Sunday, December 20, 2009

Boys and Girls



I am sipping a cup of tea in my home’s balcony. Beyond the rain-induced moistness in the air lie the mountainous terrains. Buildings abound and then there lie, at the bottom, the criss-crossing roads and streets, and the ever plying and dodging traffic on them. Beautiful rendition of nature and that is what people and poets alike call the bliss! But I see bliss floating in the eyes and ears of those young kids which are sauntering on the front street right now. Oblivious to the world and unmindful of the life, they are all immersed in the post-school jaunt – some calling others names, some coaxing others to go to the kiosk, some actually snogging Hey, sorry these are not kids, these are adolescent teenagers, if the italicized emphasis of words hit the meaning. They are carefree and careless …..

And so was I, about 10 years back. Diving into the first waves of insouciant manhood from the headland of innocent childhood. It was all expansive as universe, all too imperfect unlike the orderliness of my earlier military school. Yes, a new school happened right at the time when I was feeling a new ‘me’ inside my veins. I could run 10 miles a day, I could solve the Kashmir issue, I could be the Casanova ala Shahrukh, I could actually do everything …. That is how I thought. It was the sudden power of flush of adulthood. I could actually see love happening vis-à-vis the girls. I could savour the beauty of their lips and their body. I could read what love – the everywhere word- had to say. No wonders, I fell in love with every girl I met.

I also questioned why world is so snobbish and selfish. Why religions fight and why do nations war? Why people give bribes to get work done? Why can’t we all be pure …. Questions, questions, questions …. all emanating from the new beauty and reason that I could see radiating everywhere. Why can’t boys and girls mix without inhibition, even if the rightness of it is shown in our movies every time? Why is everything about sex so bad even if the impulses are so pleasing? Why are things forbidden, for God’s sake???

The answers had to be earned though. And it took me a decade to know why things are as they are. The energy is sobered and the mind acclimatized now. But also there is a submitted self to the whims of the world.

I look at those boys and girls again. I look at their effervescent smile and their nonchalant gait. Everyone feeling the warmth of the company, and everyone beaming the same incredulous queries and beliefs about the world. How blissful is that? I suddenly feel envious as I slurp the last drops of my tea.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The Three Sci-Wishes of My Life



It sometimes bewilders me how all the Science and Humanities that I studied in my school and college has started appearing in true valuable forms now. It is only now that I am viewing them as not study subjects but as purveyors of intellect much needed to understand, study and better the life around us.

Every subject is fascinating and has direct implications on our life. But I ever wondered, what would those complex Chemistry Formulae mean in my real life, or how the Physics Motion Laws manifest themselves in front of me, or how the Pancreatic Enzymes ever intrigue me to visualize their churning of my ingested food. These aren’t into-the-face stuff, and really not something which evolve with us as we draw away from books. Something present but also veneered ….Unless we start looking through the stratum and stencil the concepts against the world around us. Every theory then looks substantiated, and every formula proved and used. Just the sheer cognition stretches the imagination and insight alike to newer horizons. How vast is the Universe, How can we define Time, How is our Human Body so precisely defined, Why is F=ma all the time, Where was E=mc2 before one century, How is the quantum level so energy rich, Is there God who designed all this, If not Him then who else? I mean, the questions then ultimately blend into an integrated form of Science, Philosophy, Arts, Theology etc, all culminating in this pursuit of understanding of life.

We are at a strange moment of time. At the start of 20th century, the discovery of electrons, protons, atomic structure, relativity etc was the hallmark; then nuclear fission-fusion, recognition of DNA double helix, design of transistors etc marked our scientific achievements in the mid-century; and in the last part of the century, undoubtedly, Computers, and in particular, WWW (World Wide Web) have been our greatest breakthrough. So, where can we go now in this century? I believe, again our efforts will be dictated by the need to comprehend and ameliorate our lives. As per me, none could be more fulfilling than these three discoveries/inventions/explorations:-

1> Life outside Earth
Wow! It sounds so cool. More and more movies are making this concept a reality. But believe me, now it is not a fancy, but an absolute necessity to find Life outside Earth. And it is a necessity, to learn from other Lives their system and culture. Do they actually follow religion, do they build homes or just live in a big society, and do they fight wars? A whole lot of concepts that we assume are a must, can be put to test then. Too quixotic an idea, but I, for one smidgen of a moment, can’t believe that there is no Life outside Earth, and that it can’t teach us something to better our lives.

2> Cure for AIDS
I have chosen just AIDS to highlight the need for medication for the most lethal kinds of diseases. We have come miles ahead in dealing with the pernicious diseases, viz Small Pox, TB, Polio etc, but as weeds, the new hitherto unknown diseases keep festering. Of all, AIDS is the most enigmatic. There has been a lot of research going on towards the discovery of a cure for the last two decades. It is high time we arrived at an efficacious solution sooner than later.

3> Fusion of HeavyWater to generate Energy
Nothing could be more relevant now, considering the Save Climate Brouhaha all around us, than the need for Renewable Energies. Wind, Solar, Hydro et al are the storehouse of energy, ready to be harnessed. Just unimaginable why we haven’t gone after them as zealously as we have after the manufacture of bombs. But soon we will have to. And the richest source, for me, could be the HeavyWater (found aplenty in Oceans) to generate energy through Fusion. Right now the process is too expensive and dangerous, but once mastered, it will be the panacea of all the climatic ills.

My sci-wishes are only three, but I believe, if fulfilled, they will have sea-change on the whole humanity. The real science, so diligently learned by the kid inside me, will be realized for me then. “Necessity is the mother of Invention,” no other time the saying has had more pertinent meaning.