woodlands and rainforests, but it can also be found in open savannas.

Behavior
Rainbow boas are nocturnal and most active in the middle of the night.

This species is semi-arboreal, spending time both on the ground and in trees. They are also known to spend time in bodies of water, and are considered capable swimmers.

Mating habits

Rainbow boa sexes have different ages at which they can/should mate. Females should be from 2.5 to 4.5 years old before breeding. Males should be a minimum of 2.5 years old. Females need to be the correct size otherwise they could have complications during and after birth. Males can mate with multiple females which can be beneficial for reptile breeding.

Eating habits during breeding season
Males generally go without feeding during the mating season and Females tend to eat smaller portions during the breeding season. In order to decrease the probability of birthing issues, Females should be fed smaller rats/mice in order to save space for proper ova development.

It is not unusual for both sexes to go without eating during the mating season.

Captivity
The most common type of rainbow boa found in the pet trade is the Brazilian rainbow boa, E. c. cenchria. During the 1980s and early 1990s, substantial numbers were exported from Suriname. Today, however, far fewer are exported, and most offered for sale are captive bred. With good care, a captive Brazilian rainbow boa can be expected to live for up to 30 years, but most live up to 20.

Subspecies

Etymology
The subspecific names barbouri and gaigeae are in honor of American herpetologists Thomas Barbour and Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige, respectively.

Appearance

Rainbow Boas are renowned for their fascinating appearance, which captivates reptile enthusiasts and nature lovers alike. Their striking features contribute to their allure and make them stand out among other snake species.

Colors
One of the most captivating aspects of Rainbow Boas is their vibrant and iridescent colors. They possess a wide range of hues, including deep reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, and even purples. The iridescence of their scales gives them a mesmerizing shimmer when light reflects off them. These vivid colors make Rainbow Boas visually stunning and eye-catching creatures.

Patterns
In addition to their vibrant colors, Rainbow Boas display unique patterns on their scales. These patterns can vary from species to species and even among individuals. Some Rainbow Boas have distinct saddle-shaped markings along their bodies, while others may exhibit blotches or speckles. These patterns add to their visual appeal and make each snake distinct and visually captivating.

Scales
Rainbow Boas have smooth and glossy scales that contribute to their overall aesthetic appeal. The scales are not only visually pleasing but also serve functional purposes. The overlapping scales provide protection, minimize water loss, and aid in their movement through various terrains. The sleekness of their scales enhances the overall beauty of Rainbow Boas.

The combination of vibrant colors, unique patterns, and smooth scales makes Rainbow Boas truly remarkable in terms of their appearance. Their visual allure is often a primary reason why they are admired and sought after as both exotic pets and subjects of fascination in the natural world.

In the next section, we will explore the behavioral characteristics and natural habitat of Rainbow Boas, shedding light on their intriguing behavior and ecological significance.

Gallery

References

Further reading
Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Boidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Epicrates cenchris, pp. 94–96).
Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Epicrates cenchria, pp. 87–88, 125-127 + photographs on pp. 18–19, 22-23, 45).
Linnaeus C (1758). Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, dierentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Stockholm: L. Salvius. 824 pp. (Boa cenchria, new species, p. 215). (in Latin).

External links

Epicrates
Reptiles of South America
Reptiles described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Rainbow boa


Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, better known as Simone, is a Brazilian singer of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) who has recorded more than 30 albums.

Biography
Simone was born on December 25, 1949, in Salvador, Bahia, as the seventh daughter in a family of nine children. During her teenage years, she was a professional basketball player and moved to São Paulo to become a member of the women's national basketball team. She studied in Santos, São Paulo, majoring in physical education.

Career
Her music career began when a close friend and guitar teacher Elodir Barontini invited her to sing at a dinner with Odeon's marketing manager. At the end of this encounter, specially scheduled for her performance, came an offer of a contract to record not one but four albums at once. Her eponymous debut album was recorded in October 1972 at a low cost and with a few musicians, conducted by José Biamonte. It circulated only among friends, relatives, and artists; ten years later it would be re-edited and with a different cover. On March 20, 1973, Simone was launched for the press in a closed meeting at the Hilton Hotel in São Paulo; later on, she would appear for the first time on a TV program, for TV Bandeirantes. This was followed by an appearance on Mixturação (director/producer Walter Silva, April 1973), a TV Record program where she was one of the promising new talents. Thus, success gradually took place.

When she transitioned from sports to stage performance, she was supported by her father, an amateur opera singer, and her mother, a pianist. Early in her musical career, she was invited to participate in an international tour, starting with a presentation at the Olympia in Paris. This tour was organized by Hermínio Bello de Carvalho, a major record producer in Brazil. They performed at Olympia, Madison Square Garden in New York City, Belgium, and Canada with great success, launching two albums, Brasil Export 73 and Festa Brasil. Both were produced by Hermínio Bello, who would also produce the next two albums, Quatro Paredes and Gotas D´Água, the last with Milton Nascimento's production.

Shows and TV festivals
By 1977, she reached national recognition in Brazil, notably with Jura Secreta, Face a Face and O Que Será. The last, composed by Chico Buarque, was featured in the soundtrack of the film Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, by Bruno Barreto, which helped to popularize the music. The same year, she also met Chico Buarque at the studio and said, "O Que Será opened doors for me and my career."

From June 16 to September 15, 1978, she was among artists of the Projeto Pixinguinha that traveled around the country with upcoming new singers. An excerpt from the Projeto comments on her success:
In 1977, beyond launching 'Face a Face' and the Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands soundtrack, she was acclaimed in a spectacle at the Museu de Arte Moderna. At the Teatro Clara Nunes, directed by Hermínio Bello de Carvalho, she presented "Face a Face". She is improving her performance in each spectacle and is featured now among Brazil's best singers. She has just recorded "Cigarra", singing Gonzaguinha's "Petúnia Resedá" as well as songs by Fagner and Abel Silva ("Sangue e Pudins"), Milton Nascimento and Ronaldo Bastos ("Cigarra").
A performance in 1977 was also claimed to be one of her best. (Excerpt by Funarte): "Along with Belchior, young Simone brought crowds to João Caetano theatre for her Seis e Meia performance on August 25, 1977, and was highly acclaimed when singing 'Gota D'Água'; Seis e Meia marked her first national recognition."

Two years later, on December 12, 1979, her next LP Pedaços was launched at Canecão Rio de Janeiro; it was positively received by critics and drew over 120,000 attendees for the album tour. Pedaços gave her her first golden disc.

The largest album seller of the 1980s
According to Revista Veja (Brazil's largest weekly news magazine): "Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira was born twice. The first time, in 1949, in a lower-class Salvador area, in Bahia. The second time was last February 7 at the 'Morumbi Stadium', in São Paulo, when she raised a vibrant chorus of 90,000 at the 'Canta Brasil' spectacle, singing 'Caminhando'. When her presentation ended, she was another shining star in the sky." She recorded her career's first golden disc and an eponymous program for Rede Globo, recorded live at the 'Globo Theater' (March 1980). The program, Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, was the first of a series called Grandes Nomes. Also in 1979, she was present at the Festival de Música Popular Brasileira, interpreting Para Lennon & McCartney (by Márcio and Lô Borges and Fernando Brant). In 1982, the same magazine would declare Simone to be the largest album seller of the decade on the cover, with seven pages of coverage.

From the 1960s, when the Festival de Música Popular Brasileira series was launched (Rede Record), until the 1980s, Brazilian television broadcast programs from live music festivals. Mulher 80 (Rede Globo) exhibited a series of interviews and musicals discussing women's role in society with an approach to the national music evolution and the predominance of female voices, including Elis Regina, Maria Bethânia, Fafá de Belém, Marina Lima, Simone, Rita Lee, Joanna, Zezé Motta, Gal Costa and Regina Duarte and Narjara Turetta from the Malu Mulher TV series. In an interview given to O Pasquim journal (nº 572, from June 13 to 19, 1980), Elis Regina said about her: "I Like Simone very much. Potentially, there is a talent to bloom out. She is a beautiful woman; her repertoire is very good, and she is very well guided by Flávio Rangel and Nelson Ayres."

At the age of 32, she became the first female singer to fill the Maracanãzinho Stadium. In February 1982, 15,000 to 20,000 people attended Canta Brasil to see her perform music by Milton Nascimento, Ary Barroso, Chico Buarque, Tom Jobim, Fernando Brant, Vítor Martins, Paulo César Pinheiro, Hermínio Bello de Carvalho, Isolda, Sueli Costa and Abel Silva. In December 1983, she drew a crowd of 150,000 people to Quinta da Boa Vista  to see a live transmission of Rede Globo for a New Year's TV show.

As her career grew, Simone became increasingly involved in political activities.  She helped raise funds with Nordeste já, a Brazilian version of the American charity efforts We are the World or USA for Africa. The 155 choruses of voices recorded a compact disc with two songs of hers, Chega de Mágoa and Seca D'Água.

In May 2006, in a pocket show at Bourbon Street Nightclub in São Paulo, Simone and her band performed for the Credicard Project. Notable recent performances include the ones in Peru, where the audience stood by the stage clapping for more than five minutes straight; and in Miami, along with Ivan Lins. By June 2007, the Coliseum of Santos received an icon of MPB who had once been a resident. Amigo é Casa, sharing the stage with Zélia Duncan, was a show for the recording of an eponymous DVD and aimed to mark the partnership she had with Zélia Duncan for the past two years.

Repertoire
Her repertoire includes some 350 interpretations, one of the largest among Brazilian female singers. The themes of romantic love and passion (Começar de Novo, Jura Secreta, Corpo, Medo de Amar nº2, Raios de luz, and Lenha), samba (O Amanhã, To Voltando, Disputa de Poder, and Ex-amor), and religious songs (Cantos de Maculelê, Reis e rainhas do Maracatu, Então é Natal, Ave Maria, and Jesus Cristo), are the frequent in her work.

During her childhood and teenage years, the main influences on this romantic repertoire were Roberto Carlos, Maysa Matarazzo, Dolores Duran, Ângela Maria, and Nora Ney—names of the samba-canção or fossa (gloom) genre. Samba-canção preceded the bossa nova music style, with which Maysa was associated, and had presented more gentle or soft melodies and interpretations. Maysa's legacy, even with its bossa nova bias, is that of a more dramatic singer and it would be more properly linked to the bolero and samba-canção rhythm. Simone's fondness for boleros results from this musical heritage.

Among her albums recorded after the 1980s, those that stand out include Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira (1995), featuring ballads among other classic and consecrated samba composers; Café com Leite (1996), a tribute to Martinho da Vila; Seda Pura, an incursion into pop (2001) and Baiana da gema, a tribute to Ivan Lins (2004)--works regarded as a reunion of a more refined repertoire and more selective arrangements. Among these is Café com Leite, in which she interprets Martinho da Vila's sambas. Singer and composer Caetano Veloso publicly offered his admiration for this album:
Simone's album of Martinho da Vila's compositions, I find divine, divine and yet it went unheralded... The press acted as if it was nothing special. It is divine. His repertoire fits her very well—that album is the kind I like to listen to at home, alone, together with my favourites. She gave clarity to those compositions, it is beautiful. And it was a project conceived as the recording of a singer perfectly suited to interpret a composer, I don't know how it came to be, but it is beautiful, it is a wonderful result. And she is a great singer, very good, I adore her. A very beautiful voice which makes one feels good.

As an interpreter of others' compositions, Simone has foregrounded Ivan Lins, Vitor Martins, Milton Nascimento, Fernando Brant, Paulo César Pinheiro, Gonzaguinha, Chico Buarque, Martinho da Vila, Fátima Guedes, João Bosco, Aldir Blanc, Isolda, Roberto Carlos, Hermínio Bello de Carvalho, Paulinho da Viola, Sueli Costa and Abel Silva. Her current repertoire includes Zélia Duncan, Cássia Eller, Adriana Calcanhotto, Aldir Blanc, Joyce, Martinho da Vila, Paulinho da Viola, and Zeca Pagodinho.

"Começar de novo"
The song "Começar de novo", from her Pedaços album (1979), stands out for being the theme song of the TV series Malu Mulher (Rede Globo, 1979), a primetime soap opera that involved controversial issues at that time such as women's liberation, divorce, abortion, and domestic violence. The character Malu (played by Regina Duarte) was the first to take birth-control pills on a TV drama. Simone was chosen to interpret it instead of Maria Bethânia, who also sought that distinction. The composition was written especially for the series by Ivan Lins and Vítor Martins.

"Começar de Novo" was also recorded by Barbra Streisand and Sarah Vaughan with English lyrics as "The Island". Because of this interpretation, the North American producer Quincy Jones cites Simone as "one of the world's greatest singers". Alongside Jones, Brad Mehldau, compares her to Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington, referring to her "strong identity, passion, and grace". Julio Iglesias has referred to Simone as one of his favourites among Brazilian female singers.

Bibliography
 Travessia: A vida de Milton Nascimento. Maria Dolores. 2006. Rcb Publisher.
 1985, O ano em que o Brasil recomeçou. Edmundo Barreiros e Pedro Só. 2006. Ediouro Publisher.
 História sexual da MPB. Rodrigo Faour. 2006. Rcb publisher.
 Nada será como antes, a MPB nos anos 70. Ana Maria Bahiana. 2006. Senac Publisher.
 Timoneiro – Perfil Biográfico de Hermínio Bello de Carvalho. Alexandre Pavan. 2006. Casa da Palavra Publisher.
 Toquinho: 40 anos de música. João Carlos Pecci. 2005. RCS Publisher .
 Viver de Teatro – Uma biografia de Flávio Rangel. José Rubens Siqueira. Nova Alexandria Publisher.

Discography

EMI
 1973 – Simone
 1973 – Brasil Export
 1973 – Expo Som 73 – ao vivo
 1974 – Festa Brasil
 1974 – Quatro Paredes
 1975 – Gotas D'Água
 1977 – Face a Face
 1978 – Cigarra
 1979 – Pedaços
 1980 – Simone Ao Vivo no Canecão
 1980 – Simone (Atrevida)

Sony BMG / CBS
 1981 – Amar
 1982 – Corpo e Alma
 1983 – Delírios e Delícias
 1984 – Desejos
 1985 – Cristal
 1986 – Amor e Paixão
 1987 – Vício
 1988 – Sedução
 1989 – Simone (Tudo por Amor)
 1991 – Raio de Luz
 1991 – Simone – Procuro olvidarte (Spanish) (featuring Hernaldo Zúñiga)
 1993 – Sou Eu
 1993 – La Distancia (Spanish)
 1995 – Simone Simone
 1995 – Dos Enamoradas (Spanish)

Universal / Polygram
 1995 – 25 de Dezembro
 1996 – Café com Leite
 1996 – 25 de diciembre (Spanish)
 1997 – Brasil, O Show – Live
 1998 – Loca (Espanhol)
 2000 – Fica Comigo Esta Noite
 2001 – Seda Pura
 2002 – Feminino – Live

EMI
 2004 – Baiana da Gema
 2005 – Simone ao Vivo

Biscoito Fino
 Amigo é Casa (CD)
 Amigo é Casa (DVD)

EMI
 O canto da Cigarra nos anos 70 (CD)

Brazilian soap opera theme songs
 Um desejo só não basta (Corpo a Corpo) – Sony
 Pensamentos (Explode Coração) – Universal
 Íntimo (Uma Esperança no Ar) – Sony
 Naquela noite com Yoko (Brilhante) – Sony
 Quem é Você (A Próxima Vítima) – Sony
 É festa (Senhora do Destino) – Universal
 Sentimental demais (Laços de Família) – Universal
 Será (Perigosas Peruas) – Sony
 Desafio (Mulheres de Areia) – Sony
 Apaixonada (Pantanal) – Sony
 Então Me Diz (Belíssima) – EMI
 Raios de Luz (De Corpo e Alma) – Sony
 Muito Estranho (Desejos de Mulher) – Universal
 Veneziana (A Lua me Disse) – EMI
 Seu Corpo (Sassaricando) – Sony
 Loca-Crazy (Torre de Babel) – Universal
 Tô Que Tô (Sol de Verão) – Sony
 Anjo de Mim (Anjo de Mim) – Sony
 Em Flor (Roda de Fogo) – Sony
 Amor explícito (Corpo Santo) – Sony
 Carta Marcada (Araponga) – Sony
 Beija, Me Beija, Me Beija (O Amor Está no Ar) – Universal
 Uma Nova Mulher (Tieta) – Sony
 Sob Medida (Os Gigantes) – EMI
 Saindo de Mim (Chega Mais) – EMI
 Medo de Amar nº 2 (Sinal de Alerta) – EMI
 Povo da Raça Brasil (Terras do Sem Fim) – EMI
 Mulher da Vida (Champagne) – Sony
 O Tempo Não Pára (O Salvador da Pátria) – Sony
 Começar de Novo (Malu Mulher) – EMI
 A Outra (Roque Santeiro) – Sony
 Desesperar jamais (Água Viva) – EMI
 Face a Face (O Pulo do Gato) – EMI
 Valsa do Desejo (Força de um Desejo) – Universal
 Mundo Delirante (Elas por Elas) – Sony
 Vento nordeste (Pé de Vento) – EMI
 Existe um céu (Paraíso Tropical) – EMI
 Jura secreta (O Profeta e Memórias de Amor) – EMI
 Cigarra (Cara a Cara) – EMI'
 Ela disse-me assim (Os Imigrantes – Terceira Geração) – EMI
 Então vale a pena (Salário mínimo) – EMI
 O que será (Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands) – EMI
 Enrosco (Paixões Proibidas) – EMI

References

External links

 Simone's Official Web Site

Bettencourt family
Brazilian contraltos
1949 births
Living people
Afro-Brazilian people
Música Popular Brasileira singers
Samba musicians
Spanish-language singers of Brazil
Columbia Records artists
Musicians from Salvador, Bahia
20th-century Brazilian women singers
20th-century Brazilian singers
21st-century Brazilian women singers
21st-century Brazilian singers
Women in Latin music
Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners

Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira


The Tanzimat was a period of reform in the Ottoman Empire that began in 1839 and ended in 1876. It intended to modernise the Ottoman Empire, and allowed for religious freedom. The period started with the publishing of the Tanzimat edict which was written by Koca Mustafa Reşit Paşa with the order of Mahmud II. There are two scripts and a constitution that has been published: The Hatti Humayun and Hatti Serif.

Reforms
19th century in the Ottoman Empire

Tanzimat


Kuchipudi () (Telugu: ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra. It developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all major classical dances of India.

Evidence of Kuchipudi's existence in an older version are found in copper inscriptions of the 10th century, and by the 15th century in texts such as the Machupalli Kaifat. Kuchipudi tradition holds that Tirtha Narayana Yati – a sanyassin of Advaita Vedanta persuasion, and his disciple, an orphan named Siddhendra Yogi, founded and systematized the modern version of Kuchipudi in the 17th century. Kuchipudi largely developed as a Krishna-oriented Vaishnavism tradition, and it is known by the name of Bhagavata Mela in Thanjavur.

The traditional Kuchipudi was performed by all males troupe. A dancer in a male role would be in Agnivastra, also known as Bagalbandi, wear a dhoti (a single pleated piece of cloth hanging down from the waist). A dancer in a female role would wear a Sari with light makeup. The Kuchipudi performance usually begins with an invocation. Then, each costumed actor is introduced, their role stated, and they then perform a short preliminary dance set to music (dharavu). Next, the performance presents pure dance (nritta). This is followed with by the expressive part of the performance (nritya), where rhythmic hand gestures help convey the story. Vocal and instrumental Carnatic music in the Telugu language accompanies the performance. The typical musical instruments in Kuchipudi are mridangam, cymbals, veena, flute and the tambura. The popularity of Kuchipudi has grown within India and it is performed worldwide.

Nomenclature, orthography and etymology
Kuchipudi is named after the village in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh named Kuchipudi – shortened form of the full name Kuchelapuram or Kuchilapuri – where it developed. The name of village, states Ragini Devi, is itself derived from Sanskrit Kusilava-puram, which means "the village of actors". Kusilava is a term found in ancient Sanskrit texts and refers to "traveling bard, dancer, newsmonger".

History

Kuchipudi, like other classical dance forms in India, traces its roots to the Sanskrit Natya Shastra, a foundational treatise on the performing arts. Its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances. Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures.

The dance-drama tradition in Andhra Pradesh is of ancient origins, and the region is mentioned in the Natya Shastra. Bharata Muni credits a graceful movement to Andhra region and discusses it as Kaishiki vritti. The pre-2nd century CE text calls one raga as Andhri, that is from Andhra. The Andhri, is related to Gandhari and Arsabhi, and is discussed in many other 1st millennium Sanskrit texts. Some, state Bruno Nettle and others, place the origins of Kuchipudi to 3rd century BCE.

Dance-drama performance arts related to Shaivism, in Telugu-speaking parts of South India, are evidenced in 10th-century copper inscriptions, and these were called Brahmana Melas or Brahma Melas. The medieval era dance-drama performance artists were Brahmins. This art was likely adopted by the musical and dancing Bhakti traditions of Vaishnavism which grew in the 2nd millennium, whose devotees were called Bhagavatulu in Andhra region and Bhagavatars in Tamil region of south India. In Andhra, this performance art evolved into Kuchipudi, while in Tamil Nadu it became known as Bhagavata Mela Nataka. According to Saskia Kersenboom, both the Telugu Kuchipudi and Tamil Bhagavata Mela are strongly related to the classical Hindu dance tradition of Yakshagana found in Karnataka, all three involve Carnatic music, but these dance-drama traditions have differences such as in costumes, structure, interpretation and creative innovations.

According to Manohar Varadpande, the Kuchipudi dance emerged in the late 13th century, when Ganga rulers from Kalinga were patrons of performance arts based on the 12th-century Sanskrit scholar Jayadeva, particularly the Gita Govinda. This royal sponsorship, states Varadpande, encouraged many poets and dance-drama troupes to adopt Radha-Krishna themes into the then prevailing versions of classical Kuchipudi. These were regionally called Vaishnava Bhagavatulu.

The modern version of Kuchipudi is attributed to Tirtha Narayanayati, a 17th-century Telugu sanyasin of Advaita Vedanta persuasion and particularly his disciple, a Telugu Brahmin orphan named Sidhyendra Yogi. Tirtha Narayanayati authored Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini and introduced sequences of rhythmic dance syllables at the end of the cantos, he wrote this work as a libretto for a dance-drama. Narayanayati lived for a while in the Tanjore district and presented the dance-drama in the Tanjore temple.

Narayanayati's disciple, Sidhyendra Yogi, followed up with another play, the Parijatapaharana, more commonly known as the Bhama Kalapam. When Sidhyendra Yogi finished the play, he had trouble finding suitable performers. So he went to Kuchelapuram, the village of his wife's family and present-day Kuchipudi, where he enlisted a group of young Brahmin boys to perform the play. According to the tradition, Sidhyendra requested and the villagers agreed to perform the play once a year, and this came to be known as Kuchipudi.

Late medieval period
Kuchipudi enjoyed support from medieval era rulers. Copper inscriptions suggest that the dance-drama was seen by the royalty and was influential by 1502 and through the late 16th century. The court records of the Vijayanagara Empire – known for its patronage of the arts – indicate that drama-dance troupes of Bhagavatas from Kuchipudi village performed at the royal court. However, various historical inscriptions often indicate that this dance form can be tracked back to the first century BCE.

The region saw wars and political turmoil with Islamic invasions and the formation of Deccan Sultanates in the 16th century. With the fall of Vijayanagara Empire and the destruction of temples and Deccan cities by the Muslim army around 1565, musicians and dance-drama artists migrated south, and Tanjore kingdom records suggest some 500 such Kuchipudi artist families arrived from Andhra, were welcomed and granted land by the Hindu king Achyutappa Nayak, a settlement that grew to become modern Melattur near Tanjore (also called Thanjavur). Not everyone left the old Andhra village of Kuchipudi, and those remaining became the sole custodians of its tradition in Andhra.

Kuchipudi declined and was a dying art in 17th-century Andhra, but in 1678, the last Shia Muslim Sultan of Golkonda, Abul Hasan Tana Shah, saw a Kuchipudi performance and was so pleased that he granted the dancers lands around the Kuchipudi village, with the stipulation that they continue the dance-drama. The Shia Sultanate was overthrown in 1687 by the Sunni Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. In order to regulate public and private morals, as well as end un-Islamic practices, Aurangzeb banned public performances of all music and dance arts, along with ordering the confiscation and destruction of musical instruments in Indian subcontinent under control of his Mughal Empire.

Colonial rule period

After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire collapsed, Hindu rebellion sprouted in many parts of India, including the Deccan region. In the second half of the 18th century, during this period of political turmoil, the colonial Europeans arrived, the Madras Presidency was formed by the East Indian Company officials and became part of the British Empire. Andhra was part of the Madras Presidency. During the colonial era, Hindu arts and traditions such as dance-drama were ridiculed. Christian missionaries and British officials stereotyped and denigrated dancers, calling Indian classical dances as evidence of a tradition of "harlots, debased erotic culture, slavery to idols and priests". Christian missionaries launched the "anti-dance movement" in 1892, to ban all such dance forms. The anti-dance camp accused the various classical Indian dance forms as a front for prostitution, while revivalists questioned the constructed histories by the colonial writers.

In 1910, the Madras Presidency of the British Empire altogether banned temple dancing. Kuchipudi, which was traditionally staged at night on a stage attached to a Hindu temple, was impacted and like all classical Indian dances declined during the colonial rule period.

After the ban, many Indians protested against the caricature and cultural discrimination, launching their efforts to preserve and reinvigorate their culture. Due to these efforts from 1920s onwards, the classical Indian dances witnessed a period of renaissance. Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastri (1886–1956) was the influential figure who led the effort to save, reconstruct and revive Kuchipudi performance art. Sastri worked closely with other revivalists, between 1920 and 1950, particularly Balasaraswati and others determined to save and revive Bharatanatyam.

Modern period
The three influential figures in Kuchipudi, during the first half of twentieth century, were Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastri, Vempati Venkatanarayana Sastri and Chinta Venkataramayya. Sastri focused on reviving and relaunching Kuchipudi after classical Hindu dances came under sustained ridicule and political degradation in the British Raj, while Venkataramayya  was influential in productions for public performances and developing specialized forms of Yakshagana – another classical Indian dance, and Kuchipudi. Sastri is also remembered for encouraging and teaching Indian women to dance Kuchipudi as solo performers and in teams, as well as working with artists of other classical dances such as the Bharatanatyam that enabled the sharing and cross flow of ideas. Vempati Venkatanarayana Sastri was the guru of Sastri, taught him Kuchipudi, and was a key figure in helping preserve Kuchipudi. The historic All India Dance Seminar, organized by the national arts organization Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1958, thrust Kuchipudi to the national stage.

Some Western dancers joined the Indians in preserving dance. The American dancer Esther Sherman, for example, moved to India in 1930, learnt Indian classical dances, changed her name to Ragini Devi, and joined the movement to save and revive classical Indian dances. Her daughter Indrani Bajpai (Indrani Rahman) learnt and became a celebrated Kuchipudi dancer. The public performances of Kuchipudi by Indrani Rahman and Yamini Krishnamurti outside of Andhra region, created wider enthusiasm and more interest through new students and the expansion of Kuchipudi as a creative performance art both within India and internationally. The latter half of the twentieth century was dominated by the Kuchipudi school of Vempati Chinna Satyam, whose efforts to further codify the modern repertoire earned him multiple accolades, including the Padma Bhushan.

Some of the Indian movie actresses such as Hema Malini started their career as a Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dancer. Kuchipudi performances have now spread world-wide.

The largest group performance  with a total of 6,117 dancers in Vijayawada got into the Guinness World Records

Repertoire

Kuchipudi is a team performance, with roots in Hindu religious festivals. The drama-dance involves extensive stage movements and exacting footwork, wherein the underlying drama is mimed by expressive gestures of hand (mudras), eye and face movements. The expressive style is through a sign language that follows the classical pan-Indian Sanskrit texts such as Natya Shastra, Abhinaya Darpana and Nrityararnavali. The dance is accompanied with Carnatic music, while the recital is in Telugu language. Just like the Carnatic music style, Kuchipudi shares many postures and expressive gestures with Bharatanatyam, such as the Ardhamandali (half seating position or a partial squat, legs bent or knees flexed out). However, there are important differences, such as Bharatanatyam as a Hindu temple tradition trending towards geometric perfection and the spiritual, while Kuchipudi as a Hindu festival tradition trending towards more sensual supple and the folksy.

Traditionally the traveling dance troupe consisted entirely of men (often Brahmins), who moved from village to village, and performed on a stage set next to a Hindu temple. The male artists would dress up and act out the female role in a drama performed by these traveling troupes. In modern times, Kuchipudi has diversified, women have joined Kuchipudi dance, outnumber male artists, and are among its most celebrated artists. In some cases now, it is the Kuchipudi girl artists who dress up and act out the role of boys.

The repertoire of Kuchipudi, like all major classical Indian dance forms, follows the three categories of performance in the ancient Hindu text Natya Shastra. These are Nritta, Nritya and Natya.
The Nritta performance is abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance. The viewer is presented with pure movement in Nritta, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range and pattern. This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of story. It is a technical performance, and aims to engage the senses (prakriti) of the audience.
The Nritya is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions. In a nritya, the dance-acting expands to include silent expression of words through gestures and body motion set to musical notes. The Kuchipudi actor articulates a story (particularly of Krishna) or a spiritual message. This part of a repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.
The Natyam is a play, typically a team performance, but can be acted out by a solo performer where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A Natya incorporates the elements of a Nritya. Kuchipudi, in its history relied on a team of dance-actors, while in modern times Kuchipudi productions include solo or duo performances.

Sequence
A complete Kuchipudi show sequence always consists of nritta and nritya in solo or group performance, but when the underlying text is a play, it may include a natya. The nritta or pure abstract dance parts of Kuchipudi, states Reginald Massey, may include parts such as darus, jatis, jatiswarams, tirmanas and tillanas. The nritya or expressive performance in Kuchipudi includes padams, varnams, shabdams and shlokas.

A Kuchipudi performance traditionally is a night performance, when rural families return from their farms and are free of their daily work. It has been performed in or next to a Hindu temple, and the stage lit by the yellow lights of castor oil burning torches. The dance-drama begins with an invocation (melavimpu, puvaranga). This may be an on stage prayer to Ganesha, the Hindu god of good beginnings, or may be an invocation expressing reverence to various Hindu gods, goddesses, earth, or one's guru (teacher).

The conductor of the performance enters and plants an "Indra's banner" staff, then introduces all the actors and the characters they play, who are revealed behind a curtain, and when each actor arrives, colored resin is thrown into the flame of one or more torches for dramatic color effects and audience's attention. Each actor performs a short dance called the Pravesa Daru accompanied by a short musical piece, as the vocalist describes his or her role. The conductor is typically present throughout the performance, on the stage, explains the play, talks and humors the audience.

After the actors have been introduced, the nritta part of the Kuchipudi performance starts. The actors present a pure dance (jatis or jatiswarams), performed rhythmically to a musical raga, and these are called Sollakath or Patakshara. A basic unit of dance in Kuchipudi is called a adugu (or adugulu), and these correspond to the karana in Natya Shastra. Each basic unit combines hand and foot movement into a harmonious sthana (posture) and chari (gait), that visually appeals to the audience wherever he or may be sitting. Each dance unit, according to the ancient text, is best performed to certain recitation of mnemonic syllables and musical beat. A series of karana form a jati, formalized originally as an oral tradition through Sanskrit mnemonics, later written, and these form the foundation of what is performed in nritta sequence of Kuchipudi.

Thereafter comes the nritya, the expressive part called abhinaya, and this is the heart of the play. The actor-dancer uses hand mudras and facial expressions inspired by the sign language in ancient Sanskrit texts, with an exacting footwork, to communicate the underlying story to the audience. A solo play or solo part of the performance is called a Shabdam, and this may be set to a poem, a verse or a prose. A varnam combines dance with mime in order to draw out and express the rasa (emotional taste), and this can be solo or group. Parts set to poetry that are love lyrics or express deeper sentiments are called a padam, and this part constitutes expressing the emotional, the allegorical and the spiritual aspects of the play.

Kavutvams are a feature of the performance that is distinctive to Kuchipudi. These are performed either as nritta or nritya, to different talas, wherein the dancer adds acrobatics to the complexity of presentation. For example, the dancer may perform the footwork, rhythmically to music, while balancing a series of pots on his or her head, and then add burning Diya (lamp) in both hands, as the show goes on. Some artists dip their foot on a wet ink pad, then dance rhythmically on a blank white piece of paper, thus painting it; alternatively, the troupe places coloured rice powder on floor and on top the white piece of paper, then dances the musical composition on it, their weight and steps causing the pigment to stick. At the end of the performance, the artist shows the audience the nature scenery or bird or flower or Ganesha or something that results. A Mayura Kavutvam dance produces a painting of a peacock, a Vinayaka Kavutvam of Ganesha, a Simhanandi Kavutvam yields the painting of a lion, each set to a certain classical composition and beat, for instance.

Costumes
The traditional Kuchipudi was performed by all males troupe. A dancer in a male role would be in Angavastra, also known as Bagalbandi, wear a dhoti (a single pleated piece of cloth hanging down from the waist). A dancer in a female role would wear a Sari with light makeup.

Modern productions retain the male dress, but are more elaborate and Bharatanatyam-like for the female roles. Women artists wear a brilliantly colourful Sari (or a body fitting dress) with a pleated fan stitched in front to help highlight the exacting footwork. The end of the wrapped Sari is held fast under a light metallic (golden or brass) belt at waist. A Kuchipudi artist braids her hair somewhat differently than a Bharatanatyam artist, to reflect the regional traditions, yet wearing flowers are common. Both have symbolic elements embedded in their hair and face jewelry, such as the Vedic symbolisms for the sun and the moon, the soul and the nature, and she sometimes sets her hairdo in the tribhuvana style which represents the three worlds. Her jewelry may include hair jewelry, ear, nose, armlets, necklaces and often a leather anklet piece with little bells (gajjelu or ghungroo). The forehead has a round red bindi or a symmetric tillaka, while the eyes are typically ringed with black collyrium to ease the viewing of expressions by the audience.

Some special Kuchipudi plays may include unusual costumes and theatrics, such as round bottom water pot balanced on the head, dancing with gymnastics or stilt athletics. Other plays may include wing props, a transparent head sheet, or peacock feathered crown to identify the actor playing Krishna.

Musical instruments

Musical instruments used in Kuchipudi are cymbals, mridangam, violin, thambura, flute. The Kuchipudi performance is led by a conductor (chief musician) called the Sutradhara or Nattuvanar, who typically keeps the beat using cymbals and also recites the musical syllables; the conductor may also sing out the story or spiritual message being enacted, or this may be a role of a separate vocalist or occasionally the dancer-actors themselves. The Kuchipudi orchestra ensemble includes a drummer (mridangam), a clarinetist and a violinist. Depending on the legend being danced out, other musicians such as a flutist may be present.

Styles
Kuchipudi has several regional banis (styles), which developed because of the uniqueness and creativity of gurus (teachers). This openness and flexibility has been a historic tradition in Indian dance culture, and is traceable to early times in Kuchipudi as the Margi and Desi styles in the text Nrittaratnavali of Jaya Senapati. According to Senapati, the Desi styles referred to one that incorporated innovations to the conservative Margi styles. Senapati lists examples of each. For Margi styles, he describes Vedayata, Veddangam, Bommalata, Perani, Chindu, Bahurupam, Pagativeshalu and others; while for Desi styles, Senapati describes Rasaka, Charchari, Bhandika, Kollata and others. Some of these styles are discernible in Warangal sculptures of the 13th century.

The dance styles are based on the standard treatises, Abhinaya Darpana and Bharatarnava of Nandikeswara, which is sub-divided into Nattuva Mala and Natya Mala. Nattuva Mala is of two types — the Puja dance performed on the Balipitha in the temple and the Kalika dance performed in a Kalyana Mandapam. Natya Mala is of three kinds — ritual dance for gods, Kalika dance for intellectuals and Bhagavatam for common place.

Major Kuchipudi dramas

The most popular dance-drama is Bhama Kalapam of Sidhyendra Yogi. Narayana Teertha composed the Krishna Lila Tarangini, a story of Krishna's life beginning from his birth to his marriage to Rukmini. Ramaiah Sastri, inspired by the Bhama Kalapam, wrote the Golla Kalapam, which portrays the theme of an ethical satirical conversation between a Gopi and a Brahmin. Other commonly performed plays are the dance-songs (kritis) of Thyagaraja, and the 700 surviving padams out of 4500 composed by Kshetrayya of Movva.

Traditional compositions that have been internationally performed by Kuchipudi artists, particularly among Telugu diaspora communities, include Srinivasa Kalyanam, Rukmini Kalyanam (marriage of Krishna and Rukmini), Sakuntalam Bhamakalpam, Hara Vilasam, Prahlada Charitram (Holi festival-related story), Usha Parinayam, Sasirekha Parinayam, Rama Natakam (probably the oldest play), Mohini Rukmangada, Chamundeswari Sabda, Ardhanareeswaram Sabda and Perini Thandavam.

Schools and training centers

Kuchipudi training, as with all major classical Indian arts, have traditionally begun at a young age. The training includes physical exercises, theory, demonstration lessons and a lot of practice. The physical exercises range from yoga to special exercises to develop a supple body and flexibility in leg muscles, lower body, core, arms, shoulders and neck. Some examples of special exercises, state Kothari and Pasricha, are Dandemu, Chakradandemu, Ekapada, Gunjeelu, Kailsamu, Kappilu and Moggalu. They are educated in Sanskrit and Telugu. They must also learn music, literature and become vocalists. Training has expanded from within traditional families to anyone across the world due to its popularization.

See also
 Vilasini Natyam
 Andhra Natyam
 Perini Sivatandavam
 Bharatanatyam

Notes

References

Bibliography

, Table of Contents

External links

 Kuchipudi Academies in India, Narthaki

Classical dance genres of India
Culture of Andhra Pradesh

Kuchipudi


Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood (; also known as Al Bastakiya) is a historic district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The construction of Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood dates back to the 1890s. In its prime, the locality was capable of 60 housing units, most of which were separated by narrow, winding lanes. The town of Al Bastakiya was primarily built by the affluent Persian Merchants drawn to Dubai by the rich trade opportunities and incentives offered by the Emirati government, the district was named after the southern Iranian town of Bastak.

In the 1980s half of the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood village was destroyed to make way for the development of a new office complex. The remaining houses were mostly used as warehouses or accommodation for foreign laborers. In 1989, the Dubai Municipality directed that the remaining parts of Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood were to be demolished. Rayner Otter, a British architect, came to the area and made extensive renovation in the house where he was staying. Rayner started a campaign to preserve the area and wrote a letter to Prince Charles, who was scheduled to visit Dubai that year. On his arrival, Prince Charles asked to visit Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood and explored the whole area with Rayner Otter. During his visit the Prince suggested that Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood should be preserved and the demolition was canceled.

In 2005, a project was initiated by the Dubai Municipality to restore the localities of old buildings and lanes.

Places in Al Bastakiya
Al Bastakiya consist of several places which include:

Mawaheb Gallery
Mawaheb meaning in Arabic is an art studio.

Arabian Tea House Café
The café is designed keeping in view the old heritage of Dubai people. It present the traditional Arabic food.

XVA Gallery

Established in 2003, XVA Gallery is one of the leading galleries in the Middle East that specialise in contemporary art from the Arab world, Iran and the Subcontinent. Our exhibitions focus on works by the region's foremost artists as well as those emerging onto the scene.

Sheikh Muhammad Center for Cultural Understanding
It is a non-profit organization. The purpose of creating this organization was to establish a relationship of culture between the people of Dubai.

Coffee Museum

The Museum consist of two floors. On ground floor different roasting and brewing style are demonstrated live. On the second floor there are history books area relates to coffee.

Make Art Café
This art café is opened in November 2015, the MAKE Art Café runs its operations from the courtyard of a charming heritage villa in one of the most attractive heritage areas in the UAE.

Gallery

References
 Bastakiya Village  The attractions of Dubai: Bastakiya Village

External links
 Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood Dubai (Pics + Video) A Complete Review with Video and Audio of  .

Communities in Dubai
Architecture in the United Arab Emirates

Al Bastakiya


Nicolau Coelho (c.1460, in Felgueiras – 1502, off the coast of Mozambique) was an expert Portuguese navigator and explorer during the age of discovery. He participated in the discovery of the route to India by Vasco da Gama where he commanded Berrio, the first caravel to return; was captain of a ship in the fleet headed by Pedro Álvares Cabral who landed in Brazil. He died at sea, possibly off the coast of Mozambique, while returning from India in the 5th Portuguese Armada with Francisco de Albuquerque.

Biography
Nicolau Coelho (c. 1460–1502) was presumably born in Felgueiras in northern Portugal. He was the son of Pedro Coelho and either Luísa de Góis or Inês de Ataíde, depending on the genealogical source. He married Brites Rodrigues de Brito sometime before 1495 and had several children: Nicolau, Francisco, Joana, Jorge, and Leonor.

Nicolau Coelho was a Portuguese explorer and one of the three captains (along with Paulo da Gama and Gonçalo Nunes) who accompanied Vasco da Gama in the Discovery of the sea route to India on 8 July 1497. He was the captain of the Berrio during this exploration and had as his navigator, Pêro Escobar. He was the first of Gama's captains to reach Mozambique, and establish contact with the sultan of Quiloa. He was also the first of Gama's armada to arrive in Lisbon, on 10 July 1499 where King Manuel I of Portugal bestowed to him a pension of 50,000 reis per year, 30,000 in interest for his lands and his descendants and a new coat of arms. He was made Knight of the Royal House (Cavaleiro da Casa Real) that same year.

On 9 March 1500 he accompanied Pedro Álvares Cabral in the discovery of Brazil being one of the captains of the fleet of 13 ships. After landing in Brazil, the fleet resumed their voyage east on 3 May 1500, whereupon they were struck by a great storm near the Cape of Good Hope, losing 4 vessels. They continued with stops in modern-day Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania before finally reaching Calicut in India on 13 September 1500. The fleet returned to Lisbon on 23 June 1501. Cabral arrived back home with only 4 of the original 13 ships.
Coelho left Portugal for a third time on 14 April 1503, as captain of the "Faial" with the armada of Afonso de Albuquerque, but died while returning home to Portugal in January 1504 along with Francisco de Albuquerque, Afonso's cousin, near the shallows of São Lázaro, modern-day Quirimbas Islands, Mozambique.

See also
Exploration of Asia

References

External links
 Portrait and coat-of-arms
 Nicolau Coelho at Navegações Portuguesas (in Portuguese)

1460 births
1504 deaths
People from Felgueiras
Portuguese explorers of South America
Explorers of Asia
Explorers of Africa
15th-century explorers
16th-century explorers
Portuguese navigators
Maritime history of Portugal
Portuguese in Kerala
15th-century Portuguese people
16th-century Portuguese people
Deaths due to shipwreck at sea

Nicolau Coelho


Engineer Ibrahim Spinzada is a politician in Afghanistan who has been appointed to several government positions by President Hamid Karzai. In 2004 the Los Angeles Times described Spinzada as Karzai's brother-in-law. The Congressional Research Service also called him "a Karzai brother-in-law", when it reported he was the first deputy adviser on Afghanistan's National Security Council in 2010.

In June 2010, Spinzada was appointed interim director of National Directorate of Security (NDS).

In March 2012 he traveled to Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba to negotiate with the five remaining Taliban leaders held there.

Al Jazeera described him as an associate of Mohammed Ali Salehi, an individual they reported facilitated the illegal transfer of funds from Afghanistan.

References

Pashtun people
Living people
Government ministers of Afghanistan
Afghan engineers
Year of birth missing (living people)

Ibrahim Spinzada


Ozai (also known as Fire Lord Ozai or the Phoenix King) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Nickelodeon's animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.  Though once shown behind the scenes than recurringly, he is nevertheless an important character in the series as he is the father of Azula and Zuko.  He is also the younger brother of Iroh and is the rival of the main protagonist of the series, Avatar Aang who must stop Ozai to bring balance to the world. He is also Fire Lord Sozin's grandson. He is also member of the 5th Council. He is voiced by Mark Hamill and will be played by Daniel Dae Kim in the live-action remake.

Plot overview

Season One

Ozai first appears in the episode "Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku" in a vision where Avatar Roku explains to Aang that Ozai plans to use Sozin's Comet to increase his firebending ability. In the episode "The Storm" he is shown in a flashback of a story being told by Iroh explaining why Zuko is obsessed with capturing the Avatar. Zuko is challenged to a duel by Ozai and when Zuko refuses to fight, Ozai burns his son's face and banishes him. Zuko now tries to capture the Avatar to restore his honor and please his father.  At the conclusion of the season 1 finale, "The Siege of the North, Part 2", Ozai sees Zuko as a failure and believes Iroh is now a traitor to the Fire Nation. Just before the episode ends, he is seen giving a task to Azula, though the details of this task are not revealed until season 2.

Season Two

In the episode "Zuko Alone" his origin is shown in a flashback from back when his father Azulon was Fire Lord. After Iroh's son dies from the war in Ba Sing Se, Ozai claims that he should inherit the throne instead of his older brother, stating that because Iroh no longer has a son, the bloodline of Fire Lords would end with him. Azulon, infuriated at the request, orders Ozai to kill his own son, Zuko, to understand the pain that Iroh felt. Ozai's wife, Ursa, knowing that Ozai would do anything for the throne, offered Ozai a plan to spare Zuko's life and his place to the throne.  This resulted the death of Fire Lord Azulon and the banishment of Ursa, though the latter is not revealed until season 3.

Season Three

Ozai makes his first full appearance in the first episode of season 3, "The Awakening", after the Earth city of Ba Sing Se is conquered by Azula and the Fire Nation. Ozai now welcomes his son, Zuko, home after Azula states that he killed the Avatar. While in a war meeting, Zuko states that even though the Earth Kingdom is conquered that they would still not officially give up. Ozai concludes that the only way to defeat their resistance is to use the power of Sozin's Comet to increase the Fire Nation's power. When it becomes known that the resistance plans to invade the Fire Nation during the eclipse, Ozai evacuates the capital city and hides underground. There he comes face to face with his son, Zuko, who finally stands up to him saying he did not kill the Avatar and he's through trying to earn his love. Zuko states that what Ozai is doing is wrong, that the Fire Nation should live in peace and kindness with the other nations instead of spreading fear across the world. Ozai merely laughs at this. Zuko then admits he will free his Uncle Iroh and help the Avatar stop him. Ozai then provokes Zuko to kill him but Zuko refuses, saying it's the Avatar's destiny to stop him not his. When Zuko starts to walk away, Ozai distracts him by revealing what happened to his mother. When the eclipse ends, Ozai bends lightning straight at Zuko, but Zuko simply redirects it.

Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle

When Sozin's Comet arrives he dubs himself the Phoenix King and declares that he is the ruler of the world. He also appoints his daughter Azula to the rank of Fire Lord. While attacking the Earth Kingdom, he is confronted by Avatar Aang.  Because of his enhanced power and Aang's refusal to kill Ozai, he originally has the advantage.  He is eventually defeated when Aang enters the Avatar state and strips Ozai of his Firebending ability by Energybending. After the defeat Team Avatar taunts him and calls him names, stating that he's not so tough now without his power. He is then imprisoned in the Fire Nation prison where Zuko visits him, stating that maybe prison will set him up in the right path, then demands to know where his mother is.

Personality

Ozai is revealed to be a cruel leader. He is easily angered and merciless. His cruel personality could be due to his failure in his relationship with his father, Azulon, who always favored his older brother, Iroh, over him. Ozai would prove to be a heartless father to his own son,  Zuko, believing him a failure and even burning his face and banishing him. He even banished his own wife, though admitted later that he felt banishment was too light a punishment.  He has a lust for power, a quality shared by his daughter Azula. He favors his daughter over Zuko, seeing her as a firebending prodigy. The expectations Ozai had for Azula caused her to become stressed and paranoid, eventually leading to her mental breakdown at the end of the series.

Abilities

Ozai is an extremely skilled and powerful firebender, able to hold his own at the height of his powers due to Sozin's Comet against Aang despite Aang's status as a full-fledged Avatar. He is one of the few who can generate lightning along with Azula and Iroh, though he is shown to be the only one to shoot lightning out of both hands. With his firebending ability he is able to propel himself in the air similar to a jet. When Sozin's Comet arrives his firebending ability increases even more. After confronting the Avatar, Ozai's powers are taken away by Aang's Energybending.

Appearances in other media

Video game

He appears as an antagonist in the video game Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno.

Film

Fire Lord Ozai appears in the live action feature film in The Last Airbender played by Cliff Curtis. Unlike the series, Ozai is a regular character in the film.

Live action remake
Daniel Dae Kim will play Ozai in the Netflix live action remake of the series.

References

Other websites
Ozai on Avatar Wiki, an Avatar: The Last Airbender Wiki

Characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender
Animated characters
Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ozai


Aprepitant, sold under the brand name Emend among others, is a medication used to prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). It may be used together with ondansetron and dexamethasone. It is taken by mouth or administered by intravenous injection.

Common side effects include tiredness, loss of appetite, diarrhea, abdominal pain, hiccups, itchiness, pneumonia, and blood pressure changes. Other severe side effects may include anaphylaxis. While use in pregnancy does not appear to be harmful, such use has not been well studied. Aprepitant belongs to the class of neurokinin-1 receptor antagonists medications. It works by blocking substance P from attaching to the NK1 receptors.

Aprepitant was approved for medical use in the European Union and the United States in 2003. It is made by Merck & Co. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.

Medical uses

Aprepitant is used to prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). It may be used together with ondansetron and dexamethasone.

Mechanism of action

Aprepitant is classified as an NK1 antagonist because it blocks signals given off by NK1 receptors. This, therefore, decreases the likelihood of vomiting in patients.

NK1 is a G protein-coupled receptor located in the central and peripheral nervous system. This receptor has a dominant ligand known as Substance P (SP). SP is a neuropeptide, composed of 11 amino acids, which sends impulses and messages from the brain. It is found in high concentrations in the vomiting center of the brain, and, when activated, it results in a vomiting reflex. In addition to this it also plays a key part in the transmission of pain impulses from the peripheral receptors to the central nervous system.

Aprepitant has been shown to inhibit both the acute and delayed emesis induced by cytotoxic chemotherapeutic drugs by blocking substance P landing on receptors in the brain's neurons. Positron emission tomography (PET) studies, have demonstrated that aprepitant can cross the blood brain barrier and bind to NK1 receptors in the human brain.  It has also been shown to increase the activity of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonists ondansetron and the corticosteroid dexamethasone, which are also used to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.

Pharmacokinetics
Before clinical testing, a new class of therapeutic agent has to be characterized in terms of preclinical metabolism and excretion studies.  Average bioavailability is found to be around 60-65%.  Aprepitant is metabolized primarily by CYP3A4 with minor metabolism by CYP1A2 and CYP2C19. Seven metabolites of aprepitant, which are only weakly active, have been identified in human plasma.  As a moderate inhibitor of CYP3A4, aprepitant can increase plasma concentrations of co-administered medicinal products that are metabolized through CYP3A4. Specific interaction has been demonstrated with oxycodone, where aprepitant both increased the efficacy and worsened the side effects of oxycodone; however it is unclear whether this is due to CYP3A4 inhibition or through its NK-1 antagonist action. Following IV administration of a 14C-labeled prodrug of aprepitant (L-758298), which is converted rapidly and completely to aprepitant, approximately 57% of the total radioactivity is excreted in the urine and 45% in feces. No unchanged substance is excreted in urine.

Structure and properties

Aprepitant is made up of a morpholine core with two substituents attached to adjacent ring carbons. These substitute groups are trifluoromethylated 1-phenylethanol and fluorophenyl group. Aprepitant also has a third substituent (triazolinone), which is joined to the morpholine ring nitrogen. It has three chiral centres very close together, which combine to produce an amino acetal arrangement. Its empirical formula is C23H21F7N4O3.

Synthesis

Shortly after Merck initiated research into reducing the severity and likelihood of CINV, researchers discovered that aprepitant is effective in prevention. Researchers worked on coming up with a process to create aprepitant, and within a short period they came up with effective synthesis of the substance. This original synthesis was deemed to be workable and proved to be a crucial step in achieving commercialization; however, Merck decided that the process was not environmentally sustainable.  This was due to the original synthesis requiring six steps, many of which needed dangerous chemicals such as sodium cyanide, dimethyltitanocene, and gaseous ammonia. In addition to this, for the process to be effective cryogenic temperatures were needed for some of the steps and other steps produced hazardous byproducts such as methane.  The environmental concerns of the synthesis of aprepitant became so great that Merck research team decided to withdraw the drug from clinical trials and attempt to create a different synthesis of aprepitant.

The gamble of taking the drug out of clinical trials proved to be successful when shortly afterwards the team of Merck researchers came up with an alternative and more environmentally friendly synthesis of aprepitant. The new process works by four compounds of similar size and complexity being fused together. This therefore is a much simpler process and requires only three steps, half the number of the original synthesis.

The new process begins by enantiopure trifluoromethylated phenyl ethanol being joined to a racemic morpholine precursor. This results in the desired isomer crystallizing on the top of the solution and the unwanted isomer remaining in the solution. The unwanted isomer is then converted to the desired isomer through a crystallization-induced asymmetric transformation. By the end of this step a secondary amine, the base of the drug, is formed.

The second step involves the fluorophenyl group being attached to the morpholine ring. Once this has been achieved the third and final step can initiated. This step involved a side chain of triazolinone being added to the ring.  Once this step has been successfully completed a stable molecule of aprepitant has been produced.

This more streamlined route yields around 76% more aprepitant than the original process and reduces the operating cost by a significant amount. In addition, the new process also reduces the amount of solvent and reagents required by about 80% and saving an estimated 340,000L per ton of aprepitant produced.

The improvements in the synthesis process have also decreased the long-term detriment to the natural environment associated with the original procedure, due to eliminating the use of several hazardous chemicals.

History
It was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2003. In 2008, fosaprepitant, an intravenous form of aprepitant was approved in the United States.

Research

Major depression
Plans to develop aprepitant as an antidepressant have been withdrawn. Subsequently, other trials with NK1 receptor antagonists, casopitant and orvepitant, have shown promising results.

Beyond suggestions that PET receptor occupancy must not be used routinely to cap dosing for new medical indications for this class, or that > 99% human receptor occupancy might be required for consistent psycho-pharmacological or other therapeutic effects, critical scientific dissection and debate of the above data might be needed to enable aprepitant, and the class of NK1 antagonists as a whole,  to fulfill preclinically predicted utilities beyond CINV (i.e., for other psychiatric disorders, addictions, neuropathic pain, migraine, osteoarthritis, overactive bladder, inflammatory bowel disease and other disorders with suspected inflammatory or immunological components. However, most data remain proprietary and thus reviews on the expanded clinical potential for drugs like aprepitant range from optimistic to poor.

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome
Aprepitant has been identified as an extraordinarily effective rescue anti-emetic for hyperemesis due to cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome: nausea, severe cyclical vomiting, and cramping abdominal pain that can occur due to prolonged, high-dose cannabis use.

Standard first line anti-emetics such as Zofran and Compazine are often ineffective in cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. and second-line treatments like haloperidol and droperidol have limited effectiveness, i.e., they may control vomiting while nausea remains in many patients.  A Published case study reported 100% elimination of nausea and vomiting in a hospitalized patient who had previously not responded to ondansetron, metoclopramide, prochlorperazine, omeprazole, ranitidine, promethazine, and haloperidol.

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome has two unusual features: Both 1) compulsive hot showering, and/or 2) application of topical capsaicin cream relieve nausea and vomiting in a large percentage of patients.  Both capsaicin and hot showers are thought to work by modulating the TRPV1 receptor pathway, which in turn reduces the release of Substance P.  It would then follow that NK1 antagonists like aprepitant would also be effective via decreased Substance P activity.

References

External links

Antiemetics
CYP3A4 inhibitors
Fluoroarenes
Lactams
Merck & Co. brands
Morpholines
NK1 receptor antagonists
Triazoles
Trifluoromethyl compounds
Ureas
World Health Organization essential medicines
Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate

Aprepitant