Patna (Pataliputra), the capital of Bihar state, is a historic city located at the confluence of three rivers, the Ganga, the Gandak, and the Sone. The Ganga flows all along its northern boundary. The area in the south is generally low-lying and as such is prone to floods from the rivers Punpun and Sone. The city has a mean elevation of 173 feet (53 m) above sea level and is situated at 28°37′ north latitude and 85°10′ east longitude. It has been a center of learning, religion, and art since time immemorial. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are deeply connected to this city. It is one of the longest and the narrowest among the largest cities of the country, with a population of over a million and a half spread over an area of about 30 square miles (77.7 sq. km).

The ancient city of Pataliputra was a mere village—Pataligram—in the time of the Buddha in the sixth century b.c. However, Ajatasatru realized its great strategic value for the growing kingdom of Magadha, facing the rival Licchavis republic of Vaisali on the northern bank (other side) of the Ganga, and erected a military outpost there. The natural advantage of the site made it commercially important and also helped its growth. The Magadhan king Udai transferred his capital from Rajgriha to Pataliputra. It remained the imperial capital under the Nandas, the Mauryas, and the Guptas. It was a prosperous and populous city when Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, visited it twice.

Pataliputra acquired the status of a capital city during the reign of Emperor Ashoka (ruled c. 268–231 b.c.). However, it later faced Indo-Greek invasion, and the city was sacked in a.d. 185. But its glory again revived under the Guptas. Fahsien, the Chinese pilgrim who studied there for three years during the reign of Chandragupta I in the early fifth century a.d., not only considered it a famous center of learning but also the most beautiful and largest city of the world. The city again suffered destruction, and when Hsieun Tsang visited the city in a.d. 637, it had become desolate and deserted.

Pataliputra emerged from its political obscurity when Sher Shah, the great Pathan ruler, built a fort there in 1541, transferred the provincial capital from Bihar Sharif, and gave it the new name of Patna. It became an important commercial center during the seventeenth century. Mughal emperors further extended the city in 1704. Prince Azimusshan, the grandson of Aurangzeb, the new governor (subedar) of Bihar, renamed Patna as Azimabad. With the coming of the Europeans, the city had expanded beyond its fortified walls and became famous in Southeast Asia as a source of sugar and salt-peter. The importance of Patna was further enhanced when it was made the capital of the newly created province of Bihar in 1912. It also contributed significantly to India’s freedom struggle against British imperial rule. More recently, Jaya Prakash ( J. P) Narayan launched his “Total Revolution” against corruption from Patna in 1974.

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A study published in Psychological Science found that green pathways, green stretch, spaces, parks and gardens in high density city areas have the power to enhance the quality of life and the well-being of those who live there. People, who live in greener environment – where trees are grown, are happier than their counterparts who stay in tree-less environments.

The rapid pace of urbanization owing to the rural–urban migration is putting lot of strain on the urban infrastructure in cities. But seeing greener patches in the concrete jungles sooth the eyes and minds both. Privacy goes for a toss in cities; but, well-placed plantings offer privacy and tranquility by keeping the noise and harsh sunlight in the afternoons and glare of vehicle headlights in evenings. Gardening in your small terrace, windows, or flowerbeds in your gallery contribute to healthy, active living both physically and emotionally. Horticulture therapists have discovered that gardening provides a form of emotional expression and release. Seeing your plants growing taller and greener gives immense happiness.

In a study done by the American Institutes for Research, a group of sixth graders attended outdoor school for six weeks, while another group did not. During the outdoor programme, students did hands-on activities like searching for aquatic insects in a stream and identifying tree species and drawing conclusions on the “health” of a forest.  At the end of the programme, the students, teachers and parents were surveyed. The group that did the outdoor education rated better in self-esteem, conflict resolution, relationship with peers, problem solving, motivation to learn and behavior in class. The children who attended outdoor school also had an improved Science score, measured by a pre & post test. This study measured how ‘green’ the children’s homes were, stressful life events (such as being bullied in school, relocating to another home or fighting with one’s parents), and how well they coped with these events. Nearby nature was found to buffer the effects of stressful life events on children’s psychological distress

Doctors have shown that people recover faster in a hospital when given a landscape view, rather than seeing only the walls of adjoining buildings. If you can manage to make gardening your hobby it acts as a as the perfect antidote to the modern world; as it is a perfect way of reclaiming some of the intangible things we have lost in our busy lives.

These days, due to scarcity of place, Hydroponic gardening is becoming famous in cities. This style of gardening uses no soil; rather, plant roots are suspended in specially formulated clay pellets and bathed with liquid nutrients. This keeps roots tightly compacted, which allows you to hang dozens of growing plants in a single window. You can build your own hydroponic garden using recycled materials or purchase kits available in the market.

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust. _ Martin Christopher

In a culture obsessed with measuring talent and ability, we often overlook the important role of inspiration. Inspiration awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to transcend our ordinary experiences and limitations. Inspiration propels a person from apathy to possibility, and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities. Inspiration may sometimes be overlooked because of its elusive nature. Its history of being treated as supernatural or divine hasn’t helped the situation. But as recent research shows, inspiration can be activated, captured, and manipulated, and it has a major effect on important life outcomes.

Inspiration has three main qualities. Pyschologists Todd M. Thrash and Andrew J. Elliot have noted these core aspects of inspiration: evocation, transcendence, and approach motivation. First, inspiration is evoked spontaneously without intention. Inspiration is also transcendent of our more animalistic and self-serving concerns and limitations. Such transcendence often involves a moment of clarity and awareness of new possibilities. As Thrash and Elliot note, “The heights of human motivation spring from the beauty and goodness that precede us and awaken us to better possibilities.” This moment of clarity is often vivid, and can take the form of a grand vision, or a “seeing” of something one has not seen before (but that was probably always there). Finally, inspiration involves approach motivation, in which the individual strives to transmit, express, or actualize a new idea or vision. According to Thrash and Elliot, inspiration involves both being inspired by something and acting on that inspiration.

Inspired people share certain characteristics. Thrash and Elliot developed the “Inspiration Scale,” which measures the frequency with which a person experiences inspiration in their daily lives. They found that inspired people were more open to new experiences, and reported more absorption in their tasks. “Openness to Experience” often came before inspiration, suggesting that those who are more open to inspiration are more likely to experience it. Additionally, inspired individuals weren’t more conscientious, supporting the view that inspiration is something that happens to you and is not willed. Inspired individuals also reported having a stronger drive to master their work, but were less competitive, which makes sense if you think of competition as a non-transcendent desire to outperform competitors. Inspired people were more intrinsically motivated and less extrinsically motivated, variables that also strongly impact work performance. Inspiration was least related to variables that involve agency or the enhancement of resources, again demonstrating the transcendent nature of inspiration. Therefore, what makes an object inspiring is its perceived subjective intrinsic value, and not how much it’s objectively worth or how attainable it is. Inspired people also reported higher levels of important psychological resources, including belief in their own abilities, self-esteem, and optimism. Mastery of work, absorption, creativity, perceived competence, self-esteem, and optimism were all consequences of inspiration, suggesting that inspiration facilitates these important psychological resources. Interestingly, work mastery also came before inspiration, suggesting that inspiration is not purely passive, but does favor the prepared mind.

Inspiration is not the same as positive affect. Compared to the normal experiences of everyday life, inspiration involves elevated levels of positive affect and task involvement, and lower levels of negative affect. Inspiration is not the same state as positive affect, however. Compared to being in an enthusiastic and excited state, people who enter an inspired state (by thinking of a prior moment they were inspired) reported greater levels of spirituality and meaning, and lower levels of volitional control, controllability, and self-responsibility for their inspiration. Whereas positive affect is activated when someone is making progress toward their immediate, conscious goals, inspiration is more related to an awakening to something new, better, or more important: transcendence of one’s previous concerns.

Inspiration is the springboard for creativity. Inspired people view themselves as more creative and show actual increases in self-ratings of creativity over time. Patent-holding inventors report being inspired more frequently and intensely than non-patent holders, and the higher the frequency of inspiration, the higher the number of patents held. Being in a state of inspiration also predicts the creativity of writing samples across scientific writing, poetry, and fiction (as judged by a panel of fellow students) independent of SAT verbal scores, Openness to Experience, positive affect, specific behaviors (e.g., deleting prior sentences), and aspects of the product quality (e.g., technical merit). Inspired writers are more efficient and productive, and spend less time pausing and more time writing. The link between inspiration and creativity is consistent with the transcendent aspect of inspiration, since creativity involves seeing possibility beyond existing constraints. Importantly, inspiration and effort predict different aspects of an activity. Individuals who exerted more effort writing spent more of their time pausing, deleted more words, wrote more sentences per paragraph, and had better technical merit and use of rhyming in poems, but their work was not considered more creative.

Inspiration facilitates progress toward goals. In a recent study conducted by Marina Milyavskaya and her colleagues, college students were asked to report three goals they intended to accomplish throughout the course of the semester. They then reported on their progress three times a month. Those who scored higher on the Inspiration Scale displayed increased goal progress, and their progress was a result of setting more inspired goals. Therefore, people who were generally more inspired in their daily lives also tended to set inspired goals, which were then more likely to be successfully attained. Importantly, the relationship between inspiration and goal progress was reciprocal: goal progress also predicted future goal inspiration. As the researchers note, “this suggests that goal progress and goal inspiration build on each other to form a cycle of greater goal inspiration and greater goal pursuit.” Finally, inspired individuals reported experiencing more purpose in life and more gratitude.

Inspiration increases well-being. In another study, those who were exposed to Michael Jordan’s greatness experienced higher levels of positive affect, and this increase in positive affect was completely explained by their score on the Inspiration Scale. This inspiration was not transitory though, predicting positive well-being (e.g., positive affect, life satisfaction) three months later! Inspiration was more strongly related to future than to present satisfaction. The extent to which inspiration lasted was explained by self-reported levels of purpose and gratitude in life.

These findings show that inspiration matters a lot, which may cause someone to feel pressure to become inspired and helpless to do so considering the evocative and spontaneous nature of inspiration. The writer Elizabeth Gilbert rightly expresses this concern in her inspiring TED talk. I agree with Gilbert that one should not put pressure on oneself to become inspired. These key scientific findings suggest that inspiration is not willed–it happens. Knowing this should free you from the pressure to make inspiration happen.

This does not mean that inspiration is completely outside your control. Contrary to the view of inspiration as purely mythical or divine, I think inspiration is best thought of as a surprising interaction between your current knowledge and the information you receive from the world. There are things you can do to increase the likelihood of inspiration occurring. Research shows quite clearly that preparation (“work mastery”) is a key ingredient. While inspiration is not the same as effort, effort is an essential condition for inspiration, preparing the mind for an inspirational experience. Openness to Experience and positive affect are also important, as having an open mind and approach-oriented attitude will make it more likely that you will be aware of the inspiration once it arrives. Small accomplishments are also important, as they can boost inspiration, setting off a productive and creative cycle.

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