Q1.
Man-made Wonders. 1. Kallanai Dam (The Grand Anaicut) in Tamil Nadu is one of the world’s oldest dams and is still in use. The Kallanai Dam represents a significant achievement in ancient Indian hydraulic engineering. It was built by the Chola King Karikala around 150 CE. 2. Another spectacular legacy of ancient wisdom that we have is the world’s first residential university at Nalanda in Bihar. Nalanda was established much before any European university, providing higher education to thousands of students. It was declared as a UNESCO heritage site in 1980. You may visit the site given below to know more about this. 3. Hampi, a town in Karnataka, is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Vittala Temple in Hampi was built in the 15th century. This temple has 56 special pillars known as the SaReGaMa pillars. When these pillars are tapped, they produce musical notes that can be heard clearly. 4. Some of the man-made wonders of modern India include the Bandra–Worli Sea Link in Mumbai; Statue of Unity in Gujarat; Bhupen Hazarika Setu (The Dhola-Sadiya Bridge) in Assam; and many more.
Answer
The four notes on this page are the man-made half of the unit's argument. Fix the facts first, then notice what they have in common.
| Wonder | Where | The fact to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Kallanai Dam (The Grand Anaicut) | Tamil Nadu, on the Kaveri | Built by the Chola king Karikala around 150 CE; one of the world's oldest dams and still in use |
| Nalanda | Bihar | The world's first residential university, established long before any European one; a UNESCO heritage site since 1980 |
| The Vittala Temple, Hampi | Karnataka | Built in the 15th century; has 56 SaReGaMa pillars that give out musical notes when tapped |
| Modern India | Mumbai, Gujarat, Assam | The Bandra–Worli Sea Link, the Statue of Unity, the Bhupen Hazarika Setu (Dhola–Sadiya Bridge) |
What the four have in common: every one of them is still working, or was working for a very long time. A dam that has watered the Kaveri delta for nearly nineteen centuries, a university that taught for seven hundred years, pillars that still sound, bridges that carry traffic today. The page is not a list of monuments to look at; it is a list of things that were used. That is a fair definition of an engineering wonder.
Take it further: find out how the Kallanai was built — of unhewn stone laid across the river without mortar, so that flood water passes over it instead of destroying it. Compare that idea with the living root bridges of Meghalaya: both work with the water rather than against it. Then make a two-column chart, ‘Ancient wonders / Modern wonders', and add three of your own to each side.