Oasis

In geography, an oasis (plural: oases) or cienega (Southwestern United States) is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source. Oases also provide habitat for animals and even humans if the area is big enough. The location of oases has been of critical importance for trade and transportation routes in desert areas; caravans must travel via oases so that supplies of water and food can be replenished. Thus, political or military control of an oasis has in many cases meant control of trade on a particular route. For example, the oases of Awjila, Ghadames, and Kufra, situated in modern-day Libya, have at various times been vital to both North-South and East-West trade in the Sahara Desert.

Oases are formed from underground rivers or aquifers such as an artesian aquifer, where water can reach the surface naturally by pressure or by man-made wells. Occasional brief thunderstorms provide subterranean water to sustain natural oases, such as the Tuat. Substrata of impermeable rock and stone can trap water and retain it in pockets, or on long faulting subsurface ridges or volcanic dikes water can collect and percolate to the surface. Any incidence of water is then used by migrating birds, which also pass seeds with their droppings which will grow at the water's edge forming an oasis.

Smithers-Oasis

Smithers-Oasis is a company specializing in floristry products headquartered in Kent, Ohio, United States. The company created water-absorbing foam in 1954 and leads manufacturing and marketing of various products in the global florist industry.

History

The company was founded in 1954 by V.L. Smithers in Kent, Ohio after he developed a water absorbent foam to use in floral arrangements. Since then, other products have been developed including floral accessories, cellular growing media, and post-harvest plant products. The company is headquartered in Kent and operates a manufacturing plant there. Corporate offices were returned to Kent in late 2013 from Cuyahoga Falls, where they had been located since 1992.

Products

Wet floral foam

Oasis is a trademarked name for wet floral foam, the spongy phenolic foam used for real flower arranging. It soaks up water like a sponge and acts both as a preservative to prolong the life of the flowers and a support to hold them in place. The foam's structure is similar to that of plants and has capillary action to move water to the surface and up the stem. It is often green, but is also available in many other colours, such as purple, red, yellow, and brown. It usually is supplied in a brick shape, but can be bought in spherical shapes. Oasis can be bought wholesale or in arts and craft and gardening stores, particularly ones that feature large faux flower collections for creating artificial arrangements.

Oasis (TV series)

Oasis was a short lived CITV drama series which was about a group of children who ran an inner city farm. It's best known for featuring John Simm and Dean Gaffney. It was set in a wasteland site in south London.

The drama series ran from 5 January to 9 March 1993 for 10 episodes, made by Zenith North, the team behind Byker Grove for Carlton; their first children's drama series for the ITV network.

Cast

External links

Amba

Amba or AMBA may refer to:

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Given name

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Other uses

Amba (condiment)

Amba (Arabic: عمبة‎, Hebrew: עמבה‎) is a tangy mango pickle condiment popular in Middle Eastern cuisine (particularly Iraqi and Israeli cuisines) but also popular in India. Its name derives from the Sanskrit for mango.

It is typically made of mangoes, vinegar, salt, mustard, turmeric, chili and fenugreek, similarly to savoury mango chutneys.

The name "amba" seems to have been derived from the Sanskrit word "amra", and the mango is a native of India.

Amba is frequently used in Iraqi cuisine, especially as a spicy sauce to be added to fish dishes, falafel, kubbah, kebabs, and eggs.

Amba is popular in Israel, where it was introduced by Iraqi Jews in the 1950s and 1960s. It is often served as a dressing on sabikh and as an optional topping on falafel, meorav yerushalmi, kebab, salads and shawarma sandwiches.

Similarly, Assyrians typically use amba along with falafel, too.

Amba is similar to the South Asian pickle achar. The principal differences are that amba has large pieces of mango rather than small cubes, and that achar also contains oil.

Amba (Mahabharata)

In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Amba is the eldest daughter of the king of Kashi, who considers the Kuru prince Bhishma responsible for her misfortune and her sole goal in life becomes his destruction, to fulfill which she is reborn as Shikandini (the daughter of Drupada and the sister of Draupadi).

Background

Amba was the eldest daughter of the king of Kashi. She had two younger sisters Ambika and Ambalika. Amba is a commonly used word in Sanskrit meaning mother, also with Vedic linkage as the mother of the Vedas.

Swayamvara

The Adi Parva of the Mahabharata narrates about Amba's swayamvara at the Kingdom of Kashi. Amba and Salva, the king of Saubala were secretly in love and Amba had promised to place the varmala on his neck. Bhishma came to know of the ceremony of the three beautiful princesses, and went to the swayamvara to win the princesses for his step-brother Vichitravirya. Once arrived, Bhishma announced his intention to abduct the brides, challenging the assembled suitors to stop him. Bhishma forced the princesses into his chariot and rode away. The kings followed and showered Bhishma with arrows; however, Bhishma returned the attack and defeated them. Salva challenged Bhishma for a duel; Bhishma overpowered and wounded Salva, but spared his life. Unaware of Amba's feelings, Bhishma proceeded to Hastinapur and presented them to Satyavati, who made arrangements for their marriage to Vichitravirya. Amba approached Bhishma and the council of Brahmins and revealed that she and Salva were in love with each other, and that she was going to choose him as her husband in the swayamvara. Bhishma conceded that her reasoning was sound and sent her to Salva with honors, while Ambika and Ambalika were married to Vichitravirya.