Aryabhata

It has been such a long time since I wrote on history. Today my fascination has been captured by Aryabhata. It started with a conversation I had with my father this morning. He reflected that all sculptures of Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu who lifted the Earth from infinite waters, clearly depict that the Earth was round.

I thought the theory that the Earth was round was known somewhere in the 1500s when Ferdinand Magellan travelled around the world and reached the point at which he started even though he never changed direction. I have recently been disappointed to know that was just a practical demonstration and that the fact was known much earlier by the Greeks.

Curious, I wanted to find out which was the earliest source that stated that the Earth was round in India and stumbled upon Aryabhata. Not only did he know that the Earth was round, he also gave an excellent approximation for the Earth's equatorial circumference. All by the age of 23!

This was a work written in the fifth century. Naturally, any likeness of his face has been lost to the sands of time. Precious few details remain from his personal life. He migrated to Patna for higher studies and there is some evidence to show that he was the head of a university.

Sanskrit writing. Image: Diggleburnz, via Flickr.

One of the most striking features that I find is his strict adherence to complex Sankrit poetic metre while stating facts and proofs. He must be an accomplished poet and his command over the language must've been high. It is heartening to see such precise rationality go hand in hand with elastic creativity.

It also makes you understand why some verses went thus:

"Add four to 100, multiply by eight, and then add 62,000. By this rule the circumference of a circle with a diameter of 20,000 can be approached."

This verse also propounded the value of pi to an accuracy of 4 decimals.

There is plenty of material online on what Aryabhata has written that would interest a mathematician. For a researcher like me, it was strong feeling of deja-vu to see him cite his sources to earlier Vedic texts.

He also challenged religious authorities in the Rahu-Ketu theory of eclipses and stated that shadows were responsible for the same.

I feel somewhere in the pace of modernity, we've forgotten the sheer wonder of nature. Driven as we are by applications, sending rockets and creating engineering marvels, we've left the wonders of the galaxy, the stars and the poetry that exists in the universe.

These days, the only time we are bothered about planets is astrology. True story by the way, when my mother tried to say no to an unfavourable proposal, the opposite party did not consider mismatch in education, character or temperament as a valid ground for declination but was completely convinced by a mismatch in horoscopes!

Stars are fusion reactors out there.
They may no longer be there,
as we see them frozen in time.
But to the child in me, that looks at the night sky,
They are twinkling marvels, just making me feel sublime.

Tonight, I plan to be drenched in star light once again. You?

The Love Letter

This has to be the most poignant love letter I've received till date and thought I'd share it.

Sweetheart,

You are the most wonderful person I've met. I know you get defensive whenever someone compliments you but I also know that you secretly enjoy it. So I'm not going to hold back anything I feel.

You are so committed to your work, you're doing a PhD. You love to teach, to help. You want to serve people. You're so patriotic. You're multi-faceted, you cook, you dance, you compere, you write, you play the keyboard and you do all of them so diligently. I've never seen anyone else so persistent in their goals nor so dedicated.

That's what I love about you. It's not that I'm impressed only when you praise me or converse with me, your existence itself is an inspiration to me. Your attitude pushes me further, to better myself.

As a person, you're loyal, humble and just. You never put any of your friends down and you could have 1001 meetings, you'll somehow manage to help people. You make my conscience sharper.

I love the way you look at people in the eye and speak. What beautiful eyes, just like a doe with those curly eyelashes. You make me feel confident.

And you never get angry, how do you not get angry. Sure, things upset you, irritate you, but you never get angry. You do get rude sometimes when you're cornered, but anger doesn't engulf you and I've never heard you shout. You make me check my temper.

Passion is what drives you. It is the core of your existence. The heat from it is so palpable, that it ignites the hearts of its neighbours as well.

But I am not like you. Though you enrich my life and make it so much better, I get angry. I get angry when you feel sad with the same intensity as your passion. I get angry that you let people take you for granted. I feel angry you put yourself for the last. I feel angry when you don't stand up for yourself.

I know you would just want me to let it go. I know you'd say that this is just your karma.

No one as beautiful as you should suffer so much. Pain is inevitable, suffering is not. Love heals all wounds. Why do you not allow our honeyed rays of love soothe the rough sores on your heart?

Oh you're not perfect, you know I've to be honest. You have a tough exterior and a super soft personality ensconced inside. It misleads people. You are extremely absent minded, and no it is not a compliment. While you are brilliant in academics, you are clueless about things everybody know.

That is also so lovable though. You exist in dichotomies, suspended between euphoric happiness and abject misery, sparkling brilliance and absolute stupidity.

Never forget I'm always there for you, a cushion for your fall, a shoulder for your tears, a ear for your fears and a pillow for your dreams. My greatest happiness lies in you soaring above the clouds with your famous Mona Lisa smile.

I love you, just how you are.

With Love,
Your Soul

No matter whether someone is in a relationship or is single, self-love is so important. I thought this was a quirky way to explore that where I wrote a love letter to myself.

This was written as a part of "Write a love letter campaign by Chennai Bloggers Club"

The Invisible Gender

This post is dedicated to people who identify themselves with the third gender. In India, transgenders have often been regarded holy. However, that has not protected them from discrimination at work or even inclusion in our society. While discrimination is a fundamental problem in India along the lines of gender, economy, caste and religion, we interact with all these sections of society. We're friends with people from different religions and economies but how many of us have ever had the opportunity to talk normally with a transgender?

In my experience, I've awkwardly thrust money into their hands at traffic lights, intimidated and afraid.

In this gloomy scenario, I was pleased to find that the Bharatanatyam teacher at my college is a transgender. She was fresh and amazing. She was very passionate about the dance form and had trained rigorously for years.

There wasn't an iota of awkwardness. All my initial inhibitions had just melted. I felt proud of my institution for not discriminating against her.

It opened up a platform for discussion on this pressing issue and gave hope for the winds of change. Everybody has a bit of femininity and masculinity in them. Biologically, we have both hormones - testosterone and estrogen. Some of us like to express ourselves in different ways. While the society today doesn't bat an eyelid at a woman who dons a suit, it looks down upon men who outwardly exhibit feminine characteristics. I think there is a subtext here which implies manliness is more superior, but that is just my view. After doing some cursory Wikipedia based research, I was happy to see that Tamil Nadu had a lot of schemes for the improvement of their welfare.

I think things are looking better. Recently, I saw a band perform which comprised completely of transgenders. I envision a day in the future when a man can wear feminine clothes and receive the same supreme unconcern as a woman in masculine clothes.

What I Learned During Chennai Floods

The Chennai Floods have been so devastating. It affected everybody in a geographical expanse regardless of who one was. Money was rendered useless, communication channels were snapped. Here are some of the lessons I learned.

#1 Being Calm

It is extremely difficult to be calm in a hostile situation. We were surrounded by 5 feet of water with no power or cell-phone coverage. We had no idea what was happening in the outside world because we threw out the old-fashioned radios a very long time ago. While the day light gave some hope, nightfall was eerie. With the streets dark as far as you can see, with water sloshing around the lift as though it was a scene from Titanic, my family which was after all on the fourth floor, was pretty unnerved. At that moment, it was essential to be calm and think about your options logically. We eventually decided to stay put and we were stuck at home for four consecutive days in this condition.

#2  Humanity

In a time of crisis, people I barely knew came to help us. We divided our resources. Everyone on the street, from the person who ironed our clothes at the corner of the street to the actress who lived across, offered to share what little they had stored with them. We had to disconnect car batteries, disconnect power supply as the panels went underwater and share drinking water among us.

#3 Disaster Management is a Joke!

So many phone numbers were shared on social platforms, none of which were accessible at a moment of crisis. People could not expect such a disaster, that's true. The few people we reached out to, were afraid that they would be affected. There were a few helicopter rounds. We thought they would provide food, but they did not.For my particular case, that was fine because we were well-stocked. The official teams did not reach us. However, I heard that the youth of Chennai jumped into relief work immediately but I knew all that good work around 5 days later when both power and internet was restored.

#4 People care about you!

I am an introverted person. I was so surprised at the number of people who enquired in to my well-being once my phone sprung to life.

#5 Humans are massive consumers!

The floods made us realize how much power, water, internet and food we consume. We had to ration our food and more importantly adjust our recipes so that they don't involve grinding or too many dishes as we tried to curtail how much we had to wash. Plus, we cooked 'on-demand' as the refrigerator was no longer operational for storage. We had run out of greens by the end of two days, again adjusted recipes that depend on onions and potatoes that could be stored for long. By the fourth day, the water tanks were drying out and massive storage of water began.

#6 Economic Advantage for very very few

There were two people on my street who enjoyed massive profits. One - a milkman who came by boat and sold milk at three times the regular price. Another, was a boatman who offered to ferry us for a fortune but we declined when he asked us to swim towards him.

#7 I am not an owl!

I used to think I'm a night owl, I usually sleep at 1pm, etc. No! When there is no power and no internet, I slept at 9 pm sharp. I felt really concerned whether I'm abusing my body. Those three days, my habits were so regular. I woke up at the crack of dawn and slept within half an hour after dinner.

#8 Music saves us all

Every night, my sister played her veena. The tunes that wafted from it soothed our weary minds. It was a really beautiful experience, candlelit rooms with melodious notes.

#9 One for All and All for One

Our family spent most of the time together, in one room. All of us are so busy, chasing after our dreams, that we barely speak to each other together. The love that emanated from us kept us warm in the dread of gloom and uncertainty.

#10 Necessity is the mother of invention

At one point we run out of candles. My mom suddenly remembered that we could use oil lamps that we had just placed back in the shelves after Karthikai Deepam. It was a tiny idea but such innovations kept us going.

The Chennai floods showed us what nature can unleash. Most of us feel the effects would not have been so devastating if it had been managed in a better manner. Who knows? All I know is it was a lifetime experience, something that I will be quoting to everyone. If you're from Chennai, I hope you and your family have recovered from this ordeal.

An Ode to Prakash

Today one of my classmates left the mortal realm to merge with the cosmos. It seems cruel that a man in the prime of his youth and in the pink of his health had to meet this fate.

When such things happen, every memory become crystal clear and prick us like shards of ice. I am no exception. Even though, we were not very close, all my memories are gathering momentum and I felt there is no better way to release them, than to write.

Prakash was one of the most decent men I've ever met. He was the first follower of this blog, that too when it had only indecipherable poems. He liked playing age of empires too. That's how we first became friends. He read each and every blogpost of mine. In class, he was helpful and sincere. He was empathetic. I don't think he ever teased or annoyed anybody. We've had few long conversations, after Tribute in bus, the bus accident that both he and my best friend shared, the projects his company and my college shared, planning the birthday surprise of our mutual friend, discussing after our second symposium how he wanted to be president, discussing the programs I gave him, the first tour, wishing each other happy birthday. There are other thousand conversations that beg for attention but the emotional toll is draining me. If a mere classmate can have so many positive memories, I can only extrapolate what his close friends must feel like and I cannot imagine the trauma his twin brother is facing.

As a person, he lived life to the fullest. He travelled the world, he had the latest gadgets, he was well dressed, celebrated himself, participated with his family.

It is ironic that the man who didn't break any heart had a massive heart attack. He was a man who was better than most of us. I am confident he is resting in peace. But the world will sorely miss a gem of a character.

How I Write Poems

I've always thought creativity and poetry are quite spontaneous and that there is no fixed 'methodology' that you can prescribe to it. However, in recent times, I've been thinking we all have a set of algorithms embedded deep within us that brings out our signature style. Even though, technically, how I write poetry is I meditate on an emotion, make it expand intensely and let it engulf me whole and let the words flow, I realize I do have a set pattern.

#1 Fixing the rhyme scheme

Call me old school. I just don't like poems that don't rhyme. It seems as if it is too easy. I generally go for an AABB rhyme scheme, just rhyming consecutive lines and being happy. If am adventurous, I may try ABAB.

#2 Fixing the meter

I usually go for a pentameter, 10 syllables per line. Sometimes I do seven syllables per line. That's about it.

#3 Throw in a LOT of alliteration

I love alliteration. I like phrases like 'tree trembles', 'wind whispers'. They almost sound musical to me.

#4 The cheats I use

Sometime, I google rhyming words :P Sometime if am too lazy, I'll end with the same word in two lines.

#5 Poetic license

I try not to abuse my poetic license much. I like a good structured poem. One prominent example where I used it is when once I said, "when blows the breeze" instead of "when the breeze blows".

So all this talking led me to try writing a poem. I'm going to try this algorithm in four lines on a very easy topic, the current incessant rains.

Dear droplets of Hydrogen Dioxide,

You batter everyone that's outside.

However, you brought well needed respite,

from both, the heat and the power bill's bite!

Hmm, maybe one day I'll make a natural language generator out of this!

The Non Essay on Education in India

I saw an announcement for an essay competition and I became extremely happy and started collecting facts. After structuring my thought for two hours, I saw I was not eligible for that competition :P

So without further ado, I have converted it into a blog post.

We had a lot of themes and we had to use it to solve a grand India-centric problem. I thought of Indian education with the theme of computers. The research (Wikipedia) I did yesterday was eye-opening!

Initially, I had this grand scheme of how I would use technology to bring education to every single person, then some digging led to the following abysmal facts.

Problem

#1 The Sheer Number

India has the largest number of illiterates in the world. And that is highly ironic considering we introduced the concept of zero to the world. The number Googol would not be 10^100, it would be
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.. (33 times roughly) :P My favourite number 279 would be CCLXXIX.

It is an absolute shame that we have 287 million illiterate people. So I set my sights lower, to literacy. Forget education. So many people do not know how to read and write one language.

#2 Electricity

For my grand vision of bringing technology to the fore, the basic minimal requirement is electricity!! Only 67% of India has electricity. What on Earth is happening? Forget Internet.org and its claim to net neutrality. I can't charge your free smartphone!

#3 Mobile Network Coverage

For technology to truly seep through the country, mobility is essential. Here is where the statistics are fishy. We have 930 million subscribers. But only roughly 60% of India is covered by the towers. That is because of people like me who have three SIMs. One from UG, one for hostel coverage, one for mess coverage :P

#4 Importance

As a country, we spend 4.3% of our GDP on education and they are concentrated on higher education. Even though we pay 2% of our taxes for education, that is all we spend. Basic literacy is not getting the vital amount of effort required to propel people to benefit from the importance given to higher education.

How can you integrate when you can't add?

#5 Existing Infrastructure

I had to write an exam in a government school once. It was one of the most nightmarish experiences I've ever had. No electricity, no water and sand flying from the grounds nearby. I used to have asthma then and just kept coughing. And this was happening in Chennai. I must be happy I had benches and an invigilator. Facilities across India are so terrible and teachers barely qualified and sanitation barely there, resulting in most girls dropping out in their teens. Yes and I have statistics for all of this, but this is a non-essay ;)

Some Observations

#1 High Correlation in Statistics

Electricity, sanitation, mobile coverage and literacy of all the states are highly correlated with each other along with one thing that is of paramount importance.

Per Capita Income

You cannot expect a hungry person to want to enlighten his mind and soul. The body has to be taken care of first. Wherever poverty and hunger are high, all these statistics drop.

#2 Our Legal Hierarchy

If you remember any civics lesson, you may be familiar that there are three lists - union list, concurrent list and state list. Each list says who is responsible for making legislations. All of these, except sanitation, are on the concurrent list. So the centre makes laws and the states fine tune them.

Though in practise, this sounds right, the statistics clearly show that this framework has not resulted in better literacy rates.

#3 A Wonderful Economy is our Greatest Asset

With the liberalisation in 1991, our economy is one which enjoys the best of both worlds - private expertise and government control. It has been steady for years. China, which has 95% literacy and a bigger population, is grappling with a major economic crisis. We need to protect and hone our economy.

 My Thoughts Ahead

#1 Distribute Wealth

Locally, some states have had tremendous success in education. For example, the midday meal scheme introduced in Tamil Nadu led to a huge surge in school registration. This was later adopted all over India. However, recently corruption has gnawed at its core.

It is not fair for me to gloat about my state's achievements. The reason why it is unfair is that many states do not have the wherewithal and income to grow. The resources and industries define a state's success and nobody should be poor because of bad geography. Literacy and education will lead to more jobs but that would become a cycle. We need to grapple with this. I am sure tax payers would be more than happy for a central scheme to get electricity, sanitation, mobile coverage and well-equipped schools for the country rather than a centralised metro rail scheme.

That is a lot of work! We can't sit and hatch eggs till then.

#2 Reduce Urban Illiteracy

By urban, I include towns and cities where India's population is concentrated. 14% of India's urban population is illiterate and that is a substantial number. Adult literacy programs need to be increased. Here is where the infrastructure is already in place and we need to step up.

• Machine Translation - could be useful for travellers lost in another state as well ;)
• NPTEL for school syllabus - Our school students deserve good quality videos for free on a subject much like NPTEL for college
• Awareness - Awareness through social media messaging like WhatsApp

#3 Reduce Corruption on Infrastructure through Computers

Over - reporting on infrastructure is a major problem. Using satellite images, it can be literally verified how electrified India is, whether a school has been built or not.

So yes, I don't know how fruitful you may think these are. I definitely have no experience regarding these things. I believe we as citizens have a lot of potential to grow bigger, smarter and sharper. And it irked me, that we were just going along with things as they are. Maybe the first step is to get a little bit angry about why the world's largest democracy needs symbols for voting.