Blogger Akshadhool

[akshardhool]

What is achieved by India now in quantum communications? and why is it so significant? (Image AI generated author’s copyright)   A few days ago there was news about a breakthrough in communication technology by India’s Quantum communication mission. As usual there was media hype and in the flashy videos produced by media, what is achieved and why it is significant, was not understood and lost. Besides this media aggression, with the subject itself being so complex, it is almost impossible for a common man to understand what the hype is all about.  Here is an attempt by me to make things slightly clearer. I hope my readers would appreciate it.  Basically this news pertains to communication links. So obviously it should be our first task to understand these strange words that are not very familiar to most of us. Most of us now have a broadband connection in our homes. This broadband signal comes to us riding on a cable which surprisingly has no metal wire inside. This cable is connected to a router fixed in our house. So in simple terms this physical arrangement that effects transfer of broadband signal from broadband provider’s office to our home is a communication link. The broadband links that bring and carry away broadband signals do not carry now the signal on a wire, but rather as a pulsating laser beam (1310-1490 nm wavelength,  upstream-downstream, Infrared region) that is sent through a tube inside the cable and that is why the link is also called an optical link. To send the data (in digital format) the laser beam is rapidly switched between two states (on-off). This is called modulation and in broadband transfers, intensity modulation is the usual method. Actually, signal processing is much more complex in reality, but to make things simple, I have described it in this simple fashion. Now let us come to the word “Quantum” used in news item. This term has come from a branch of Physics known as Quantum mechanics. The basic principle in this branch of physics is the “Heisenberg Uncertainty principle”. To understand this principle, let us now imagine an event. Suppose I am standing on the balcony of my house. There is a very large crowd of people standing in front of my house and a dear friend of mine “Divakar” is part of that crowd. I have a telescope with me, and I want to firstly locate “Diwakar” in the crowd and secondly want to find, the colour of the shirt, he is wearing. But the uncertainty principle tells us that I can find out only one of the two things I want to know. Divakar’s location or colour of his shirt, but never both the things. This is the basic postulate of all things Quantum.  However, uncertainty principle does not apply to humans and applies rather to basic nuclear particles like electrons or photons. (Image AI generated author’s copyright) The communication link, about which we are hearing about here, exactly behaves in this fashion and is therefore called as Quantum communication. Before we find out little more about Quantum communication links, let us return to our broadband cable for a moment. Suppose I cut off my cable before it reaches my router and terminate both cut ends in a T joint, like plumbers do in our house. To the third end, suppose I connect another router. What would happen? All the broadband data flowing through that cable would be accessible to me. I would be eavesdropping. This is just not allowed in secured data links, where sanctity of data is paramount. (Image AI generated author’s copyright) Quantum communication links come into picture here. If someone tries eavesdropping in a Quantum link, the original data would be all distorted, because of Quantum principle, errors would prop up and  the  legal recipient would instantly find this out, because of the Quantum nature of the communication. To keep this discussion in grasp of common non-technical readers, we might add a few more details. In Quantum communication links, the data does not modulate a light beam but rather a single stream of the fundamental parti...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

On Guns and Firing ranges (Image AI generated. no resemblance to any place, scene, equipment and any living or dead person)  Anywhere in the world, one of the favourite playthings for young boys is a simple toy gun. This simple toy is not something new. It has been always a popular toy ever since guns were invented and used by mankind.   I guess, before that, a simple toy bow with arrows must have been very popular, though they are still popular to some extent.  A bow could easily be made from a bamboo strip and arrows from bamboo sticks. Whereas a toy gun is far more complicated and cannot be easily made at home. Toy guns can be something as basic as a shot gun, an automatic gun, a machine gun or a revolver. These days, newer toy guns like laser guns or those fancied as used by astronauts and aliens in science fiction movies also are available.  The first toy gun I ever had was a present, from my grandfather on Diwali day, when I was just 8 years old. The gun had a wooden butt like a real gun, a trigger and a barrel. The barrel had a long slot along the length from which a bolt protruded out. There was a long spring inside the barrel, which would be pressed when the bolt was pulled inside towards the butt. When the trigger was operated, this spring would be released. It would expand in the barrel and hit a cork press fitted in the mouth of barrel. The cork would fly off, but its travel limited to a foot or so only, as it was attached to the barrel by a thread. This gun was thrilling enough for us young boys  for playing “Thieves and Police” (चोर-शिपाई, चोर-पोलिस) but, it was very clumsy or unhandy to use. Another toy gun that was very popular in those days and remains so, even now, is the Diwali time Pistol or revolver, which fired small caps. It used to be shaped like an automatic revolver and when the trigger was pulled, there would be a small bang with sound and some smoke. A later version could accommodate a roll of caps and therefore could fire repetitively like a real automatic revolver. As I grew older, I found these toy guns no fun. Then a friend showed me a book that explained with diagrams about making a cardboard pistol. I found this pistol or gun just great fun at that age. It consisted of three cardboard pieces. Two of them of  pistol shapes and the third one shaped like a trigger piece. These three pieces were held together with a brass split rivet usually used for pinning together loose paper sheets. This brass rivet ensured that the trigger cardboard piece would only move between two pistol shaped pieces over a limited range.  A rubber loop, usually cut from a bicycle tube, would be attached to the front of the pistol and the pulled out to the other end snapped in a notch cut on two pistol shaped pieces. When the trigger was pushed, the other end of the trigger piece would move up and push up the rubber band, releasing it. A thick paper strip folded several times and then bent in a ‘U’ shape, would be kept hanging on the rubber band.  When the rubber band was released, the paper ‘U’ piece would just fly off like a shot, and hit the targeted area. The front and rear cardboard covers of our exercise books were of the right thickness to make the carboard pistole.  It goes without saying that  they all were  converted in pistols within short time. For everyone in the classroom all exercise books were now left without cardboard covers.  Whenever teachers were absent from the class, due to some reason or other, this gun used to be of great fun to fight wars in classrooms.  Surprisingly this gun is very popular even today after eighty years or so, as can be seen from number of How to do   it?  Videos, that are listed on You Tube. Even though I played with such toy guns, I was no stranger to a real gun. Ever since I was a small boy, my father used to own a 12-bore single barrel shotgun. Usually, I was not allowed to touch it even, except on one day every year. On the day when Dusshera was celebrated, it used to be my duty, to ...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

The relevance of Jehanpora Excavations (Jempur, Gopura, गोपुर) Map source Wikimedia commons   Last month, (Decmber 2025), our PM, during his monthly broadcast “Mann ki baat”, made a mention of recent archaeological excavation work being done in Kasmir’s Baramulla region. According to him this excavation, being done at a place known as “Jehanpora”, near town of “Baramulla” in the Zhelum river valley, was very significant from the  point of history of this region. He also mentioned that our archaeologists developed an interest in this place as one of them happened to see, in a museum in France, blurred images of some mounds, photographed at this place. Considering it as a breaking piece of news, electronic media picked it and within days came up with many videos about the excavation. Probably the most significant of these videos was an interview of Dr. Mhammad Ajmal Shah, who happens to lead the team of archaeologists doing excavation work at this site.    Dr. Shah gives in this interview details about the site and its historical importance.  It is quite possible that “Jehanpora” could turn out to be a major discovery of a large Buddhist establishment that was set up at the beginning of our era or even earlier before that. On a more personal level, the name” Jehanpora” struck a note of familiarity in my mind. After a little thinking, I remembered that this was one of the villages that existed on the banks of Jhelum River, mentioned by an explorer, Charles von Hügel, who had extensively travelled innorthern India during the 1830s. Hügel was an Austrian nobleman, army officer, diplomat and a botanist. His travelogue in German, named as “: Kaschmir und das Reich der Siek (literally Cashmere and the Realm of the Sikhs) “was considered as an extremely important description of Maharaja Ranjitsingh’s empire, in 19th century.   He however does not call it by the name “Jehanpora” but rather as “Jempura”. This name has no meaning in Sanskrit, and it could be probably a distortion of the original Sanskrit name “Gopura” (गोपुर), which means a main Gate (मुख्य द्वार) in Sanskrit.  To me, “Gopura” appears to be the most appropriate name as things become clearer in following paragraphs. However, before we go further, let us try to see first some geographical details of Kashmir and this specific area.  We all know that The Vale of Kashmir is well protected from all sides with extremely high mountain ranges. From the South or West, there are only three mountain passes by which a traveler can enter Kashmir.  The most frequently used pass  after formation of Pakistan, is the southern Banihal Pass. The second pass is known as Pir-Panjal pass and gives a traveler entry, to Shopian in Kashmir valley from southwest or from Jammu via Poonch- Rajouri region. This way is also known as Mughal Road. The third and probably the most important pass, until formation of Pakistan, was the Baramulla pass.  The river “Vitasta” or Jhelum exits Kashmir valley at this point and descends downwards towards Muzaffarabad.  There have been two cart roads on both banks of the river. The southern or left bank road goes to “Uri” town. Here it branches off towards Poonch area via “Haji Pir Pass”. The other branch continues towards west eventually to Muzaffarabad. The road on the northern or right bank of Jhelum, is easier to traverse than the southern road and has always been historically, the main artery between Taxila and Baramulla until formation of Pakistan. Not only that, but this northern route was also part of the southern silk route, as traders from Central Asia and China would travel via Kashgar, Karakoram Pass and Kashmir to northwest India by this route. Its importance can be judged from the fact that Emperor Ashoka, ordered one of his edicts set up at “Mansehra” city in Hazara district of Pakistan situated west of Muzaffarabad, on this road. It becomes clear from above discussion, that “Jehanpora” Buddhist monastery wa...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

A recollection- Visiting Col. Leslie King ( Image created by AI has no resemblance with any real life property) One of my happy childhood memories, when I was about 10 years old lad, has always been those rare visits to Col. Laslie King’s household along with my father. Col. King was my father’s fellow amateur radio enthusiast and a friend. He used to stay in a bungalow allotted to him by Indian Army southern command, in Pune Cantonment area somewhere near today’s Dr. Koyaji Road.  To add to my excitement of the visit to his house, there was always that  pillion seat ride on my father’s AJS motor bike. Col. Leslie king must have been much elder to my father, who was in his late thirties then. However, he used to be so friendly with us that I never realized it then.   He was a great Amateur Radio enthusiast (HAM) and actively participated in all their activities. His call sign was VU2AK.  He never believed in buying gear (Radio receiving and transmitting equipment) and was always keen to build his own gear (home-brewed stuff).  His posting in Pune perhaps helped him, as lots of WWII electronic equipment left over by Allied forces in Pune Air Force station was being scrapped and sold in local market.  He had many friends in Air Force, and he would know what stuff is going to be sold in advance. I remember giving him very exclusive items to my father such as Klystrons and a small 2-inch CRT tube, as gifts.   (An Amateur Radio enthusiast’s shack) My father was also a keen Amateur Radio enthusiast (Call sign VU2EJ) and that was probably the only connection to their friendship. They would discuss for hours their home brewed stuff, and I would watch them fascinated, without saying even a word.  SSB (Single side band) was the latest thing in HAM radio then and they would discuss circuits, parts, tubes for that. “Leslie uncle”, as I used to call him then, had a very specious bungalow. There were a large veranda and and a hall/ There were two wings on the sides. His Amateur Radio station or shack was in the right wing and was full of electronics stuff, old ARL magazines and notebooks. His wife Audrey   was a typical army wife (XYL in HAM jargon). Perfect in manners and most gracious.  I was supposed to call her “aunty”, but she always insisted to my embarrassment, that I must address her as Audrey only. In any case, my conversational skills in English, at that time, were almost equal to none and I mostly kept quiet in her presence.  King’s only son then, had gone  to England and I remember Audrey telling me that he does not want to return to India and wanted to settle there.  She could not talk or communicate with her son often as telephones were just primitive.  So she had finally decided to become an Amateur Radio enthusiast (HAM) herself and earned a call sign VU2YL.  In this way she could communicate with her son for as long as possible.  My only regret now is that I could never communicate with Audrey properly with my extremely poor  English speaking skills.   Audrey made wonderful cakes. Sponge cake was one of her best recipes. My mother always wanted to learn to make cakes, and Audrey gladly taught her recipes. With Audrey’s guidance my mother became expert in making delicious cakes.   During my visits to King household, Audrey’s cakes used to be a prime attraction.   Leslie Uncle was really my father’s Guru in HAM world and guided him to build his basic stuff, Antenna etc. He also suggested purchasing the Hallicrafters radio receiver, which my father did.  Hallicrafters model SX-28 was very popular with Indian HAMS at that time, with both Leslie Uncle and my father owning it. Another popular radio was RCA AR-88.   I recently found from net that ‘Leslie uncle’ was later promoted as a Brigadier and posted to Bangalore. He continued his HAM activity there and made improvements to his SSB gear.  After he moved to Bangalore, my father lost all contact with him, except for occasional talk on radio.  I have no information about when he ...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

Recollections from my first ever US trip Café do Monde and Beignet I came across recently an old photograph taken in 1980’s by me in New Orleans that showed the famous eatery, ‘Café du Monde’. located in the city area known as French quarters. That triggered my thoughts and I was surprised that I still remembered so many details of the place vividly even now. ‘Café du Monde’ was located on Decatur Street, opposite Jackson square where a grand equestrian statue of General Jackson stands. This street was usually so much jammed and crowded that it was almost impossible to find parking. I remembered that we were dropped in front of the café by Mr. Vinayakarao Athavale (He is the husband of my aunt Mrs. Neera Karve-Athavale) to pick up New Orlean’s famous snack “Beignet” from this café. Since there was no parking place, he kept going around in that area, until we picked up a few ‘to-go’ Beignets. Café-du-Mond in those days was a cosy roadside café with a nice-looking small fountain in front. Most of the people went there to have a Beignet and a coffee. Beignets (Pronounced as Ben-yey, बेन्ये ) were first introduced to the city by the French-Creole colonists in the 18th century. The concept is simple – dough is fried then covered with mounds of powdered sugar – but the result is extraordinary. When served hot, they are absolute perfection, especially when accompanied by chocolate milk. For my Indian palate they tasted somewhat like “Chirote (चिरोटे)”. While on subject of eateries of New Orleans, two more places immediately come to mind. First one was called as ‘Ground Round’. This one served typical American food. What was special about this place was that they served large bowls of roasted groundnuts in shells to all customers. You were encouraged to drop the empty shells on the floor. So whenever anyone walked on the floor, he/she would make crunchy kind of sound. There was another place called ‘Spudleys” or something similar, that was famous for its baked potatoes. They would serve huge oven hot baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil. Potatoes were served with a cut in the middle which would be covered with mustard and other sauces. New Orleans then, was called food capital of US, with so many specialty restaurants. Obviously, I have no idea about the present status particularly after Hurricane Katrina and great flood of 2005. Niagara Falls: a total letdown Way back, when I was planning to visit US for the first time, I wanted to visit Niagara Falls more than any other place. In those days, to find information about any place was very difficult. There was no internet and not very many people I knew, had travelled to US. My in-laws had been there a few years back, but they had seen the falls from Canada side. My travel agent told me that for Canada visa, the passport must be sent to Delhi, and it could take a long time to receive it back. I had really no choice but to see the falls from US side. I found out that the nearest airport with regular flights was at Buffalo town and there are busses that take you to Niagara in the morning and return in the evening. With this much information, I and my wife landed on Buffalo airport and checked in a nearby Ramada Inn. I checked on the reception counter and booked two tour tickets for the next day. Our journey to Niagara town was nice and comfortable and we reached there sometime late morning. As, we would do at any tourist place, we first visited the Visitor centre and found out to our dismay that the ferry that takes you around the falls does not sail after October. The Niagara River after it falls is at least 25 to 30 meters below Niagara town and to take the travellers down to riverbed level, an elevator is normally in place. However, since the ferry is closed, this elevator area is also closed. Our only choice therefore was to see the falls from an international bridge across the river that joined US and Canada. This was no problem for us as our Visas were multi entry. We therefore decided to ...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

Normally, I should have been the last person to say anything about history. It is true that like any other small kid, I also had learned stories from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vedas, and above all, the glorious achievements of the great Maratha king Shivaji, revered like a God by most people in Maharashtra, from my mother and grandmother. During my school days, I had also watched number of excellent films in Marathi on silver screen, about this great king. However, that was about everything I ever did with studies of humanities, particularly History and Geography. From eighth grade, I opted for the technical subjects and never even opened any history book. I managed to keep myself away from historical dates, years, births, deaths, battles, treaties, and armistices, so plentifully mentioned in all books on history. Later, I opted for Engineering as my career and after passing out, launched myself in the real world of manufacturing things. I never really repented my choice of my career. Subjects like history and geography were simply forgotten, only to be remembered occasionally, while reading an odd column in Sunday newspapers over a cup of tea.  After a long span of many decades, when I finally exited the world of elevations, plans, raw materials, and quality controls. I had plenty of time on my hand. I started reading books on many assorted subjects. I read Hawking’s and Weinberg’s treatises on Nuclear Physics, travelogues of Herodotus and Ibn Battuta, Philosophical books like Dnyaneshwari (Where I must admit to have failed miserably to understand anything of substance), books on Genealogy and migrations. It was then that I hit upon some book finally, name of which I do not recollect now, on ancient history of India. It was a great revelation to learn about India of the past, its unimaginable wealth, great Kings, who ruled here, and the series of murderous invasions from northwest by some of the most barbarous and cold-blooded tyrants, India had to face. Along with history, came its natural partner, Geography. I soon realized that one could never really understand history, if he does not know enough of Geography, of which I was again very ignorant. Luckily, I found my salvation through Google earth, and from then on, I was oversold to history. Yet I had my choices. I loved the history of people from Sindhu-Saraswati Civilizations. I read about their subsequent migrations to Gangetic plains, central India and eventually to northern Maharashtra, where they interacted with indigenous people coming from north and east. The Buddha, Buddhism, and its slow demise in India were the next. I read about Satvahana, Vakataka, Chalukya and Yadava kings of Maharashtra. I must admit that I somehow never felt interested in medieval history of India, though an interest for a brief period, made me read a few books about kingdom of ‘Vijayanagara’ in south. Jumping a century or so, I came to Marathas and finally to Peshavas. They obviously remain my all-time favourites. I tried my hand at writing a few articles that dealt with bits of this glorious history. I also managed to travel to many historical places of interest in India. I think readers are likely to question my intent in giving above a long list of topics, in which I have managed to read a few books. However, relax! I have no wishes to claim to be a historian. I accept that reading a few books on history, does not make one a historian. As I see it, it needs decades of study and research, field trips, and some original work, before anyone could even hope to achieve some credit in this direction. Yet I feel that, whatever efforts I have put in, give me some credentials to express my thoughts about  a dangerous new trend that is emerging out in India or particularly in Maharashtra. With the advent of social media, we suddenly have multitudes of young historians, who have very little knowledge of historical facts, yet claim to be in knowledge of everything. This by itself is harmless. Problem comes when these people start integrating their  sentimentality with histor...

[akshardhool]

The three main religions from India, Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, believe in an order, where, besides human beings, creatures of Sentient (having an ability to experience feelings) existence also inhabit our world. Common examples of such sentient creatures are in form of Devas, Gandharvas and Yakshas. Out of these creatures, Yakshas are of special interest, as they are found in abundance in religious scriptures and stories of all the religions that have originated in India. R. Spence Hardy in his book, ‘Manual of Buddhism’ describes Yakshas as. “Yakshas are not to be classed with devils, though this is their popular designation. They are beings whose karma has placed them in the situation they now occupy in the scale of existence; but many of their acts might be attributed to the Dewas, as many of the acts of the Dewas might be attributed to them, without any appearance of impropriety. The dwelling-place of the Yakshas is not in the Hell (Narakas); so that they are not spirits condemned to ceaseless torments like the devils of revelation; they are found in the earth, and in the waters, and form one section of the guards round the mansion of Sekra. They marry (to Yakshinis), and delight in dances, songs, and other amusements; their strength is great; and some of them are represented as possessing splendour and dignity”. In Buddhist literature, the Yakṣhas are the attendants of Vaishravaṇa, the guardian of the northern direction and quarter, a beneficent god who protects the righteous and rules from Capital ‘Alaka’ or ‘Alakananda’. In Buddhist art forms,  Yakshas are always represented in a Human form.  The Buddhist rock-cut temples of India invariably display Yakshas, standing on both sides of the entrance of a monastery or Chaitya. They are commonly known as ‘Dwarapala’. Reason for their inclusion can be found in the Tibetan scripture “Dul-va” (part of Ka-gyur). In this book, Shakyamuni Buddha is believed to have instructed to Anathapindika about decoration of Buddhist Viharas by placing a Yaksha figure on the outside door. However, besides being displayed as ‘Dwarapalas’ on the sides of entrances, we also find Yaksha figures at other places such as plinth surfaces of Buddhist monasteries and Chaityas and on balusters.Yakshas are picturised as bringing stability to heavy structures by holding them in their hands. Common examples of such Yaksha figures can be found in Rock cut caves at Nashik and Pitalkhora in Maharashtra state of India. A popular Buddhist scripture from Nepal is known as ‘Pancharaksha’ (Five-fold-protection). It  is a collection of ‘Mantras’ (religious rhymes that are supposed to have magical powers) that offers protection against sin, malady and other evils. Each of the ‘mantra’ is known as a ‘Dharani’. One of the ‘Darani’ from this collection is called as ‘Maha-mayuri’ sutra (Sermon of great peacock) and it is believed to offer a protection from snake poison. It is believed by Nepali Buddhists that ‘Maha-mayuri’ Sutra was first delivered by Shakyamuni Buddha himself to his senior most disciples, Ananda. The original Sanskrit (or Prakrit) Sutra was translated by ‘Amoghavajra’, a monk born in Samarkand of an Indian father and Sogdian mother, in Chinese in 7th century. It is known as ‘Fu-mu-da-kong-que-ming-wang-jing’ (佛母大孔雀明王經). In this Sutra, Shakyamuni tells Ananda. “Furthermore there are these great Yaksha kings and Yaksha generals who live along seashores, reside on high mountains and other mountains, dwell in the wilderness, live in rivers, streams, marshes, ponds, burial grounds, caves, villages, alleys, at four-way crossroads, parks, trees and other dwelling places, including a great Yaksha,  who resides in the palace of Apadakavati”. Continuing, The Buddha tells Ananda in this Sutra to recite the names of the great Yaksha king and all the major Yaksha generals, which he names subsequently. The list covers almost all the major towns that existed in India at that time. However, the part...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

Most of the Indian readers of my blog must have read, when they were young, the famous collection of stories known as ‘Vetala Panchavimshati’ (वेतालपञ्चविंशति) either in a book form or in pictorial or comic format. For sake of other readers, I would like to give here the frame of the story, which goes along on these lines. The legendary king ‘Vikramditya’ makes a promise to a sorcerer that he will capture a ‘vetala’ (वेताल), (a celestial spirit Pishacha [analogous to a vampire in Western literature] that hangs upside-down from a tree, inhabits, and animates dead bodies). King however finds the task much more difficult than he had ever imagined. Each time the king tries to capture the ‘Vetala’, it tells a story that ends with a riddle. If the king cannot answer the question correctly, the vampire consents to remain in captivity. If the king knows the answer, but still keeps quiet, then his head shall burst into thousand pieces. Moreover, if King Vikramaditya answers the question correctly, the vampire would escape and return to his tree. Being extremely wise, the king knows the answer to every question; therefore, the cycle of catching and releasing the vampire continues for twenty-four times, giving us twenty-four amazing stories. Readers may not know that ‘Vetala Panchavimshati’ stories come from a much larger collection (actually a vast collection) of stories, aptly called as ‘Story Ocean of many rivers’ (कथासरित्सागर), a name I am sure that all my Indian readers must have heard of. The work, consisting of 18 books of 124 chapters and approximately 22,000 Shlokas (each shloka consisting of two half-verses of 16 syllables each), is believed to have been composed by a Kashmiri Pandit, Somadeva. He was commissioned by a King of Kashmir, ‘Anantadeva’ (reigned 1028-1063 CE) of ‘Lohara’ dynasty, to compose a cycle of stories to amuse and calm the queen ‘Suryamati’ (सूर्यमति) during a political crisis. Though the basic story line of this book narrates, the exploits of King Naravahandatta (नरवाहनदत्त) of ‘Vatsa’ dynasty, who ruled from the ancient city of ‘Kaushambi’, located on bank of River Jamuna. Author Somadeva skillfully manages, during course of his book,  to interweave an unbelievably large number of short and long stories, which sometimes have no connection whatsoever  with the main story line. The Book begins with birth of King ‘Udayana’, narrates his life, loves and queens. Story then proceeds with birth of Udayana’s son ‘Narvavahandatta’, his upbringing and finally how he acquired his many (twenty-six) wives. Somadeva, though a great story teller, to be fair enough, accepts in the beginning of his magnum opus that he is not the real author of this work and he has merely abridged it from the work of a great poet (who lived between first and third century) known as ‘Gunadhya’(गुणाढ्य). This original work was known as ‘Brihat katha’ (बृहत्कथा, a widely spread story). Somadeva says. एवं गुणाढ्यवचसा सप्तकथामयी I स्वभाषया कथा दिव्या कथिता काणभूतिना II तथैव च गुणाढ्येन पैशाच्या भाषया तया I निबद्धा सप्तभिर्वर्षैर्ग्रंन्थ्लक्षणि सप्त सा II मैतां विद्याधरा हार्षुरिति तामात्म्यशोणितैः I अटव्यां मष्यभावाश्च लिलेख स महाकविः II “Gunadhya for his part using the same Paisachi language threw the original tale of Kanabhuti consisting of seven stories into seven hundred thousand couplets in seven years; and that great poet, for fear that the Vidyadharas should steal his composition, wrote it with his own blood in the forest...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

Hindu scriptures narrate tale of a demon known as ‘Tarakasura’, who was blessed by Gods that he would never be killed by anyone except son of Lord Shiva. This was almost an impossibility because Lord Shiva had killed the God of Love, ‘Madan’. Meanwhile, Uma, a daughter of Mountain Himalaya,  fell in love with Lord Shiva, who would not even look at her. To change his mind she carried out a long spiritual penance (तप), because of which Lord Shiva changed his mind and agreed to marry her. This marriage of Gods, which eventually took place according to this story, has been a great source of conjecture for poets and carvers in stone of ancient and medieval India. We find scene of this celestial marriage, carried out according to Hindu Vedic traditions, depicted at least in two rock cut temples of in Maharashtra (Elephanta and Verul or Ellora). In cave no. 29 of Verul caves near Aurangabad city, this scene is depicted towards the east end of the great hall of this cave. The two main figures in the mosaic are Shiva and Parvati or Uma, each with a flower in their left hand. Uma wears heavy earrings and slightly inclines her head as if bashful. Below, to the right, kneeling by the sacrificial fire, is Brahma, with three heads, acting as priest; to the left are Mena and Himalaya, the mother and father of the bride, with a flower and a coconut. Above are the gods and goddesses; on the left are Vishnu, Yama, Vayu or Soma, Agni, and perhaps Varuna; on the right is Indra on Airavat. Verul caves are believed excavated between seventh and eleventh century CE. We however cannot exactly pinpoint the century when this particular mosaic must have been sculptured.  Yet, since this mosaic is in cave 29, which is located towards north end of the caves, it must have been done in later periods as earliest caves in rock cut temples are always located towards the center. We can therefore place this cave (no. 29) as excavated in eighth or ninth centuries approximately. At least three centuries before these stone carvers would  start their work with the chisel, a famous Sanskrit poet ‘Kalidasa’ had already conceived an epic poem, which he named as ‘Kumarsambhavam’ or ‘Birth of Kumara’, based on the theme of this celestial marriage. The ‘Kumrasaṃbhavam’ is widely regarded as one of Kalidasa’s finest works, a glowing example of his poetic genius. The style of description of this poem would set the standard for metaphors that pervaded the Indian literary tradition for many later centuries. Kalidasa describes the marriage ceremony in these words. प्रदक्षिणप्रक्रमणात् कृशानोर् उदर्चिषस् तन् मिथुनं चकासे । मेरोर् उपान्तेष्व् इव वर्तमानम् अन्योन्यसंसक्तम् अहस्त्रियामम्॥७.७९॥ तौ दम्पती त्रिः परिणीय वह्निम् कराग्रसंस्पर्शनिमीलिताक्षीम् । तां कारयाम् आस वधूं पुरोधास् तस्मिन् समिद्धार्चिषि लाजमोक्षम्॥७.८०॥ सा लाजधूमाञ्जलिम् इष्टगन्धं गुर्ऊपदेशाद् वदनं निनाय । कपोलसंसर्पिशिखः स तस्या मुहूर्तकर्णोत्पलतां प्रपेदे॥७.८१॥ तद् ईषदार्द्रारुणगण्डलेखम् उच्छ्वासिकालाञ्जनरागम् अक्ष्णोः । वधूमुखं क्लान्तयवावतंसम् आचारधूमग्रहणाद् बभूव॥७.८२॥ वधूं द्विजः प्राह तवैष वत्से वह्निर् विवाहं प्रति पूर?...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

A new controversy over Padmini, the legendary queen of King Ratna Simha of Chittorgarh, is raging in media these days.The trigger for the controversy  has come from a film, yet to be released, that is themed on this legendary queen.  The legend of Padmini, as we know it today, is based on an epic poem ‘Padmavat’ written in year 1540 by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in the Awadhi language. It is the oldest extant text among the important works in Awadhi and is considered a famous piece of Sufi literature from the period. According to this legend, King Ratna Simha of Chittor married princess Padmini after a quest. After hearing about her beauty, Sultan of Delhi Allauddin Khalji, invaded Chittor to obtain Padmini. King Ratna Simha was captured by the Sultan’s forces, but his Rajput warriors rescued him on Padmini’s request. While he was in captivity, his Rajput neighbour – Devpal of Kumbhalgarh – sent a marriage proposal to Padmini. Ratna Simha fought with Devpal to avenge this insult, and the two Rajput kings killed each other in a single combat. Allauddin then invaded Chittor, but before he could capture the fort, Padmini and other women immolated themselves. I thought that it would be an interesting exercise to find out, whether, Arab historians, who have provided detailed narratives about Delhi Sultans, mention this legend and if so how they describe it? The outcome turned out to be quite interesting. The earliest historian, who describes Allauddin’s campaign against Chittor is Amir Khusro (1253-1325), a Sufi musician, poet and scholar, who accompanied Allauddin on this campaign. He narrates this battle in his book “Tarif-i-Alla” or “Khajanau-al-Futuh” in this fashion. “On Monday, the 8th Jumda-al- thani, AH 702, (28th January 1303) the loud drums proclaimed the royal march from Delhi, undertaken with a view to the capture of Chittor. The author accompanied the expedition. The fort was taken on Monday, the 11th of Muharram, AH 703 (27th August, 1303 A.D.). The Rai (Rajput King) fled, but afterwards surrendered himself”. Amir Khusro comes up with a strange narrative here that is very difficult to explain. He says. “And (the Rajput King) was secured against the lightning of the scimitar (curved sword). The Hindus say that lightning falls wherever there is a brazen (Brass) vessel, and the face of the Rai had become as yellow as one, through the effect of fear”. This comment perhaps can be explained in this fashion. The battle was fought in such ferocity that the sunlight reflecting from the blades of the curved swords, flashed like strikes of lightening. The intense battle was so fearsome that the face of the Rajput King turned yellowish. Khusaro compares this with the Hindu belief that brass vessels attract flashes of lightening. This denigration of  Rajput Kings, who are generally known for their bravery and courage appears, far removed from reality and an exercise in sycophancy to please Sultan Allauddin.   Khusro continues further,” After ordering a massacre of thirty thousand Hindus, he bestowed the Government of Chittor upon his son, Khizr Khan, and named the place Khizrabad. He bestowed on him a red canopy, a robe embroidered with gold, and two standards—one green, and the other black—and threw upon him rubies and emeralds. He then returned towards Delhi”. According to Khusaro’s description, the battle appears to have been a fought in a decisive way, in which thirty thousand Rajput’s were massacred but he makes no mention of any loss on other side. . Perhaps we can excuse him for not having described the losses suffered by Sultan, because, after all, he himself was part of the expeditionary force. Writing a few decades later, Ziauddin Barani (1285–1357) disposes off the battle in just one line. He says. “The Sultan then led forth an army and laid siege to Chittor, which he took in a short time, and returned home”. However, more important are his further comments. He says. “New troubles now arose on account of the Mughals in Mawaru-n nahr (Transox...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

These days, I have started developing a feeling that I am stuck in some kind of a time warp. Let me elucidate. Time warp can be thought of as the idea of a change in the measurement of time, in which people and events from one part of history are imagined as existing in another part. In simple words, time warp could also mean that I am rather old-fashioned in my behaviour or opinion. I can see that this feeling is nothing unique or new. Each and every generation in the past, present and future (including mine naturally), must have acquired it or shall be possessed by it sometime or other. If that is so, it should have been natural to assume that our generation’s time has come and it is just our turn to grumble, whine and complain about young people, how they behave, dress, work and do things?  Things, we think as incorrect or as most inappropriate. If being in a time warp is such a natural feeling that comes to every generation, sometime or other, shouldn’t we (that includes me) , though grudgingly, accept it and keep feeling grumpy and disgruntled all the time? Why then do I get this feeling of being stuck? The plain reason for this kind of ‘locked up’ feeling suffusing my mind is my gut perception that the changes happening around me are not necessarily unwelcome and given a second chance, I would rather whole heartedly welcome and enjoy them. Or speaking frankly, I rather envy the young generation of today for having and enjoying all the good things that people of my generation only thought in dreams.  Let me make an effort to list down a few things at which I have this feeling of resentful longing.  But, before I do not, I should also list a few customary things we enjoyed in our youth, but no longer can hope to indulge in them. The first and foremost is the clean, fresh air that we breathed and how things including water were unpolluted and fresh.  However my list of good things cannot be stretched much further. I am a product of the socialistic India of the Nehru era, when that happy feeling of being freed from the yoke of British Empire was all pervading. In a nationalistic fervour, our elders decided that we should be educated in our mother tongue and need not acquire any knowledge of English, with the unbelievable result that I learned my ABCD, while in 8th standard. The other day, I watched my granddaughter (age 9) speaking on mobile phone, with a total stranger. Her confidence and expression was so amazing. I remembered that I could not even speak on a telephone (landline) till I was fourteen or fifteen. Speaking confidently in English, I could do, only much later. But, that was just the beginning. Slowly for us, all windows opening out to outside world closed.  Leave aside foreign travels and goodies; even books published outside of India, became so expensive that very few could afford them. The only link that kept us informed about the world outside India were the Hollywood flicks with their peculiar way of projecting family and society values. When I graduated, it was the time of Indigenization and saving foreign exchange. Nobody thought of free trade and things like that. India was always short of foreign exchange and it always beats me, how suddenly, after the decade of nineties, the same country could collect a stockpile of more than 300 Billions of US Dollars. As Engineers, we were supposed to find local substitutes for everything, with the result that we produced things that were too expensive, shoddy and did not perform as expected. Obviously, after imports opened up, no one would touch them with a bamboo pole even.  Our indigenous small industries died their logical and natural death around time, when a new millennium began. Anyway, let us leave things of the past and come back to present. Other day, I travelled on the expressway between my home town Pune and Mumbai in a plush car. On the road I saw a plethora of car brands, which, in my youth, I had seen only in photographs in glossy magazines. Obviously, these magazines were subscribed by a rare few. No common person ...

[akshardhool]

Many old timers like me shall remember the 1965 attack of Pakistan Army on Akhnoor town. Pakistan Army had drawn up plan; code named Grand slam; in May 1965, to attack the vital bridge near Akhanoor town, located on the banks of the Chenab River, at a distance of 28 km from Jammu, in the foothills of the Himalayas. The bridge was believed to be the lifeline of an entire infantry division in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistanis hopes that with the capture of this bridge, they could also capture Jammu, an important logistical station for Indian Army.  Its different matter that the attack failed miserably, and Pakistani armoured vehicles and other units were forced back by Indians. Akhnoor might have become known to us, because of this skirmish in 1965. However, it can be said that Akhnoor was one of the last bastion of the Harappan Civilization that occupied this area five millenniums ago. Akhnoor’s past however does not end with extinguishing of this civilization.  Excavations at Ambaran site have proved that this region was a prominent abode of Buddhism during the Kushan period (first century) and Gupta (third to fifth centuries). An ancient an eight-spoke Stupa, consisting of a mound with Buddhist relics, built from  baked bricks and surrounded by stone pathways, meditation cells and rooms has been excavated here and is believed to have been from this period. We have no idea whether this Stupa survived the wrath of Hephthalite (White Hunas) king “Mihircula”, who ruled north India in sixth century and who was bent upon destructing Buddhist monuments and slaughtering Budddhist monks. Archaeologists have also unearthed from this site, Buddhist relics from the Pre-Kushan reign, besides silver caskets, gold and silver leaves, pearls, corals, and copper coins of the Gupta period. A rare find from Akhanoor is displayed in Mumbai’s “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum”. This consists of Terracotta heads of local gentry or people from different professions and strata.  Arcaheologists believe that these heads were created by artists sometime in sixth century CE.According to the museum display, these heads must have once existed in a Buddhist monastery. The heads are a classic example of achievement of aesthetic feeling in art of terracotta modeling and bear clear traces of Graeco-Roman art of Gandhara period. The hairstyles, curly hair, are clearly done in ancient Greek style. Mustaches seem to be in vogue for men. Both men and women seem to grow long hair, which were tied in pony tail and style and then tied up on top of the head. The unbelievably expressive eyes are something that must be seen personally. While watching the heads, one gets a feeling that these men, women and the baby are not from Mars or Venus, they are the people we see everyday around us. Their faces so typically Indian. Next time you are in Mumbai, please make a point to visit the museum and see these ancient heads. I am sure; Your effort will be well awarded. 18-09-2017

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

Imagine that you are sitting at your desk in your office with ten people sitting in front of you with loads of problems on their mind that must be solved immediately and by none other than you. You look at the watch and realize that you have fifteen precise minutes, because that is the latest time by which you must leave office, if you want to catch your flight in time. In such a scenario, what would be your feelings? There is a feeling of inertia, because you want to continue in office and do not want to leave back unsolved matters. At the same time, there is a feeling of restlessness or anxiety. You do not want to miss the flight as there is an important appointment waiting for you. I am sure that many of readers must have gone through such experiences. How such situations develop is a mystery. It is not that your journey has been decided at the last moment. It must have been planned at least a week before. Yet it is unknown how problems suddenly crop up on every front, when there is no time available to solve them. Problems also crop up, when we are not in proper mental frame to receive them or rather they only crop up when we do not want to welcome them. I am reminded of one incidence, etched in my mind. I was working in Mumbai then. We were shifting office and we had decided to have a small get-together for the evening at the old venue after official office time was over. About 2 or 3 months before, we had supplied some equipment to a textiles mill in Mumbai and since then not a word was heard from them about commissioning the equipment. After the office time was over, as the first coke bottle was being opened, the phone rang. Our textile mill customer identified himself and requested us to start immediately for the mill as he was having some problems with our equipment. We had to give up idea of get-together and rush to the spot, where our equipment was supplied. It was well past midnight, when I reached home that night to finally assure my restless wife that all was well. In those days, Mumbai had very primitive kind of phone network and mobiles were non-existent. Wives did not worry too much, when husbands were delayed or were late. As an equipment designer, I learned Murphy’s Law (Edward Aloysius Murphy Jr. (1918 – 1990) was an American aerospace engineer who worked on safety-critical systems.) very early in my professional career. The law simply says, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”. My early experiences or inexperience firmly imbibed this law in my mind. I shall give a very simple example. In most of the mechanical parts of any equipment, lock nuts or split pins are fitted on screws tightened with nuts so that they do not come loose. Imagine that in some hypothetical equipment, someone goofed and forgot to put some such locking device on one particular screw out of several hundred of them existing in that equipment and the equipment was shipped. I am quite sure that, when the equipment is to be commissioned, the lone screw without locking device will come loose and spoil everything. This is how Murphy’s Law works.  Unfortunately, no one taught us this law in the college, instead of those hundreds of laws of Physics found useless in practical life.   There are several variations and corollaries of Murphy’s law, all of them quite true. One variation says; If that guy has any way of making a mistake, he will. Another one says; If it can happen, it will happen. Two more variations are as follows. If there is a wrong way to do something, then someone will do it and if there’s more than one way to do a job and one of those ways will end in disaster, then somebody will do it that way. The worst is Drucker variation, which states; If one thing goes wrong, everything else will, and at the same time. Modern manufacturing, particularly automotive engineering, has somehow overcome Murphy’s law with a new work philosophy known as “Zero defect”. In effect, this philosophy ensures that no defects are left over, which would show up eventually, according to Murphy’s law....

[akshardhool]

Vishva Shanti Stupa at Rajgir (Continued from) Day 4 Rajgir lives in two time zones. The south Rajgir, where most of the sites visited by pilgrims are located, lives in a kind of time warp, taking visitors back by 2500 years to a period when Buddha walked there. North Rajgir is very much like an ordinary town of twenty-first century Bihar with narrow unplanned roads and crowded. The southern part of the town has quiet and picturesque roads. It lies amongst hills and is dotted with dense vegetation. Compared to that, northern part is located on flat land that is almost barren. It is no wonder therefore that South Rajgir appears flooded with visitors, whereas north Rajgir appears like any other normal town from Bihar. As suggested by our tour operator Jackie, we come down to hotel lobby by 8 AM to have our breakfast. The first sight, where Jackie wants us to take is the “Vishva Shanti Stupa” on the “Ratnagiri” Mountain. Interestingly, Bihar Tourism has provided a ‘chair lift’ system for climbing this mountain, which makes life easy for the tourists.  By late morning however, a large queue forms usually to avail of the “Chair lift” facility. That is the reason why Jackie wants us to start early.  We leave hotel by 9 AM and start   towards southern part of the town. Today, weather Gods seem rather pleased with us because the sky is cloudy and day temperature very moderate. We soon reach the parking lot at the base of Ratnagiri Mountain. I look up, the clouds are so low that they are almost touching the mountain top, making it almost hidden in the clouds. Drive wheel of Chair lift cable The “Chair lift” system appears to be an interesting contraption. A steel cable continuously runs along the slope of the mountain, supported by two large wheels at top and bottom. The Bottom wheel is rotated by means of an electrical motor, making the whole system run continuously. Steel chairs are attached to the cable, so that they also climb and come down along the mountain slope again in a continuous way. Chairs can swing to front and rear, making it possible to stop them for a few seconds, for people to quickly sit in or get out of them. An iron rod in the front is locked in position to prevent the forward movement of the chair rider and provide safety to him. Mounting a chair is little tricky but not difficult at all. Chair lift system There are only a few people waiting in the queue ahead of us, to ride the chairs. When my turn comes, I quickly manage to sit in the chair. Expert attendants stand by my side to easily put me in a chair in about a couple of seconds and lock the safety bar in position in case of any difficulty. Mercifully, I do not require their help. Attendant also instructs me to lift my feet so that they would not hit the land below, which immediately starts rising up. There are foot rests provided, attached to the chair, to keep my feet rested during the climb. Slowly I start climbing the mountain. The ground below my feet rises with the climb or drops deep, whenever my chair crosses a deep forested valley. The drops could easily measure to 50 or 60 feet deep. The view around is really spectacular with tall mountains and heavy vegetation on the slopes everywhere.    I find the ride truly exhilarating and enjoyable.  After I reach the top I quickly dismount and we are on our way to a small but steep climb before we can reach the “Vishva Shanti Stupa” located at the highest point of “Ratnagiri” mountain at a height of roughly 1200 feet or so. After little huffing and puffing, we manage to reach the gates of the Stupa. However a surprise waits for us here as we find the gates locked. We make a few enquiries with the road side vendors, who tell us that the way is closed because the road on which we climbed just now is under repairs.  We have no way but to go down to the chair car station again and take an alternative road on the right side that is longer. This road is much easier to climb, with steps cut in rocks. We do the climb quite easily and finally reach the Stu...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

Mahabodhi temple  Day 3 We come to hotel lobby exactly at 6:30 AM, as suggested by our tour operator Jackie, to visit the Mahabodhi temple.  No cars are allowed near the Mahabodhi temple.  You also cannot carry with you, your mobile phones or any other baggage inside the temple premises. These precautionary conditions are in force as, on 7 July 2013 a series of ten bombs had exploded in and around the Mahabodhi Temple complex. Five people, including two Buddhist monks, were injured by the blasts. Three other devices were defused by bomb-disposal squads at a number of locations in Gaya. Jackie suggests that we leave our mobiles phones and other stuff with the hotel reception, take our cameras and start for the temple on foot. While we are just outside the hotel, an ‘e-Rickshaw’ (Tuk-Tuk) silently approaches. Jackie tells us that these battery powered electric rickshaws are a recent addition and have completely replaced the cycle rickshaws. We decide to take the ride and board. A few minutes later, we alight in the chowk, up to which ‘e-Rickshaws’ are allowed to ply. We find the ride smooth, silent and pollution free. From this chowk onwards we would need to walk. We hand over our shoes to a service shop, which specializes in safe-keeping the shoes and start walking. The weather is not very cold yet the flooring on which we walk has already turned colder.  Temple management seems to be aware of this and have provided a green plastic foam carpet for people, who want to walk towards the temple. We soon reach the temple entrance. There is another security check. Our cameras are checked for any hidden stuff and we have a body check to see that we are not carrying any non-allowed things. Another few steps and we are standing at Gate no. 2 to east of the temple. View from Eastern Gate Pillar in front of Eastern entrance  Entire temple complex except for the three sacred sites of Buddha’s enlightenment, stands on a low ground, at least 10 to 15 feet below the adjacent ground on which entrance gate stands. The present Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya comprises the 50 m high grand Temple, the Vajrasana, sacred Bodhi Tree and other  sacred sites of Buddha’s enlightenment, surrounded by numerous ancient Votive stupas, well maintained and protected by inner, middle and outer circular boundaries.  A seventh sacred place, the Lotus Pond, is located outside the enclosure to the south. Both the temple area and the Lotus Pond are surrounded by circulating passages at two or three levels and the area of the ensemble is 5 m below the level of the surrounding land.     Buddha image in the sanctum  of Mahabodhi temple  Mahabodhi temple complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  UNESCO’s web site describes the temple complex in these words. “The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is one of the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha, and particularly to the attainment of Enlightenment. The first temple was built by Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century B.C., and the present temple dates from the 5th or 6th centuries. It is one of the earliest Buddhist temples built entirely in brick, still standing in India, from the late Gupta period. The Main Temple wall has an average height of 11 m and it is built in the classical style of Indian temple architecture. It has entrances from the east and from the north and has a low basement with mouldings decorated with honeysuckle and geese design. Above this is a series of niches containing images of the Buddha. Further above there are mouldings and chaitya niches, and then the curvilinear shikhara or tower of the temple surmounted by amalaka and kalasha (architectural features in the tradition of Indian temples). At the four corners of the parapet of the temple are four statues of the Buddha in small shrine chambers. A small tower is built above each of these shrines. The temple faces east and consists of a small forecourt in the east with niches on either side containing statues of the Buddha.” Ashoka Pillar  Muchlind Lake  We go down the steps l...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

Didarganj Yakshi, Didarganj Bihar, (3rd Century BCE) Day 1 I think it to be a good omen, as our flight to Patna is announced almost on the dot. Pune airport has only two aerobridges, so most of the times; boarding or alighting from the aircraft is by a ladder; after or before a brief walk to or from the aircraft; in the cold, hot sun or even rain. We are lucky as we board the aircraft through an aerobridge and manage to avoid the walk in the hot sun. Routine announcements follow and the aircraft leaves the aerobridge almost immediately. We roll down the tarmac and start moving towards the runway by the separate taxiway built for aircraft movements. About half way to engine revving up point on the runway, aircraft suddenly stops.  Our pilot tells us that he has been asked to wait, as there are a few military flights before us. We wait patiently. After another 10 or 15 minutes, aircraft starts moving slowly again to stop somewhere near, where the taxiway joins the runway. Through the left window, we can see number of SU 30 fighters parked. They are so near us that we can even see the pilot and co-pilot sitting on their seats under the canopy. Shortly before he takes off, the pilot of the nearest parked SU-30 aircraft, waves to us. We wait for another 10 or 15 minutes, before we are allowed to take off by the control tower. Finally, we take off and are airborne. The flight is comfortable but service is too slow. It is ages before we get our meals. As I doze off after the meals, announcement comes that we shall be landing shortly at “Jaiprakash Narayan international airport” in Patna. We land exactly at 4 PM. The weather outside is warm but not very hot. Patna airport, even now, is exactly like many other airports in India, as they were 20 or 30 years back. Most of the airports in India have been rebuilt or undergone renovations during last decade or so, but not the Patna airport. Even today, there is only one baggage belt in domestic arrivals. We get our bags rather quickly and come out of the airport. I search for the placard with my name, which our driver for next week, Ravi, was supposed to hold for us. At the first glance, I do not see him, so I decide to call him. He responds immediately and tells me, where he is standing. He takes our bags and we move slowly to a point, where he asks us to wait, as he would drive his car to that point to pick us up. The car comes in and we sit in it. Shortly, we are dropped at “Pataliputra Continental” hotel, which is barely 10 minutes’ drive away. The hotel and specially our room, both are rather pleasant; however, occupancy at the hotel appears to be rather low. Our tour operator Jackie calls to fix up tomorrow’s travel plans. For now, there is nothing else to do, but relax in the comforts provided by the hotel. Maulana Azad Engineering College Building Day 2 We get ready by 10 AM. Ravi, our driver, has already arrived. We check out of the hotel. As we come out, our attention is caught by two beautiful quaint buildings: constructed in the ornamental Mughal or Rajput building style of the medieval period; complete with grills, arches, decorative doors, and windows. Both buildings are well maintained; one painted in ochre red and other in light blue colour.  Enquiry with hotel people tells us that it is an Engineering College now called as “Maulana Azad Engineering College” but belonged to a former Maharaja. A few snaps, and later we head for the car. Our first destination today is “The Bihar Museum” . The oldest museum in Patna was established in 1917 during British Raj. It was always considered as Patna’s showcase. The museum displayed archaeological objects, coins, art objects, paintings, instruments, textiles, bronze images, sculptures, and terracotta images by Hindu and Buddhist artists. It also houses, even today, a casket — said to contain the sacred ashes (relics) of Gautama Buddha: unearthed in 1958 by archaeologist, A. S. Altekar, at the Relic Stupa of Vaishali. A project was started in 2009 by the state Government, to build a replac...

View On WordPress

[akshardhool]

What the future holds? Is the question that has been obsessing the human mind, ever since the dawn of wisdom awakened the mankind? As humans watched the day and night skies, they realized periods or cycles in which celestial or heavenly bodies made themselves appear in the sky. The basic of these was of course the sun, which appeared all day long and disappeared in night. Other planets followed their own courses, which were not so simple. Then there were groups of stars or constellations, which first appeared to the human eye as stationary. However, observations over a longer period made humans aware that these too have their own cycles of appearance and disappearance.   It was natural for the early humans to interpret these celestial cycles as some form of divine communication that would affect not only personal behavior, but also affairs of community or states. From this basic idea, the subject of astrology developed subsequently. Until the 17th century, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition. It actually led to the development of astronomy as a science and also helped in other branches of science such as meteorology and medicine. Only by the end of the 17th century, astrology lost its academic standing and became regarded as a pseudoscience. In the Indian context, we have a long tradition of astrologers or astronomers, who were also called mathematicians, because their work involved many new mathematical concepts. Some of these early mathematicians include Aryabhatta (आर्यभट्ट), Varahamihira (वराहमिहिर), Brahmagupta (ब्रम्हगुप्त), Bhattotpala (भट्टोत्पल) and Bhaskaracharya (भास्कराचार्य). Some of their works can be listed as Aryasiddhanta (आर्यसिद्धांत), Brahmasiddhanta (ब्रम्हसिद्धांत), Brhjjataka (बृहज्जातक), Brhatsamhita (बृहत्संहिता), and Lilavati (लीलावती). Besides these, another literary work stands out, because its author or the period, remains unknown. This work is known as Sooryasiddhanta (सूर्यसिद्धांत). The presently available transcript of this treatise is believed to be from the beginning of last millennium. The basis of all astrological observations has always been the path followed by the Sun around the earth (called as ecliptic) on a background that is full of constellations and asterisms. (Asterisms are group of stars that appear to follow certain patterns, which our fertile minds have managed to associate with figures and outlines of living or non-living things that we see on earth). For convenience of observation and measurement, Sooryasiddhanta divides the Sun’s path or ecliptic around the earth or ecliptic in following fashion. विकलानां कला षष्ठ्या तत्षष्ट्या भाग उच्यते तत्त्रिंशता भवेद्राशिर्भगसो द्वादशैव ते  II २८ II “Sixty seconds (vikala) make a minute (kala); sixty of these, a degree (bhaga); of thirty of the latter is composed a sign (rashi); twelve of these are a revolution (bhagana)”. (Sooryasiddhanta 1. 28) For Astrology purposes, each of the “Rashi” of thirty degrees is associated or belongs to an asterism that is seen in the background of that “Rashi”. These asterisms are known as the “Signs of the Zodiac”. (The zodiac is an area of the sky that extends approximately 8° to north or south of the ecliptic).  It may come as a surprise to many of us that this system of division of the ecliptic, or “Rashi” and the concept of association of prominent asterisms with a “Rashi” as a particular sign of Zodiac, is virtually identical in ancient Indian Astrology or “Jyotisha” as well as in western Astrology, which is based on ancient Greek Astrology. Some of the Astrologists believe that the “Rashi” concept was a purely Indian effort, copied first, by people of M...

View On WordPress