Summary: Most of us know that helium is a gas used in balloons, blimps and even airships. What more do you know about its connection with Guntur? Let us find here.

Discovery of Helium - The second element of Periodic Table, Helium is contributed by the discovery in Guntur!

When hearing the term ‘helium’ most of us get balloons to our minds. The reason for using this gas in balloons that carry humans is that it is lighter than air and it does not burn. Another important reason is that it will not produce any chemical reaction with other elements. As it is safe, it is used in the production of balloon animals for kids. Even, this gas is used for medicinal purpose and even military services use this gas.

Discovery of Helium:

In the year 1868, an astronomer from France, found a mysterious element, which is presently called as helium. This was done by the Astronomer in the gamut of the sun during a most-expected total eclipse that took place in Guntur. Earlier, this element was never found on earth and this is why it was pointed out as extraterrestrial element.

A long wait by astronomers:

Before the discovery of helium by the French Astronomer, many astronomers had been eagerly waiting for a total solar eclipse right from the year 1859. During this waiting period, the German Physicist named Gustav Kirchhoff identified how to make use of the analysis of light for identifying the chemical composition of the Sun and the stars. They thought of analysing the bright red flames that came out of the Sun and these red flames are now called as thick smokes of gas or solar prominences. But until the year 1868, they thought that the spectrum of Sun could only be observed during a full eclipse day.

The wait was over:

The French astronomer, who discovered helium stayed at Guntur on the solar eclipse day to get a site of the moon passing in front of the sun and showcased solar prominences. He found that the prominences were mostly made out of extremely hot hydrogen gas. But, he also found something extra with the help of a special instrument known as spectroscope. He found that the yellow light that was previously identified as sodium does not match the wavelength of the elements that were discovered earlier.

Continuous study:

Janssen decided to continuously study the mysterious line and he was surprised to know that it will be possible to see the Sun’s emission not just during an eclipse day, but also during normal days. But, to view the same during normal days, it is important that the other visible lines should be emitted. With continuous research, he found a device called as spectrohelioscope, which is specially used for examining the spectrum of light from the Sun.

Joseph Norman Lockyer’s work:

Without knowing the fact that French astronomer is working on finding helium, another scientist was engaged in the same research activities at a distance of about 5000 miles. This scientist named Joseph Norman Lockyer, actually thrived in his view of solar eminences in normal day light in the year 1868 on the month of October. In an unexpected scientific sync, the research papers of both these scientists reached the French Academy of Science that too on the same day. This is why both men were credited for first sighting of helium.

Guntur finds place in the history as the place of birth of helium and so like many other significances, this city holds this significance in the history as well.

Summary: Guntur has many important places and among the many important aspects, National Tobacco Board is another worth to mention organization. The National Headquarters for Tobacco Board is located in Guntur

Tobacco Board in the Guntur District of the state of Andhra Pradesh functions with the mission of striving for the entire development of tobacco growers and for the growth of Indian Tobacco industry as a whole. The vision of the board is to stay committed towards the accomplishment of its role for the smooth functioning of the vibrant farming system, remunerative and fair costs for promotion of exports and for the sake of tobacco growers.

Establishment of the board:

The Government of India, established the Tobacco Board in the place of the Tobacco Export Promotion Council as the government rightly identified the requirement to regulate production to promote export, marketing and control the instances that bring about imbalances in the supply and demand for tobacco. The actual date of introduction of the board is 1^st of January 1976 and the headquarters was opened at the city of Guntur in AP.

Aim:

The objective of the board is planned development of tobacco industry in the nation and the different activities of the board stated in the Tobacco Board Act 1975 for the promotion of the industry includes:

• Regulating the production and curing of Virginia Tobacco with respect to the demand in the country and abroad.
• Continuous scrutinizing of Virginia tobacco market, both in India and abroad and making sure that fair and remunerative cost can be obtained by the tobacco growers. This is also done to make sure that the wide cost fluctuations is reduced.

Functions of the board:

The National Tobacco Board in Guntur performs the following functions:

• The board promotes grading of tobacco right at the level of growers itself.
• The board also establishes auction platforms for sale of Virginia tobacco by registered growers and takes the role of auctioneer at auction sites either established by the board or registered by the board.
• With a view to promote the tobacco industry, the board sponsors, encourages, co-ordinates and assists scientific, technological and economic research.
• The board also recommends the central government about the minimum cost to be fixed for Virginia tobacco that is suitable for exports. This is done with a view to avoid unhealthy competition among exporters.
• The board also purchases Virginia tobacco from the growers when need arises to safeguard the interest of the farmers. Then, the purchased tobacco is sold either within India or exported by the board.
• It also propagates information that will be useful for the Virginia tobacco growers, exporters, dealers and other people dealing with tobacco in one way or another.
• The board also works towards sustaining and improving the present international markets, besides working towards establishment of new markets for Virginia tobacco manufactured in India
• Regulating the other aspects of Virginia tobacco marketing in India and exporting the tobacco with due interest towards manufacturers, exports and other people involved.

In short, this board that works under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Department of Commerce of the Indian Government aims at working towards the true interest of the tobacco growers from the Guntur District of the state of AP.

Summary: Are you surprised with the title? Of course, you would be. Read on to learn more about the connection.

Many of us got to know about the great Titanic ship and about the black day of its accident only after we got a chance to see the film Titanic. Most of us came to know that it was a real accident that was converted into a film. But, there were original and lively people in the ship on that black day that fell on the 15^th of April 1912. It was a black Sunday, when they had their last breath for many people. As against those, who had lost their lives, those who survived the accident were hurt a lot because they just got near death and somehow managed to escape.

The Guntur Connection:

Most of us think that on the day of accident only residents from foreign countries were traveling on the ship. But, four people travelled from Guntur on that day and another great thing is that all four of them survived the accident.

The American Lutheran Minister:

The four survivors, who went from Guntur were the family members of Allen Becker, an American Lutheran Minister. This minister along with his wife, a son and daughter came to India. The couple had two more children when they were in India.

The elder son, who came along with the couple from America died in the year 1907 and in India, they gave birth to another son in the year 1910, who feel ill, when he was two years old. This forced his wife to take her three children along with her to reach America for medical treatment and they planned that Allen Becker would be joining the family later.

Journey of the family began:

The family (i.e.) Becker’s wife and three children started their journey on the 7^th of March 1912 and they reached London on the 5^th of April 1912 via the Suez Canal and this day was a Good Friday. The family continued their journey to America and they reach Southampton to board the Titanic ship.

The mother’s fear:

It is stated that the mother along with her three children, felt worried when they boarded the ship, which was on its maiden journey. But, she was assured that the compartments of the ship are water-tight and so they can keep the ship afloat even in the case of any calamities. But, as she felt fearful when boarding, the family had the worst experience on the bad night. When the ship started to sink, the mother asked one of her daughters to get a blanket from their cabin, while the worst thing happened. The mother and her two children were moved to the lifeboat, while the other girl, who went to collect blanket was boarded in another lifeboat. Finally, she met her mother and her siblings in a rescue ship called Carpathia.

Happy gathering for the family:

So, the mother and three of her kids survived the accident and they united and safely reached New York on the 19^th of April. This is why Guntur is stated to have connection with Titanic ship as four people from this city survived the huge accident that made a history. Also, Allen Becker too joined his family after completing his missionary work at Guntur. The four survivors were among the 710 survivors of the accident, while more than 1500 people lost their lives.

Summary: Guntur holds the pride of being the largest exporter of chillies in the country and let us explore some details in this regard.

The state of Andhra Pradesh is rightly denoted as the land of chillies and it is estimated that nearly 75 percent of chilli exports, about 57 percent of turmeric exports and about 5 percent of other spices like coriander and tamarind are done from the state of Andhra Pradesh. The group of chilly cultivators from the Guntur District of the state of AP is called as Guntur Chillies and this group is popular at international level exports to different continents like Europe, Canada and other countries of the continent of Asia.

Guntur district holds the pride of being the important producer and exporter of different varieties of chillies and chilli powder from the country to different countries of the world like Latin America, USA, UK, South Korea, Middle East, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Generally, chillies get their colour due to their capsaicin presence and chillies from Guntur are known for their rich capsaicin levels. Hotels in the state of AP are known for their spicy dishes and most of these hotels use chillies from the district of Guntur in their dishes to get the desired taste, colour and spiciness.

Popular chilli cultivators in Guntur:

• Wonder hot chilli is known to be the hottest from Guntur District
• When it comes to the best export-quality chillies, the position is held by 334 chili.
• If you are looking for fine variety of chilli, then the one you will have to choose is Teja Chilli.
• When talking about the one that has great demand across the nation and also all over the world, it is the Guntur Sannam – S4 Type. Not just in Guntur, this particular variety is grown in Khammam and Warangal districts of the state as well. The very skin of the crushed chilli under this variety will be hot, spicy and red in colour. The peak harvesting season for this variety is between the months of December and May. The yearly production of this kind is nearly 280,000 tons.
• Wrinkled chilies come in the name of 273 chili.

There are other popular varieties like Teja, Phatki, Madhubala, Bedki, etc. All these are spicy in nature and some might feel it too spicy to eat, while for the natives, the spiciness alone is known to make the dish tastier and gives it the attractive colour.

Characteristics of Guntur chilies:

• Highly pungent: As mentioned earlier, the chilies from this district are known for their high capsaicin content, which is somewhere between 35000-40000 SHU.
• Skin Colour: Generally, we see advertisements for chili powders stating that their product has the right red colour. These powders would have been manufactured from Guntur Chilies. The reason for this is that chillies from this district are generally dark red in colour and they grow from 5 to 7 cms long.
• Colour variants: Not just dark red coloured chillies, Guntur also produces chillies with lesser red colour like varieties with 75-130 ASTA. ASTA is a unit that denotes the colour values of chillies.

The great thing is that the farmers from Guntur involved in chilli production are registering high income every year. This is a clear example for the quality of production in this part of AP and the Guntur Chilly market is gaining worldwide popularity in a consistent manner.