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Jadavpur University Hyderabad Chapter Ezine 2013
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Jadu Vamsha 2013
Jadavpur University Alumni Association
Hyderabad
Annual E Zine 2013
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Contents
1. Editorial
2. Message from the Desk of the President
3. Message from the Chairman of Cultural Committee
4. Our Alma Mater and the Association
5. Remembrance
6. Event Photos- Voyage 2012-2013
7. Popularizing Science- An initiative
8. Poetry- Bengali
Tumi Sarbo Karmo Chinta Bishader Mata – Chandana
Khan
Chhobi – Sanchita Dhar
Egiye Chalar Pathe – Subir Kumar Chaudhuri
Ekdin Pahare, Aj Sagarteere – Sushanta Kumar Das
Kathay Kathay – Debopam Chakrabarty
Madhyabitto Samle Chalo – Oindrila Basu Mallik
Karon Ushnoyon – Partho Pratim Mallik
Mouno Asha – Sumita Santra
9. Prose-Bengali
Bosi Sen – Sraddharghyo – Shantanu Dey
Chithimonir Galpo – Aindrila Chatterjee
Hathat Pawa Soumitra – Gautam Das
Ratnakari Ramayan – Dhrubajyoti Chakrabarti
Singhagarh Dekhe Elam – Dr. Saswati Chattopadhyay
10. Poetry- English
Once Woman – Arunlekha Sengupta
11. Prose-English
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Swami Vivekananda A Pathfinder Beyond Religions –
Shantanu Dey
What’s in a name – Anindita Chowdhury
My Mothers Singer – Aditi Chakrabarty
Life without You- Debashis Basu
Waiting for You – Nilanjan Chatterjee
Let Grace Enter Your Life – Navamita Mukherjee
Real History of India – Shatajit Basu
Abra Cadabra – Sushanta Dutta
My Share of Science – Dr. Paramita Palit
When Calendar goes wrong – Dr. Madhab Kumar
Chattopadhya & Bijoya Ghosh
Evolution of Number System – Sourajit Basu
Gene Therapy- the new age medicine- Arpita Sarkar
Virgin Soil Upturned Revisited – Suman Dhar
Sky is the limit- Soumik De
12. Writer’s information
Editorial team:
Anindita Chowdhury
Madhab K.Chattopadhyay
Shantanu Dey
Sanway Deb
Soumik De
Sanchita Dhar
Sushanta Dutta
Debopam Chakrabarti
Photographs: Aritra Ukil, Pulak Haldar
Editorial
“Nostalgia” is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the pleasure and
sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that
you could experience it again”. The ‘Jadavs’ in and around Hyderabad, in spite of
their preoccupying schedules, do find themselves drenching in nostalgia --- time
and again. We, therefore, come together, dream together, create together and, in
the process, cherish together the deep rooted memories that our Alma Mater has
implanted inside all the alumni across the world.
“Sei Somoi 2013”, our annual souvenir is one such creation of Jadavpur University
Alumni Association, Hyderabad Chapter. It nourishes our memories, helps us to
look forward and creates that sense of togetherness, which is our primary
building block as ‘Jadavs’. The literary contributions are from our own Alumni,
their family and our close associates, who are with us in this journey of cultural
enlightenment for us and the society around us.
Tagore had once said,
“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”
In this time sensitive era, when every second is evaluated, it is difficult to find
volunteers to devote time for this literary madness. But our Hyderabad Chapter
and their editorial team has had the privilege to enjoy the luxurious contribution
of ardent and zealous individuals, who like the “butterfly” have come together
and created an assemblage of moments in the form of “Sei Somoi ”.
This is the sixth volume of “Sei Somoi” and the Ezine presented is the first one of
its kind and we hope this will further ignite the writing skills of our members and
help them as well as our readers to fulfill their wish of experiencing the past.
Till then, read on and drench in the moments of “Sei Somoi” and its E-Equivalent
Jadu Vamsha.
Debopam Chakrabarti
December 14, 2013
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From the desk of the President, JU Alumni
Association, Hyderabad Chapter
Many residing in the twin cities keenly look forward to know content of the
annual cultural programme of JU Alumni Association, Hyderabad chapter. This is
simply because this program offered a very different flavour to the music lovers
during the last two years. I am confident that this year is going to be no different.
Performance of “Sacred drums of India” will most probably be talked about for
long after it is over.
This is the only program of our association through which we make best efforts to
raise funds to carry out philanthropic activities round the year. I hope our appeal
to contribute will fetch good response from both members & nonmembers.
Although JU alumni association is not growing significantly by number of
members but it is growing by leaps & bounds by internal bonding. It is like a
closely knit family of members from different age groups and professions. So any
of the JU alumni reading this message, who are still not members, should not
waste any more time to join the association.
The planning for preparation of this cultural evening starts early. A lot of efforts
are put together to make it a success. A team of active members dedicate a lot of
their personal time for its success. A cultural subcommittee oversees these
planning activities.
Our annual magazine is also released during this evening and literary talents flow
as can be seen from excellent quality of writing by members. A literary
subcommittee ensures the timely completion of all activities related to this
magazine.
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I would like to thank all these active & dedicated members of our association
from the core of my heart. I also wish this very special evening a great success!
Debashis Basu
December 14, 2013
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Our Alma Mater and the association
The history of our Alma Mater -- Jadavpur University -- is intrinsically connected with that of freedom struggle, particularly the Swadeshi Movement, fuelled by the decision of the British Government to partition Bengal in 1905.
The call given to the students to leave institutions run by the imperialist masters meant that, alternate nationalist educational institutions had to be set up to challenge the hegemony of the British and propagate nationalist ideals. Thus was born the National Council of Education (NCE) on 11 March, 1906. Aimed at imparting education – literary, scientific and technical - under national control to achieve self-reliance, the Council found many patrons, providing both financial and scholarly succour. This included Raja Subodh Chandra Mallik and Brajendra Kishore Roychowdhury of Gouripur . The list also includes Sir Rash Behari Ghosh, who became the first President of NCE and Rabindranath Tagore. The spirited yet erudite Aurobindo Ghosh became its founder Principal.
Subsequently the Bengal National College was established on 15 August, 1906 for teaching Science and Humanities. The Society for the promotion of Technical Education founded the Bengal Technical Institute on 7 July, 1910. Later on, this was merged with NCE, Bengal. The present site of the Jadavpur University was obtained on lease from the Calcutta Municipal Corporation under Mayor Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das by NCE. The engineering college was shifted here in 1924 as the ‘College of Engineering and Technology, Bengal’.
After Independence, the Government of West Bengal, with concurrence of the Government of India, enacted the necessary legislation to establish Jadavpur University on 24 December, 1955. The annual Convocation of the University is still being held on this day.
Today, the university comprises three faculties - engineering and technology, science and arts with a number of departments under them -- running various courses. It is really amazing to see that, the best minds among linguists, historians, geologists, chemists, computer engineers and pharmaceutical technologists pass out of the same campus every year. The campus also houses a school and a number of well- equipped research laboratories.
The National Council of Education Alumni Association was formed on 1 January, 1921 by some enthusiastic ex-students of the institution. Subsequently, the
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Alumni Association N.C.E Bengal was re-named as Alumni Association N.C.E Bengal and Jadavpur University. The alumni help the National Council by making donations, raising funds, and in various other ways. They also financed the overseas training of a number of faculty members. Growing up with an indomitable spirit of independence, some of them went on to set up industries. In the recent past, the association dedicated the Indoor Stadium and the Sports Pavilion to the University. At present, it has some 15 branches all over India and another 10 abroad.
The Hyderabad chapter of the association started its activities in 1975. Till 1982, it organized various cultural programs and social welfare. In 1982, it took initiative for providing relief during floods in Andhra Pradesh – generating fund from a Cultural event in which Manna De performed with his golden voice. It rejuvenated its activities once again on April 17, 2004. During the past few years it organized several get-togethers, cultural programmes and also helped a number of students from the economically backward section to continue their studies. From 2009 onwards it has started organizing popular science symposium to kindle interest in science among youngsters. This year the association extended a helping hand to a local orphanage, providing food items and study materials.
The association hopes to continue contributing to the society at large through its philanthropic activities in days to come, with active cooperation of its members and well-wishers.
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Remembrance
We deeply regret the demise of Samarendra Nath Talukder, senior- most member of the Jadavpur University Alumni Association, Hyderabad Chapter on 18 August at Apollo Hospital, Jubilee Hills following prolonged illness. Belonging to the 1959 batch he continued his association with Jadavpur University, actively participating in activities of the Alumni Association, long after he had left the premier institution. He was a key enthusiast when it came to the Symposium on Popular Science conducted by the association for the past four years. He always spoke very highly of peers, friends, and other alumni of the university. The rites for shraddha were held at Bharat Sevashram Sangha on 1 September which was well attended by members of the Alumni and his close associates. We deeply mourn the loss and offer our sincere condolences to the bereaved family. May his soul rest in peace.
Jadavpur University Alumni Association, Hyderabad
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Event Photos – Voyage 2012 - 2013
JU August Symphony – Katha o Kahini, Annual Cultural Programme August 2012
JU August Symphony – Katha o Kahini, Annual Cultural Programme August 2012
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JU August Symphony – Soumitra Chatterjee, Felicitation Programme August
2012
JU August Symphony – Bengali Drama Noshto Nirh (Tagore) August 2012
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A Closely Knit Family – Excursion to Bhavani Island and Suryalanka Beach
Annual Meeting and Get Together (Konaseema, Shilparamam)
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Science Symposium 2013 DRDO KanchanBag
JU Alumni Hyderabad has extended its support to one of the most
underdeveloped regions of India. We are supporting Sunderban Suryaday
Vidyaniketan --- a Primary School at Napithkhali, W.B
Deep in their heart, they do believe…
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JU Alumni Hyderabad chapter has extended its support to Aman Vedika, an NGO
working for the improvement of underprivileged children
Children of Sneha Ghar shared their week-end… Aman Vedika, Hyderabad
Self-trained choreography from the gifted children- Sneha Ghar, Aman
Vedika, Hyderabad
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A smile of treasured childhood - Sneha Ghar, Aman Vedika, Hyderabad
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Popularising science
An initiative by JU Alumni Association, Hyderabad
Fostering love for pure science or motivating the young minds to opt for scientific research as career is tough in an academic environment which often herds them into joining the rat race. The Hyderabad Chapter of the Jadavpur University Alumni, however, has taken up the challenge and endeavours to inculcate scientific temperament in the young minds through its annual Symposium on Popular Science. This year too, the Fourth Science Symposium was held at the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) auditorium, Kanchanbagh, on 27th July. A total of 190 students from 19 schools from the twin cities participated in this symposium. It was an attempt to kindle interest in science among children and motivate them to take up research. Students studying in classes IX-XII were invited to participate in the symposium along with their teachers. And going by the large number of eager faces listening to the lectures, raising their hands to either pose a question during the interactive session or participate in the Science Quiz, it was indeed a heartening sight for the members of the association. In the first session of the programme, three eminent speakers spoke lucidly on “thought provoking” issues. The first speaker of the day was Dr Srikumar Banerjee, the former head of the Atomic Energy Commission. A nuclear scientist and metallurgical engineer, involved in the 1998 nuclear testing in our country, Dr Banerjee enthralled his young audience while speaking about the safety aspects of nuclear power plant in the backdrop of Fukushima. At a time when there is considerable skepticism over nuclear power, particularly from safety angle, Dr Banerjee spoke on the ingenuity employed by Indian scientists and engineers to tackle incidents like the quake-hit Fukushima. The next speaker was Dr GR Chandak, an eminent scientist from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) which is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The students heard him in rapt attention as he spoke on “unraveling the genetic basis of chronic pancreatitis in India”.
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Finally, it was Dr B G Sidharth, the Founder-Director General of B. M. Birla Science Centre, Hyderabad and Jaipur who lucidly explained about “dark energy” and “the building blocks of the Universe”, aided by an audience-friendly presentation. From the days when Copernicus ‘displaced’ the earth from the centre to Edwin Hubble who realised the galaxies to be the true building blocks containing thousands of millions of stars, a journey was traversed till date when it is suspected that, the building blocks of the Universe are the Universe themselves. Significantly, in the interactive sessions the young, inquisitive minds did not really take too much coaxing to pose questions to the three speakers. For the post lunch session there was inter-school quiz contest and the quiz-master was thoughtful enough to have enough questions and plenty of prizes for the audience who were literally on their toes in their enthusiasm to answer as many as possible. But when asked,” In which two cities did Dr Ronald Ross carry out his experiments on malarial parasites?” they were stumped. It was left to veteran alumnus, Sri Amal Chakrabarti, to give the correct answer, “Secunderabad and Calcutta”. The six schools which made it to the finals after an elimination round were quizzed on current topics like water conservation, renewable energy, carbon footprint, biodiversity, Mars expedition, Ramanujam and his contribution, brain and its function, mining the ocean, Man in space, biotechnology in health care, Internet in daily use, micro-matters and antibiotic resistance of bacteria. So keen was the competition that those conducting the quiz had to keep on reminding the participants that it was fun and not a combat. Finally, it was the Little Flower Junior College, Little Flower School (ICSE) and Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet who took the prizes home. However, at the end of the day, members of the Alumni Association --- many of whom are part of research establishments themselves ---- after all their efforts, can take comfort from the fact that, they have been able to ignite enough passion among the participants to hold aloft the torch of science and keep it burning.
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Once woman
Arunlekha Sengupta
I tried to fit in
But the box failed me ‘A little more to the right’
The creator called out.
I took two gulps And maggoty soil rushed
‘Try again,’ Said it. I did, trying to fit in.
Twisted I turned I Difficult for a bean
Shifted I swam I Without human limbs.
Wombs bled free Smelt of revenge
I grew shapely The creator sighed “finally.”
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Swami Vivekananda A pathfinder beyond religions
Shantanu Dey
The nationwide celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda makes it evident that he still occupies considerable space in the hearts of India and Indians. As a gesture of tribute for this great son of soil, we need to discuss, assess and live his ideals which have transformed and still transforming the lives of many people around the world. In his own words, “I shall inspire men everywhere, until the world shall know that it is one with God." The inspiration and the ideal live for 150 glorious years as a "voice without form." It is therefore worth pondering on his contribution and legacy for a deeper understanding of how he still continues to inspire so much emotion and fervour even one and a half century later. One way to look at his myriad accomplishments is to analyze his influence, both in the contemporary period and thereafter. His many accomplishments can be summed up in the following points –
Helping rejuvenate a moribund nation from its sloth and slumber through both fiery words and inspiring actions, and giving the nation a taste of the glory that awaits it if only it realizes its full potential.
Developing a sense of self confidence among the educated Indians who reached the nadir of it, through his accomplishments in America and England and elsewhere.
Establishing for the first time an ideal of practical Vedanta which was hitherto not imaginable – that of serving human beings as the living God and establishing Ramakrishna Mission to carry forward that ideal. This supreme idea of “seva” made it easier for educated Indians to connect to their brethren across the country.
Interpreting the ancient scriptures in a new light, through his realization, in the modern context that is comprehensible universally. He was perhaps the only qualified person who had exhaustive knowledge of both modern science and ancient scriptures to demonstrate to an enlightened audience that Vedanta is in high agreement and in conformity with modern sciences including physics, astronomy, biology, psychology and sociology. Probably
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that was why he thundered, “I have a message for the West as Buddha had for the East”.
Developing a great philanthropic and spiritual organization which, apart from the sporadic efforts of Buddhism, was never attempted in India in such a grand scale as he had envisioned.
Giving high emphasis on the education and upliftment of Indian women and other backward classes. He stressed on education as one of the principal means to eradicate oppression, poverty and superstitions prevalent in the society and engaged his disciples Sister Nivedita and Sister Christine to develop an ideal school for girls, which also paved the way for a monastic order for women infuture, one of his key dreams.
Emphasizing on the reforms coming from within the society and taking concrete actions for realizing such reforms, in contrast with the external reforms advocated by some sections of educated Indians.
Getting India the respect which was due to it from the world by promoting its jewels in the form of wisdom, culture and heritage which was sought after by the seekers of the truth in the West who were tired with dogmas. Instead of going with a beggar’s bowl he emphasized on equal exchange between East and West, spiritual knowledge in exchange of scientific and other materialistic knowledge, which was heartily accepted and admired.
Developing a band of educated spiritual luminaries. Spiritual quest was hitherto perceived to be the stronghold of those who shunned all worldly influence including the materialistic Western education. Such preconceived notions were rejected by him and he also broke all dogmas prevalent in orthodox Hinduism, thus giving new hopes to those who were genuinely inspired by ancient scriptures but were confused and repelled by such dogmas.
A phenomenal accomplishment was the sowing of the seeds of patriotism and nationalism in the minds of thousands of young Indians through his speeches and activities. The idea was carefully nurtured by his disciple, Sister Nivedita who helped in nurturing the fledging freedom movement. Many leaders of later years – Gandhi, Aurobindo Ghosh, Subhas Chandra Bose, Hemchandra Ghosh, Chittaranjan Das, and a host of young revolutionaries like Jatindra Nath Mukherjee, Dr. Jadugopal Mukherjee, his own brother Bhupendranath Dutta and many others, were all inspired and influenced by his teachings. Just three years after his death, the hitherto
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quite Bengal suddenly became the hotbed of revolutionary activities, so much so that within a decade the British Government had to finally shift their capital from Calcutta to Delhi. The British police secret reports reveal that they seized copies of the Works of Swami Vivekananda at the residence and workplace of most of the arrested revolutionaries. In that respect he was the chief architect of Indian independence, although he stayed away from active politics.
His words on patriotism are a source of great inspiration to the leaders of all ages, “Do you feel that millions and millions of the descendants of gods and of sages have become next-door neighbours to brutes? Do you feel that millions are starving today, and millions have been starving for ages? Do you feel that ignorance has come over the land as a dark cloud? Does it make you restless? Does it make you sleepless? Has it gone into your blood, coursing through your veins, becoming consonant with your heartbeats? Has it made you almost mad? Are you seized with that one idea of the misery of ruin, and have you forgotten all about your name, your fame, your wives, your children, your property, even your own bodies? That is the first step to become a patriot” Swamiji certainly elevated the idea of Hinduism in front of the Western audience in Chicago but he did much more than that. He actually represented India as a whole, not only Hinduism but everything good that India stands for – purity, chastity, culture, learning, tolerance, diversity, respect for others among them. His message was so liberal and so broad that it instantly appealed to all except the fundamentalists, because they realized that here was a man who was speaking the truth and the whole of it, from inside, from deep realization. Swamiji was united in his thoughts, speeches and actions, and that unity has an uncanny power to draw people. Vivekananda called for a reform from within, through education. Suffering of the poor and women made him weep and his philanthropic ideas were stemmed from his desire to do something for the upliftment of the poor in a selfless way, by serving the living God in them, and thereby attain salvation – “Atmano moksartham jagad hitaya cha” – for one’s own emancipation as well as for the benefit of the world at large, that ideas of Ramakrishna Math and Mission were conceived by him. Setting aside the stubborn opposition he proceeded with the work, against all odds. That his work was the fulfillment of a divine purpose was evident from the way opposition became collaboration and difficulties, esp. that of funding the endeavors, melted away. It’s a true case of demolishing a mountain
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through sheer will power. The mountain in this case was that of accumulated false notions, orthodoxy, superstitions, sloth and lack of Sraddha or intense faith in one’s own abilities. By his ideals of Hinduism he preached ancient Indian philosophy from Vedanta and Sankhya, redefining them in the modern context. He had a deep contempt for the “religion in kitchen”, which was the prevailing custom among the orthodox sections. He treated all superstitions as baseless and being of rationalistic disposition challenged any custom which was neither logical nor supported by ancient wisdom. He compared the orthodoxy and the modern atheists and skeptics to Scylla and Charybdis of Greek mythology. He however did not denounce the atheists or skeptics in general, but rather only those who tend to ridicule every bit of Indian culture and hold everything European and modern as sacred. Similarly his scorn was reserved for the orthodoxy which was intolerant, oppressive for the lower castes and which refused to respond to the changing needs of time by being more rational, logical, accommodating and less superstitious. To say that he was liberal would be an understatement as he had greatest respect for all religions and sects. He never lost this, despite the harsh treatment that he received in the hands of the Missionaries and some other sects. Some of the best and the most liberal minds of the Western churches like the Church of England and Unitarian churches of America were his friends and many of them actively used his teachings or invited him to speak from their podiums. He was an ardent lover of Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha. One of the books that he always kept in possession during his itinerant days was “Imitation of Christ” by Thomas A Kempis. It was his genuine and sincere love for the greatest ideal of Christian world that enhanced his appeal among the liberal section of the populace and the intelligentsia who were fed up with dogmas and doctrines devoid of love or tolerance. He had at least one Muslim disciple, Sarafraj Hussain to whom he explained that his vision for India was a “Vedantic brain with an Islamic body”, i.e. Vedanta or the service to all mankind as God should be the core philosophy while the practical application of it should be derived from the Islamic practices of Universal Brotherhood, charity and community living. Swamiji was for anything that helped in unveiling the Self – i.e. all manliness, courage, sincerity, sacrifice, renunciation, devotion, selfless work and was against anything that further veiled the Self – i.e. cowardice, hypocrisy, selfishness, oppression, lies, malice and hatred. He had an objective view on almost every subject. According to him every concept has some utilities. When it seemed that
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he supported something he was actually supporting its utility and pointing out its necessity in some context. For instance he argued for caste system saying that even such a system had a utility when it was formed. It helped in keeping the societal structure intact and prevented many evils, especially during the periods of disintegration and chaos. But he argued against the privileges it entitled one over the others, the oppression which was the natural outcome of such enforced privileges and the misappropriation of the scriptural injunctions by the Brahmans and other high castes to perpetuate their entitlements while deliberately ignoring or modifying those that prevented them from doing so. He never took a one sided view and always sided with the weak, even if that meant contradicting his own ideas. The level from where he spoke cannot be understood unless one strives to reach that level. “Only another Vivekananda will know what this Vivekananda has done…” was his famous statement during his last days. Today we can see a massive change in the world around us, compared to the late nineteenth century in which he appeared. India is now more self confident and of late has seen tremendous activities. Indian women not only actively pursued education soon after the beginning of twentieth century, but also participated side by side, along with their male colleagues, in the independence movement. His ideals of helping others have taken a firm root and countless voluntary organizations have sprung up, who though not explicitly subscribing to his ideals, nevertheless accomplish work to which he would have lent his wholehearted support. Interfaith societies keep the hope alive for a world free of religious strife and tensions and many organizations nowadays promote harmony and respect for others. The world is far more benign towards cultural and religious differences and orthodoxy is no more acceptable in most parts of the world, esp. among the educated and the better informed. There are many more migrations of skilled and educated labour across different borders and inter cultural and cross cultural connectivity have increased the awareness about the other cultures thereby increasing the mutual appreciation and trust. Swami Vivekananda said that the present age is the right age to disseminate ideas because information flow the fastest in this age. We have seen what wonders have been achieved in the field of information technology after the advent of internet and the spiritual treasures which were hitherto a property of few have now been thrown open to all who can appreciate its worth. His words sound very prophetic -
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Our Upanishads say that the cause of all misery is ignorance; and that is perfectly true when applied to every state of life, either social or spiritual. It is ignorance that makes us hate each other, it is through ignorance that we do not know and do not love each other. As soon as we come to know each other, love comes, must come, for are we not ones. Thus we find solidarity coming in spite of itself. About his teachings he said - I am the teacher of virtue, not of sin. I glory in being the preacher of light, and not of darkness. Thus the ideals which have inspired many a great souls in East and West alike which include Romaine Rolland, Aldous Huxley, Leo Tolstoy, Sri Aurobindo, C. Rajagopalachari, Christopher Isherwood, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Nicholas Roerich, R.C Majumdar, Subhramaniya Bharati, Vinoba Bhave, William James, William Ernest Hocking, Emma Calve, Ella Wilcox & J.D Salinger among others continue to shine as brightly as ever. For a nation which is desperately looking for ideals to rejuvenate itself, it is probably ironic that despite having the best gems in its possessions, it is still struggling to cope with a crisis of ideas and role models. But the prophet and philosopher who foresaw a glorious future of India knew that this is just a passing phase and ups and downs, trials and tribulations, sufferings and sorrows are but natural phases in the making of a great nation and are instrumental in shaping its character. His vision of unity and harmony of all religions and cultures already find an echo among the leading thinkers of the age and perhaps the urge to realize the solidarity will continue to increase in intensity. His goal of universal education and upliftment of poor and downtrodden is finding resonance among many free thinkers and various efforts are being spent towards achieving the same. The prophet of humanity will continue to live in his ideals as long as mankind aspires to advance intellectually and spiritually and strives to accommodate all fellow beings in that journey.
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What’s in a name? Anindita Chowdhury
A long time ago, to be precise, some three hundred and twenty three years ago, Job Charnock, an official of the East India Company found the marshy land of Sutanuti-a trading village by the River Hooghly, suitable for establishing a trading post for the East India Company in Bengal. It was more of a compulsion since the British were driven out of Hooghly by Shaista Khan, the Mughal Subedar of Bengal and their attempts to capture Chattagram (Chittagong) also proved to be abortive.
Charnock landed in Sutanuti in 1690 but did precisely little about the development of Calcutta because he died just three years later. It was only in 1698 that the British acquired the zamindari rights of the three villages – Sutanuti, Kalikata and then Gobindapur from the Sabarna Raychowdhuri family of Barisha-Behala through Charles Eyre, the son-in-law and successor of Charnock. The small settlement gradually developed into Calcutta – the second city of the Empire, only next to London. Unfortunately, it was not a planned city and town planning was an issue taken up much later by the Colonial masters.
Charnock had already begun the task of encouraging people to settle at the site of the new town. The first to respond were the Armenians and they initially settled around what is known as Armanitola – the site around the present Armenian Church. It gradually became the buffer area – the grey zone between the white town and black or native settlement. Beside Armanitola was Murgihata, named so because of the descendants of the Portuguese who kept fowls (Remember the Hindus did not keep fowls).
Though Charnock had landed in Sutanuti and the early British settlement was in this area and around the old fort (at the site of present GPO) there were monumental changes following the attack on Calcutta by Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula in 1756. The British rebuilt their new fort – Fort William at Gobindapur and gave compensation to the natives who had plots there to shift to areas in Sutanuti.
Chitpur was definitely the oldest part of the city and was named after either Goddess Chitteshwari whose temple stood in the area or the notorious dacoit,
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Chitu who embarked upon his marauding acts after making human sacrifices at the altar of the goddess. The area was indeed infested by similar notorious elements who robbed the pilgrims going to Kalighat through the only broad street in the settlement – till then known as the Pilgrim’s Path but today we know it as Chitpur Road or by its more contemporary name - Rabindra Sarani. As the trading post flourished, settlers came, particularly the business class from Saptagram in Hooghly, which was steadily losing importance and settled down in Calcutta. The name “Baag Buzar” was derived from the Perrin’s Garden, a pleasure resort, frequented by the Company’s covenanted servants with their ladies for an evening stroll or moonlight fete. While the English left Sutanuti for Gobindapore the native, wealthy Bengalis settled in this part of the town, by the Holy Ganges. Demographically, Bagbazar was primarily a neighbourhood of upper-caste Hindus and hence, we find the locality names like Mukhujjyapara, Gosainpara, Bosepara, Rajballavpara instead of Sankibhanga, Kasaitola or Murgihata as was the case in the grey town which had mixed population.
Meanwhile, in 1752, faced with haphazard settlement the directors of the company ordered that the natives would not be allowed to construct houses just anywhere but must reside according to their caste-vocation. As a result we had kolus (oil-pressers), kumhors (potters), jele (fishermen) settling according to their hereditary profession, somewhat like the guild system prevalent in England but strictly on caste-basis. This led to establishment of Suriparah (place of wine-sellers), Maidaputty (flour market), Colootollah (oil-sellers), Chuttarparah (for carpenters), Molunga (place of salt works), Aheeritollah (cowherd’s quarters), Kumortuli (potter’s quarters), Khalasitolla (for dockyard workers), Kansaripara (for bell-metal workers) and Shakharitolla (for conch makers). ‘Tolla’ refers to para or locality while ‘tuli’ means a smaller sized one. Kumartuli located at the western part of Bagbazar, was actually a part of it.
Keranibagan was for clerks in the service of the Company. Today with the bell metal utensils or conch bangles losing popularity there are no Kansaris or Shakharis left in these neighbourhoods.
Often physical or geographical features also determined the nomenclature of localities. For instance Guabagan had clusters of betel nut trees, Hogolkuria had hogla or elephant grass growing, Kankurgachi owes its name to the kankurs (a species of melon) and Shimla apparently had many Simul (cotton) trees growing in the area. The last neighbourhood was quite well-known for its fine dhotis. Bat-
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tala derived its name from the twin Banyan trees which stood by a pond, located in Chitpur area near the crossing of Rabindra Sarani and Beadon Street. It was the birthplace of Bengali popular literature before being usurped by the boi-para at College Street. Then there were innumerable ponds lending names to localities like Jhamapukur, Shyampukur, Padmapukur and so on.
In early days there were two canals flowing through the city. The creek between Sutanuti and Kalikata flowed through Pathuriaghata, Jorasanko, Thanthan-e, to Sealdah and Beleghata and finally to the Salt Lakes. The creek between Kalikata and Gobindapur flowed from Chandpal Ghat through the present day Creek Row till Moulali. The presence of two wooden bridges across the first one (Elliot Creek) led to the name Jorasanko. Jorabagan got its name from the twin gardens. Rambagan was named after Ram Ray who also owned a bazar. Chorbagan harks back to those days when the city was actually a thick jungle, sheltering thieves. Pataldanga – perhaps came from bumper cultivation of the vegetable while nearby Thanthan-e seems to be actually an onomatopoeia for a dry (as opposed to marshy) plot of land. Posta’s origin might be Persian, referring to a place by the river for unloading goods. While Shyambazar, earlier called Charlesbazar was apparently named after Shyamcharan Mukhopadhyay, a local zemindar. Sobhabazar came to be known after Sobharam Bysack, another prominent native settler. Tirettabazar was named after owner, Edward Tiretta, while Lalbazar located beside Laldighi owed its name to the water body. The pond was located inside the Kuthibari of the local zemindar whose family idol was Shyamrai. During Holi the water would turn red, leading it to be named as Lal Dighi. Another version is that the red bricks of the old fort were reflected in the waters of Laldighi. The idol of Radha was usually kept on the other end of the pond during the ceremony leading to the name, Radhabazar. Barabazar was already an important market place in the mid 18 Century and owed its name to Shiva, often affectionately referred to as “Buro” by his devotees. However, the upcountry merchants changed it to Barabazar or Burrabazar-the great market. When Nawab’s troops attacked Calcutta in 1756, Barabazar was set on fire.
Later on the British also lend their names like Ballygunge (after the Bailey Guard guarding the Fort William) Tollygunge (after Colonel Tolly who excavated the the Tolly Nullah) and Watgunge (after Colonel Watson). Alipur, today a posh locality owes its origin to Alinagar. Calcutta was christened Alinagar by Siraj-ud-Daula after his grandfather Alivardi Khan, when he occupied the city.
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The list is no way exhaustive and historians, researchers and chroniclers are often at loggerheads over the etymological origin of the names. For instance Hatibagan was thought to be named so because the Nawab’s elephants were kept there during the siege but it has been pointed out that the animals were actually kept near Entally.
But it is interesting to note that in the old days even those from the lowest strata of the society found a mention in the names of neighbourhoods though when it came to naming of thoroughfares and roads, the trend disappeared gradually and then completely. Initially, there were Karim Bux or Ramjan Ostagor lanes in the black town but even these were wiped out in days to come as municipal commissioners started rechristening the roads with zeal after either the British officials or wealthy Babus. Some like Chaku Khansama Lane survived the onslaught of time but these were few and far between. Eventually, even the locality names were wiped out by the thoroughfares running through them. Nobody recognises Cossaitollah or Pataldanga anymore. Unfortunately, these delightful names of the localities have long been usurped by the mundane-sounding ‘Bentinck Street’ and ‘College Street’.
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My Mother’s Singer
Aditi Chakraborty
One of my fondest memories of “Durga Puja” as a child is that of listening to “Mahisasura Mardini”, on the radio, in the early hours of “Mahalaya” mornings and my mother creating magic even while sewing a simple frock, on the gently whirring Singer sewing machine.
As I grew up outside Bengal, these moments of exhilaration of the oncoming “Sarat Kaal” are far deeply implanted in my childhood memories than those of the conventional Bengali’s -“kaashphul” and artisans preparing idols - in full gusto.
Today of course, I realise the patience and hard work, that my mother had to put in, to adorn her daughters in the choicest of garments, which I would not deny, attracted many an envious glance, as we entered the “puja pandal”.
Few inventions have changed everyday life as radically as the sewing machine. Altering an important element of daily life, the sewing machine was an innovation on a personal, yet universal level. The creation process of the sewing machine was the work of several men over a number of years; however, Elias Howe, Jr. is ultimately considered the inventor of the sewing machine.
Elias Howe, Jr. was born at a farm near Spencer, Massachusetts in 1819. He left the farm at the age of 16 and travelled to Lowell, Massachusetts seeking apprenticeship in a machine shop. After the financial panic of 1837, he lost his job in Lowell and moved to Boston, finding work in a shop making mariner's tools and scientific equipment. Perhaps, due to the inquisitive-minded clientele, dreams, inventions and gossip were often discussed in the shop. Local legend has it that this is how, Howe gained the inspiration for his sewing machine. But there were additional factors in Howe's life which contributed to his interest in making a sewing machine. He was born with a physical disability – a kind of lameness - which increasingly made his work as a labourer, more difficult and more painful. In 1843, when he was forced to retire from work for a time due to his disability, his wife took up odd jobs of sewing, to pay the family bills. Watching her work, he realized that the elusive sewing machine could solve all of his family's financial and physical difficulties and dedicated himself to the project.
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Within two years, by May 1845, Howe had a machine that, eventually after crossing many obstacles, gained popularity. Howe's machine sped up the production of everything with stitching—from umbrellas to tents—and most especially the clothing industry, was monumentally transformed. Ready-made clothing replaced and outnumbered the idea of owning only a few items of clothing. (Before sewing machines were invented most individuals in the West, would have only two sets of clothing - a work outfit and a Sunday outfit)
Singer was the first sewing machine company to market sewing machines, specifically for household use. Nevertheless, the success and influence of Howe's machine cannot be understated and Singer's earliest machines owed much to Elias Howe. But the boom of the garment industry gave birth to the flourishing retail market; sadly shadowing Elias Howe’s unparallel contribution to what followed his landmark invention.
Returning to the significance of the sewing machine and the impression of Elias Howe in my life; I was born in a world without television…where “Kakimas” gathered at our home during lazy afternoons, to exchange new skills on the sewing machine with my mother and “Anurodher Ashor”on the radio reigned, amid the clinking sound of “shakha-polas” and the gentle whirr of the sewing machine.
My mother had inherited this articulate machinery from my grandmother. In her world of creating frilled cancan skirts and intricate “salwar kameez”, she would never realize the importance of knowing Elias Howe. To her what was of prime importance was the simple joy of dressing her children in the most exquisite clothes.
Today when I feel lost in the arrays of Pepes and Neerus and the extravagant display of “lehengas” and “sherwanis”, I take a moment to genuinely sympathize with the adversity of today’s childhood; still gaze in awe as my mother sews her nick nacks with her wrinkled but affectionate hands and gifts them to visiting guests.
In the increasing jungle of fancy boutiques and shopping malls, it is bewildering how both of them, Elias Howe’s brainchild and the gifted creator of magnificience, having reached their wisest years, can slide in the shadows of one corner of the house, without losing their profound fortitude and their will to create.
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“The Wright brothers sewed their airplane wings on their mothers Singer sewing machine”
Life without you!
Debashis Basu
Earlier this evening, I almost lost a very near and dear one, not sure yet whether forever. He is not responding to any efforts for revival, although not yet brain dead. When I first noticed his erratic behavior, I rushed him to where the problem could be diagnosed for treatment. But despite best efforts, no one could say what has actually happened and why. Then they proposed that, I take him for more intensive treatment but unfortunately, being a weekend, the specialists were not available. To me it made no sense to take him there until the specialists are back to work. So I decided to bring him back home and offer the best possible care and attention by myself. I hope and pray that, he survives the weekend.
While I am struggling as usual to complete an article for the annual magazine of JU Alumni Association, he is lying in front of me -- still and apparently lifeless. Occasionally however he is showing signs of life, but only for a very short while, before passing out again. As I look at him in distress, my mind flew back to the fond memory since the very first day, when I came to know him.
I remember the first time he came to me, I felt very happy and proud. As I came to know him more and more, I felt assured that, he would be a great helping hand and guide me all the time that he stays with me.
If I was lost on the road, I looked at him and he would guide me to the right way, rarely ever faltering unless the place was too remote. If I was struggling for the right word or a meaning of it, he helped me. I found the right answer in him. He showed me the way to keep contact with people at ease, which is so important for good communication and relationship. He had the tremendous ability to retain in memory what he saw once and that too accurately. If I needed to know
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about it later, he would never hesitate to show me without any fuss. I even spent some spare time with him playing.
I used him, I misused him, I overused him but he never complained. I started to become heavily dependent on him but did never regret. I wondered how I shall manage if it ever happens that, I have to live without him, even for a short period of time.
Alas, now that is exactly what has happened. I look back at him once more as he lies still, not able to be my companion and guide any more.
What will happen to me now?
More than pain, panic grips me.
Actually my Windows Phone gave away this evening!
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Waiting for You
Nilanjan Chatterjee Every year one of the most awaited moments is probably the onset of monsoon. We keep tracking the progress of the monsoon in every weather report. After the heat and dust of dry summers in Hyderabad, rainy days are undoubtedly the most loved ones. The dry looks of the trees, yellow grasses below suddenly turn green and glossy- and you know for sure, the rains have come. While driving back from office, the water drops trickling down the closed window panes remind you that the young lady has arrived. The black cover of clouds and the gust of cool winds take you away to a distant land. Suddenly the rattling sound of the rain drops wakes you up- ready to embrace the rainy season. The ground below, thirsty as ever since the past two months, choking on its dust cover, opens its every crack to ‘sip’ water inside and quench its thirst.
I have always loved these moments. When I was a kid, rainy season meant so many things. It meant climbing guava trees for picking green, unripe guavas and jumping on the water puddles, splashing water without apparent reasons. It meant making paper boats and letting them go to unknown destinations in the small streams of water. It meant lots of football matches in the water logged fields followed by more scolding from mother for bringing all that mud on the clothes. But at night, it was always the warmth of mother’s love and a glass of hot milk to prevent catching cold. It meant sitting beside the chulah and enjoying fresh hot phulkas, sharing hot tea with siblings (tea was otherwise meant for seniors) with telebhaja and muri. In my childhood days, I had always waited eagerly for the rainy days. Since I stayed in a residential school, we seldom had day-off from school due to rains and in those one or two rare occasions when we had that, it was so much fun.
As I grew up, I discovered new dimensions of the rainy days. I discovered the melodies of love in those falling rain drops. I learnt to walk bare foot on the rain-wet grass holding my love’s hand and promising to hold it forever. I discovered the joy of sharing an umbrella in heavy rain- drenching and saving myself at the same time. I identified the fragrance of forest during a rainy spell, sound of falling rain drops on the leaves in the silence of night. I understood the loneliness of an old woman in the cloudy afternoons. Today when I see my kids, I relive those
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childhood memories of a rain soaked day. Sometimes when I doze off in my chair, enjoying the dampness of the rains, my daughter’s voice brings me back to my world, which is filled with their presence. Understandably, I have named my daughter Brishti, which means rain in Bengali and I call my son as Megh which means cloud.
Staying in Hyderabad for the past 10 years, each year my love for the rains has increased. As I see one more concrete building completing in my area promising to suck up more water from the ground, I pray more for rains. When I see trees being destroyed in the name of road extension, my prayers become more intense. But to what extent can nature withstand? Where have the lakes and ponds in Hyderabad vanished? Each day we destroy more trees than before- how will we give back nature the source to form clouds? Where are the green trees to attract clouds and bring the rain drops back? Government data says there were more than 200 lakes around Hyderabad- today only 20 odd exists in good form. We have destroyed most of them to create swanky malls, communities and building, promising everybody better life and better living. But what are we actually leaving behind for our young ones? Is it green trees to breathe in fresh air or concrete jungles to die, without air and water? Whom will the next generation blame?
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Let Grace enter your Life
Navamita Mukherjee
“It was just another day like usual and I was all set for my mid-noon walk, I heard my angel Helen take my name, “Grace, you have a visitor today”. I adjusted my receptors and began to follow her with my wagging tail that stops no time. I had a new family waiting to adopt me.
While I hopped on the ground taking big leaps, I also took a walk down the memory lane. I travelled back to the day my master abandoned me for reasons only known to him. I gave him all the love I had, gifted him with some lovely puppies too but he decided my fate and left me on the mercy of the ruthless roads and garbage bins. I was homeless and foodless for days, I waited for him, my eyelids never batted, each day I only hoped he would come back and take me home.
No, but I’m not complaining, I don’t expect the same love in return. I know I’m very giving by nature and I have high hopes to be loved again. I don’t carry my past with me; I have a lovely future to follow. And while I reckon all these, my eyes meet my new owner’s. As Helen loosens my leash, I quickly jump in his arms; he holds both my paws together and I promise him to love him forever.”
These were the exact words of Grace, an abandoned dog in Blue Cross of Hyderabad who I met six months ago during my volunteering for the shelter. That mere gesture when she quickly jumped on her new master spoke a thousand words about her desperation of getting adopted. Lucky enough to be rescued by Blue Cross of Hyderabad, she could afford the privilege of a new home but there are a hundred others whose stories would not amuse you much. Terry, Pixie, Marley, Silver, Rocky, shared a similar fate after being abandoned or injured. During my visit, I closely observed how they beam with hope each time they see a new visitor only to be left disheartened later. With each passing day, their trust only diminishes.
Having volunteered for a shelter and owning a pet myself, I have come to believe that a pet, when taken home becomes an integral part of the family and is very much capable of being hurt when its emotions are betrayed. Not a lesser known
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fact, they make an excellent companion animal, capable of guarding and protecting our neighborhood.
A dog, despite being certified as a man’s best friend has failed to make an eternal presence in his home. This is quite evident with the increasing number of pets being abandoned almost every day for reasons like old age, injured or when a family is moving out of the town. Why do we fail to understand that the day we take an animal home, we kill his natural ability to hunt, forage and prey making him vulnerable to the natural survival skills. The day we leave him, we inadvertently bring him death.
“Do not abandon your pet “is a genuine plea that I intend to make through this story. Make his life yours and let the joy flow in your life every day. When you depressed, gloomy, angry, mad or frustrated, your dog licking your face will act as the best therapy, he will always know what you need. And if you have never owned a dog, please volunteer to adopt a one from a nearest shelter and get indulged into the myriad components of love the new member brings in for you. If you can’t promise a life time commitment, spend your weekends in a shelter, share your time and love with them and see the change it brings in their life. If not
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for anything else, this canine or feline will shower you with abundant unconditional love.
Join Blue Cross of Hyderabad or People for Animals, Hyderabad to help stray/injured abandoned animals. You can also call Blue Cross at 040-32989858 to report animal accident/abuse.
Help an animal, Save a life, Spread a Smile!!
Reported by Navamita Mukherjee who works for Humane Society International,
one of the world’s leading animal protection organizations is working on various
animal cruelty and protection issues every single day.
The real history of India
Shatajit Basu
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a group comprising the world’s leading economic powers belonging to the post- world war period. The OECD exists even today and continues to exert significant influence on economic and financial policies across the world. In 2001 it commissioned a study under British economist, Dr Angus Maddison, a
renowned world scholar on quantitative macro- economic history. The study
sought to understand the economic history of the world going as far back in time
as tax, archaeological and trade records would permit. As a result of this study,
for the first time ever, a comprehensive economic history of the world from the
first century AD to 2000 AD was documented under high standards of intellectual
rigour. The outcome of the study left the West astonished. I have used data tables
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from the study to construct the graph below, to highlight the aspects that left the
world amazed.
We typically associate economic power with technological advancement, industrial revolutions, advances in science and mathematics, economic systems and so on. History text books teach us that these happened in Europe around the 1700s and 1800s and spread to the rest of the world. Therefore, when I first heard about this study, I thought it was some sort of RSS / VHP propaganda. However, when I read the report myself I realized it was written by one of the foremost academics in the field of Economic History. This got me thinking and made me wonder how India could have been the world’s largest economy for 1700 of the last 2000 years without an “industrial revolution”, “advanced science” and so on. So I decided to do some independent research myself. In this article, I will share an example each from the fields of Engineering, Computing, Economics and three from Physics. Not only were these centuries ahead of their time, it is quite disturbing how few people are even aware of these. Hopefully, this article will evolve your interest in this field and perhaps inspire some of you to do your own independent research and reading.
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1. Computing – Encryption techniques Encryption is a fundamental tool for transferring information securely in modern computing systems. From day to day applications like internet banking to more exotic ones like spying, the ability to encrypt information is critical for its security and to “store” it easily. Scholars in ancient India used a system of encryption which mapped each Sanskrit alphabet to a number – the technique was known as the “katapayadi” system. The encryption rule mapped each number from 0 to 9 to a set of Sanskrit alphabets as given below in this table:
Those who’ve studied encryption and cryptology will realize this encryption is a “one to many” function and therefore it is not bijective. As a result it cannot be used in the same way RSA cryptography works
today – where one needs a public key and a private key – and which requires the inverse function to be unique. However, the objective of this encryption technique was not to “hide” information, but rather to “store” complex mathematical data in an easily accessible format. Here is an example: This text given here is a seemingly innocuous shloka which at first glance, appears to have purely mythological significance. However, if one replaces each Sanskrit alphabet in this shloka with its corresponding numerical equivalent as defined in the table above, i.e. – Ga = 3, pa = 1, bha = 4, ga = 1, ma = 5 and so on… The string of alphabets gets replaced by the string of numbers – 31415926535897932384626433832792 Add a decimal place next to the first number i.e. (3) – this string of numbers is the earliest documented value of pi accurate to an astounding 30 decimal places.
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Similar encryption methods were used to encrypt values of irrational numbers like sin, cos, tan, log, antilog and so on.
2. Engineering – Battery design and Electrolysis A massive driver of the industrial revolution was the invention of batteries which helped in generation of electrical energy from chemical reactions. The simplest single cell battery, the “Voltaic Cell” was invented in Europe by Alessandro Volta in the 1880s. The following is an extract from the ancient Indian text “Agastya samhita” written over 2000 years ago:
It translates as: “Place a copper plate in an earthenware vessel. Cover it by copper sulfate and moist sawdust. Put a mercury-zinc sheet on top of the sawdust to avoid polarization. The contact will produce an energy known by the twin name of Mitra-Varuna” If you remember high school physics, you will realize this is essentially a description of a Voltaic Cell. Instead of calling the output electricity, it is referred to as “mitra-varuna” energy. The text goes on to say:
This section of the text is actually easy to translate even with rudimentary knowledge of Sanskrit. For example: “jal bhangosti = “splitting water”, “Prano daneshu vayu evam shantanam” = ‘life giving air’ (ie oxygen)” and “shantanam” (‘calm air / light air” ie Hydrogen) “vayubandhkavastra” = vayu + bandh + vastra (ie air tight cloth / fabric), “nibaddho = Entrapped”, “Udana swalaghutve” (udaan = flight, swalaghutve – not very clear about the translation here, maybe it means “flight for a short time”.
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Thus the second extract describes how the “battery” described in the first extract can be used to split water into its constituents – life giving air and calm air. Further, this “calm air” if entrapped into an airtight fabric can produce flight for a short duration. The parallels with electrolysis and the mention of hydrogen balloon powered flights are striking.
3. Physics – Gravity
Two of the finest texts on astronomy from ancient India are the “Surya Siddhant” and the “Siddhant Shiromani”. The former is a series of texts updated by astronomers of various eras – the earliest of which date back to at least 300 BC. The contents of this book seem millennia ahead of its time and discuss such topics as positions of planets, predicting eclipses of the moon, planetary conjunctions, planetary diameters and so on. One of the most interesting claims in this text is the following: “Objects fall on the earth due to a force of attraction by the earth. Therefore, the earth, planets, constellations, moon and sun are held in orbit due to this attraction” That it parallels modern day theories of gravitation is quite obvious. Although the text doesn’t get into mathematical formulae like F = G*M1*M2/d^2 and so on, the concept that all massive bodies have an intrinsic property to attract, was well known in India, over 1200 years before Newton postulated his “Law of gravitation” For anyone interested in cosmology, email me on [email protected] for a soft copy of this fascinating text.
4. Physics - Particle physics and time scales I studied engineering in undergraduate which included a heavy dose of physics – atomic structure, quantum mechanics. I’ve also dabbled (although largely at a 101 level) in particle physics. Thus, “what is the universe really made up of?” is a question that has always fascinated me. Science text books taught me that the fundamental theories that answer this question originate in Europe.
It began with the concept of an atom – proposed by John Dalton in 1776, an allegedly “indivisible” particle - the building block of all matter. In later centuries this was proved wrong – the atom was further broken down into electrons,
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protons and neutrons. For a while it was believed that this triad represented all forms of matter. However, in the 1920s unfolded that magnificent revolution of relativity and quantum mechanics that taught us matter and energy, particle and waves are effectively the same, inter convertible and manifestations of the same underlying entity. Alas, the electron is not really a particle, but an “entity” which can just as easily be described as a wave. If this weren’t complicated enough, the discovery of quarks and the formulation of the “Standard Model” of Physics lead to an explosion in the number of “fundamental particles” – now numbering around 100; although each of these can (thankfully) be expressed a combination of 6 types of quarks.
Admittedly, Dalton’s contribution to atomic theory had its philosophical basis in Democritus’ works around 400 BC in ancient Greece. Thus, mainstream scientific discourse would have you believe that the concept of atom, atomic theory and so on is a Western concept – a complicated “theory” cracked by the West – and transmitted to the rest of the world. But is that notion really true? Are there references to atomic models in old Indian texts? And do they provide a more sophisticated insight into atomic theory? The kakimas and jethimas reading this article would be familiar with an ancient Indian text called the “Srimad Bhagvatam” also known as the “Bhagvata Purana”. The following text is an extract from Canto 3, Chapter 11 of this text: “Two infinitesimal particles constitute an atom [an anu] and three atoms make a trasarenu of which one is reminded by a beam of sunlight falling through a lattice window in which one sees something [a dust-particle] going up in the sky. The time taken by the combination of three trasarenus is called a truthi [calculated as 1/16.875 of a second] of which one hundred are called a vedha. Three of them are called a single lava. The duration of three lavas equals one nimesha [± 0.53 second] and the time of three of them is called a kshana [± 1.6 seconds], five of those make a kâshthhâ [± 8 seconds] and a laghu consists of fifteen of them [± 2 minutes]. (8) The exact of fifteen of those laghus is called a nâdikâ [or danda, ± 30 minutes] and two of them make a muhûrta [about an hour] while six to seven of them form one yâma [a quarter of a light day or night] depending the human calculation [the season, the latitude]. (9) The measuring pot (water-clock) has the weight of six palas [14 ounces] and has a four mâsha [17 karats] golden probe four fingers long covering a hole through which it fills with water till next sunrise. (10) Four yâmas form the duration of both the day and the night of the human
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being and fifteen days [of eight yâmas each] make one pakshah [fortnight] which measured is known as being either black or white [depending on whether there is a full moon or new moon in it]. (11) The aggregate of such a ‘day’ and ‘night’ is called an ancestral [traditional and solar] month with two of them forming a season. There are six of them [resp. 'cold' or hemanta, 'dew' or s'is'ira, 'spring' or vasanta, 'warm' or grîshma, 'rainy' or varshâs and 'autumn' or s'arad, counting from December 22] corresponding to the movement of the sun going through the southern and northern sky. (12) This movement of the sun is said to form one day of the demigods and is called a vatsara [a tropical year] of twelve months. The duration of life of the human being is estimated to be of a great number [a hundred] of those years [see also the 'full calendar of order'] This paragraph points to two key ideas. First, the author of this text is clearly comfortable with time scales as small as 10^-5 seconds (a truthi) and goes on to define a series of time units that go from the micro scale of close to a micro second up to a vatsara which equals 12 months. The very usage of time scales as small as these indicate a scientific acumen far ahead of its time. Another Vedic text goes into defining times scales on the other end of the magnitude spectrum – where it defines a “day of brahma” as 4.2 billion years. A day and a night of brahma comprise 8.4 billion years, which is not far from modern day calculations which indicate the age of the universe is about 13 billion years. Abrahamic texts on the other hand claim the universe is 6000 years old. This again, is worthy of an entire article – so I’m skipping it for the time being. The second key point in this paragraph is how the author describes the combination of fundamental particles to create larger and more complicated particles. “2 anu’s make a parmanu. 3 parmanu make a trasarenu”. While I will refrain from making any direct parallels – it might be worthwhile pointing out that the standard model of Physics today says 3 quarks combine together to form a proton, neutron, etc. Further, the very idea of interaction between simple particles forming more complex particles in so ancient a text alone should raise eyebrows. Whether the similarity with quark theory is just a parallel and not a precise match is something for researchers and scientists to explore but this much is clear – the theory (philosophy) of atomic structure was known to Vedic Indians centuries before the West rediscovered it in the 1700s. Further, the depth of content knowledge on time scales and interaction of atomic particles in these texts are millennia ahead of their time.
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Note: There is another school of philosophy in India that explores atomism in detail – the “Vaisheshika Sutra” This was composed around the same time as Democritus and deals with more or less the same topics, albeit in greater philosophical detail than in the “Bhagvatam”
5. Physics – Astrophysical references in the Sayana Bhashya This parallel with modern science in this section so unsettling, that I am myself not convinced that it is not pure co-incidence, though the odds of that are pretty low. I will therefore share the research I did on this “as-is” and allow the reader make up his own mind. First, some context – the “Rig Veda” is the oldest text, known to man. It is written in a very ancient version of Sanskrit and hence hard for modern day Sanskrit scholars to comprehend. Typically, we rely on commentaries on the Rig by Sanskrit scholars from the middle ages to understand this text better. One of the best known commentaries was written by Sayana and is popularly known as the “Sayana Bhasya”. The “Sayana Bhasya” has a curious reference to astrophysics that has left many baffled. I am referring to the underlined shloka in the picture given below:
A simple translation from Sanskrit to English yields the following:
1. Tatha cha smaryata = It is remembered thus (i.e. The Sun…)
2. Yojanam = yojana, ancient vedic unit of distance. 1 Yojana = 8-9 Miles = ~ 13-14 Km.
3. sahasre dve, dve shata, dve = 2 thousand two hundred and two (2202)
4. ekena nimisha- ardhena = per half a “nimesaha”, ancient vedic unit of time. 1 Nimesha = 0.2112 seconds )
5. kramamana = slightly shaky on this translation, but the root word is “kri” which means “to do”
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or “to make”.
Thus the shloka says that the Sun God (light?) makes 2202 yojana per half a nimesha. This equals 4404 yojana per nimesha. Converting to metric system, this becomes 4404*14/0.2112 Km/sec = 3×10^8 m/s. Does this figure ring a bell? (This is the speed of light according to modern day calculations. According to Einstein’s Special Relativity, this is the fastest permitted speed in the Universe under the laws of physics)
6. Economics – Corporate structures A paper published by Vikramaditya Khanna, Professor of Law at University of Michigan Law School explores the advanced form of corporate entities that existed in India. The basis for this work was the seminal text on economics “Arthashashtra” by Chankya written in around 300 BC. His examination reveals that business people on the Indian subcontinent utilized the corporate form from a very early period. The corporate form (e.g., the sreni) was being used in India from at least 800 B.C., and perhaps even earlier, and was in more or less continuous use since then until the advent of the Islamic invasions around 1000 A.D. This provides evidence for the use of the corporate form for centuries before the earliest Roman proto corporations. In fact, the use of the sreni in Ancient India was widespread including virtually every kind of business, political and municipal activity. Moreover, when we examine how these entities were structured, governed and regulated we find that they bear many similarities to corporations and, indeed, to modern US corporations. The familiar concerns of agency costs and incentive effects are both present and addressed in quite similar ways as are many other aspects of the law regulating business entities. Further, examining the historical development of the sreni indicates that the factors leading to the growth of this corporate form are consistent with those put forward for the growth of organizational entities in Europe. These factors include increasing trade, methods to contain agency costs, and methods to patrol the boundaries between the assets of the sreni and those of its members (i.e., to facilitate asset partitioning and reduce creditor information costs).
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The sheer volume of such references is enormous and beyond the scope of this article. And its reach is getting wider by the day. The leading minds in Quantum Mechanics realized that the true nature of reality is distorted by the very act of making an observation. That is, the observer is not independent of the observed. This has led to volumes of research in the field of Quantum Entanglement and Quantum Consciousness. It explores the conundrum around plurality of the Universe in the context of the observer – object duality. To conclude this article, I will quote to Erwin Schrodinger, who was the pioneer of the theory of Quantum Mechanics: “There is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction… The only solution to this conflict insofar as any is available to us at all lies in the ancient wisdom of the Upanishad.” (Source: Mein Leben, Meine Weltansicht [My Life, My World View] (1961) Chapter 4)
Abra Cadabra for ever-young minds
Sushanta Datta
This is an attempt to sustain the non-sense driving force, while experiencing an exciting journey through the wonderland of Science ---- varying from the outer world to your inner space.
1. If you are to count one number per second and thus count seven hours a day, how long would it take you to count to a Billion?
2. If you walk around the Earth on the equator, your head travels a few meters more than your feet!! Surprised??
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3. What is a cardoid?
4. What is the common name for a regular hexahedron?
5. What is wrong with this proof?
a = b => a2 = ab => a2 - b2 => ab - b2 => (a+b)(a-b) = b(a-b) => a+b = b
=> 2b = b => 2 = 1
6. You will be surprised to note the repeating decimal figures of 1 / 81 … Try and figure it out…
7. A Global view: Do you know the surface area of the Globe, including all continents and oceans?
8. If all dimensions of a one-liter bottle are doubled, what is the volume of the new bottle?
9. On a certain island, 5% of the 10000 inhabitants are one legged and half of the others go barefoot. What is the least number of shoes needed in this island?
10. How much is a Googolplex?
11. How many faces does a stellated dodecahedron have?
12. The red corpuscles in the human body are of thickness of 0.0002 mm.
Approximately, what would be the height of a pile, formed by corpuscles in an average adult human body? Corpuscles are kept one on top of another, without any compression.
13. What is the measure used to weigh diamonds?
14. What particular geometrical shape is associated with Constellation Pegasus?
15. A says to B, “Though we are together 63 year old, I am twice as old as what you were, when I was as old as what you are.” How old are they?
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16. Krish was playing indoor games with his friends on a Sunday afternoon. It was raining heavily outside. Suddenly, Karan said, “Let us play something interesting with numbers. All five of you form a big ring. ”…
Then Karan asked Krish to write a three-digit number on a piece of paper.
“Can there be any zeroes in it?” Krish asked...
Karan: “Any number, using any digit from zero to nine. But don’t show me the number.” Krish wrote down a three-digit number and asked, “What to do next? “
Karan: “Fold the paper and pass it on to next to your right”… Next was Madhu…
Madhu : “ What do I do with this?”
Karan: “Write the same number alongside and pass it on to next to your right
( ie, for example, if Krish had written 829, then Madhu had to write 829829 )…
Karan : “ Now, Rahul has got a six digit number. Rahul has to divide this number by seven.”
Rahul : “What if it doesn’t divide? What if it leaves a fraction?”
Karan : “ It will. Don’t worry.”
Rahul : “ But how do you know ? You haven’t even seen the number”
Karan : “Leave that to me. Just divide, tear a piece of paper, and write the result on it. Then pass on the result to Tulasi to your right”…So, Tulasi got a number on a piece of paper. She was asked to divide that number by 11, and pass on the answer to Rohit, sitting next to her. Rohit was now asked to divide this number (written
on a piece of paper by Tulasi) by 13.
Rohit : “ This time, I’m sure the number will not divide by 13. Very few numbers do.”
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Karan : “ That is my headache. You just go ahead and do the division.”
Rohit : “ Good God ! It does divide by 13. I was just lucky! “
Karan : “Now, write down the result on a bit of paper. Fold it many times over so that I do not see the number and give it to me.”
Rohit handed over the folded piece of paper, with the quotient scribbled in it. Karan took the paper and gave it to Krish, asking, “Is this the number you wrote down to start with?”
Krish was amazed ! It was exactly the three-digit number he had written at the outset!!!
By then the rain had stopped. Karan asked his awe stuck audience to find the trick behind this number game and left… How do you explain this?
17. May I have a large container of coffee? --- This is a mnemonic. Can you tell what it signifies?
18. What is special about this number: 1729?
Bon Voyage and happy hunting to all ever-young minds...
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My share of science
Dr Paramita Palit
When a good old friend of mine requested me to write something for you on science, I felt a bit nervous and a huge embarrassment seized my pen. What the hell would I tell you guys, the Gen Next, far more intelligent and evolutionary, well ahead of their ancestral species, who still stumble on speed while switching from keypad to iPad?
In this Facebook-ian age of Man, anything under this sky (and even, beyond this sky) can be googled out and you can acquire a Wikipedian expertise on that!! Even just like news highlights at regular intervals, there are “Science in a Week” highlights available along with a million ‘Likes’ and comments at different websites.
Showing off my smartness only because I have two weary and often confused alphabets before my name (“Oh sorry, aren’t you a doctor?”- is an oft-repeated query) will only lead to boredom rather than increase your IQ (not Intelligence but Irritating Quotient). So it is better to share some giggling moments of my a-bit-different-career option instead of dwelling upon a somewhat weird passion for science.
When I was a student of class VI, and yearned to be older, I had said during a conversation class on “my aim of life” that, I wanted to become a scientist ---reason being that with medical and engineering among the widely chosen options, there was nothing new to add in order to draw the attention of the class; and with a minus eight power specs you can’t be an airhostess or a model (why allow your friends the opportunity to pull your leg?). So I chose to be a scientist.
Whoever said, “Morning shows the day” must get credit because probability of coincidence is often very high in our life. On the virtue of being a chatterbox in school and courtesy the number of prizes, won in debates and extempore, my serious choice for a career was that of RJ !! I always preferred literature over science, and language classes over mathematics but at the end of the day I am here, just RESEARCHING!!
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Then I felt something very serious. What logic can you build up in this age of dollars and donations where every career option is open, akin to a multi-cuisine restaurant? And in order to satiate the mind and soul, why should a youngster immerse himself or herself in science? Although money can’t be the best thing in life it is also wise to cry sitting in a BMW !!
I am sure, my young smart reader is grinning after reading this, “Ma’am, come to the point”. Why science, though it often entails a less rewarding career and induces a rapidly increasing blood pressure every night? Well, I don’t need to say much; just go through the “Ph.D jokes” pages, you can get a hang of the rest of my words.
Well, nevertheless most of the hypes are true; it is true I regularly skip my prior appointments with my friends because of an unexpected delay in experiment. The “Green” glow signalling status updates do not necessarily prove that I am sitting at the desk. And there are long lists of “not doings and sacrifices” that will surely scare you.
But then why be a researcher? A simple reason for me is -- just to have fun! Isn’t it sounding too geeky ? No sir, it is not. Let me present my balance sheet of haves and have-nots before you.
For me, being a researcher is just like being an actor (Yes, I do love acting and scripting and directing. That is what I have done all through my school days!). In a single job you are actually doing the tasks of 10 others. The present day scientific advancement is just like a Pandora’s Box (even Plant Biotechnology is something more exciting than the weird list of nomenclature and taxonomy that you read in your Botany class). I am a plant biotechnologist, and in my Ph.D. interview, my boss (well, in a more scientific connotation - my Ph.D. advisor) asked one last question to a person, who is a Bachelor in Human Physiology (still human body and brain are so exciting to research upon) and a Masters in biochemistry (with a lot of system biology, neural network and Python module), “Do you love trees?” “Yes, I do” was my reply and that just precisely brought me here.
If you sincerely love anything (well, that can be your Ipod or game software) and you love to know why and how, you should be in research. There’s another notion I just want to rectify, doing research can be on any subject and the “Science” of that subject, is not essentially something other than what you read in your books as SCIENCE. Science has accelerated in a pace like never before. That’s why you
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can grasp a technology better than your father, even at the age of toddling. It is called effect of environment that accelerates the speed of evolution, and happens in the same way as plants (the same way the rice plants grown on mangroves become salt tolerant and some people are tolerant to certain disease and others are not). Now, “same way”, is essentially not the same, reasons for such adaptations can be evolutionary (change with time) some can be due to environmental changes, and some, due to changes in genes or DNA through a sudden or a longer process of evolution.
So here comes the word DNA. It is actually nothing but a thread encoding four different coloured beads -- two of each matches each other more than the other. It is like a rap song if it says something meaningful to your tiny blocks of body cell (same for all organisms), it can be a gene!! Now who will translate the song, and send the message? It is the proteins! This simplistic story is one of the major scientific discoveries called “Central Dogma of Life’, and eventually it enables biotechnologists and molecular biologists to earn bread and butter. The network is nothing but a composed song. You can change the taal, make it speedy and this sudden change in the rate of signalling will accelerate an increase in a certain function.
What I am trying to say is that, just like a music composer, a biotechnologist can compose, read, understand even translate the song of living thing. One can even take some tunes from a foreign music, if it musically fuses in his composition and the song will be a hit. But one has to take care of the tempo, the scale and musical sounds. Now if you replace the word “song” with a “living system”, the tune with a “gene of interest”, which codes a certain “protein”. Really speaking, what I am doing here is simply Genetic Engineering! Someone will put this to a human reference frame and invent some novel mutation, to unravel the cause of a certain disease, while another might apply the same logic to engineer a Genetically Modified Plant! But stay “Musically sound” or rather keep the “Biosafety” issues in mind…
To cut it short, I do the job of a music composer. I write my own poetry, rearranging my findings and logic in the form of a research paper. I go to symposium and conferences, meet fellow researchers, (just like making new friends), give lectures--- flaunting my elocutionary skills and act -- to make myself convincing to other. At the end, sometimes get some awards (Yes, we do have our own set of “Filmfare Awards” which are equally exciting, and some of us really do
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get celebrity status!). Hence, a career in scientific research can be equally exciting and enchanting if you love to be that…
In this short span of time, (short, because, researching for 6-10 years is a small time period,) what I have found is that, lab-life can be equally exciting, loving and rewarding to yourself. And from a hard core professional point of view, in India, this is THE budding phase for biotech industries. Hence, a scientific career after pursuing a Masters or even after a Bachelor’s degree can fetch you a job with corporate hikes and increments as lucrative as in any other fields.
If you love to talk and interact with people you can opt for a teaching option, or you can go to the regulatory sectors of research like Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), patent related courses, etc.
Now the most important question is do you need to be a nerd, topper of a class to do these thing? Well, not essentially. You need a fairly good report card, (but I know a number of my fellow researchers who were typical backbenchers in school days, got just so-so kind of marks in school but later became extremely good Scientists).
The only thing that you need to nurture like any other form of art, culture and literature is your innovative mind and guts of swimming against the tide. Another crucial thing is that, research means a ray of hope preceded by a hundred of unexpected failures. You have to build yourself on those failures. There is no rule for success. Only patience matters. And frustrations quite often challenge your confidence. But you have to look, always, at its positive side.
I truly believe that a Ph.D. is really a degree of philosophy. It makes you realise ‘Charaibati”(keep moving), as it says in Upanishad. That is what the dynamics of science do. It keeps us moving according to our own tune!
P.S. The author is neither a career counsellor nor an Art of Living guru. This article is only a share of professional excitements with readers
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When the calendar goes wrong
Madhab K.Chattopadhyay & Bijaya Ghosh
This page from the calendar of 1582 may leave you quite startled. Yet it is true that October - the tenth month of a year - had 10 days less in that particular year’s calendar. This was done deliberately because the Julian calendar (named after Julius Caesar, the Roman Emperor) that was being followed at that time had to be corrected.
It was a solar calendar. The function of a solar calendar is to denote the position of the earth in its orbit around the sun. The advent of the seasons depends on different positions of the earth in its orbit. When the calendar fails to denote the position of the earth correctly, seasons arrive even when they are not supposed to. We get warm weather when the calendar shows it is winter or vice versa. The calendar loses its utility. The Julian calendar used to count the length of the year as 365 days 6 hours (365.25 days). Actually the earth completes a single rotation around the sun in 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds (approximately 365.2422 days). That means when a year was believed to be completed, the earth had already advanced to its next round of rotation by (365.25-365.2422) days or 0.0078 days. The difference is not perceptible for a few years. But it is cumulative and hence when it became perceptible during the sixteenth century, the calendar was actually lagging behind the rotation of earth by 10 days. As a corrective
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measure, 10 days had to be deleted from the month of October in the year 1582 and the calendar shown above was accepted.
Some other measures also had to be introduced. It was decided a century-year would be counted as a leap-year if it was divisible by 400 (and not by 4). Thus 2000 A.D was a leap- year but 1900 was not while 2100 will not be a leap-year either. Earlier, the number of leap years in a span of 400 years was 100. In the revised system it became 97. Hence the mean length of the year was reduced from 365.25 days to 365.2425 days. The revised calendar, which was dubbed Gregorian calendar, commemorating Pope Gregory XIII, is the calendar we follow today. The mean length of a year in this calendar is 0.0003 days more than the actual span (365.2422 days) of a year. Thus after every 10,000 years, the calendar would have to be corrected again.
The man, who made significant contribution in correcting the Julian Calendar and drawing up of the Gregorian Calendar, was an Italian doctor named Aloysius Lilius (1510-1576) or Luigi Lilio. A crater on the moon has been named after him.
The significance of October, 1917 in the history of the world is well-known. In this month the Russian Provisional Government was thrown out of power in a revolution led by the Bolsheviks. The insurgence took place at Petrograd on 25 October, 1917. Following the revision of the calendar the date was shifted to 7 November. Hence the event is most often referred to both as October Revolution and November Revolution, leading to much confusion among many people.
Actually, the Gregorian calendar was implemented in Russia in 1918, skipping 13 days. It is not really surprising that a corrective measure, based on a scientific approach and introduced way back in 1582, was implemented in Russia after such a long gap. This was because the previous rulers of Russia were conservative and therefore reluctant to accept any change in the traditional system of counting years. The new calendar was accepted by the socialist rulers who had scientific outlook. On the other hand the Protestants, who claimed to be reformist, did not accept the correction of the Julian calendar in England simply because the order
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to change the calendar came from the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. It was accepted only in 1752. By that time one more day had to be skipped and Wednesday, 2 September, 1752 was followed by Thursday, 14 September, 1752. In other countries as well, the acceptance of the new system depended on the outlook of their policy-makers. France adopted the new calendar in December 1582, skipping 10 days but Greece adopted it in 1923 while skipping 13 days.
Hence, it is obvious that it is the tendency of human beings, anywhere in the world, to resist any reform of the existing system. We are no exception. In 1957 the Calendar Reform Committee, headed by the eminent scientist Dr Meghnad Saha, introduced a calendar called the Indian National Calendar. It begins on 22 March with Chaitra being the first month with 30 days. In leap years this month gets an additional day and starts on March 21. The following 5 months -Vaishakha, Jyaishtha, Ashadha, Shravana and Bhadrapada- have 31 days each and next 6 months -Ashwin, Kartika, Agrahayana, Pausha, Magha, Phalguna- have 30 days each. In 1965 a similar Bengali calendar was adopted in the then East Pakistan. Now it is being continued in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. On the contrary, despite being the official calendar, the Indian National Calendar is ignored by the government’s official systems by and large only to woo the sentiment of some conservatives who prefer to follow some unscientific lunisolar calendars while observing the days of religious festivals. It’s indeed time for us to look ahead while nurturing respect for our tradition in the heart.
Acknowledgement
The authors are thankful to Professor Palash B.Pal (Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata) for critical correction of the manuscript and valuable suggestions.
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Evolution of the Number System
Sourajit Basu
On Definitions, Notions – I am what I am
It is impossible to define every concept.
Any standard high school textbook on Set Theory, for example, would introduce the term set as “A set is a well-defined collection of objects”. One would naturally question “What is meant by a collection?” to which one could reply “A collection is an aggregate of things.” What, then, is an aggregate? Since our language is finite, after some time, we will run out of new words to use and eventually say “A set is a well-defined set of objects.” Evidently, this is circular and hence not a definition at all.
It was soon realized that there must be some undefined or primitive concepts with which to start. Set is one such concept. While we do not define a set, the intuitive understanding that people have when we say “An alphabet is a set of letters” or “The set of all even integers” is remarkably similar to make communication feasible.
It is based upon such notions that axioms in mathematics are constructed.
Story of Counting – One, Two, Three … Zzzz
While the origins of counting are not known precisely, I find the following anecdote hits the mark.
Circa 4000 BC: One day a shepherd noticed that the size of his flock was growing smaller and smaller. He realised that wolves were hunting his sheep. Little could he do to prevent this, the
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shepherd wanted to know how many sheep went missing every day. So he devised an ingenious system.
Every morning, while leading his flock out of their pen, he would place one stone in a basket for every sheep that came out. After grazing, when he returned with his flock, he would take out one stone for every sheep that went into the pen. The stones left in the basket were a representation of the number of sheep lost that day.
A system (of counting) so simple that today we might call it obvious or even trivial, yet one of the cornerstones of mathematics.
Advances through the Ages - The pursuit of completeness
Die ganzen Zahlen hat der liebe Gott gemacht, alles andere ist Menschenwerk
– Loepold Kronecker (1823-91)
(God made the integers, all the rest is the work of man)
The word integer finds its origin in Latin meaning “whole” or “complete”. The concept of integers is extremely fundamental and yet its origins remain a mystery. Attributing the natural numbers {0,1,2,…} to God, the extension of this to the negative numbers was quite immediate.
Fraction or decimal was the next level of extension. The word fraction actually comes from the Latin fractio which means “to break”. From as early as 1800 BC, the Egyptians were writing fractions. The term rationals is the set of fractions and integers. Any number that can be expressed in the form of p/q, where p and q are integers with q ≠ 0, is defined to be a rational.
Every integer is a rational since an integer can be written as itself divided by 1. For fractions, it was observed that while some could be expressed as decimals which terminate, for example ¾ can be written as 0.75, others would repeat after a finite set of integers. 1/6 has a decimal representation with only one integer repeating (0.16666…) while 3/7 has a decimal representation with a set of 6 integers repeating (0.428571428571428571...)
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For a long while, this was all that existed – the rational numbers. Imagining the rationals on the number line; one would think the line was complete. We have integers and in between every integer we have infinitely many fractions.
But are there all the numbers on the number line? Are there numbers between say 1 and 2 that are not fractions?
C.500 BC: A great discovery is made relating the lengths of the legs of a right-angled triangle to its hypotenuse (the longest side of a right-angled triangle) by a Greek mathematician, Pythagoras. Pythagoras’ theorem is one of the most celebrated results of Euclidean geometry.
Pythagoras’ theorem states that, in a right-angled triangle the area of the square on the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares of the other two sides — that is, a2 + b2 = c2
When a right-angled triangle is drawn with the legs having size 1, it means the square of the length of the hypotenuse is 2. So, what is the length of the hypotenuse then? It must be a number between 1 and 2. It can’t be an integer, since no integer multiplied with itself gives 2. Is it some number of the form p/q? There is a clever argument in mathematics called reductio ad absurdum (which means reducing to an absurdity) or popularly known as proof by contradiction. A simple example is “There is no smallest positive rational number, because if there were, it could be divided by two to get a smaller one.” Using this line of argument,
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it can be shown that there are no two integers p and q such that p/q is the length of the hypotenuse whose square is 2.
A new class of numbers has been discovered. In addition to the rationals (integers and fractions), the irrationals were introduced to the number line. The rationals and irrationals together are called real numbers and complete the number line.
Just like there are infinitely many rational numbers, there are infinitely many irrational numbers. The term irrational is quite misleading since many irrational numbers are quite natural. We have seen the side of a unit equilateral right-angled triangle is irrational. Similarly, the ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter is a constant denoted by π and is irrational. Another important irrational number called Euler’s number denoted by e.
A very peculiar irrational number, popularly called the golden ratio, is denoted by ϕ. The exact value of ϕ is given by (1+√5)/2, but is more recognized as 1.618. Many artists and architects have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio believing this proportion to be aesthetically pleasing. Leonardo da Vinci's illustrations of polyhedra in De divina proportione and his views states that, some bodily proportions exhibit the golden ratio. This have led some scholars to speculate that he incorporated the golden ratio in his paintings
A Leap of Faith – Surely you are Joking Mr. Mathematician
During the 8th century A.D., the notion of complex numbers or imaginary numbers was evolving. It was noticed that polynomial equations can have as many distinct solutions as its degree. However, some polynomials did not have solutions which were real numbers. For example, one can take the quadratic x2 + 1 = 0 and observe that no real number will satisfy this equation. A fact that is surprising to many is that complex numbers arose from the need to solve cubic equations, and not quadratic equations! Does that mean there is no solution? Some thought so while other created a new class of numbers – complex numbers – to find solutions to such equations. This led to a revolution in mathematics.
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According to B. L. van der Waerden’s A History of Algebra, Gerolamo Cardano was the first to introduce complex numbers a + √-b into algebra but it was Leonhard Euler who introduced the notation ί = √-1. Carl Friedrich Gauss introduced the term complex number.
It is quite against intuition, the idea of the square root of -1, but mathematically, complex numbers have turned out to be extremely powerful mathematical objects and find practical applications in many fields, including physics, chemistry, biology, economics, electrical engineering, and statistics.
With the extension to complex numbers, every polynomial now has a solution!
Now a little fun with Mathematics !!
Consider the number with decimal representation 0.99999… (non terminating, recurring). How close is this number to 1? The answer, surprisingly, is that they are the same!
How can that be? Well, consider the following:
If X = 0.999999… (i)
Then 10X = 9.999999… (ii)
Subtracting (ii) – (i),
9X = 9
So, X = 1
Thank you !
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Gene Therapy-the new age medicine
Arpita Sarkar
What would you do if you feel sick today? You would certainly head to a doctor’s clinic, get yourself tested and probably swallow a pill or take an injection shot in your arm. Chances are, you may get cured. But what if you are found to have a less common, complicated genetic disorder? Surely these traditional medicines wouldn’t be enough.
Scientists think bigger. That’s why we are in the era of ‘gene therapy’.
Scientifically speaking, we all are living, breathing, moving, talking complex biomachines. But looking back, each one of us started life as a simple single cell that multiplied and remultiplied to trillions of others. These could be called the body building material or ‘basic units’. All of them have special duties; so we have heart muscle cells pumping blood, nerve cells passing electrical messages, skin cells making body pigment and so on. Yet on the inside, each cell is basically the same. Each one harbours the same genetic information, written in a linear code of 4 letters or bases A,T,G,C ,on a long coiled thread of DNA. So how is this possible?
The answer lies in genes –the essential DNA switches that can turn on or off and specify which cell should do what it needs to do.
Way back in 1970s and 80s, researchers working on approaches to treat genetic disorders, asked if it was possible to repair or replace the faulty genes with functional,’ good’ ones. This is like fixing a problem at its roots and thus began gene therapy (GT) for therapeutics. The topic was first discussed by scientists Theodore Friedmann and Richard Robin in an article in Science, 1972.
Then in the 1990s, Ashanti de Silva, a 4 year old girl, in the United States, became the first patient to receive this magic therapy. Receiving a shot of repaired white blood cells, she was cured of ADA (Adenosine deaminase) deficiency, a rare immune disorder,that would have killed her otherwise. Ever since, GT has had its highs and lows, with fabulous results in lab tests and not so frequent triumphs in clinical trials. Between 2006 and 2013, there have been moderate successes with treatment of patients with Parkinson’s disease, multiple myeloma, acute
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lymphocytic leukemia(ALL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia(CLL), X linked severe combined immunodeficiency(SCID) and Leber’s congenital amaurosis.
If scientists are treating you with GT, they would choose any of the 4 methods. 1) Insert a functional gene anywhere in your DNA.2) Exchange your bad gene with a good one 3) Repair your defective gene 4) Modify the cellular regulation of the abnormal gene. Commonly they would use a virus to carry the custom-made gene into the body. They might also fire a DNA (coated with lipids or naked) directly to the inside.
Today, the two GT obstacles nagging researchers are: the introduced gene expresses for a very short time and the immune system refuses to incorporate it. Added to these are: questionable safety of using viral vectors, risk of tumorigenesis and inability to combat multigene disorders like heart disease, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis and diabetes.
What was touted as a medical breakthrough at its conception, has now gradually given in to these potential health risks and technical barriers. This has been enough to scare away several biotechnological and pharmacy industries in the last decade. But there is hope in hand, still. On July, 2013, researchers in Texas have announced curing the deadly WASP (Wiskott-Aldrich) syndrome, by letting a weakened lentivirus carry a normal gene into the cell. Glybera, a GT remedy for lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPD), has already been approved for clinical use by the European Medicines Agency in 2012 and is expected to hit the markets by late 2013.
Progress is slow but steady. Eventually, in a few years from now, we would have this miraculous therapy ready in our hands.
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Book Review: Virgin Soil Upturned Revisited
Suman Dhar I read the book the first time during my early College days in the 1970s. Russian books, championing the cause of Communism were available very cheap in every book stalls of Calcutta. Nicely printed and bound in USSR, these were sold in local trains, bus depots and where available at almost throw away prices. This was most probably the handy work of the Communist USSR contributing towards their efforts of the “world revolution”. And, undoubtedly W. Bengal of the early seventies was one of the many places in the world where hundreds and thousands were sharing the same dream.
Recently while changing my residence, some old books, which have somehow followed us through our various residing places in different cities and towns across the country, tumbled out from the back rows of a book shelf. I was surprised to see old and soiled copies of such Russian books of the great masters like Sholokhov, Gorky, Tolstoy, Solzhenitsyn and Dostoyevsky; all bought during the seventies, to be still in my possession. Just for the old time’s sake, I took up ‘Virgin Soil Upturned’ and re-read the book. And I was in for some surprises. A book written in the back ground of the turbulent years of the late 1920s post – revolution Russia on the subject of collectivisation of rural farmlands- absolutely captivated me. Before I delve further into the subject and what really surprised me, let me give a brief introduction of the author and the publishing history of the book. Though it is not required for our generation, it may be useful for the new generation for whom “world revolution”, “collectivisation” and such other communist words belong to ancient history.
The Author “Mikhail Sholokhov” (1905 – 1984) was acclaimed universally across the iron curtain as a great author, and was compared with the all-time Russian greats like Tolstoy, Gogol and Gorky. He was very much a part of the communist regime, but his literary genius was whole heartedly praised by the western world. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1965 for his magnum opus “Quite Flows the Don”. During the Russian Revolution, he fought on the side of the Bolsheviks, and post revolution in the Communist Russia took up Journalism as a profession. His short stories, mostly about Cossacks of his native
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land started appearing in the News Papers, and his literary debut year is slated as 1926 when his first volume of stories was published.
Virgin Soil Upturned was the other great work of Sholokhov. The book was written in two volumes, the first volume, which is being discussed here, was published in 1932. The manuscript of the second volume was lost during the Second World War, and the same was re-written and published in 1960.
The back ground of the story is a remote village named Gremyachy Log in the Cossack land somewhere in Southern Russia or Ukraine. And the time is year 1930. The USSR is formed under the Communist regime, Lenin has passed away, Stalin was the undisputed leader of the party and the country, factories have been taken over by the state, Stalin’s great and famous drive to industrialise the country was under way.
The agrarian countryside were also passing through the trials and tribulations of the changes which were changing the basic age old concepts of personal ownerships and all personal holding were being taken over by the new state. These policies were brought into effect in 1917. From 1918 to 1921, these absolute changes in the social norms were tried out with a catastrophic result of a prolonged famine in 1920-21 affecting about 20 to 30 million people in south Russia and Ukraine. The area also suffered severe drought during the period. As many as 3 million persons are said to have been perished from the famine and its effects.
This forced the new government to tone down its policies and declare what is known as the New Economic Policy. The peasants were given secured tenure of the land and were allowed to let out their lands and also to hire labourers. The peasants were allowed to choose when and whom to sell the products, they were also allowed to acquire capitals. This was introduced as a temporary measure, and did yield good results. Food production went up and the immediate pressure on the state was relieved. But the other effect of this measure was that some of the more enterprising peasants, who were intrinsically more adept in managing resources and had the instincts of profit making and property building, became relatively prosperous. They were regarded as capitalists within a communist state and were called Kulaks. These Kulaks were dominating the grain market and started pushing up the prices by selective hoarding and selling only when the prices were high.
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In 1928 against these Kulaks Stalin’s policy of collectivisation was directed. The policy was to group together several peasant holdings, bring all the farm animals and implements under the control of the village soviets. Large tracts of land was to be cultivated with modern machinery thus economising labour and increase production by use of up to date agricultural methods. The Kulaks resisted strongly, there were even groups assembling themselves under the leaderships of ex-militiamen of the white army (against whom the reds had fought and won in the civil wars), members of the middle peasants and small peasants also joined the resistance trying to protect their small land holdings, there were strong protests from the housewives who could not accept that all their cattle and poultry are to be given over to the state. And finally in 1929/30 brutal measures were used to evict the Kulaks from their holdings and whole villages were compelled under the force of arms to accept collectivisation.
The narrative starts in January 1930. Gremyachy Log is still a sleepy village where the collectivisation move is just seriously taken up. Sholokhov’s strong pen draws vivid pictures of the entire process, depicting in detail the selfless dedication of the communist cadre, the child like glee of the poorest of the poor’s, who had been deprived of all the good thing of life not only in their life time but generations after generations, when they were offered the nice clothing confiscated from the kulak households. The exhilarations of all working together in the community farms finally yielding wonderful results are vividly depicted against the picturesque descriptions of the Russian country side. All this was the main line of the story, but credit must be given to Sholokhov for bringing out the arguments against collectivisation. There is a quite prominent underlying theme that what is being tried is something utopian. The individual is being killed, and individual entrepreneurism is being crushed given a colour of profiteering. And this is not something normal. When the village is undergoing the collectivisation process, arguments and fights for and against are described in detail. And surprisingly the arguments against are more pointed, logical and acceptable. However, at the end the emotional pitches are allowed to win and the process is declared to be a success.
First time when I read the book I obviously did not have enough maturity to understand the underlying currents below the obvious emotional appeal of the book; also, I did not have the advantage of the hind sight of failure of the communist movement as a whole. Now this surprise dogged me on to dig a bit
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more to find out how such a celebrated Communist author who was also known to be close to Stalin could write such a book. Browsing through the internet, I am still more surprised to find that both the famous books of Sholokhov, namely the “Quite flows the Don” and “Virgin soil Upturned” (Bk-1) were initially refused permission for publication, and they were severely criticized as anti-proletariat and anti-communist. One internet site also claims that legal action was proposed against him, and arrest was imminent. However, it seems Stalin himself had to intervene, and, had given the permissions for publishing these books!!! This definitely does not gel with the perception of Stalin who is known as a tyrant and intolerant to any political opinion contrary to his views.
I do not know how to conclude this article, and, hope that somebody who is more aware of the Russian experiment with Communism will read the books once again and throw some light in the changed perspective of the global political scenario and re-evaluate the great works of Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov.
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Sky is the limit Celebrating 60 years of man’s first ascent of Everest…
Soumik De
Mount Everest... the name is synonymous with the ultimate test of one’s physical and mental endurance, demand of extreme fitness and capability, courage, and strength of mind. Although there are some mountains which are considered to be more technically challenging than Everest, there is no dispute that it is the highest physical point on the planet. It is also considered to be the third pole or the roof of the world (8848 meter or 29029 feet). The Himalaya has always been a symbol of the battle of survival of human-kind against nature’s supreme power. Hence, Everest is a dream for the world's elite mountaineers and has seduced thousands of climbers around the world in the past hundred years or so. This year Nepal marked the 60 years of the first ascent of Everest with celebrations. The Government of Nepal organized special events to observe the “Everest Diamond Jubilee" along with a gala function at the capital, Kathmandu. Though geographically, Mt Everest does not belong to India interestingly, it has always been very special to Indians. If we look back, in 1852 it was Radhanath Sikdar, an Indian mathematician and surveyor from Bengal, who first identified Everest as the world's highest peak, using trigonometric calculations. Tenzing Norgay, a sherpa climber from Darjeeling, India, along with Edmund Hillary reached the summit at 11:30 am local time on 29 May 1953 via the South Col Route.
Since then many world records have been made, dozens of people - right from 13-year-olds to the blind and amputees - reached the summit. On 21st May, this year, Arunima Sinha, an ex-volleyball player who played the sport at the National level, made to the summit with artificial limb and made history by becoming first woman amputee to onquer Everest. The 25-year-old Arunima was thrown off a running train and lost her leg. Her journey from railway tracks to top of the world is really phenomenal. On 18 May, this year, four climbers from Kolkata - Chhanda Gayen, Tusi Das, Debdash Nandi, Ujwal Roy conquered Everest and in the next two days Chhanda Gayen scaled Mt Lhotse (4th highest
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peak) and created an unique record. Again on 19 May, Nansi Malik and Tashi Malik, 21- year-olds from Dehradun became the first twin in the world to reach the summit. On the same day, Samina Baig, (22) from Pakistan achieved the feat and became the first woman from her country to do so. She, along with the Malik sisters, hoisted their national flags to usher in peace, friendship and cooperation between two nations. On that very day Raha Moharak, 25, became the first and youngest woman from Saudi Arabia to climb Mt Everest, overcoming various restrictions imposed on women in her country which prevents them from participating in driving and sports. At the age of 15 years and seven months, Raghav Joneja from Moradabad became the youngest Indian to scale the Mount Everest.
We often think why these people focus entirely on mountaineering at this young age, subjecting themselves to freezing temperatures and lack of oxygen for long periods of time, not to mention the immense physical challenge of the climb? Why don’t they confine themselves to 'smart' electronic gadgets to appreciate the power of computer science and information technology? May be because they believe - It’s not the number of breaths in our life that counts, it’s the number of moments that takes our breath away. Climbing Mount Everest signifies overcoming doubts and fears, putting in an enormous quantity of grueling hard work, and a larger- than- life indication that literally, anything is possible and everything finally boils down to a battle between body and mind. In a sense, it is a metaphor for all the challenges we face in life. But aren’t they scared of the life risks involved? Didn’t they watch the documentary on death zone? Don't they know that many climbers die every year due to acute altitude sickness? However, it’s interesting to ask ourselves why a few deaths on Everest evoke far more empathy and emotion than hundreds of deaths caused by train accidents or drug problems. It is because we all consider climbing to be an adventure in some form and often believe attempting Mount Everest will be more of a fun.
Unfortunately, hiking and mountaineering are not yet recognized as popular sports in India. Mountaineering is nothing but a great sports activity with an amazing blend of science and art but it’s quite underpublicized in our country. In spite of so many world records by Indians it’s evident that India just does not produce mountaineers. This is not just a sad fact but dismaying. The number of Indian mountaineers seems too few for a country that is blessed with the
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Himalayas. That's why famous climbers like Satyabrata Dam or Basanta Sinha Roy still remain in the list of exceptional people. Satyabrata Dam holds the world record of reaching the two poles and climbing Mt. Everest (what is referred as the 3 poles). Most of us still relate sports to only cricket and that's why cricket nurseries have mushroomed all over the country though professional cricket kit is no way cheaper than mountaineering gears. Financial constraints cannot explain the failure of investment in mountaineering, right from school level. Otherwise, Tusi Das, who sells eggs at DumDum market every morning, could have never reached the top of the world.
Following such multifarious achievements by youth in 2013 it is probably time to encourage, support and represent development of mountaineering as a sport. Climbing among children and young people, at all levels- from beginners to experienced - should be encouraged throughout the country through training programmes, events and projects. Mountaineering should be viewed as an activity of high social and educational value, encouraging healthy lifestyle and respect for the environment. Those who believe that the youth is the future of our country need to unite and seek help from government and administration to introduce hiking and climbing activities in school curriculum across the country and promote adventure sports in all levels. There are three world class institutes in our country that imparts professional training in mountaineering. These are - the Mountaineering Institute, Manali, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Dehradun and Himalayan Mountaineering Institute at Darjeeling, who offer the basic and advanced mountaineering courses within a very much affordable budget. Their aim is to train the youth of our country, who in turn take to mountaineering activities in the Himalayas as a sport or as a scientific pursuit. Parents and teacher have a great role to adopt and support a new perspective and culture in order to lay the foundation in youth. Regardless of whether anyone can make it to the summit or not, Himalayan expedition is sure to provide experiences of realistic goal setting, extreme hard work, real-time decision making, prudent resource management and effective team work that broaden our perspectives and values of life, build characters and finally provide with the memories for lifetime. After all we are as big as the dreams we dare to live by.
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Answers to Abra Cadabra
Ans 1. In seven hours you can count 25,200…in one year, 9,198,000… Oh ! It would take 109 years to count a billion in this way ! Better don’t count…
Ans 2. Let the radius of the Earth is R and your height, h, is 1.6 m.
Then your head is traveling 2 x Pi x (R + h), while your feet traveling
2 x Pi x R.
So, your head travels : (2 x Pi x (R + h) - 2 x Pi x R)
= 2 x Pi x h (Note : this is independent of the radius of the Earth)
= 2 x Pi x 1.6 = 10 m more than your feet !!!
Ans 3. Cardoid is a curve, shaped like a heart.
Ans 4. A hexahedron is a solid figure which has six faces. And a regular hexahedron is a CUBE, Since it has six equal faces.
Ans 5. Since a = b => (a - b) = 0. Hence , (a - b) / (a - b) is indeterminate…
Ans 6. 1 / 81 = 0.01234567…
Ans 7. Approximately, 500,000,000 square km, which includes under ocean contours also.
Ans 8. You all know that a volume has three dimensions…and when each of these three dimensions is doubled, the new volume is 2x2x2 times the original volume : 8 litre…
Ans 9. The answer is 10,000… surprisingly ! One-legged people will all require one shoe per head. So the requirement for one legged people is 500 shoes. From the rest, half will go bare foot and there they need no shoes and the rest will need two shoes per head. This means 9500 people will require 9500 shoes. Hence least number of shoes is 10,000 which is same as the population on the island ! It is really immaterial what the percentage of the population is one-legged !
Ans 10. 1 Googol = 10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
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000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
000 000 000 000 000 000 000,
which is 1 and then 100 zeroes…
And 1 Googolplex = 10 Googol, which is 1 followed by 101 zeroes…
Ans 11. Dodecahedron is having 12 x 5 = 60 faces.
Ans 12. Approximately 33,528,000 m = 33,528 km, which is almost 80% of the Earth’s circumference!!
Ans 13 Carat.
Ans 14. The “Great square of Pegasus” stands out distinctly in a very obvious shape in the heavens because all four stand at the corners are bright stars and there is no bright stars within the square.
You can clearly see this Great Square in the northern hemisphere almost due south at midnight during September equinox.
Ans 15. Mathematically, 2 x ( B - (A - B)) = A => ¾ . A = B …
Together : A + B = 63 => So, A + ¾ . A = 63
Therefore, A = 36 years and B = 27 years.
Ans 16. Let Krish had taken a random number 892… Then the following steps were carried out, by Karan, in advance : 892 = 892 x ( 1000 + 1) / (1000 + 1)
= (892000 + 892) /1001 = 892892/(7x11x13) = 892 arriving back to the original number. Karan had to just dramatize a rainy afternoon and got the operations done by Madhu, Rahul, Tulasi and Rohit and arrived at the final quotient --- without even knowing the original three-digit number ! Simple !
Ans 17. The value of Pi to seven places of decimals is hidden in this mnemonic :
3.1415926…
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Ans 18. There is a story behind this number. It goes like this. Once, Ramanujam was sick and was hospitalized. His mentor, Prof Hardy, paid him a visit…Prof Hardy told Ramanujam, “Look, I came by a taxi with a very unlucky number in its number plate.”When Ramanujam enquired what the number was, Hardy replied, “1729”. Ramanujam’s face lit up with a smile. He said, “1729 is not an unlucky number at all. It is a very interesting number. In fact, it is the only number that can be represented as the sum of two cubes in two different ways : 103 + 93 = 123 + 13 = 1729 !” This number is now popularly known as Ramanujam’s number…
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Contributors
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