Poliglot

The Jammu Municipal Corporation renamed City Chowk as Bharat Mata Chowk

March 3. World Wildlife Day—and this year’s theme is “sustaining all life on Earth”. The effort is important ­because nearly a quarter of all species are at risk of going extinct in the coming decades. At least seven ­species disappeared in 2019, including the Sumatran ­rhino and the Indian cheetah. Loss of habitat and illegal trade are pushing them to extinction. Like the Indian pangolin, or thick-tailed pangolin, is the most hunted animal in India and the world’s most trafficked wild mammal. The Tokay gecko, endemic to the Northeast, is running out of luck as it is a symbol of good luck and fertility in East Asian countries. As is the red sand boa or two-headed snake of Rajasthan.

Fit India, Free India

Now you don’t have to dig for 10-rupee coins to buy a platform ticket at a railway station. You can labour even harder and perform 30 squats to get one for free. And if you feel sore after all the exercise, there are 3D massage chairs to unwind on too. Inspired by the Fit India campaign, the ‘squat kiosk’, however, is not an original initiative. Before the Winter Olympic Games 2013, Vystavochnaya station in Moscow offered a metro ticket for free to those who could do 30 squats in two minutes.

Brevis