Good Morning! 🌞 

Before we drown in emails and to-do lists, check this out: first-ever CONFIRMED footage of a colossal squid in the deep. Proof that the world still holds surprises—even on a Monday!

Environment

Modern Day Noah’s Ark

The night before, a heavy rainstorm had toppled trees across the forest. As Laly Joseph walked through the debris, she spotted an orchid clinging to a fallen branch. She carefully rescued it and transplanted it onto a standing tree—a small but symbolic act of the quiet, persistent conservation work happening at the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in Kerala. Joseph, 56, leads plant conservation at the sanctuary, where a team of local women works to give endangered native species a fighting chance in an increasingly threatened climate.

Founded in 1981 by Wolfgang Theuerkauf, a German-born conservationist who became an Indian citizen, Gurukula began on just 3 hectares of gifted rainforest. Theuerkauf started collecting rare, endemic plants threatened by deforestation and farming. Over 40 years later, the sanctuary has grown to 32 hectares, protecting over 2,000 native plant species from the Western Ghats—one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. Joseph, who began working there at 19, remembers, “I was training to become an X-ray technician after school, but I wanted to get a job fast and took up work at the sanctuary because I also liked working with plants.” Today, she and the other women Theuerkauf mentored now carry his legacy forward, even without formal training—learning by doing, and thriving.

The sanctuary doesn’t just preserve plants—it restores entire ecosystems. Inside its greenhouses and nursery beds grow hundreds of orchids, ferns, and carnivorous plants, including 260 of southern India’s 280 fern species, and 110 of 140 Impatiens species. Gurukula has also reclaimed neighboring tea and coffee plantations, letting the forest slowly heal itself. “We’re restoring nature’s agency to heal itself,” says Suprabha Seshan, who leads the sanctuary’s rainforest restoration efforts. “Forests are substantially more than trees… full of ants, full of termites, full of spiders, full of mosses that cloak the trees and thousands of other species.” Rather than quick-fix solutions like mass tree planting, Gurukula focuses on the slow, complex, and deeply respectful process of letting nature regenerate. “We can’t protect everything,” says Joseph, “but whatever we can, we are doing.” In a world speeding toward ecological collapse, their quiet, hands-on work stands as a rare act of hopeful resistance—a testament to what can still be saved.

Pop Culture

The Origin of Superman

The new Superman film landed in cinemas last week, reigniting interest in the Man of Steel—but the character fans know today wasn’t always the clean-cut, all-American Boy Scout we recognize. Since the first trailers, fans have debated whether David Corenswet’s Superman stays true to the original comics. Everyone agreed on the fundamentals: he should be faster than a speeding bullet, hail from Krypton, live in Metropolis, and love Lois Lane. And above all, he should be noble, just, and maybe even a bit square. But back in 1938, when he first appeared, Superman wasn’t nearly so mild-mannered.

Originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman had a harder edge. “A head-bashing Superman who took no prisoners, who made his own law and enforced it with his fists, who gleefully intimidated his foes with a wicked grin and a baleful glare,” recalled comics historian Mark Waid. “He was no super-cop. He was a super-anarchist.” Even author Paul S. Hirsch, who studied those early stories, admitted, “I had no idea the character was like that until I started writing my book. But it blew my mind when I saw it.” In those first issues, Superman smashed through doors, took on gangsters, corrupt politicians, domestic abusers, and shady business owners—anyone harming ordinary people. Far from a standard superhero, he was a direct defender of the oppressed.

“They’re clearly the work of young people frustrated with the injustices of the world, and rightfully so,” said Matthew K. Manning, author of Superman: The Ultimate Guide. “Keep in mind, these were two Jewish men reaching adulthood just before the start of World War Two. There was plenty to be angry about.” Their character gave voice to those frustrations. As Siegel later explained, “We were young kids and if we wanted to see a movie we had to sell milk bottles… Superman grew out of our feelings about life.” Early Superman didn’t pull punches—he took on unsafe housing, gambling rings, and exploitative bosses. “It’s because you use inferior metals and parts so as to make higher profits at the cost of human lives,” Superman tells a careless factory owner. His justice wasn’t always legal, but it was righteous.

As time went on, the tone of Superman’s stories changed. “After a handful of issues, his opponents were all larger than life,” Waid noted. While the comics remained exciting, the days of Superman as a social crusader were fading. His popularity soared, and publishers softened his image to broaden appeal. “If Superman’s running around throwing people out of windows and threatening to wrap iron bars around their necks, it isn’t going to work,” Hirsch explained. The shift also reflected wartime pressures: as World War Two escalated, publishers wanted heroes to serve as patriotic symbols, not anarchic vigilantes. Personal struggles affected the creators too—Shuster’s eyesight declined, Siegel joined the Army, and the pair lost their battle to reclaim Superman’s rights, which they’d sold in 1938 for just $130.

In later decades, Superman’s image became more family-friendly. By the 1950s, under pressure from parents and politicians, he mostly battled aliens and robots instead of systemic injustice. But over the years, his tone has fluctuated—sometimes a quiet beacon of decency, other times flashing his original fire. The latest film offers yet another version of the character. It’s a reminder that even our most enduring heroes started off with sharper edges, human flaws, and a deep fight for what’s right—a truth worth remembering in any era.

Good News

Prosthetic Hope for Afghans

Though Afghanistan has largely faded from international headlines, quiet moments of hope still emerge. In June, an Indian charity provided prosthetic feet and lower limbs to 75 amputees in Kabul—completely free of charge—thanks to support from Indian donors and the national government. The initiative brought not only mobility but also dignity back to dozens of lives, offering a rare burst of compassion in a country still struggling to rebuild.

The Jaipur Foot Camp ran from June 19 to 24 at a government hospital in central Kabul. It was organized by Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) in collaboration with the Indian consulate. According to the charity’s founder and chief patron, D. R. Mehta, this marked the 155th international prosthesis drive by the organization. “Irrespective of where the amputee is from, if the amputees visit us at our Jaipur Foot Center, they would be provided with an artificial limb totally free of charge and without any discrimination on the ground of religion,” Mehta said. Over the years, Jaipur Foot centers have expanded across the Global South—including in Mauritius, Congo, the Philippines, and Tanzania.

The program in Kabul went beyond just distributing prosthetics. BMVSS also provided training and rehabilitation support, helping recipients adjust to walking again while offering emotional care to address the challenges that follow limb loss. Local hospital staff were trained in how to measure, craft, and fit the artificial limbs, and Indian volunteers supplied the necessary machines and materials. The effort is part of a broader humanitarian initiative by India, which—as reported by The Times of India—has also included food aid, medicines, scholarships, and capacity-building programs for the Afghan people.

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Mind Stretchers

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Capped or clicked, I stand ready to flow, My veins run ink, not blood you know. Held in hand, I bring thoughts to life.

What am I?

Yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:

— mind over matter, Cheri M. got this correct! 🌞 

The first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected] or reply to the email.

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