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Jaipur Jantar Mantar tracks monsoons
JAIPUR: The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur was built in 1728 to study the posi– tion of the planets and is one of the oldest astronomical observatories in India. But the Jantar Mantar is also famous for it's monsoon predictions. Age old tradition This tradition of predicting the monsoon by studying the wind direction has been carried out in the state for over 200 years now. Each year pandits gather at the astronomical observatory to see what the rains will be like in Rajasthan. "Earlier there was no technolo– gy, and astrologers knew how to read the wind and predict the monsoons. That knowledge exists today, and is successful 80 per cent of the time," says Om Prakash Sharma, Suptd, Jantar Mantar, Jaipur. Average rains The monsoon is already one week late and after analysing the wind directions, this year's prediction appears to confirm what everybody is already afraid of just average rains for the desert state. "Finally the conclusion we have come to is that the winds are blowing in such a way that the state will have average to slightly below average rainfall," says Durga Dutt Shiv Dutt Shastri, Jaipur Ved Vidagan Sansthan. How accurate are these predictions is anybody's guess, but in a state where the monsoon is a vital lifeline these predictions are read with great interest.

Oldest living person celebrates 135th birthday
Claiming to be the oldest living person, Habib Miyan celebrated his 135th birthday on Thursday. The grand old man, who has turned into a local celebrity and claims to have witnessed change of century twice during his simple life, received a stream of visitors who came to greet him. Except for loss of eye sight, he is agile and remains busy with his great grand children, his family members said. Habib Miyan retired as a band master in erstwhile Jaipur state and his age can be verified from the pension papers, they said. His well wishers are now trying to get his name into the Guinness book of world records as the oldest living person. Habib Miyan recently fulfilled a dream of making the Haj pilgrimage when an NRI sponsored his tour and in the process also achieved the distinction of becoming the oldest man to make the pilgrimage. The Government of Saudi Arabia gave him a certificate in this regard and showered him with gifts.

CM Releases College Magazine
Jaipur, The Chief Minster, Smt. Vasundhara Raje released the annual magazine of Shri Balaji College of Engineering and Technology here at her residence on Wednesday.The Managing Director of the college, Shri Jagdish Punia presented the copy of the magazine to the Chief Minster.Shri Punia informed that articles written on the technical subjects had been compiled in the magazine. The compilation would prove to be useful for the students. He said that this was the fifth year of the college. Different courses including six engineering courses, one pharmacy and one MCA courses were being run in the college. The Parliamentary Secretary, Shri Bhawani Singh Rajawat was also present on the occasion.

Number of Tourists Increases in Shekhawati Region
Jaipur, Shekhawati region has registered unprecedented increase in the number of foreign tourists this year. The Assistant Director (Tourism), Shri Umrao Singh Rathore informed that total number of 61,114 tourists visitedthe district this year from January to June in Jhunjhunu district, of which 43,831 were domestic tourists and 17,283 foreign tourists while 49,350 tourists including 39,724 domestic and 9626 foreign tourists visited during the same period last year in the area. This way Shekhawati region registered the increase in number of foreign tourists by 7657. He said that the artistic havilies of Shekhawati, pilgrim centres, forts and other tourists places are the main attractions for the tourists. Jhunjhunu district occupies seventh pesction from the point of view of tourism in the state. He said that the maximum number of 5774 tourists came from France, 1988 from Germany, 1802 from Britain, 1128 from Australia, 593 from Switzerland, 1123 from Italy and 305 tourists came from Canada during this period in the area.