Sri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was the sixth President of India. Born in a peasant family at Illuri village in the Anantapur District of Andhra Pradesh on May 19, 1913. Sri Sanjiva Reddy had his early education at the Theosophical High School at Adyar in Madras and later joined the Arts College at Anantapur..
In 1931 he gave up his studies and took part in the freedom movement. At the age of 25, he was elected Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Provincial Congress Committee and remained in that office for 10 years. Shri Sanjiva Reddy married Shrimati Nagarathnamma on June 8, 1935. He was in prison for a greater part of the period 1940-1945. In 1946 he was elected to the Madras Legislaltive Assembly and became the Secretary of the Madras Congress Legislature Party the following year. In 1947, he became a Member of the Indian Constitutent Assembly.
From April 1949 to April 1951, he was Minister for Prohibition, Housing and Forests for the state of Madras. In 1951, he became the president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee. In 1952, he was elected Member of the Rajya Sabha. In 1953, he became the deputy chief minister in the Cabinet of the T. Prakasam and he was the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party. He was again elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1955 and became Deputy Chief Minister in B. Gopala Reddi's cabinet.
He became the first Chief Minister to the new State of Andhra Pradesh in October, 1956. In 1959, he resigned the Chief Ministership to take over the Presidentship of the Indian National Congress. In March, 1962, he again became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. In February 1964, he voluntarily resigned the office of Chief Minister.On June 9, 1964, he was appointed a Member of the Union Cabinet formed by Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and took over the portfolio of Steel and Mines. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in November, 1964.
Reddy was Union Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation, Shipping and Tourism from January 1966 to March 1967 in the Cabinet formed by Indira Gandhi. He was elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha on March 17, 1967, an office that won him unprecedented acclaim and admiration. After 1969, Shri Reddy devoted his time to agriculture. In March 1977, he fought the Lok Sabha election from Nandyal constituency in Andhra Pradesh as a Janata Party candidate. He was the only non-Congress candidate to get elected from Andhra Pradesh.
Black Rhinoceros - Diceros bicornis
The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), also known as the hooked-lipped rhinoceros, is one of five living species of rhinos. Despite its name, the skin of the black rhinoceros is not truly black but instead slate grey in color. Skin color can varry depending on the mud in which the black rhino wallows. When covered in dry mud, the black rhinoceros may appear white, light grey, reddish, or black.
Of all the rhinoceros species, black rhinos are most closely related to white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum), but there are a number of respects in which the two species differ. Black rhinos are smaller than white rhinos. Black rhinoceroses also have a smaller head which they hold higher and in horizontal orientation. White rhinos have a comparitively larger head which they hold lower to the ground. The lips of black rhinoceroses are also unique. They have a pointed upper lip that is muscular and enables them to grasp shrubs and vegetation which they pull from the ground as they eat.
Black rhinos were once the most numerous of the five rhino species. Sadly, their population has plummeted by more than 90 percent since the 1940s. In 1995, the rhino population fell to just 2,410 individuals. Since that time their numbers have recovered modestly but the species remains classified as Critically Endangered on the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The main threats to black rhinos are poaching and habitat destruction. The horns of the black rhinoceros are prized for use in traditional medicine and for carvings and ornaments. As a result, intense poaching of black rhinos has been a major force in the decline of the black rhino population. Additionally, conservation efforts have been marred by civil unrest in regions such as Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.
Black rhinos have a poor sense of sight but acute sense of smell. When threatened, black rhinos may charge, although in some cases the charges are bluffs and the animal stops a few feet before it makes contact with its target. Black rhinos inhabit home ranges, and individual territories often overlap. Waterholes are necessary parts of a rhino's home range, as it provide water for drinking as well as wallowing.
The Wonder Elephants
Ramu plays at football
While Shyamu rings the bell
They make the circus lively -
We clap our hands and yell!
Ramu is so clever
And Shyamu is so free
They're the wonder elephants
Whom people come to see.
Haroo, the Croc
Here's a lazy crocodile
Snoozing on the bank
He is quick at catching prey
So do keep off his tank!
His skin is rough, his teeth so sharp
And he is moody too
So don't annoy or throw him stones
And take care what you do!
Take me Too
Oh camel with a humpy back
Do take me for a ride
You're so strong! For don't you cross
The sandy desert wide?
Take me too when you go next
For I would love to see
The desert and an oasis
Which are unknown to me!
