Sunny Gavaskar, his 71st Birthday and his 1971 Debut.

    Sunny Gavaskar, his 71st Birthday and his 1971 Debut.

Sunil Gavaskar, celebrated his seventy first birthday on the 10th July this year and his 71st birthday is very special for all those cricket fans of Sunny Gavaskar, particularly my generation cricket crazy Indians, for whom Sunil was and will continue to be the original little master, the crown of which was subsequently taken over by another little master Sachin Tendulkar. 1971 was a watershed year for the Indian Cricket. It was the year when the Indian cricket team achieved two back to back test series victory against the mighty West Indies and England. It was also the year when the original little master, Sunil Gavaskar made that historic debut against the West Indies in West Indies and ever since he continued to remain the darling in the Caribbean. It was here at the Caribbean’s that Sunil Gavaskar made  his debut against the West Indies in the year 1971. Young Sunil Gavaskar, aged 21, stroked his way in this series to a world record of 774 runs in seven innings and that too at a staggering Bradman like average of 154.8. This extraordinary achievement by the debutant Sunny Gavaskar will perhaps continue to be acknowledged as all-time great achievement of any cricketer in the world. 

I was one among those innumerable cricket crazy fans from my generation who eulogised this innings and ever since Gavaskar has always remained my cricketing hero, which in no way will take away the achievements of the little master who followed him - Sachin Tendulkar. In India cricket players are literally placed on a very high pedestal and some of the players are revered as Gods. And for me Sunil Gavaskar was that reverential player, and seeing him play and listening to the cricket commentary when he played cricket is something, which I shall continue to cherish. For us, Indians, seeing cricket players, particularly your cricketing hero at close quarters, is some thing which is rather a dream and that dream came true for me and I got an opportunity not only to see Sunil Gavaskar at close quarters but had an immemorial experience of sharing the Dias with him and sitting next to him and that too at our auditorium. 

With an experience of curating two Cricket Connects exhibitions, one for South Africa and the second for Australia it was but natural to expect that the responsibility for curating another cricket exhibition for England would fall on me and it did. The year 2017 was the seventieth year of our Independence and Cricket exhibition was one of the events to feature in the India - UK year of Culture that was organised by the Ministry of Culture in England. I had the honour to curate this exhibition and this exhibition was opened at the historic Lords and that too in the presence of the entire Indian Cricket team. I also had the honour to conduct a brief curator walk of the exhibition to the Indian players. After successfully hosting this exhibition in three cities in England - London, Birmingham and Edinburgh - the exhibition returned back to India. On its return to India we had the pressure to show this exhibition in our centre and we had to oblige and organise the Cricket exhibition at the science centre, a rarity for us.

One of the sections in this exhibition was the 1971 series and therefore I felt it prudent to try and invite Ajit Wadekar to open this exhibition. Accordingly I prepared a request letter to Ajit Wadekar and along with the exhibition catalog I sent the letter to Wadekar. As a back up I also sent another letter to Dilip Vengsarkar. As luck would have it, Ajit Wadekar was highly impressed with the exhibition catalog that we had sent to him and he immediately sent his confirmation for the opening of the exhibition. We had another happy news that Vengsarkar too accepted our invitation and we delightedly designed our invitation cards and the date was finalised for the opening of the exhibition. Just two days before the opening of the exhibition for which all the invitations had already been distributed, I suddenly get a call from one gentleman who introduced himself as the personal assistant of Sunil Gavaskar. Before I could even think if that was reality or a joke being played on me the gentleman without wasting much of time checked if he was speaking to the Director and on confirmation he immediately informed me that Gavaskar would like to speak to me. Even before I could think if it was a dream or a reality that my cricketing hero Sunil Gavaskar would like to speak to me, Sunil Gavaskar came online. This will remain the most pleasant experience of my life. Sunil in his classy style informed me that he had an opportunity to read through our Cricket exhibition catalog, which was passed on to him by Ajit Wadekar. He was highly appreciative of the exhibition catalog and expressed his wish to be present during the opening of the exhibition. This moment will remain etched in my memory all through my life. Here was my cricketing hero speaking to me on phone and expressing his desire to be present for the opening of the Cricket exhibition. I felt so sorry that our invitations had already been distributed and expressed to him that since there are just two days left it will not be possible to print fresh cards and include his name. Sunil Gavaskar was so very kind to inform me that he was not interested in his name appearing on the card, all he wanted was to see the exhibition. On the appointed time Sunil Gavaskar came along with Dileep Vengsarkar for the opening. He not only opened the exhibition but spent 30 minutes to walk through the exhibition and another 30 minutes in the auditorium and another 30 minutes in our conference room. In all he was with us for 90 long minutes. 

While taking Sunil Gavaskar and Dileep Vengsarkar on a curatorial walk through the exhibition I was in a hurry to bypass one section of the exhibition - Hits and Misses. This section included some Hits and Misses moments in the Cricket history between India and England and one of the misses that I had included in this section was that forgettable innings of Sunil Gavaskar where he had carried his bat through in the 1975 World Cup match scoring just 36. Gavaskar was quick to notice that I was trying to bypass this section and he made me go slow. When I informed him that he may not like what was included in this section, he, having read the exhibition  catalog, took me on his own to this section and explained his infamous innings that he had played in the 1975 World Cup match. Such is his humility. 

In his historic career, Gavaskar played 125 Tests in which he scored 10,122 runs with 34 centuries to his name. He also played 108 ODIs in which he scored 3,093 runs. Gavaskar also had 25,834 runs in first-class career. On his 71st birthday I would like to take you through that historic 1971 debut series of Sunil Gavaskar. 

Ever since India’s debut in test cricket at the Lord's, England, on 25 June 1932, for nearly forty years, India continued to be a weak team in comparison with other Test cricket teams, such as Australia and England. The year 1971 was a watershed year that remains etched in the annals of cricket history in India. It was in that year and under the new captain – Ajit Wadekar – India registered her first-ever away-series victories in the West Indies and England to inject a refreshing self-belief in the Indian cricket, hitherto unseen. The team backed up the two back to back series victories over seas with a series win against England in India a year later thus achieving a remarkable three series wins on the trot.

The West Indies team of 1971 wasn’t their strongest side, yet it consisted of some of the most well known names in international cricket. Roy Fredericks, Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers and Clive Lloyd formed the backbone of the West Indies team. India, too, had a number of veterans in their ranks like ML Jaisimha, Salim Durrani, Dilip Sardesai and EAS Prasanna. But the one player who would go on to make a monumental difference to the team India in the years to come was a 21-year-old collegian with no international experience. The youngster – Sunil Gavaskar – made the kind of debut that Test cricket has not seen till this day. The 5 Test series that India played against the West Indies in 1971 is now synonymous with Sunil Ganvaskra’s majestic batting and Sardesai’s rock-like presence at the other end.

India did not field Sunil Gavaskar in the first of the five Tests at Kingston, Jamaica due to injury. Indians made a remarkable beginning to the 5 Test series by enforcing a follow on to the West Indies in this Test, which shocked the conscience of West Indies captain Sobers. The Test though ended in a draw.

The second Test was at Port of Spain, Trinidad and it marked the beginning of one of the greatest Test careers of Sunil Manohar Gavaskar. He walked out to open batting for India for the very first time after Bedi and Prasanna had bowled out the West Indies for 214. Gavaskar laid the foundation of the Indian innings scoring 65, which was strongly cemented by Sardesai (112) and Solkar (55) leading to an Indian score of 357.  India’s chances of winning a historical Test depended a lot on how quickly and cheaply they could get rid of the two left-handers – Clive Lloyd and Gary Sobers.

Durani came into the party and bowled Sobers for duck and, followed it up with the wicket of Lloyd caught by Wadekar. Venkat then ran through the bottom half of the Windies with a five-wicket haul to restrict the home team to 261.  With 124 needed for victory, Gavaskar led the run-chase with 67 not out helping India to achieve that historic win for the Indians.

The next two Test matches at Guyana and Barbados ended in draws in which Gavaskar (116, 117*) Sardesai (150) and Sobers (108*, 178*) helped themselves with plenty of runs. The fifth and the final Test was played at Trinidad. Since it was the last Test of the series, it was to be a six day match. India batted first and scored 360 on the back of Gavaskar’s 124 and Sardesai’s 75. West Indies, intent on winning the match to level the series, which India was leading 1-0, piled on 526 and it was India who had to save this match. Gavaskar then played the most crucial innings of the whole series. He scored a classy 220 out of India’s 427 that too with a severe toothache. West Indies set a target of 262 to win ended on 165 for eight at the end of the sixth day’s play and that meant India had won the five match series 1-0. Gavaskar amassed a mammoth 774 runs in four Tests in this historic series.  

Here is what I covered in the misses section of the Cricket exhibition that I had curated, which I did not want Sunil Gavaskar to see. The inaugural Cricket World Cup, a flagship event of the international cricket calendar, was hosted in 1975 by England, the only nation that was able to organise huge resources to stage an event of such magnitude at that time. The inaugural match of the World Cup - involving the minnows India against the hosts England - witnessed one of the most infamous innings in the international limited overs cricket. It involved Sunil Gavaskar, the first  man to reach 10,000 runs in Tests and the player who had carved out a special name for India. In the inaugural match, the English batsmen made merry and smashed the Indian bowlers to pulp to record the first 300-plus score (334/4) in an ODI. Dennis Amiss (137) notched up the maiden hundred of the big tournament. Chris Old scored the fastest 50, which came off only 30 balls. India made a disastrous debut in the inaugural ODI World Cup. Needing a massive 335 to win in the given 60 overs, India ended their innings disastrously at a leisurely 132 for three after batting the full quota of 60 overs. Gavaskar played one of the slowest ODI knocks, as he carried his bat through the innings to score a slothful 36 not out facing 174 balls and scoring just one boundary.

This infamous innings of Gavaskar can best be seen when juxtaposed with the innings of another player from his own city - Rohit Sharma. Rohit scored a mammoth 264 - the highest ODI international score till date- facing 173 balls, one ball less than what Gavaskar had faced. To be fair to Gavaskar, the inaugural World Cup (the ODI matches) was virtually an experimental tournament, with most cricket lovers and players - all babes in the new format - ignorant of the way to go about things and so was Gavaskar. If there is one thing that Sunil Gavaskar would like to see changed in his otherwise glorious career, it has to be this infamous 36 not out innings against England and while he took me around this section of the exhibition he sportingly narrated this incident to once again prove why he will remain my original cricket hero.

Wishing you a very happy birthday the original little master. 

June 25 an indelible date in the history of Cricket in India

June 25 an indelible date in the history of Cricket in India

Photo credits : Cricket Connects Exhibition catalogue 

This day, the 25th of June, remains eternally etched in the annals of Indian Cricket. It was on this day, way back in 1932 that  India was baptised in to the International Cricket playing its inaugural Test match against the English team and on this very day, in 1983, Kapil Dev’s Devils rewrote history by winning the Prudential World Cup beating the invincible West Indies to lift the coveted World Cup. 

DEV’S DEVILS: 1983 Prudential World Cup

 

There are moments in sporting history that live forever. Indian Cricket Captain Kapil Dev holding aloft the Prudential World Cup in 1983 on the balcony at Lord's in London is one of them. India winning the 1983 World Cup in England, dethroning the mighty West Indies, was nothing short of a miracle. The West Indies team included the crème de la crème of international cricket, men who were larger than life legends, which included the incomparable Vivian Richards, arguably the best batsman in the world, the menacing pace men - Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Andy Roberts and the team was led by the mighty Clive Lloyd.

It was during this tournament that Kapil Dev played one of the best ever innings that the game of cricket has ever witnessed against the unfancied Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells. On a cold, cloudy morning, Kapil Dev won the toss and elected to bat. Against the medium pace of Curran and Lawson, the Indian batting crumbled. At 17 for 5, with the specialist batsmen back in the dressing-room, the situation was precarious for India. It was then that Kapil Dev played the most incredible innings of his career and, ultimately, of the World Cup. In a spirit-lifting display of controlled aggression, he hammered an unbeaten 175, the highest individual score in a World Cup match until then and also the first century by an Indian in the tournament. Single-handedly, Kapil had transformed an imminent defeat into an exciting victory.

The spirit of the Indian team can best be seen in the words of Kapil who said after the match against Zimbabwe that ‘he was elated but exhausted after scoring 175 not out. Kapil said that the game almost tore him apart and that he has never been so tired in his life. But then that tiredness was short lived as Indians marched ahead in the tournament.

The Dev's (Kapil Dev) devils produced the most spectacular team performance all through the tournament, despite the unspeakable past record, and were rightfully the true victors of the tournament beating the invincible, mighty West Indies, the tournament favourites and the winners of the previous two World Cup titles in 1975 and 1979, in a low scoring nail- biting cliff--hanger final. It was undoubtedly India's and International cricket's best hour.

 

The inconceivable result of 1983 Prudential World Cup was responsible for the Indian Cricket administrators to embolden their bid for staging rights for the 1987 World Cup, an event that marked the first significant shift in the balance of power in international cricket.  The Reliance Cup hosted jointly by India and Pakistan in 1987, also marked the beginning of the sport going global and attracting several Indian sponsors in to the game, who have continued to dominate most World Cups ever since. It also marked a step in the shifting of the headquarters of the game from Lord's to Eden Gardens, culminating in the election of Jagmohan Dalmiya as the first Asian president of the ICC.

25th June also marks the day of India’s baptism into international cricket. Although the origin of Cricket in India dates back to as early as 1721 - yet - it was not until another 200 plus years (1932) that India was baptised in to the International Cricketing arena. The team selection for India’s maiden test debut tour to England was shrouded in controversy and mystery. Despite all the intrigue over captaincy and team selection, a young Indian side made giant strides by undertaking their first official foreign tour in 1932 to England amidst political tension brewing in India. Mahatma Gandhi was making his defiant journey - famously called the Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, an act of nonviolent civil disobedience - to produce salt from the sea water in the coastal village of Dandi. Under these circumstances of nationalistic fervour the Bombay Quadrangular was suspended, so it was not possible to gauge performances in this influential tournament to select players for the inaugural test series. 

Some of the prominent players, that included LP Jai, VM Merchant and Champak Mehta, were unavailable because of the Hindu Gymkhana's opposition to the tour in protest against the jailing of Indian political leaders. KS Duleepsinhji, in whose honour the Duleep Trophy is played in India, was prevented by his uncle Ranjitsinhji, who was the chairman of selectors, from participating in the tour.  The Nawab of Pataudi (senior) had also made himself unavailable for the tour, citing short notice although the actual reason was because he had not been offered a position of responsibility. It was therefore suggested that an Englishman playing in India either AL Hosie, CP Johnstone or RB Lagden, should skipper the side, to mollify the inevitable factions within the tour party. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) quickly resolved that the captain would be an Indian.

 

The Maharaja of Patiala, one of the richest patrons of Indian cricket, was first named captain, with Prince Ganshyamsinhji of Limbdi as vice-captain, while the Maharaj Kumar of Vizianagram, was made deputy vice-captain. The tour party was announced on February 4, 1932. Two weeks before the tour, the Maharaja of Patiala withdrew for reasons of fitness, and Vizianagram also withdrew from the team citing poor health and lack of form. On March 15, the choice of captain fell upon the Maharaja of Porbandar, while Jahangir Khan was drafted into the party as a player in place of Vizianagram. He too eventually stepped down in favour of C.K. Nayudu, who captained the team at the only Test at Lord’s on June 25, 1932.

The All-India cricket team that was finally selected to travel to England for the inaugural test match was an extraordinary microcosm of the diversity that constitutes India. Soon after the Indian team  arrived in England, on April 13, 1932, the Evening Standard commented on the socio-political significance of the tour: “No politics, no caste, just cricket. This is the unofficial slogan of the cricket team that has come from India after a lapse of 21 years.... There has never been such a team of contrasts meeting on the common footing of cricket. The 18 players speak eight to ten languages among them (and belong to) four or five different castes.” The team contained six Hindus, five Mohammedans, four Parsees and two Sikhs. The Mohammedans forswear alcohol by religion and most of the others did so by choice. The Sikhs, who would play cricket in turbans, are similarly denied smoking.  The Hindus do not eat beef, and the Mohammedans avoid pork and ham. 

The Indians played 38 matches in all, including 26 first-class fixtures. The team won 9 first-class matches, drew 9 and lost 8. The team's outstanding batsman was the right-handed CK Nayudu, who played in all the first-class matches, scoring 1,618 runs at an average of 40.45. The team also had a fine pair of opening bowlers in Amar Singh (111 wickets in first-class matches at 20.37) and Mohammad Nissar (71 wickets at 18.09).

The Indian team played its first official three day Test against England at the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground during 25-28 June 1932. England won the toss and elected to bat. The Indians shocked the English in the first half-hour itself. The MCC was reduced to a dismal 19-3 by some excellent Indian bowling and fielding. It was an extraordinary start to the match. The Birmingham Post summed up the excellent start that the Indian’s made in their debut match “The All India cricket team has administered a few shocks to the dignity and confidence of England today. If there were among the 24,000 spectators at Lord’s some who imagined that the granting of a Test match by the MCC to the tourists from the Indian empire was merely an amiable concession, then they had a very rude awakening before the close of play....”.  England came out of the initial shock and recovered to beat India in the inaugural test by 158 runs. Notwithstanding the defeat, June 25, 1932, will forever go down in India’s cricket history as a red letter day and 51 years later this very day in 1983, India lifted the World Cup and made this day an indelible day in the history of Indian Cricket.

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Centenary Tribute to Padma Bhushan Dr. H. Narasimhaiah (6 June 1920 — 31 January 2005) : An Embodiment of Scientific Temper.

6, June 2020, has an extraordinary significance for practitioners of science, science communicators and rationalists in India. It happens to be the birth centenary of Dr H Narasimhaiah, a preeminent educationist, rationalist and an epitome for creating scientific temper and  a culture of science in India. Gandhian Narasimhaiah, led a life long crusade against blind beliefs, superstition, obscurantism, which plagued Indian society and in the process often times he had to take on high and mighty self styled god men to disprove their, so called, god given or divine magical powers for dispelling rampantly prevalent blind beliefs. In short, he was an embodiment for propagating the much needed scientific temper in Indian society, which is one of the major objectives of our Science Centres that function under the aegis of the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) that has been tasked to create scientific temper in society and promote culture of science. Inculcation of scientific temper among the citizens of our country was an outstanding vision that our founding fathers envisaged. Accordingly, the term scientific temper has been enshrined in the Indian Constitution under the fundamental duties in Article 51 A (h) of our Constitution, which states “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform”.

Asking questions; why, what, how etc. and searching answers to these questions is one of the important tenets that is central to creating culture of science & scientific temper in society. Padma Bhushan, Dr H Narasimhaiah, fondly referred to as HN, was a pioneering advocate of this philosophy, all through his life. A red colour printed message, on the wall of his office at the National College, Bangalore, with which he was associated for seven decades, describes what HN preached and practiced all his life - Scientific temper. And the message says in Kannada, his mother tongue,  ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸದೇ ವೊಪ್ಪಬೇಡಿ (Prashnisade Oppabedi  - Do not agree without questioning). HN also advocated another saying in Kannada ‘ ಪ್ರತ್ಯಕ್ಷ ಕಂಡರೂ ಪ್ರಮಾಣಿಸಿ ನೋಡು’ ( Prathyaksha kandaru pramanisi nodu’ meaning - Verify what you see, your eyes could be deceptive). As we celebrate his birth centenary, it is an honour and privilege and privilege for me to be writing this tribute for Dr HN.

Dr H Narasimhaiah - a preeminent rationalist, freedom fighter, Gandhian, teacher, physicist, writer, thinker, educationist, founder of Bangalore Science Forum, and the only Indian Fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of the Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP International), set up by Paul Kurtz in the USA and a coveted Padma Bhashan recipient - was born one hundred years ago on 6th June, 1920, in a small town, Hosur in Karnataka. HN was a die hard rationalist who advocated and practised scientific temper all his life, including challenging internationally acclaimed spiritual guru, Sathya Sai Baba and other self styled god men to subject their ‘divine and magical powers’ to the exacting standards of scientific scrutiny and announced that their divine powers are nothing but magic tricks, which are meant to fool and exploit some of their gullible followers. 

HN spent most part of his life in trying to eradicate blind belief and superstitions that plagued Indian society, particularly in Karnataka. I am among those who come from one of the most backward areas in Karnataka - Raichur district of the Hyderabad Karnataka region - and I am  privy to one of the worst superstitious practices, witchcraft -  ‘Bhanumathi, that was practised in this area. This evil practice was rampantly prevalent in most parts of the Hyderabad Karnataka region that included the districts of Raichur, Gulbarga, Koppal, Yadgir, and Bidar. This social obscurantism was also portrayed on celluloid in 1982 in a film titled गहरायीं (Gehrayee) directed by Vikas Desai and Aruna Raje and the film was based on a real life experience of a family from this area, where the father, Chennabassappa, portrayed by veteran actor Sreeram Lagoo, their adolescent daughter, Umakka (Padmini Kolhapure) gets possessed by a so called spirit and they have no clue what to do about it. Their elder son Nandu (Anant Nag) is rational but he can’t remain one when he sees the condition of his sister keeps deteriorating, despite limited medical help. Amrish Puri plays the role of the evil tantrik, who disrobes Umakka for a ritual, meant to rid her of the evil spirit. This film helped in bringing to focus the spread of black magic or witchcraft practices that were rampant in India. This issue needed to be addressed from scientific point of view.

HN waged a frontal attack on this age old witchcraft / black magic practice, which was affecting hundreds and thousands of innocent lives and the fear of Bhanumati used to send spine cracking pain among the people of this area. I have witnessed several incidents of this black magic during my childhood days and some of my distant relatives have also been a victim of this evil practise. Prof HN, during his tenure as an independent legislature in the Karnataka Legislative Council, in the early 1980s, helped in the constitution of a committee, which he headed, that was tasked to probe the practise of Bhanumati menace, which had reached alarming proportions in North Karnataka. After a thorough investigation with experts from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences, (NIMHANS), Dr HN and his committee came to the conclusion that Bhanumati was a fear-complex perpetrated by vested interests on psychologically weak villagers, or those who were afflicted with some mental health issues. His work as chairman of the legislative committee, that probed incidents of Bhanamati (black magic) in Kalaburagi and Bidar in 1980,  played a key role in creating awareness that the so called evil spirit of Bhanumati were nothing but manifestations of mental health issues, which were treatable. The efforts of Dr HN and his findings gradually helped in majorly reducing this centuries old menace, which had thrived in Karnataka and many parts of India. Courtesy the efforts of HN, the instances of black magic or witchcraft practise has more or less become extinct or has come down substantially, across

Due to centuries of our subjugation, foreign rule and oppression of the worst kind, which India faced prior to our Independence, there perhaps developed in Indian society, superstition, which accentuated evil practices of black magic, witchcraft and such other superstitious practices that were founded on blind belief and obscurantism of the worst kind. These superstitious practices were exploited by vested interest groups including some babas and gurus who fooled gullible people for their personal gains. Most of such horrendous black magic practices and witchcraft like the Bhanumati, used to ruin the lives of many families. Most mental illness health issues were passed off as black magic problems. People blindly believed babas, gurus, sadhus and such other so called godmen or religious or spiritual leaders, who professed to possess some divine powers, which they used and abused to exploit ordinary citizens, who believed in these obscurantist practices. Centuries of foreign rule, illiteracy and poverty added to the miseries of the superstitious practices. HN firmly believed that Scientific temper alone can get rid of such superstitious practices. Fortunately very recently - on the occasion of the birth centenary of HN - the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India has constituted a Joint science Communication Forum to promote scientific temper by adopting common policy and best practices and facilitating interaction, cooperation and coordination amongst various public sector science communication institutions and agencies one of which is our organisation -  NCSM

HN was born hundred years ago on 6th June, 1920, to poor parents in Hosur, Gauribidanur taluk in Kolar district of Karnataka. His father was a casual teacher - ‘coolie meshtru' - who earned bread for his family by teaching Kannada to the children of his village. His mother was a daily wage-worker. Unfortunately the village did not have a high school and therefore HN had to discontinue his studies after he completed his class 7 in the on,y existing school in his village. Fortunately for HN, his school headmaster was transferred to Bangalore for joining a new school - the National High School, in Bangalore. HN was around 14 years and  by then he had already dropped one year of his studies due to non availability of High school in his village. His head master asked HN to come to  Bangalore to join his new school. This was a god sent offer for HN and this moment proved to be a defining moment in his career.

Legend has it that HN, in the year 1935, at a young age of 14 plus years and without any money in his pocket, walked all of 85 kilometres distance, in two days. He had to walk this distance on foot because he could not afford to pay the bus fare from his native village Hosur, near Gauribidanur, to Bangalore, to join the National High School for his studies. Fortunately,  this historic foot journey led HN  to an institution that would become the biggest vision and mission of his life for the next seven decades. He joined the National High School, Bangalore, in 1935 courtesy his head master, who was also very kind to help him with an accommodation in the ‘Poor Boys Home’ in the premises of the school. Subsequently, Narasimhaiah and the National High School and College became inseparable, and in a bond that lasted seven decades, HN remained constantly connected with this institute. Dressed in his characteristic Gandhian attire - khadi dhoti, jubba and a Gandhi cap, HN was almost always seen surrounded by students in the National College premises. The National High School in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru (then Bangalore), which HN joined in 1935, was founded by the legendary Dr. Annie Besant in 1917, the year she became the president of the Indian National Congress.  Besant wished to set up similar educational institutes across the country that would instil the values of patriotism and self-reliance among the young students and the next generation of freedom fighters. HN became one of the major beneficiaries of this school, who also engaged himself in freedom struggle.

The 1930s was a period of intense freedom struggle activities in India, which was spearheaded by Mahatma Gandhi - the father of the nation. In 1936, just one year after HN had joined the National High School, Mahatma Gandhi visited his School, to gather support for the freedom movement, from Bangaloreans. Gandhi spoke in either Hindi or in English wherever he travelled across India. In some of the places, where none of these two languages were understood by the people, Gandhi ji preferred to have his speech translated and spoken in the native language, by one of the selected translators. In Bangalore too Gandhi ji felt the need to have his speech translated into the native Kannada language at the National High School, where he had come to speak. This was the defining moment in the history of HN. HN writes in his book “I met Gandhi in 1936 when he came to Bangalore. We, students of NHS ( National High School ), were waiting in the shade of a tree in Kumara Krupa (Government Guest house in Bangalore) to meet him. Gandhi ji wished to speak to someone who knew Hindi and could translate his speech into Kannada. My teachers sent me forward, and Gandhi asked me: ‘Naam kya hai?’ I told him. Then he asked me, ‘Hindi aata hai?’ and I said, ‘Thada-Thoda’ and he laughed. How could a 9th standard student like me translate his Hindi speech?” From that day onward, HN became a dedicated follower of Gandhian values. This first assignment of translating the speech of Gandhi ji from Hindi to native language Kannada, would set the future course of Hosur Narasimhaiah’s life. There is a  famous photograph of HN sharing space with Gandhi ji during this period, which is included in this blog. HN was so influenced by Gandhi ji that ever since his first meeting with Gandhi ji, he decided to start wearing khadi dress, which he continued until his last. In one of his interviews he says ‘ I started wearing khadi then, and still do, and this decision is based on economic grounds as well. By my wearing khadi, a poor villager gets his meal”. 

Six years after HN met Gandhi ji at the National College, Gandhi ji launched his Quit India Movement in 1942 and HN was one among those millions of Indians who joined the Mahatma in this freedom struggle and for the next two years, HN took break from his undergraduate studies and actively participated in the Quit India movement campaign and freedom struggle. HN describes his decision to take a break from his studies to join the freedom movement as “the most momentous decision in my life”. The Quit India movement was one of defining moment in the freedom struggle. Hundreds of thousands of protestors got arrested during this freedom movement that spread across the country.  HN too was arrested for his participation in the Quit India movement and he was put behind the bars for nearly a year in three different jails - Yeravada Central Jail, Pune, Mysore Jail and the Central Jail in Bangalore. Interestingly, decades later HN recalled his stay in these jails and compared them with his free stay in hostels. He said ‘throughout my student days, I stayed in free hostels. So when I was in Central Jail, which was just opposite my Central College hostel, I found no difference between them, both gave me free boarding and lodging”. HN always had his own special way of looking at things, this is one such example, which evidences his thoughts.

After completing his high school studies at the National High School, HN joined the Central College in Bangalore for graduate studies in physics and it was during this period that he got engaged in freedom movement for the country and thus lost two years of his studies. He got back to his college for continuing his studies and completed his graduation in Physics in 1944. He  also completed his post graduate studies and obtained a MSc in Physics in 1946. Soon thereafter, HN was offered a teaching assignment in the National College, an extension of the National High School in which he had studied, which he readily accepted and joined as a lecturer at National College in the year - 1946. He served as a lecturer and Professor at the National College for about ten years, before deciding to move to the US for his doctoral studies for which he obtained a Fulbright scholarship. HN was deeply influenced by Gandhian values, which he put to practise in his teaching. Although most of his students remember him as a strict disciplinarian, but several of them also remember him for his simplicity and extraordinary sense of humour. He often laced his lectures with humour and wit and used interesting anecdotes to make modern physics, the subject that he taught, quite interesting. He explained complex physics concepts in Kannada, which made his classes very attractive and accessible to students who couldn’t completely follow English. In the year 1957, HN chose to move to the United States for his higher studies. He obtained his Doctorate degree in Nuclear Physics from the Ohio State University, Columbus, U.S.A. (1957-60). All through his three plus years of his stay in the US, HN lived a very simple life. In one of his interview HN says that during most part of his stay in the US he ate Ragi mudde and Uppittu ( Upma ), an Indian breakfast dish, three times a day and was not bored of eating the simple dish. 

After completing his doctoral studies in the US, HN returned back to India in 1960, and rejoined his favourite college - the National College as a Professor of Physics. In just one year, the management decided to name him the Principal of the college.  Prof HN served as the Principal of the National College, from 1961 to 1972. The National College had a scheme to reserve two days in the year for special science programmes, which used to be organised at the college with an inaugural and valedictory programs. An ardent advocate of science that he was, HN was not convinced that there should be just two days in a year, marked for the celebration of science in the college. He said; science should always be a way of life and not confined only to those ceremonial two days of inauguration and valedictory. In order to take science to his students more closely, HN established a separate forum, which was detached from the formal curriculum of the college.  The outcome was an establishment of one of the best organisation for the promotion of science in the country - The Bangalore Science Forum (BSF), which he established in 1962. The main objective of the foundation was to help people see science in everyday life. Today, the Bangalore Science Forum is one of the best respected science organisation with a public outreach in the country, which has organised over 3,000 lectures with eminent scientists from around the world gracing the stage. HN also started a Science Festival - in July 1978 - under the aegis of the BSF, which continues to be one of the best events in science, even today. 

Karnataka was one of the first states to start private engineering colleges, which were also commercial. The demand for the private engineering colleges was unprecedented and so was the profits that these colleges earned for their management. As a result the demand for pure sciences courses, started declining in the early 1970s. The management of the National College were tempted to diversify into engineering education, which they believed were employment driven that also earned good profits for the management. However HN remained steadfast and firm in the face of this challenge and decided not to start an engineering college. He wanted National College to be on top but not as a profit-making business, which the engineering colleges were. In hindsight one can appreciate the fundamental difference between today’s education system and what HN practised. A S Kiran Kumar, former Chairman of ISRO, who graduated in Physics from the National College, in 1971 when HN was the Principal, has said  ‘HN always believed that education is not to be equated only with employment, rather, HN believed that you need to educate a person for him to deal with life in general’. 

HN remained attached to the National College all his life. He served as the President of the National Education Society, which runs the National High School and the National College and other educational institutions under one administrative set up, until his demise on 2005. In the year 1972, while he was serving as the Principal of the National College, HN was selected as the Vice Chancellor of the Bangalore University. He served his two terms as the Vice Chancellor of the prestigious Bangalore University from 1972 to 1978 until stepping down due to his differences with the Chancellor, on an issue related to Sathya Sai Baba. During his term as the VC of  Bangalore University, the campus was shifted to the current magnificent Jnana Bharati Campus. I had the honour to study briefly in this campus, while I was admitted for my first year Engineering in 1978 at the University of Visvesvaraya College of Engineering. HN was also instrumental in starting many new departments - Performing Arts, Psychology, Business Administration, and Mass Communication. The Bangalore university’s sprawling campus off Mysore Road owes much to HN’s vision and zeal. Among his many contributions to the university is the Centre of Gandhian Studies.

HN also instituted the first ever Committee to Investigate Miracles and Verifiable Superstitions within Bangalore University, when he was the Vice Chancellor of the University. It is perhaps the only University which commissioned such a committee. Unfortunately this committee ran into an internationally acclaimed spiritual guru - Sathya Sai Baba, who had ‘whose who’ in his list of followers. The committee’s efforts to probe the miracles by Sathya Sai Baba, who often conjured sacred ash, lemons, watches, and gold ornaments out of thin air, led to a heated debate in the State. “If Sai Baba can create objects out of thin air, I request him to give me a pumpkin,” HN once famously said. The devotees of Sathya Sai Baba were high and mighty and there was always a clash between the followers of Sai Baba and the Committee, particularly HN. This clash would ultimately cost HN his Vice Chancellorship. Narasimhaiah resigned as Vice-Chancellor when Govind Narain, a Sathya Sai Baba devotee, took charge as Governor of the State in 1977. HN writes about this in his autobiography ‘Horatada Hadi’ (A Path of Struggle) “I thought about it. The Chancellor is a devotee of Sai Baba, while the Vice-Chancellor is the chairman of the committee to investigate his ‘miracles’. I resigned to avoid any conflict.” The very next day, he returned to his tryst with destiny institute - the National College and resumed teaching. 

HN’s biggest contribution has no doubt been in the field of science education, however he has also made substantial contributions in the fields of arts and social sciences. He started the Bangalore Social Science Forum (BSSF), which he envisaged will work on the lines of his famed Bangalore Science Forum, in the fields of social sciences. He also established the Bangalore Lalitha Kala Parishat (BLKP) in 1992 to promote arts in its various forms, including stage plays and other programmes, which were held on every first and third Friday of the month. Dr. Narasimhaiah was elected the president of Indian Rationalist Association during the 12th National Conference held at New Delhi in 1983. Narasimhaiah served the office of the President of Indian Rationalist Association till 1985. Ever since he joined the National College, HN has been inextricably associated with their institution. 

Every institution is the shadow of a great individual, and HN was at the forefront of National Education Society (NES), which grew from strength to strength during his tenure. The institutions functioning under NES are now among the best in the country, with which HN remained attached until his demise on the 31st January 2005. As a mark of respect to HN and his contributions to the institute, his body was kept for public viewing at the National High School, where thousands of people from different walks of life including the Chief Minister of Karnataka, former Prime Minister, Mr Deve Gowda, Prof U R Rao, and several students of National school and college and others who paid their last respect. His body was cremated with full state honors at his native village Hosur near Gauribidanur in Kolar district. The cremation took place in accordance with Dr. Narasimhaiah's will, for which he had constituted a committee for conducting his last rites and had set aside Rs. 2000 for the expenses. The mortal remains of HN may have been been confined to the holy fire and he may not be present in physical form but the ideals that he has left behind “Do not accept anything without questioning”, will continue to remain eternal for generations to come. He is one of those great spirits, whose ideals will remain central to all those practitioners of science and advocated of scientific temper. 

Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan and Jia Vigyan.

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Disruption, Digitisation & Demand

Nehru Science Centre Lockdown Lecture Series.

‘Disruption, Digitisation & Demand’ 

by Padma Bhushan Shri S Ramadorai, Former CEO, TCS.

As we enter into the next phase of the Lockdown in Mumbai, which unfortunately is the worst sufferer due to the Covid Pandemic, Nehru Science Centre will continue to remain closed for public. In our endeavor to remain connected with our audience, we have brought the best of experts to address our visitors from our digital platform (lockdown lecture series and other events and programs). Our next lockdown lecture will be delivered by Padma Bhushan, Shri S Ramadorai, Former Vice Chairman, Tata Consultancy Services, Mumbai, on 8th June 2020 at 11 AM.  Shri Ramadorai, a doyen of IT industry, is one of the IT pioneers in India who has helped TCS to be a leading global IT Company. He will be speaking on “Disruption, Digitization and Demand”, which seem to be a way forward for all of us in the new norm, which the Covid pandemic has ushered.

The Indian IT industry is now a name to reckon with globally.  It is not for nothing that it prompted the then American presidential candidate - Barack Obama - during his electioneering campaign trail in Buffalo, while addressing his electorate, to draw attention of the crowd to Bangalore & IT and emphasised that India was taking away the jobs of people of Buffalo and other Americans. Perhaps it is for this reason that the word ‘Bangalored’ has entered into the lexicon of English language. The Indian IT industry has grown and diversified much too rapidly and is now a 190 plus billion dollar industry. From a humble beginning of IT outsourcing jobs that Indian IT companies started, prompting Thomas Friedman to write his best selling book ‘ The World is Flat : A Brief History of the Twenty First Century’ where he chronicles the convergence of technology and events that followed in the later part of the twentieth century that helped countries like India to become part of the global supply chain for IT services and manufacturing, the Indian IT has now become a global brand. This IT boom has helped in creation of an explosion of opportunities for IT professionals in India to create wealth and new opportunities for themselves and for others.

There are innumerable IT companies including the very well known companies like Infosys, Wipro, etc, which collectively constitute the Indian It industry. But then the company that deserves major credit for ushering the IT revolution in India, in my opinion, must go to TCS - Tata Consultancy Services. Tatas as a group is one of the best value brand in the corporate world, which is known for their par excellence governance and philanthropy. Whatever vicissitudes of fortune may have come the way of the Tata Group, the contributions of TCS, one of the companies under the Tata Group, has been extraordinary and path breaking. TCS as a company was founded in 1968 as ‘Tata Computer Systems’ and FC Kohli was appointed as the CEO of the company, which later on became a Public listed company in 2004.

Our speaker, Padma Bhushan, S. Ramadorai, joined TCS as a trainee engineer in 1969. And when he relinquished charge as the managing director of the TCS company in 2009, TCS had become one of the world’s largest software and services companies. When Ramadorai took over the CEO mantle from F.C. Kohli in the year 1996, the company revenues were pegged at Rs 600 crore. In just thirteen years of his tenure as the CEO and MD of TCS Ramadorai was able to convert TCS into a whopping Rs 36,000-crore global IT giant.

Born in Nagpur, Ramadorai finished his schooling and graduation in Delhi, before leaving for the University of California for a master’s in science. The TCS innings began soon thereafter, in 1969. He spent his early years in TCS under the leadership of its founder FC Kohli and imbibed all his ideas and ideals. He was asked to head US operations and this opportunity gave him a ringside view of business evolving in sync with constant upgradations in technology. This held him in good stead during his leadership years. The edifice that he built for TCS has helped the company to continue to scale newer and newer heights of unprecedented proportions. He globalised TCS, built a very strong sales and delivery engine, and created leaders like N. Chandrasekaran, the current  Chairman of Tata Group, who made TCS the star that it is. In 2002, he was the only Indian CEO to make it to the list of the top 25 most influential consultants in the world by the Consulting magazine. He has been conferred with plenty of awards and recognition including the Padma Bhushan.

I was privileged and honoured to be standing next to him as one of the awardees of the 16th NES Jagadguru Sankaracharya Sri. Jayendra Saraswati National Eminence Award during which he was awarded the National Eminence Award at the hands of the Jagadguru Sankaracharya Sri. Jayendra Saraswati.

You are all cordially invited for the lecture.

Image of Shri Ramadorai seated on sofa : Courtesy Economic Times

CERN & the Dancing Shiva - Nataraja : The Confluence of Science and Spirituality.

CERN & the Dancing Nataraja : The Confluence of Science Arts and Spirituality. 

Images Credits : Wiki Commons and Nehru Science Centre.

Last year, around this time, our temporary exhibition space, which presently has been converted into an Isolation ward for Covid patients by the BMC under the Epidemic Diseases Act, was home to an  exciting exhibition - Vigyan Samagam. This exhibition showcased seven mega science international projects in which India is a partner. These projects - Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO), International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), Square Kilometer Array (SKA), Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) - have an objective to unravel the mysteries of the universe that stretch from an unseen universe of subatomic particles - quarks, muons, positrons, Higgs Bosons (god particle discovered at the LHC, CERN) - to the extreme, beyond the observable macroscopic universe. These international projects have been envisaged as a result of rapid progress in science, which help in distinguishing the 21st century from earlier centuries. The quest for study and understanding of such extreme scales of universe - both at the micro and macro scale - need global collaboration and the nature of these projects mandate that collaboration. These projects also provide an opportunity for scientists across the world to collectively aim at pushing the frontiers of science.

The need to push the frontiers of science has led to formalising international collaboration in pooling of scientists, material and financial resources and establishing global partnerships in the Mega Science Projects, in which India is also a partner. To show case the significance of such mega science projects, particularly the Indian contributions in these projects, three Government of India institutions; Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Science and Technology and the National Council of Science Museums had joined hands, to present the first ever “VIGYAN SAMAGAM”, exhibition, which was opened  in May 2019, at our centre - Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai. The highlight of the Vigyan Samagam exhibition was the CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) pavilion, which was transported all the way from Geneva, Switzerland for the exhibition and the highlight of the pavilion was the Large Hadron Collider. 

Speaking of CERN, one is reminded of that historic moment - the 4th July 2012 - of the discovery of the ‘Gods particle’ - the Higgs Boson - at the Large Hadron Collider - LHC -, which is one of the major research facilities at CERN. Years before this elusive particle was discovered at CERN, with which India and Indian scientists have had a collaboration since the early sixties, the government of India decided to gift an artistically elegant 2 metre tall Chola bronze statue of the dancing Shiva (Nataraj) to CERN. On June 18, 2004, the statue of the Indian deity Shiva Nataraja, the Lord of Dance was unveiled at CERN, the European Center for Research in Particle Physics in Geneva. The statue, symbolizing Shiva’s cosmic dance of creation and destruction, was given to CERN by the Indian government to celebrate the research centers (CERN) long association with India, since the 60s. The statue of Lord Shiva was unveiled by His Excellency K M Chandrashekhar, the Indian ambassador to WTO, Geneva, Dr Anil Kakodkar, eminent nuclear scientist and Chairman DAE, and Dr Robert Aymar (Director General of CERN (2004–2008) in the presence of several other CERN scientists. This elegant statue, which symbolises the art and culture of India, now finds a permanent place in CERN between buildings 39 and 40, a short distance from the Main Building. India has been a partner state in the scientific research at CERN, an international state of the art scientific research institution, which is home to international scientists. Speaking on the occasion, representative of CERN had said that India was one of the institute’s observer states, and the statue of the Nataraj represents CERN’s multiculturalism, with scientists from across the globe taking part in the research at its facilities. One of the reasons why the Indian government chose the image of Shiva Nataraja was to acknowledge the profound significance of the metaphor of Shiva’s dance for the cosmic dance of subatomic particles, which is observed and analyzed by CERN’s physicists.

The commissioning of the statue of Shiva at the best of international scientific research centre CERN, as expected, raised some eye brows and in response the spokesperson of CERN stated “that the statue was a gift from India to celebrate its association with CERN, which started in the 1960’s and remains strong today”. In the Hindu religion, Lord Shiva practiced Nataraj dance which symbolises Shakti, or life force. This deity was chosen by the Indian government because of a metaphor that was drawn between the cosmic dance of the Nataraj and the modern study of the ‘cosmic dance’ of subatomic particles. India is one of CERN’s associate member states. CERN is a multicultural organisation that welcomes scientists from more than 100 countries and 680 institutions. It is for this reason that CERN is often referred to as the global temp,e of learning. The Shiva statue is one of many statues and cultural icons and other art pieces, which have been installed at CERN, to exemplify CERN’s multiculturalism.

As stated above, CERN is a pre-eminent centre for state of the art research in frontiers of science and one of the major facility at CERN, which attracts global scientists, is the world's biggest and most powerful particle accelerator -  the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which they built for researching particle physics. LHC is a giant circular tunnel built underground, which is 27 kilometres long, and between 50 and 175 meters below the ground. CERN is also the place where core technologies of the internet were first conceived and Tim Berners Lee, an engineer working with CERN  developed the World Wide Web (WWW), meaning the now ubiquitous WWW took its birth at CERN. Installation of the statue of Lord Shiva - the Dancing Nataraja - at this scientific precincts, which is kind of a Mecca for global science, is therefore unprecedented. The Chola Bronze ‘Dancing Shiva (Nataraj)’ metaphorically represents the dance of subatomic particles at the atomic level in modern physics. A plaque placed below the Nataraja statue describes the significance of the metaphor of Shiva's cosmic dance with modern physics. It contains quotations from Fritjof Capra, an American Physicist ans it says ; “Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but is also the very essence of different forms of visual images of dancing Shiva, which are created by artisans using the lost wax process of bronze casting the practice of which goes back to the Chola period. He further goes on to add ‘in our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics.” Lord Shiva or Nataraja is one of the most important deities in the Hindu religion. Nataraja is also known by many other names such as Mahadeva, Neelakantha, Rudra, Shambhu, Shiva etc. Shiva’s form of Nataraja symbolizes the cosmic dance of creation and destruction.

The parallel between Nataraj’s dance and the dance of the subatomic particles, was first discussed by Fritjof Capra in an article titled "The Dance of Shiva: The Hindu View of Matter in the light of Modern Physics," published in Main Currents in Modern Thought in 1972. Shiva's cosmic dance then became a central metaphor in Capra's international bestseller ‘The Tao of Physics’, first published in 1975, which continues to be in print with over 40 editions and still going strong. The Nataraja or the dancing Shiva statue, cast in bronze, is testimony to the excellence of ancient Indian artisans and metallurgists, whose material evidence is found in most museums across the world, particularly in the Government Museum in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, where rows of these spectacular dancing Nataraja statues - green in colour with almost one thousand plus years old patina on them, are found in plenty.

The two metre tall bronze statue of Shiva, in the quintessential cosmic dance posture, trampling upon ignorance, metaphorically symbolises mankind’s collective quest for understanding of the universe at the atomic level. It is therefore a pleasant feeling that the Indian dancing Nataraj statue finds a place in the very precincts of CERN where the ‘Gods particle’ - the Higgs boson,  was discovered at the Large Hadron Collider. It was here at the LHC that the Tandava of subatomic particles was played out in the underground 27 kilometre tunnel and in the process the Higgs Boson, popularly called the Gods particle, as envisaged by Peter Higgs, was discovered at this historic location in the year 2012.

We, Indians, know that Nataraja is the dancing form of Lord Shiva, who is also considered as the supreme God of "Naatya" - dance. One of the dance performed by lord Shiva is the ‘Tandava nritya’, the divine dance, which is considered to be the source of creation, preservation and destruction. Scholars such as Fritjof Capra, have tried to establish a scientific connection between the Nataraj Tandava and modern physics and the Atom and its subatomic Spin. The name "Tandava" is derived from "Tandu", who was an attendant of Lord Shiva. Tandu is believed to have taught 108 karanas (mudras) - the combination of hand gestures with feet to form a dance posture -  to Baratha, the author of the famed “Natya Shastra".  These 108 karanas are discussed by Baratha in the fourth chapter "Tandava lakshanam" of  “Natya Shastra". Tandava symbolizes the cosmic cycle of creation and destruction. It deals with five principle manifestations of eternal energy : 

Shrishti - Creation

Sthiti - Sustenance

 Samhara - Destruction 

Tirobhava - Illusion 

Anugraha - Grace, blessing. 

There are many types of "Tandavas" and the most famous among them is the “Aananda Thandava" that  portrays bliss and ecstasy and "Rudra Thandava", which portrays destruction and violence. Metaphorically the Rudra Tandav has been compared with the modern science of creation and destruction of particles at the subatomic level.

Fritjof Capra, further explains the metaphorical significance: “Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shiva in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics.” Fritjof Capra further says,  in The Tao of Physics: “The Dance of Shiva symbolises the basis of all existence. At the same time, Shiva reminds us that the manifold forms in the world are not fundamental, but illusory and ever-changing. Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but is also the very essence of inorganic matter." One of the leading scholars and a doyen of art historians, Ananda Coomaraswamy, was the first to see beyond the “unsurpassed rhythm, beauty, power and grace of Nataraja”. He praised it as “the clearest image of the activity of God which any art or religion can boast of”. Coomaraswamy went on to explain that the dance, called Anandatandava or Dance of Bliss, symbolised the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, as well as the earthly rhythms of birth and death.  He saw it as a pictorial allegory of five manifestations of energy, which physicists said cannot be destroyed, only transformed.  Accordingly, the Tandava of Physics and Metaphysics could be represented as cycles of creation and evolution (shrishti) followed by those of preservation or support (sthiti) as well as destruction and evolution (samhara).

According to quantum field theory, creation and destruction is the basis of the very existence of matter. Modern physics has revealed that every subatomic particle is engaged in an end less process of energy ‘dance’ - a pulsating process of creation and destruction. Therefore from the modern physics point of view there seem to be a metaphorical resemblance of Shiva’s dance with the process of matter at atomic and subatomic level, which forms the basis of all existence and of all natural phenomena. In a sense the dancing Nataraja metaphorically represents the unending natural phenomenon that gets played out in nature at Interstellar and this constitutes the fundamental physics of the universe. It is therefore a befitting honour for the age old traditions and culture of India that the Statue of the Nataraja finds a prominent place in the precincts of CERN. 

Many traditionalists in India including several scientists, believe that Science has no contradiction with ‘Dharma’, which is most often misconstrued as Religion. While religion may bring forth some restrictions, for a section of society, to run a particular belief fermented with some ethos, ‘Dharma’, many Indians believe, is far different from that concept. Dhrama is the reality of attributes of entire life process in a method of sacrifice of individual for the larger good of human society. In Vivekananda’s word it is ‘manifestation of divinity, already in man’. 

Dharma is the synthesis of science, philosophy, knowledge, intuition and everything in a single and supreme entity, which Shiva or the Nataraja represents.