Happy Pseudo Vishu To All!

I think today is an interesting day to discuss about the science culture we had in Kerala or making it a bit wider in India, because it's Vishu! It's a bit long, but if you like investigations, you should read it- I'd say... :)

Do you feel what's there to talk about science culture on this special day? Let us see... The following article begins from a fact that I recently read in some magazine. So I thought why don't we have a deeper investigation on it and look at our science culture.

Vishu is a well renowned festival; celebrated on Medam 1 based on Malayalam calendar.  The term 'Vishu' is derived from Sanskrit term Vishuva, which means equal. There are several versions of myths about Vishu. Along with them, it is known as Hindu new year, and the day of spring equinox... Our neighbouring states also have similar celebrations. Ugadi for Telugu- Kannada society, Puthandu for Tamil society and so on. The celebration dates goes as follows for a few and widely distributed states in India.

Holi, Gudi Padwa, Sajibu Nongma Panba, Navreh, Thapna are different versions of new year and equinox celebration according to Hindu Calendar. Most of them except a few like Ugadi and Gudi Padwa are celebrated around mid of April. Additionally Gudi Padwa was celebrated on March 20, in 2015 and April 8th, in 2016; like Ugadi.

Note that, it's a celebration of new year and spring equinox!

If it's a celebration of equinox, why does it vary from place to place?! that was a doubt I had from past few years when I met people from these places. Till then I was having a different conundrum... Do you remember the high school geography text books? We did study the spring equinox is on March 20, and yet celebrated Vishu on April 14 or 15. (Yet, I searched nothing about it and considered it as ancient useless astrology! -note: even a school student can be prejudiced so much!-)

Except the Telugu- Kannada-Marathi society rest of them have almost same date for the celebration of new year (and equinox!). Probably rest of them followed the same solar/luni-solar calendar. and Hence we do celebrate them on almost the same day. But the equinox is on March 20th/21st!

A glance at equinox...

Equinox is the day, when day and night are of equal length. As earth has an axial precession, the equinoxes shift each year with a cycle of ~26,000 years. Now we are in Pisces on the day of spring equinox in 2000's -the age of Pisces-. Since the spring equinox shifts each year, we will be in Aquarius after 10,000 years. Similarly winding back the years we would have been in some other zodiac signs in BC 3000's and in some other in the Triassic period.

The following video, it briefly explains the ages of different zodiac signs.

The equinox shifts a day backwards every 72 years.

We are in Pisces celebrating equinox as if we are in Aries; in 1000's BC! Why do we celebrate the spring equinox as if we are in BC 1000's - the Vedic Period???

A glance at Vedic era...

Vedic period; the era of star gazing with naked eyes... and the era of deep astronomical studies. We have strong evidences of having excellent astronomical studies in Vedic period; various solar and luni-solar calendars are themselves are excellent examples!

Almost every regional calendars are based on the Vedic calendar (Hindu calender) except a few like Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh; the states who has a very different timing for the celebration of new year and equinox, who has regional calendars based on Shalivahana Shaka Calendar (Indian national calender), the luni-solar calendar where the year start with SHAKA ERA EQUINOX on March 20/21. Nowadays it's considered to be the national calendar though that's not the real case: that calendar is not even updated properly, which is clearly seen from the oscillating equinox celebration day... Is that a coincidence??? Let us investigate more...

The Latest ancient recording is found from Bhaskara II's writings; History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Volume XV, Part 4 , page 42 edited by Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya.

Now, the OLD Vedic calendar starts with vaisakha month, on the day of equinox, mid April...as the naame of new year festival of West Bengal suggests -Pohela Boishakh- or the new year festival of Punjab suggests -Vaisakhi-... who celebrated their new year on April 14/15 in 2015 and 2016. 

(this calendar existed till vikramaditya era, BCE 70s -look at the beauty of astronomical studies and scientific updates-)

Whereas them who follows Shalivahana Calendar, starts with Chaitra month, on the day of equinox, March 20/21 (built in 1st-2nd century), celebrated their new year on March 20th in 2015 and on April 8 in 2016...

What is happening to the most updated calendar from historic period, why the updated vikrami calendar from BCE 70s - 9th century CE was buried???What happened to Bhaskara II's studies and data???

Alarmingly the most updated one try so hard to align themselves with the Vedic calendar-I claim so because equinox can not shift from March 20 to April 8 and to March 29 in a year; so does their new year! So, if at all it is shifting it can't be scientific but due to some compulsion and one of the biggest compulsion I see is the unified new year celebration of rest of the India who celebrate their equinox and new year according to Vedic calendar-... If there was a well-established astronomy study stream in our culture (as we had strict four social classes which is strong even in this 2016 in the name of castes), we would have celebrated Vishu on March 20/21 and not on April 14... Why there were no one to continue the studies of Varahamihira or Bhaskara II???

Is that accidental that certain discipline  -astronomy, mathematics- went unnoticed??? Why we never had science as a culture but merely as discrete and independent studies???

So far it was a wonderful investigation. You may continue searching more on where did we lose the track of science way of thinking, why and how did we lose it...

Happy Pseudo Vishu to All...

PS: Vishu is derived from Vishuva, which means equal in Sankrit.

They don't complain.

It has been almost 70 years since we got independence and 60 years since we become republic of India.

On my way back to institute, from mess hall...

It has been a few weeks, some drainage renovation going on in the neighbouring area. The temperature shoots up to 35 degree Celsius but feels like 40 degree Celsius (because several other atmospheric factors- reported by weather forecasting dept.) every day. I saw a few workers were taking rest under an isolated tree near a building, reminding primitive age where no proper shelters were found. They must have had lunch from some neighbouring restaurant. I don't know if they are getting enough amount of drinking water each day.

They do not seem to be uncomfortable with their improper resting place, or hotness of environment, or even their health. Their expression made me feel, they are accustomed to it; accustomed to a life, that took them away from all fundamental rights...

and

They do not complain even when they are taken away from fundamental rights. It is the most pathetic condition of a nation that call itself a republic!... For now I don't know how to make them fight for it...

I tried a lot to publish this...but conscience didn't allow me to do so, till now. It kept on asking 'aren't you feeling guilty to walk away, seeing their pathetic condition and how do you even dare to criticize such a situation when you are also encouraging it by your inaction?'

Whenever I talked to my friends about this they said 'it's his job, he is supposed do it'. That's not an answer to my question, because taking rest under a tree without even having a drinkable water is not his job...but drainage renovation. All of them including me hesitate to sit in a room if there is no fan. We eagerly call electrician when an A/C breaks down!

For now we must be ashamed to live in a nation where people are not even fighting for their fundamental rights, we must be ashamed to live in a nations where there is no remarkable rebellion is found even when almost 60% of the Indian population is deprived.

 It is always hard to get freedom; especially when the oppressor is  our own govt. rather than a foreign govt. It would be a lot harder to fight against the imperialism by the govt. of India... much much harder than our freedom fight against British...

Whose 'Fault' Is It? : A cultural Analysis.

Sometimes we will be triggered to a point where we won't be able to concentrate on anything but a single topic! I've been thinking about a mathematics problem just a minute ago, now in a completely different world; thinking about 'why it happens?'; the following.

It was a mere casual and commonly seen mode of conversation.

Person A:  It is not my fault, I asked them to do so and they didn't.

Person B:  But you must have made it sure that if they did it or not.

in b/w two sweepers.

This single pair of dialogue opened certain folder in my brain where I've collected such observational facts... It was a rush of thoughts and I can't stop writing...

Person C:  I'm going to report it, I'm afraid of no one. I'm someone who used to say things                                       frankly. It's his fault.

Person D:  Yes, I know!

in b/w two securities.

__________

Doctor:      It's been heard that something went wrong here. Does it have something to do                                         with us?

Assistant:  No, nothing.

Doctor:      Thank God, I was afraid if they'll blame us.

Assistant:  No, we don't have to worry, it's not our fault.

__________

Student:  Sir, you could've mailed all of us to avoid the inconsistency.

Teacher:  It's not my fault. Tell him

PS: the teacher is also a scientist in a prestigious Indian Institute.

__________

Person A: No, no one told me to do so.

Person B: Yes, he must have told you.

b/w two office assistants.

I've given variety of personalities by job to show the similarity of the behavior despite their job position. You must be familiar with such kind of conversation and probably you would even be able to provide examples from your own conversation.

Now, the question is why are we so interested in inquiring the guilty person? Does that really matter? If it does why,how and to what degree?

It can be observed in almost all disciplines.

If someone gets beaten to death, we used to ask 'who is the killer', When we hear about solar scam, we tend to ask 'who's the politician helped them receiving crores' .

We are satisfied once the guilty person gets arrested and punished. (PS: if you happen to laugh thinking no one gets punished! currently we are discussing the nature of inquiring the guilty person). One could reason this attitude based on the anxiety about our own safety and security of life. If the killer is not punished, he may repeat it and the next victim could be us! In the next case, we superficially think the corruption make the development slow and hence as a barrier to one's financial and social security. Regardless the validity of their belief on corruption the fact is again they are afraid of their social security. which falls back to the previous case as that of the killer story!

But is the reasoning valid???

It may seem it is, but...let us go back a bit, to our childhood, back to school when we were in first or second standard.

Do you remember any incidents in which teachers ask us 'who did this?' and we will be pointing at the guilty person or all of us will be quiet if we did it together...

Do you remember any fights with your siblings or cousines and when someone cries our parents would come and ask 'who made himer cry?' and with no ambiguity we will point them (or will be pointed by someone else).

Back to present day, in 2016! Have you seen any magic trick by which people calm down a crying child? You must also have done it...It's not hard to learn that magic trick.

The crying child's story!

When a child cries, if hesher is young enough not to understand the language, we used to make funny faces to distract them from that emotion. Or sometimes a crow or a falling leaf would do the job perfectly. And here is the magic trick comes if all those do not work...

We would summon someone else and we would act as if we are beating or punching them (for making the child cry (!)), and that someone is supposed to act as if hesher is crying (for being guilty in making himer cry).  

That's all; It Is Done!!!!!!! The child stops crying and we lose nothing because we know we were acting... Our life become easy with these simple tricks!

Similarly if a child falls down in hiser earlier stage of walking and cry, we would beat the floor for making him fall down.

Can we reason the child's behavior with 'the anxiety about our own safety and security of life'  as in the case of corruption or murder? Not really, isn't it? because children don't think about it but simply are getting distracted by a different event. (PS: and we are not keen in solving their issue that made them cry).

So why are we doing it? Who made us think that the child would calm down if someone(them -who we make the child think that- we think as the guilty person) gets punished for an issue ??? In general, this way of upbringing would make the child do the same to a crying child once hesher grow up(extrapolate it to society too!); until and unless hesher develop an ability to think rationally in child upbringing(or to look at society and issues). It's a positive feedback loop!

A trend that is seen all these cases independent of the depth or the seriousness of the problem is 'punishment' mentality over 'problem solving' mentality. So if at all we are punishing someone or the guilty person itself, is the problem being solved?

Once we start discussing the solution, this piece of writing will get longer and longer making everyone bored. Hence I do not want to discuss it in this article. But you may start thinking, where to cut the loop and to make a change...

For the time being, this 'single' dysfunctional attitude indeed enhances the bureaucratic dysfunction caused by the strict division of labour in every disciplines, which in result affect several other troubles in implementing a certain task.Say, based on negligible/ trivial needs you would be circling around offices walking to and fro from one office to another and wasting your and their time... making the system run very slow...