Post of the Day- Mehrangarh

It is seemingly impossible for me to get over with my obsession for the majestic beauty and pride of my city, the Mehrangarh fort. Recently, Jodhpur completed 558 years of existence. The kingdom of Marwar has indeed witnessed a glorious and rich history.

'Mihir/meher' = Sun (in sanskrit) and 'Garh' = fort. In fact, even Jodhpur is referred to as the Suncity. (Only those who have lived in Jodhpur can truly understand and appreciate how appropriately it is named so! )

Mehrangarh, one of the most exquisitely and strongly built forts, has a rather interesting legend. 

When Rao Jodha moved the capital of the kingdom from Mandore to Jodhpur, the most suited location was a hill called Bhaurcheeria (hill of birds) where a sole hermit named 'Chiria Nath' lived. Like any other ruler, Jodha too ordered the place to be cleared for the construction of the fort. 
Angered by the King's decision, the hermit cursed the ruler that his citadel would always suffer from scarcity of water. It is also said that the hermit cursed that no living ruler of Jodhpur would be able to see his grandchild. And for many many years, surprisingly it was indeed true. However, recently the vicious curse was fortunately broken.

Jodha built a house and temple for him in close proximity to the place the hermit used for meditation and managed to appease him. However, to further ensure the kingdom was not affected by the curse, he had a man Raja Ram Meghwal buried alive in the foundation. Even today, his descendants live in Raj Bagh (Meghwal's garden).

Thereafter, the foundation was laid by the famous Hindu warrior sage, Shri Karni Mata.
Legend has it, that only those forts whose foundation was laid down by Karni Mata (Jodhpur and Bikaner), are still in the control of the Rathore clan. All others have been abandoned due to some reason or the other.

Near the fort, is a 'chhatri' or a raised dome-shaped pavilion of Kirat Singh Soda, a soldier who died defending the fort. Within the fort, is a dargah (tomb) of a Muslim loyal of the royal family. 

The grandeur of the fort and its breathtaking location has also attracted several international artists, directors and film makers.

A still from our school visit to the fort 

The dargah in the premises

Jaswanthada and the fort behind

Post of the Day - Our Forgotten Scientists

Brain Drain is a serious issue in India. From high school, college to post-graduation, bright minds study in premier national institutes at subsidized fees (money of the taxpayers of course), only to migrate to other countries, especially in the field of science.

Those scientists who do stay back, are compelled to work in paucity of resources, inefficient government machinery, corrupt officials, deplorable laboratories and of course, negligible recognition. 

Today's post is dedicated to a few of these extremely talented scientists whose work has gone almost unnoticed and disappeared behind bollywood gossip, political propaganda and news oriented towards TRP and viewership.

ECG Sudershan

1. ECG Sudershan 

He made some significant contributions to many areas of Physics. He laid the foundation for several theories like electroweak theory, quantum representation of coherent light, etc. 

He was also the first one to bring to light 'tachyons' which are particles that travel faster than light.

He developed 'dynamical maps', one of the most primary tools to study open quantum system.

In 2005, he had to face unfair judgement twice regarding awarding of the Noble Prize, where another scientist Glauber, who initially criticized his work, eventually presented Sudershan's work in a different name and got the Nobel for the same.

In 1979 too, work which he developed as a 26-year old was used by three other scientists who were awarded the Nobel, with no recognition to Sudershan.

Narinder Singh Kapany

2. Narinder Singh Kapany

Very few of us know this, Fibre optics, used in high-speed connectivity and networking , especially for internet and Wifi, was in fact invented by Narinder Singh Kapany. However, Charles K Kao, who later developed on the idea, was awarded the Nobel for the concept.

Mansukh C Wani

3. Mansukh C. Wani

All of us are concerned about the rapidly increasing occurrence of cancer in people these days and recognize the need for an anti-cancer drug. I believe you didn't know this, that Masukh C. Wani, an Indian scientist, developed Taxon and Camptothecin, two standard vital drugs used in treatment to fight lung, breast, ovarian and colon cancers.

Jagdish Chandra Bose

4. Jagdish Chandra Bose

He first demonstarted wireless signalling, back in 1895! However, again, the Nobel and credits for the discovery were given to Marconi in 1909, 14 years after it was made.

Satyendra Nath bose

5. Satyendranath Bose

 

He made a path-breaking discovery on statistics of quanta of lights. His work was even appreciated and recognized by Einstein and the famous 'Bose-Einstein' statistics and the term 'Bosons' followed.

Later, three Nobel prizes were awarded for works based on this work, but the originator Bose himself never got one.

These are just a few instances. Let alone the prejudices and bias at international level, our own government does little to ensure they get justice or an appropriate environment to work within the country. 

Even our curriculum is based on mugging up and blindly following established rules, there is hardly any incentive, push or focus towards new research. And which is also a big reason why students run off to developed countries, where they get the apparatus and the opportunity to display their talent.

Post of the Day- The Broken Chair

20 May 2017

Today's post is also from my visit to Europe.

                                                 The Broken Chair

'Broken Chair' is a symbol of fragility and strength, dignity and brutality. Originally conceived with the aim of urging nations to ban anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, it is the continuing symbol of the desperate cry of the war-torn civil populations. It is a reminder to nations to protect and aid these civil victims. It invites each one of us to denounce what is unacceptable and stand up for the rights of individuals.

Chair, an object we use to make ourselves comfortable, can be understood as a symbol of peace here. This chair is broken and so will fall and collapse, hence is of no use. This signifies the state of world peace today, it is broken, ruptured, incomplete and as useless as a broken chair. 

Interestingly, it is located right in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations (in Geneva) , an organization established to maintain world peace. In a way, it is also a reminder to the UN of how much more it has yet to achieve.

Location- Geneva, Switzerland
Constructed - August 1997
Artist - Daniel Berset
Carpenter- Louis Geneve
Commissioned by and Property of- Handicap International

Post of the day- 1

As a step to deal with eternal unjustified procrastination and inability to find a topic to write on, I plan to share one interesting image, phenomenon, person, art, movie, etc which has some unique story or fact behind it.

Today's post is from my visit to the Louvre Museum.

So here, Alexander the Great on horseback was welcomed by statesmen and high ranking officials when he visited some Greek city. However, the Greek philosopher Diogenes (the one with an extended arm) did not come to meet him. Alexander went to see him in the noon and asked if he could help him with anything. Diogenes replied, "Yes, stand out of my Sun."

Alexander, who boasted that no one could surpass him when it came to liberality, was surpassed by Diogenes, who proved himself the better man by refusing to accept from Alexander everything except those things that Alexander could not give.

This is not merely a depiction of haughtiness or audacity. The sculptor, Pierre Puget, worked under the patronage of Louis XIV. This work was a message to the King, warning him to treat his subordinates well.

It is depicted that Alexander approached Diogenes. reversing the usual stances of royalty and commoner in which the latter would be physically submissive. By such means, Diogenes communicated his cynical indifference to convention and status in a non-verbal way.

It is said the history between Alexander and Diogenes goes beyond that. Diogenes was made a prisoner several times by Alexander's father, King of Macedonia. Diogenes is also perceived as brazen and ill-mannered because of his unconventional behaviour.  Alexander too has been believed to have said, "If I were not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes."

कई सदियाँ बीत गयी,
इसकी दीवारें अब तक बुलंद हैं,
हज़ारों आंधियां,तूफ़ान, युद्ध देखे हैं इन्होने,
फिर भी ना टस से मस हुई हैं. 

वर्षों पहले आये,
एक राओ जोधा की तपस्या और लगन का,
अनेको महावीरों के खून- पसीने का
परिणाम है ये.

माँ की छाया जैसे,
प्रजा की रक्षा करी इस महा दुर्ग ने.
सूर्य का सुनहरा रंग ले कर,
सूर्यनगरी की शान बना है ये.

                                                                                                           

                      -------------- 558 glorious years of Jodhpur---------------
(12 May 1459)

The nation felt vindicated after the SC's judgement to hang the accused in Nirbhaya's dreadful rape of 16 December 2012.

The ruling however has also attracted opposition as protesters of capital punishment deem it barbaric and inhumane. While I too personally advocate diversified forms of punishment, it is at the moment too unrealistic to demand. We have an even fundamental goal to achieve, i.e., to ensure speedy trials and delivery of justice. There is a  huge backlog of cases piled up, lakhs of individuals waiting for redressal/rights and hundreds of criminals yet to be punished for crimes committed a decade ago. It took almost 5 years for the verdict of the Nirbhaya case itself to be ruled.
Before questioning the forms of justice, it is more necessary to do away with the primary flaws- delay in action taken, witness protection, evidence tampering, et al. Worse still, many times due to hand greasing, the culprit easily escapes being arrested, let alone a case being filed against him/her.

Also, introducing unconventional methods of punishment will further lead to complications- What kind of punishment for what degree of crime? Which crime deserves physical harm and which does not? Usually there's a fine line between intensity of two crimes, how will it be identified and treated? And mind it, it is 'crime' we are talking about, not civil violations or contract breaches. While it is easy to conceptualize the idea of unconventional justice forms for such tort, it is highly complex and an issue of grave concern when implemented on a heinous crime like murder or rape. Till we do not have an efficient justice system in place, replacing capital punishment with any non-traditional form of punishment will be futile and full of hassles, leading to only more delayed justice.

All said and done, the Supreme Court's decision is commendable. It won't bring our sister back; the parents will not get their daughter back, it is not a substantial guarantee that rapes will stop, but at least her horrendous culprits won't breathe anymore while we ache for her.

Pink is the new Blue

They divided toys-
dolls for the girls,
balls for the boys.
They stereotyped behaviour-
She should be charming, sincere and soft
He should be strong, dominant and full of valour.

Ambitions were manipulated too,
She controlled, restricted or home-bound,
and he could do whatever he chose to.

But their kids were rebellious,
their actions inappropriate
and wrong outrageously.
The lad liked princess movies,
and the girl, superhero stories.
He loved drawing floral print,
and she lived to sprint .
Gender was now colour blind,
Blue became the new pink
and pink, the new blue.
 


Moving rapidly towards attaining gender equality and breaking gender-related stereotypes , Pink- supposedly held to be a symbol of feminity, is replacing 'boyish' Blue.
Be it fashion trends where male models are increasingly seen to be sporting various shades of pink in stripes and solids or corporate offices which are hiring more women than ever, females are bravely overcoming all kinds hindrance to enter fields till now dominated by males. And it is not just about women empowerment, it is also about breaking myths and prejudices attached to gender and narrowly perceived gender roles.
Pink is no longer a shade resembling womanhood, it is now becoming what it is supposed to be, just a colour. With participation and representation of woman rising, there is also an influx of males into so- called feminine sectors of hospitality, art, household chores, fashion, etc. And as prevalent gender roles reverse, both pink and blue are shedding their sex-based characteristics, acknowledging gender is not bi-chromatic but a beautiful spectrum.